[nocrapman]

About 6 weeks back I got sucked into the world of planars with the MMG, which I have been enjoying since. They have been powered by the Emotiva XPA-3 with the following specs:

300 watts RMS @ 4 ohm (0.1% THD)
200 watts RMS @ 8 ohm (0.1% THD)

Its has been sounding great!

I have already placed an order for the 1.7, there is about a 4 week wait at least and the MMGs are going back at that point. I have been toying with upgrading the amp, while using the XPA-3 for center and surround duties.

Here is what I am thinking -
Emotiva XPA-2 with
500 watts RMS @ 4 ohm (0.1% THD)
300 watts RMS @ 8 ohm (0.1% THD)

Am I thinking this through correctly or do I need to look elsewhere for a better sound and an actual upgrade.

Budget, lower the better but under $2000 is fair game. I was also thinking of W4S ICE based amps but am not sure if they work well with the Maggies.

Please advise.

[josh358]

Whether you need the power or not depends on how loud you listen. Do you have a Radio Shack meter? I'd put off on the new amp, get the 1.7's, and measure listening levels. Add 10 dB to the analog meter because it doesn't measure true peaks. From that, you can figure out whether the larger amplifier is needed.

The caveat here is that some people say that it makes a difference even if you don't use all the headroom. There are also people who say that a smaller amp sounds better! There are so many conflicting opinions here I wouldn't know where to begin. But my personal philosophy is to avoid clipping, because I *know* it sounds bad, and it endangers your speakers as well.

If you do have enough power but want to experiment with the XPA-2, you could keep the XPA-3 and do the XPA-2 on trial. If you think the XPA-2 is better, then you can keep it and sell the XPA-3.

I have an XPA-2 and it's a good amp, but according to my ears, anyway, there are better ones. More expensive than the XPA-2, unfortunately. But those are just my ears, it's controversial and people tend to do what you're doing and change two things at once. I did, which means what I'm attributing to the XPA-2 could be due to another component rather than the amp (different DAC).

I know some people who are using the W4S amps with Maggies and say they're getting great results. But Class D definitely has a sound. The W4S is better than many, by reputation (I haven't heard it), but the D amps I've heard all had a plasticky sound in the highs, where their distortion increases.

Wish I could be of more help but you're going to hear different things from everybody you ask.

[usp1]

I have owned both the xpa-2 and emotiva's mps-1. The mps-1 is 200w/channel but is much more refined than the xpa-2. When I paired the mps-1 with 1.6 maggies they sounded quite good. But then I got a used Mccormack DNA-1 which is rated at 150w/channel and the amp is simply in a whole different league. If you are not averse to buying used, I would suggest that you look for either a Mccormack or Odyssey or (a bit more expensive) Pass labs amplifier.

[nocrapman]

I have no problems running the MMGs loud. Will see what happens to the 1.7s.

Sounds like getting an XPA-2 might not be the wisest move.

I might move the Bryston 4B SST2 down to this system once the 1.7s are in to see if I see a difference. Usually I am not able to discern a qualitative difference b/w amps. With speakers... absolutely... with amps, all I can tell if they play louder or lower at the same volume settings.
On the other hand I have not had any speakers that have had such a resolution as the Maggies.
Currently my other speakers in other systems are a Salk STs QWT running off the 4B and Quad 22L2 running off a Tube amp.

[thunderbrick]

Trust me, with Maggies you'll hear a difference in amps!

[usp1]

Even without Maggies the differences ccan be easy to discern. This is especially true with the highs. When I had the xpa-2 I found the treble was often shrill and there was a lot of sibilance. Even if you don't think you hear it, you will find that listening to music can be tiresome with some amps.

[SteveFord]

Kevin360 has a Pass amp for sale, I believe.
He went with tubes which work well with 1.7s.
Which amp are you using with the Quads?  Maybe try that with the MMGs and see what you think in the meantime.

[jhm731]

Save your money and get a Sanders Magtech.

500 watts/ch @ 8 ohms
900 watts/ch @ 4 ohms

Runs cool(draws only 32 watts at idle).

When you upgrade to 3.7s, you wouldn't have to buy a new amp.

[cab]

Or better still, an ncore....

[Freo-1]

A lot of Maggie owners like to use tubes with them, as they are largely a resistive load.  Audio Research has been always been flagged as a good match for Maggies.

[kevin360]

Kevin360 has a Pass amp for sale, I believe.
He went with tubes which work well with 1.7s.

Yes, I do (haven't listed it yet, but I'm about to do so) and it's a fabulous amp, but it doesn't fall within the price ceiling specified by the OP. It'll be a grand too much - planning on listing it for $3K (flat). As much as I loved that amp, the valve amp sounds better to my ears.

[usp1]

As much as I loved that amp, the valve amp sounds better to my ears.

What tube amp are you using? How many watts? I tried my trusty Rogue 88 with the Maggies -  sounds nice at low volumes but chokes as I go to higher listening levels.

[kevin360]

Well, that's taking us further from the OP's goal of ~$2K - it's a VAC Phi 300.1 (thanks be to the 2nd hand market ). The more important fact is that a quad of KT88s per channel delivers 150W, which has yet to be insufficient for music or films. I haven't been bashful with the volume setting either - my listening space is above my stand alone garage, so I don't have to worry about annoying anybody.

To be perfectly honest, I am quite surprised by the fact that it has no problem whatsoever driving my 3.7s all the way down to a 40Hz cutoff. The plan was to set the XO at 60Hz, but I didn't find nirvana until I lowered it 20Hz (going upward didn't work any better, but it took me a while to try going deeper). The amp the VAC replaced delivered 700W into 4 ohms, and I've seen the bias meter swing pretty close to its stop on a couple of occasions. The 'little' 150W valve amp not only doesn't seem to strain, but it's dynamic as hell at high volumes while remaining very easy on the ears.

[AUDFILE74]

http://simaudio.com/moon330A.htm

i am working up a system based on this amp pushing a pair of mg1.7 speakers . maybe this would be a good amp for you.

[nocrapman]

Just wanted to update everyone.

Picked up a Butler 2250.
On its way... will report back on the performance in the near future.

Thanks for chiming in everyone!

[SteveFord]

Did you get your Butler?
I'm really curious to hear what you think about it. 

[rollo]

A lot of Maggie owners like to use tubes with them, as they are largely a resistive load.  Audio Research has been always been flagged as a good match for Maggies.

Absolutley. Years back with the SMG we used a Classic AR 60 [ still own]. The Maggie 3As back in the day were voiced with Audio Research. Still own an AR DR250 servo Mk 2 delivering 240W of triode bliss.
    If I was a Maggie owner or potential Maggie owner IMO you owe yourself an audition of Maggies with Audio Research amplification. A learning experience to compare to what you have heard before with Maggies.
    The AR Classic 60 will drive the 1.7s very well. Do not let the 60W fool ya. It will deliver dynamics in spades and those loveerly highs we crave.
    The DR 250 just may take you away to heavenly bliss if you can handle 32 tubaroonies.
     My favorite SS Amps for Maggies are; Bryston 28B, Plinius and last but certainly not least Arion HS 500 [ 1000W/4 ohms hybrid class "D" . Other contenders for me are DartZheel, Parasound Halo, Butler and for tubes CJ,  Carver and Rogers intergrated.
   

[rw@cn]

Has anyone tried Linn amps with Maggies? Their mid-range amps put out 200 watts into 4 ohms. Just wondering. 

[tberd]

 That little ARC 60 is a sweetie. Don't let the specs fool you. The Butler is good but a higher level and money of course would be a full blown class A Plinius

tberd