[john_bull]

I have made the decision to purchase either the 28B or the 7B to drive my Magico V3.  Could you guys please tell me what the sonic differences are between the 28B and the 7B?  If 28B is rated at 10 (on a scale of 0 to 10), at what level would you place the 7B?  By this rating I would get to know how the 7B stacks up against the almighty 28B.  I am heading out for auditions here in Texas in the coming weeks, however I think I would benefit greatly from your sage wisdom in these amplifiers.  Thanks a lot guys.

John

[Napalm]

I wouldn't compromise the enjoyment of a pair of Magico's V3 with anything less than 28Bs.

Or, to put it bluntly, if you spent that kind of money on speakers, why would you cheapen out on the amps?

Nap. 

P.S. Now seriously, if you look here:

http://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/508mag/index4.html

you'll notice that the impedance of the speaker consistently stays around 3 ohms. Which would suggest that amp wise, bigger is better.

[Laundrew]

This seems to be a very popular topic at this time. I would agree with Nap's recommendations. I would easily rate the 7B SST² at a solid 9+ if a 28B SST² is considered a 10 - the 7B SST² is also an awesome amplifier. I immensely enjoy my 1.2 Kilo-watt “beasties” everyday - they are absolutely outstanding. The 28B SST² it is a very “delicate” amplifier as you can hear all the subtle nuances of your music. I mostly listen to my music at very low volumes and all of the detail in the music is there - truly an iron fist in a velvet glove.

The 28B SST² will most likely be the last amplifier you will purchase.

Good luck with the audition

Be well...

[vegasdave]

I wouldn't compromise the enjoyment of a pair of Magico's V3 with anything less than 28Bs.

Or, to put it bluntly, if you spent that kind of money on speakers, why would you cheapen out on the amps?

Nap. 

P.S. Now seriously, if you look here:

http://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/508mag/index4.html

you'll notice that the impedance of the speaker consistently stays around 3 ohms. Which would suggest that amp wise, bigger is better.

Well, the 7Bs would do a fine job as well. They can drive a 4 ohm load. What john_bull needs to do is try both and see which one he likes the best. The 28B is twice the price of the 7B. But, if money doesn't matter to him, then go for the 28B.

[Watson]

With those speakers, you should also consider the option of having the 28Bs factory-wired in a parallel configuration.

[vegasdave]

Hmm...not a bad idea.