[Rocket]

Hi,

Whilst the manufacturer isn't in business anymore a N.E.W. 20.1 amp was a great product.  I've seen them for as little as $350us if you can pick one up.

I sure wish I had stopped with this amp and gone no further.

Regards rod

[OzarkTom]

Moscode!

The Moscode would be one of my top picks for Maggies.

Don't rule out the new Virtue Three amp that should be out by the end of the year. Sonically, I feel it will beat the Moscode. The Virtue Three definitely will when rumming on batteries.

[OzarkTom]

#3 is a bear. I wish I had a $ for every suggestion I heard for Maggie amps.
When I hear people say tube amps I have to smile. Maggies are real dyno runs for amps, IMHO.
I'm building a clone krell ksa100 right now for some strange reason. SS grain and etched is a real buzz kill. I like tube amp tone and SS slam.

OTL tube amps sounds great with Maggies. but tube amps with transformers do not mix well. The Moscode amps are better than tubes with transformers on Maggies.

[rollo]

Historically Audio Research have been used by Magnepan to evaluate speaker designs.
The tube amp I would chose to drive MG1.7s and MG 3.7s would be the AR VT 200MkII from its 4ohm taps.
 It is a dynamic sounding amplifier that will easily drive the mostly resistive 4ohm load presented by the Maggies.
Solid State amps for this application are going to be what ever floats your boat.
Scotty

  I'm with Scotty on this one. That is why we bought a AR250 and Classic 60. Still own them. When we were running the Maggie 3A's a Classe DR 25 for SS and an AudioResearch DR 250 servo mk2 did duty.
  The AR outclassed the Classe in every way, yes the bass too. But 32 tubearoonies and the heat is a burden. CJ and Classe have always been a staples for the SS crowd who wanted a tube like sound.
  In todays market for SS I would choose a Bryston amp especially the 28B for Maggies. If ya feel rich [ tubes are not cheap] an AR tubed amp would be my choice.


charles
SMA

[F-100]

My 3 favorite solid state amp:
1. Odyssey Stratos Stereo
2. Odyssey Stratos Mono
3. Odyssey Stratos Mono Extreme


Just another happy Odyssey owner for over a decade, not a rep or dealer.

[DTB300]

In order of my preference...

Plinius SA-102 (pair Mono's), SA-103 (Pair Mono's), SA-REF
CJ Premier 350
ARC, Threshold, Pass Labs, McCormick (pick a model)

[zybar]

Top Three Solid State Amps that I have owned, auditioned, or heard extensively in a system I am familiar with:

1.  darTZeel NHB-108 model one amp - incredibly liquid and organic midrange (best I have heard in a ss amp), coupled with a deep and 3D like soundstage, and balls that go well beyond its 100 watt rating.  As an added bonus, the case work is exquisite!

2.  BAT VK-600SE - gets close to the darTZeel, but is a little less transparent throughout and its bass isn't quite as well defined or fast.  Amp is huge and heavy and used to make my lights dim when first turned on.

3.  McCormack DNA-500 - this amp is like an old muscle car from the late 60's...raw and visceral.  A friend once described a rim shot as being powerful enough to take your head off!  This amp's midrange is a little cool and thin compared to the amps ahead of it, but is a great bargin used. 

Just outside of the Top Three:

CI Audio D-200 - These Hypex based amps get real close to the level of the performance of the DNA-500.  Their midrange is clean, musical, and engaging.  Voices are rich, textured, and spot on.  Bass is excellent and only slightly behind the legendary DNA-500 in terms of overall performance.  By far my favorite Class D amp and a great value new or used.  The newer version is supposed to be even better!

While all the ss amps listed above are excellent, my favorite amp is a tube amp - the Atma-Sphere MA-1's.  When mated with the right speakers (which expands when using the Speltz Zeros), these amps do everything that the best ss amps can do, but better!  Yes, there are issues with its use of electricity and the heat they generate, but the darTZeel and BAT aren't exactly the Prius of the amp world.   

George

[Lyndon]

Great observations, George.
My deceased friend in Minneapolis used those "zeros" to good advantage with his Bryston and big Maggies.
Berndt said:

I'm building a clone krell ksa100 right now for some strange reason. SS grain and etched is a real buzz kill.

Are you sure everything is running correctly? Of all my diy stuff, I was most impressed with my KSA-50 project.  Hooked up to my Grounded Grid or 12b4 linestage, they sounded fantastic with my ProAc 2.5 Response speakers. I've just got to believe something is not right in yours.
Lyndon
My SS amps are small potatoes to the ones listed above:
1. Krell KSA- 50
2. Pass Aleph J (plus something, one of the later editons)
3. Adcom 4300? (one of the ones designed by Nelson Pass)

[OzarkTom]

Ok everyone, start throwing eggs at me. My top three favorite sounding amps are all OTL tube amps.

1. David Berning Quadrature Z

2. New York Audio Labs OTL-1 monos

3. Futterman H3AA, any of the Atmaspheres

[bzr]

You need a Sanders Magtech for your Maggies.

+1, love mine!

[BobM]

You've got the usual Maggie decision issue ... do you want the bloom and beauty of a tube amp with the accompanying loss of bottm end control and feeble dynamics, or do you want the control and bass slam that a SS amp can deliver with maggies but with an accompanying loss of that inner beauty and bloom?

I would suggest trying an appropriately powered SS amp to drive them and put as many tubes in front of that in the preamp and digital/analogue front end as possible to try and bring back some of the bloom.