How Much Push/Pull Tube Power for Maggies


I have a 40 wpc el34 integrated tube amp and was thinking of mating it with a pair of maggies. i would probably start with the mmg's, and maybe work my way up. would this amp drive maggies? thanks.
cooch

Showing 4 responses by eldartford

I actually made some measurements of the voltage driving a MG 1.6 when playing at an admittedly very loud level with demanding music. I concluded that my 600 watt/4 ohm amplifiers are not really overkill. They approached clipping. However, most of the time, and with a more reasonable volume level, 350 watts ought to be sufficient. I am now using CI D200 amps that are good for 350 watts at 4 ohms, and the 600 watt amps are busy driving subwoofers.

Your little tube amp will certainly drive the Maggies, and it will sound good, but you will not realize the real potential of the Maggies until you get a much more powerful amplifier.
Sogood51...I absolutely cannot explain why, but my MG1.6 sound better with every increase of amp power rating even if I drive them to the same volume (SPL) in all cases. When I made voltage measurements the average rms value during loud music was 14 watts or so (if I remember correctly) and yet my 600 watt amps could just barely meet the instantaneous peak voltage demand. Go figure.
Mrtennis...400 watts ought to do the trick. You have to quit somewhere, 600 watts did it for me, but Sean would you run 1000 watts or more...on several amps! When I went from 350 to 600 things got better, but that was also a switch from a conventional ss amp to the CarverPro ZR1600 digital amp, and the technology change probably had more to do with it than the power rating.
Cooch...Actually, Maggies, MMGs anyway, sound great, EVEN when driven by only 40 watts. But, there is more for you to discover some day.