New to Magnepan, a volume question


Hello, new to Audiogon and Magnepan both.  I just acquired a pair of used MMG's and I'm really enjoying them, especially on certain types of music; acoustic jazz, vocal, and small to mid scale classical.  My problem with them is that I run out of volume knob with my current set up.  It is:  Schitt Saga preamp and Adcom GFA-555 amp.  The Saga is basically a passive preamp, it doesn't add any gain to the signal, and though I love the sound, full volume with this pairing gets me to just below an average listening level, no where to go when I want to push the envelope.  Will I get to higher SPL's using the passive with more wattage as long as the amp is a high current design?  The amps I'm considering are McCormick DNA-500, Bryston 7B ST or SST, and Bel Canto REF600 or REF1000 if I can find them.  I'm looking to build a better power amp foundation for the system of the future, as I can see now I may very well be heading toward larger Magnepans or electrostatic speakers in time.  I have a other preamps that will add gain, but they don't sound as good as the Schitt, and do push the Adcom to flashing lights when I get closer to where I want to be volume-wise.  Looks to me like the Adcom, as much as I have loved it, doesn't cut the mustard with 4 ohm loads.  I have heard that Bryston is a natural match for Magnepans, and also the they sound somewhat dull or flat.  Good reviews from users for the McCormick, and yes and no about class D amps (the Bel Cantos) with Magnepans.  I admit, I'm all at sea...  Any advice appreciated.
dprincipato

george, may be you’re talking about something different but all things being equal, an amplifier with a 0.130 volt input sensitivity- not gain, will play much louder than an amplifier with a 1.5 volt input sensitivity. A line level input of 2 volts is "spent" more quickly on the amplifier that has higher input sensitivity.

P.S. GFA 555 is rated at 325wpc into 4 ohms so it has plenty of power to drive MMGs. You need an active line stage preamp. I have run MMGs with one paired to an Adcom preamp and you can barely push the volume past half before it gets way too loud (for me).

Bryston will make the best match neatral with the standard Mag resistor in place.
Adcom overdamped is at its best on other speakers
WFS will be on recessed side of life
kalali
0.130 volt input

No Kalali read a bit closer, the specs on the MkI I got from the net (if right) said with .130v (130mV) input and it gave out only 1v from it’s outputs, that's a voltage gain of 7.6 times.

Cheers George
Post removed 

Don't mean to belabor the point but here's from Stereophile:

'Description: Output Power: 200W into 8 ohms (23dBW); 325W into 4 ohms (22.1dBW), all continuous power, 20Hz-20kHz, with 0.09% THD. Input impedance: 22k ohms. Sensitivity: 130mV'

The Sensitivity is normally rated at full volume output. Voltage gain is not shown but a 2 volt source will be 'louder' with 0.130V than 1.0V input voltage sensitivity.