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Amp recommendations

Hi all,

I'm fairly new to the hi fi world in general. I was recently drawn to the sound of a display Martin Logan Montis at a Bestbuy store even though I was there for something else. I never knew speakers could sound that good. I have since been doing lots of reading, on this site and elsewhere, and this week purchased a pair of the Expression 13A.

So far this is the only gear I have; just figured  I should start with the speakers. I just have no idea what amp to buy. Much less speaker cables/streaming gear etc. I think every time I heard Martin logan speakers demoed (I've visited several stores) they were hooked up to Mcintosh tube amps. I visited a local high end AV store yesterday and he was pushing real hard for me to get the Mac..particularly the MA7900. They're quite expensive though, are they worth the price premium over other brands? I'd really like to get an Integrated amp because I don't want a lot of gear and it seems like it would keep the over all price down some. I'd like to get something that would sound great for ~$5k give or take, new or used. I don't mind paying a bit more, however, provided the additional money makes a real difference in sound quality.

I must admit I'm not well versed on all the audiophile jargon and have no idea what ohms, impedance, crossover etc mean so it's a bit hard for me to even know what will power my speakers. I don't know if getting a tube or SS amp is better for my speakers. I just want an amp that's low maintenance and sounds great for a reasonable price.

I'd appreciate some recommendations from you guys so at least I know where to start looking. Please let me know if you need any additional info.

Thanks!
Chuck.
devlep
devlep OP
4 posts
 
Thanks everyone for your thoughtful inputs, I am leaning strongly towards one of the SS Mcintosh amps at this point. Pass Labs amps do have very very strong reviews but at passing glance do seem pricier than the Macs. Maybe I'll consider upgrading to those or at least auditioning them if things don't work out with the Mac.

What speaker cables do you guys with the ML/Mcintosh combos use? Or what are some notable brands that I can look at?
kalali's avatar
kalali
1,645 posts
 
donvito101, I missed the bit about OP's question about only integrated amps but my brother had his ML Sequel II paired with the Pass Labs XA60.5 monos for a few years and we both agreed the overall sound quality was greatly improved when he traded them in for an X250.5. It just added more "weight " to almost every genre of music we tried, especially at lower listening levels. YMMV.
stringreen's avatar
stringreen
5,112 posts
 
I agree with the Ayre/Vandersteen recommendation.  
Post removed 
devlep OP
4 posts
 
I talked to the folks at Mcintosh and they feel their integrateds would be driving the speakers hard and would likely run hot. They recommend going separates with either the MC452 or MC601. Has this been your experience with ML speakers? I looked at some of their older discontinued models and they all seem to have a wide range of wattage; 20-500/600..have you guys had good results with 200wpc rated amps?

Thanks again.
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