Magnepan 3.6Rs

[Nick Danger]

Hello, all. Does anyone have any experience, good or bad, trying to run Magnepan 3.6Rs with the RMB 1095?

I understand they are not the most efficient, and does the 4 ohm resistance create a problem if the rest of the speakers are 8 ohm?

I just auditioned them and they sounded wonderful, but I don't want to make any fatal errors!

Thanks

Nick

[Andrew Pratt]

The 1095 should be fine with the Maggies. Those are very nice speakers and having owned smaller Maggies (1.4, SMG and MMG's) they're really not that bad to power. Sure they're 4 ohm but they're a constant 4 ohm load so its a fairly easy load on most well made power amps. If you want more info on the speakers themselves start a new thread in the Audio area as there's several Maggie owners on the board incl. some that own the 3.6's

[Drew_W]

The ideal amp for Maggies is Sim Audio, but that's rather expensive. My friend as 2.7s with Bryston 4BST...good match. Tried those with a 1080 while I still had one and it seemed grainer than the Bryston. I moved from the 1080 to Bryston 4BSST...noticeable improvement. While the Rotel amp is good (I have a 1075 in my theatre, great amp), if you're going to do lots of critical listening, pickup something like a Bryston...there was one used in Canada for around $2500CAD...check CAM.

[earl]

Maggie 3.6Rs

I have a pair of 1.6 QRs that I run with an Odyssey Stratos. It handles the Maggies with aplomb. The 3.6Rs are about as efficient (or inefficient) as the 1.6s. I too am buying a pair of 3.6 Rs to complete my HT set up…willlo add the Maggie center channel. I plan on running the front 3.6Rs with an Odyssey HT3. You might go over to the Audio Circle and check out a thread I started over there on this question as well.
Good Listening..!

[Burke Strickland]

Nick -

It is safe to start off with a moderately powered amplifier driving your Magnepan MG 3.6s as long as the amp can safely handle a stable 4 ohm load. Then, if and when your budget allows, you can step up to a more powerful and/or capable amp and not have to "upgrade" your speakers to receive a big boost in enjoyment, because you are already near the top of the music listening/HT "food chain" with the Maggie MG 3.6s.

When I got my Magnepan MG 3.6s, I used an Acurus 3x100 to drive them for over a year before I upgraded to a high end amp, and it did a creditable job with the Maggies even though I had been warned that the Acurus might not be up to the task. (I was also driving an 8 ohm center channel speaker with one of the three amp channels.) The Maggies are a more stable load than a lot of people realize and the Acurus is a lot more capable than many of those same folks seem willing to admit.

Bottom line: the Maggies will respond with great performance if you drive them with clean power. They will deliver even more of what makes them great if you feed them even more clean power.

Burke