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My Experience

I can see you're getting a lot of different suggestions - let me share my experience.

Before getting my MMGs, I owned an Onkyo TX-SR806. THX certified, rated at 130 WPC 8ohm, 200 WPC 4 ohm. It's a $1000 retail amp that can be had for around $600 if you shop, just to give you an idea. I also use a sub (driving the lower frequencies can be a significant strain on any amp. I figured the Onkyo could probably handle the MMGs in 2.1 channel mode.

It wasn't terrible. In fact, when the music was softer, it sounded fantastic. But, I could distinctly hear clipping/distortion when the level peaked. And, based on what I've read, I was probably putting a significant enough load on the amp that I was sending it towards an early grave.

Reading through forums like this, there seem to be a lot of quality amp manufacturers out there. I started watching Craigslist until an Odyssey Stratos (300 WPC into 4 ohm) came along. While it doesn't sound like much bigger of an amp, it drives the MMGs a lot louder than I am allowed to take them with no distortion that I can detect. When I can afford to fill out my system to 5.1, I'm hoping my Onkyo will be able to drive the center and rear channels.

I'm extremely happy with the Stratos, but I think most quality amps would probably do an equally good job. If you're planning to go new, Emotiva seems to be the best bang for the buck at the moment, with Outlaw another excellent option. If you go used, many quality brands (Odyssey, Parasound, Rotel...) can be had for similar or better prices. Just remember that you'll probably also need a preamp.

Short summary: I would respectfully disagree with those suggesting a standard consumer-grade reciever, such as my Onkyo. However, especially for 2.1 systems, used preamps and amps can be had at very reasonable prices.

Hope that helps,


Paul


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