Quote Originally Posted by Mike Anderson
^^^ I'm aware of the bass situation -- maybe my use of the word "beefy" wasn't quite accurate.

I'm partly thinking of the fact that it goes down to 35hz, but I'm really talking about the quality of the bass, not quite so much the quantity. I really enjoy the controlled, tight, fast sound of the bass my 1.6qr puts out, and I'm thinking the kw500+3.6qr will be more of the same (only more!)

I've owned a MF integrated amp before, and it was the same -- very neutral and clear -- but there seemed to be a specal synergy with the magnepans. The super-clean presentation was exactly what was needed to bring the best out of the high-resolution maggies. Some people probably would have described the sound as "clinical", but I thought it was beautiful accurate and uncannily realistic.

I probably should have kept the amp (passed it along to my brother, who loves it) but I somehow convinced myself I needed something fancier. It wouldn't have provided enough power for the 3.6s anyway, but I have a pretty good idea what I'm getting into with the kw500.
But that's going to be very dependent on how much room you can put behind the speakers. The 3.6 likes 3 to 4 feet of free space behind them to develop the best bass.

I wouldn't jump to conclusions about the power requirments of the 3.6r either. I'm doing a review of a modest ( but high quality) 50wpc intergrated amp, and it drove my 3.6's with NO PROBLEM. If anything it was MORE bass heavy than my PS Audio amp!

I kept my MF A3cr amp when I got my PS Audio and it's a good thing I did, as it's doing duty now driving my Maggie CC3 center. The MF amps responce is perfect for a speaker with a Quasi-ribbon tweeter as it give it just a subtle amount more "air". On the 3.6r this is not needed, and can be just a little over the top on treble loaded recordings. The Kw series is more dead-neutral than the A3 series, so my guess is that your going to get a high quality
but dead flat response from the union.