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Do any members use the Gilmore Raptors with there Maggies? What do you think of them? I am a tube guy so this would be a leap of faith for me>
Alan
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I use them on my Infinity RSIIb speakers, which have planar mids and tweeters with PP cone woofers. They do a great job in delivering controlled, tight bass without being strident on the high notes. Smooth, crystal clear midrange as well.I originally auditioned the Gilmore Raven stereo amp on a pair of Zu Druids (since replaced by the vintage Infinities), versus NuForce Ref 9 V2 SE and Atmasphere S30. While the S30s had slightly more midrange bloom, the Raven was solid and tuneful throughout the musical spectrum. NuForce was a distant third, hard and strident sounding in my system.
When I moved to the VERY different Infinity speakers, the Raven didn't miss a beat - I upgraded to the monoblock Raptors and was rewarded with even more powerful bass without losing anything in the rest of the spectrum. I don't envision ever selling them.
Edits: 07/31/12
If you audition them, try both gain settings (switch on back). I found the lower setting sounded better with my Supratek preamp while the higher setting sounded better with my DIY 26 preamp.
Thanks for the information. My Shindo preamp is very hugh gain so the low gain position should work. Forgot to mention that I took the plunge and ordered a pair. In 60 years it will be only the 3rd solid state amp I have ever owned.
Alan
Another option is the H2O Audio amps. They work magic on the Apogees and Maggies as well.
I heard the Raptors at the late, great Al Sekela's home a few years ago.
Al, as you may know, was a great audiophile and had for years used big Atmasphere tube amps (that he had tweaked severely) with his MG-10 speakers, never believing that any solid state amp would be able to compare. Until the Raptors, that is.
I believe you can find a number of references and descriptions of the sound and performance of the Raptors by Al himself, if you do a search either here or in the "Tweaks" section, at AA, or generally through Google.
When I heard the Raptors at Al's home, they were powerful, detailed and quite extended. They definitely had the big MG-10s under control, with stunning low frequencies and exceptional imaging. They were impressive amps.
BTW, for many years I had a pair of MG IIIa speakers that were hyper-modified by Randy McCarter. They were quite astonishing; most folks felt they were among the best speakers they had ever heard, and they were powered by big, hyper-modified ARC Classic 150's. So, I know what magic can be made with tubes and Maggies.
I never heard the Maggies I owned with a D-Class amp in my own home listening environment, so I cannot make a direct comparison. The Raptors definitely had full control of the MG-10s when I heard them at Al's home. Whether you would like the synergy, I cannot hazard a guess.
My understanding is that the folks at Raptor offer (or at least I believe they did at one time) in-home trial periods for evaluating the synergy between your peripheral components and the Raptors, but that may or may not be the case, and I could be imagining such a courtesy.
I would say give a call to Raptor's manufacturer/rep and see what can be done regarding a home audition.
Hope this helps you. Good luck.
Happy Listening!
Cheers,
WS
While it is true that Al had a set of amps based on our circuit, it was a set that he build in the mid 90s entirely from scratch, and to my knowledge he did not install any of the updates that I recommended to him since the amps were built.
So his tube amps are not representative of what our amps actually sound like, especially nearly 15 years later!
Thanks
I know Al was a fan and I've read all his posts concerning these amps. I was just wondering if anybody else on the asylum own or have heard them
Alan
Hey Alan,
I agree with Winston!
And now the raptors are 3k!
You probably saw this but just in case
Afterwards we discovered faith; it's all you need
It could be a page that needs updating, but these prices are much better than I knew:
PRODUCTS & PRICING
Our Manufacturers:
DIGITAL AMPS
GILMORE AUDIO:
Raptor 500D, monoblock amplifiers (500 watts/channel);Available shipping now - $2,500/pair
See what others are saying about Raptor...
GILMORE AUDIO:
Raven 250D, stereo amplifiers (250 watts/channel); Available April 1, 2006 - $1,750
The Ravens are now going for $1500. Just was talking to Mark Gilmore and he confirmed $2500 for the Raptor monoblocks and $1500 for the Ravens. I have ordered the Raptors. O boy another toy
Alan
d
Afterwards we discovered faith; it's all you need
My apologies.
After re-reading the post, I noticed that I said Al's speakers were MG-10s. Major brain fart! They were MG-20s.
Getting old sucks.
Cheers,
WS
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