Planar Speaker Asylum

Welcome! Need support, you got it. Or share your ideas and experiences.

Planar Speaker Asylum

I just bought a pair of original crossovers for my Magnepan MGIIIa speakers!

35.129.6.185

I am SO excited! :-) See what my Magnepan MGIIIas can really do, when driven with their correct crossovers!

https://www.ebay.com/vod/FetchOrderDetails?itemid=324211182816&transid=2235565910011&ul_noapp=true

John Kuthe...

Follow Ups:

RE: I just bought a pair of original crossovers for my Magnepan MGIIIa speakers! - G Squared 18:00:14 09/24/20 (1)
What amp you using?
Gsquared
- None yet, but... - JohnKutheRN 18:31:18 09/24/20 (0)
  ...as the Magnepans are notoriously INefficient, I figure I will use my Phase Linear 400.
  
  John Kuthe...
RE: I just bought a pair of original crossovers for my Magnepan MGIIIa speakers! - G Squared 15:28:55 09/24/20 (1)
What amp you using?
Gsquared
- As the Magnepans arer notoriously INefficient... - JohnKutheRN 16:01:33 09/24/20 (0)
  ...I think my Phase Linear 400.
  
  John Kuthe...
RE: I just bought a pair of original crossovers for my Magnepan MGIIIa speakers! - MWE 09:04:15 09/24/20 (14)
The next step, if you're so inclined, would be to do active biamping. That brings some real benefits if done properly.

Mark in NC
"The thought that life could be better is woven indelibly into our hearts and our brains" -Paul Simon
- I WAS Bi Amping them - JohnKutheRN 14:00:18 09/24/20 (13)
  Through some type of RCA level two way crossover, but was never happy with their sound.
  
  I wanna hear how they were SUPPOSED to sound.
  
  John Kuthe...
  - RE: I WAS Bi Amping them - Roger Gustavsson 23:04:01 09/24/20 (0)
    JohnKuthe wrote: "Through some type of RCA level two way crossover, but was never happy with their sound."
    
    Magnepan use to have non-text book crossovers and off the shelf active crossovers may not be a suitable solution. In some cases there will be an increased efficiency in the bass, you can use less powerful power amplifiers.
  - RE: I WAS Bi Amping them - MWE 20:42:57 09/24/20 (11)
    The question would be whether or not your biamping was properly implemented. If so, it should be a definite improvement.
    
    Mark in NC
    "The thought that life could be better is woven indelibly into our hearts and our brains" -Paul Simon
    - It was not, no - JohnKutheRN 04:33:05 09/25/20 (10)
      I read on the crossovers how to biamp the Magnepan MGIIIs properly, but no the guy who sold them to me had his own ideas about them and had them running through some weird RCA level sound processing thing that has a two way crossover on it. And the Maggies didn't sound that great.
      
      John Kuthe...
      - RE: It was not, no - MWE 10:36:53 09/25/20 (9)
        
        In Reply to: RE: It was not, no posted by JohnKutheRN on September 25, 2020 at 04:33:05
        
        That sounds like a highly suboptimal way to biamp those IIIa's. Were the slopes and crossover points even close to the stock parameters? If not, no wonder it didn't sound good.
        
        Mark in NC
        "The thought that life could be better is woven indelibly into our hearts and our brains" -Paul Simon
        
        Close, but no Cigar! - JohnKutheRN 11:57:12 09/25/20 (8)
        
        In Reply to: RE: It was not, no posted by MWE on September 25, 2020 at 10:36:53
        
        That's why I am so excited to get these genuine Magnepan passive crossovers, so see how they should really sound! :-)
        
        And I masy biamp the IIIas they way they should be biamped! :-)
        
        John Kuthe...
        
        RE: "biamp the IIIas they way they should be biamped"! ... - andyr 18:53:06 09/25/20 (7)
        
        In Reply to: RE: Close, but no Cigar! posted by JohnKutheRN on September 25, 2020 at 11:57:12
        
        Given the 18dB & 12dB XO slopes in the IIIa, the way they should be biamped is by:
        1. not using the IIIa external XO box.
        2. using a 2-way active XO after your preamp / DAC.
        3. feeding the outputs from this 2-way XO into 4x identical monoblocs or 2x identical stereo amps.
        The 2-way active XO can be either analogue ... or digital. (I started off with analogue active XOs - but, after nearly 20 years, changed to digital (miniDSP).)
        Andy
        
        Edits: 09/25/20
        
        RE: "biamp the IIIas they way they should be biamped"! ... - BDP24 03:20:50 09/26/20 (4)
        
        In Reply to: RE: "biamp the IIIas they way they should be biamped"! ... posted by andyr on September 25, 2020 at 18:53:06
        
        One x/o that is capable of creating the high and low pass slopes required is the no-longer-in-production First Watt B4. I believe nelson Pass is now making it available as DIY kit. If you don't have electronic skills, you can look for someone who does to build it for you.
        
        RE: "biamp the IIIas they way they should be biamped"! ... - 66mgb 07:29:57 09/26/20 (3)
        
        In Reply to: RE: "biamp the IIIas they way they should be biamped"! ... posted by BDP24 on September 26, 2020 at 03:20:50
        
        Here is a link to an article on the Pass crossover kit
        http://www.firstwatt.com/pdf/art_diy%20biamp_6-24_%20crossover.pdf
        
        RE: "biamp the IIIas they way they should be biamped"! ... - Roger Gustavsson 09:01:44 09/26/20 (2)
        
        In Reply to: RE: "biamp the IIIas they way they should be biamped"! ... posted by 66mgb on September 26, 2020 at 07:29:57
        
        Yes, there is a DIY project, Pass 6-24XO, that can do more than the textbook slopes. I have two of these boards on my desk. I do not like the electrolytics at in- and output. The impedance could also be lower. As Nelson Pass is the designer some guys get excited...
        
        RE: "biamp the IIIas they way they should be biamped"! ... - BDP24 13:45:53 09/26/20 (1)
        
        In Reply to: RE: "biamp the IIIas they way they should be biamped"! ... posted by Roger Gustavsson on September 26, 2020 at 09:01:44
        
        I don't know about the kit, but the factory-built B4 has an output impedance of 125 ohms. It has no coupling capacitors, the filter caps are Wima polypropylene, the resistors Vishay metal film. Good enough for me!
        
        RE: "biamp the IIIas they way they should be biamped"! ... - Roger Gustavsson 00:33:33 09/27/20 (0)
        
        In Reply to: RE: "biamp the IIIas they way they should be biamped"! ... posted by BDP24 on September 26, 2020 at 13:45:53
        
        That is the B4. I refer to the 6-24XO that is available now as a DIY-project. I mean the internal impedance. The noise level can be influened by it. Good pratice is to stay between 4-15 k for the RC-links, not 10-60k as it is in the 6-24XO. That require bigger capacitors.
        
        Edits: 09/27/20
        
        Right on. - MWE 20:41:23 09/25/20 (1)
        
        In Reply to: RE: "biamp the IIIas they way they should be biamped"! ... posted by andyr on September 25, 2020 at 18:53:06
        
        Getting rid of as many capacitors and inductors as possible between the power amps and drivers does a lot of good things for sound quality and efficiency.
        
        Mark in NC
        "The thought that life could be better is woven indelibly into our hearts and our brains" -Paul Simon
        
        RE: Absolutely! nt. - andyr 21:03:15 09/25/20 (0)
        
        In Reply to: RE: Right on. posted by MWE on September 25, 2020 at 20:41:23
        
        .

Post a Followup:

FAQ

Post a Message!

Forgot Password?

Moniker (Username):
Password (Optional):
	Remember my Moniker & Password (What's this?) Eat Me
E-Mail (Optional):
Subject:

Message:	(Posts are subject to Content Rules)

Optional Link URL:
Optional Link Title:
Optional Image URL:
Upload Image:
E-mail Replies:	Automagically notify you when someone responds.

To view your new posting or follow-up, click on the RELOAD or REFRESH button on your browser.

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

Western Glow Tube Service