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I recently got my first pair of Magnepan speakers and really enjoy the sound. Great imaging, very clear and very tight. However, they don't seem as loud as I would expect (or in the store). Using a couple of different apps, I get about 91dB when amp is turned up pretty good. While that volume is typically ok, I would like to increase occasionally.
Some pertinent details, my basement is "L" shaped, with the primary listening area 12' x 14' (walls on 3 of the four sides but the rear wall is half size and leads to another part of the room that is 12x16). Acoustic panels on the sidewalls and diffuser behind speakers. Using Rogue Audio Perseus Magnum pre-amp, McIntosh 7200 am, with Rythmik sub. I guess my question is, should these sound louder and if so, how to make it happen? Bigger amp? I am new to the site and appreciate any input.
Follow Ups:
Sound pressure is in log scale, to double it the amp will have to be 10X more power. A general rule.
Someone in another thread has recently posted satisfactory results with Emotiva DR1 with 3.6's. Perhaps that would be an option to try. I am driving my 1.6's with Bryston 4BST for last 20 years or so. To my 22 carat gold PLATED ears they sound real good. My music is mostly jazz and classical mostly between 68-72dB at my listening position.
!.7s will suck up 200 watts pretty quickly. A big beefy amp will help everything.
The tried and proven path is direct coupled high current Class A/B.
I listen to 1.7s
My Short List became: JC5, 250.8(5),4B3
Chose the 4B3 and never looked back.
Any of these Three will drive them they way they should be driven and allow you to grow within the line while concentrating on the front end.
Good Luck.
This!
I'll add the X-150.8 to the short list. I just added one to my system.
The 1.7is will bottom out long before any of these amps will.
-Joe
They're not that big!
When I started using my Anthem ARC system with my 3.6 + sub it significantly increased the 'snap' and 'weight'.Subwoofer integration was so simple. The crossover to the sub I set at 70Hz, which without a quality measured correction algorithm, would be much too high for planars, but with ARC it works perfectly.
There is still low bass going to the panels but not as much, and that really helps the dynamism. There is a 40-50 Hz main panel resonance on the planar bass which unfortunately has some energy storage & delay (that's what resonance means), and taking that out truly helps.
Limit the top frequency of correction to 500 to 1500 Hz, not higher. DSP algorithms can stunt the magic Maggie midrange there.
And now with much less energy going to bass at its resonance, the mylar flex and possibility to hit the magnet is far reduced, and you can turn up the volume. If you can take out the lower bass, the maggies can handle quite a bit of power (excluding true ribbons) as there is plenty of air to cool the wires.
Edits: 05/03/21
I know when I was looking for an amp for my 1.7 I spoke to people at Mcintosh and they said their autoformer amps didn't pair well with Maggie's. Ideally you want class A A/B that doubles it's power with 4 ohm loads. I ended up with a Parasound Halo Hint which worked great with the 1.7.
Joto
PS Audio M700s work very nicely with Magnepans ...
Whether or not you can observe a thing depends upon the theory you use. It is the theory which decides what can be observed. - Albert Einstein
Wow 91db in a 12x14 room would make my ears bleed; I guess I'm getting old...
I find mid 80s LOUD! :)
Big bang baby it's a gas gas gas
/ optimally proportioned triangles are our friends
I have 1.7's powered by a Hegel 190 amp, plus 2 active sealed subs. A DEQX DSP/DAC room correction, eq, and crossover unit means the amp and Maggies don't have to deal with the lower bass frequencies, and I can play as loud as I need to ;-) Because I have bypassed the attenuator and fuse in the Maggies there is the ever-present possibilty of blowing tweeters, but I'm hoping that the amp is less likely to clip with the DEQX crossover diverting the (power-needy) bass to the active subs. Fingers crossed ;-)
I have my own definition of slam: slam is when a pianist is really reaching the limits of their instrument, and sometimes you can hear the playing is almost turning into the whole damn box being slammed into the ground, ala that Dafos space on the inestimable Mickey Hart album.
Curious: where do you feel the need to crossover? I have my single ML Depth set to the 45hz crossover and run the LRS's full range. I do not get thesame Dafos/Richter slam w/o the sub. The LRS's have plenty of punch [for my volume levels] on their own down to ~50hz.
I am lucky. I don't mind that a sub has to do that work. If it bothered me, um, I haven't calculated that into my retirement plans.
/ optimally proportioned triangles are our friends
Yup.I am wondering if all of us should have a otological ID tag we can opt to use that indicates what decade our ears are in, like
(3 - go ahead and hate me)
(5 - it must be the amp)
(6 -- holy fuck what happened to 5khz of my hearing!)
(10 - the brain rewires things, you would be surprised)
------
Oh sure, come on now, yes I do rock out! If it's worth playing it's worth playing loud, as Mickey's t-shirt sez.I would add, "sometimes."
My listening life is cruising along mostly <80db. Life is good, and I can hear the tones and qualities with wonderful vividness on the little LRS's. Room is only slightly bigger than OP, with no opening to other area however.
That added area might be the problem. Others are saying amps: I'm gonna say, nope, you can't energize that other area, and it sounds like it should be counted as part of the room.
/ optimally proportioned triangles are our friends
Edits: 05/01/21 05/01/21
I think you need a different amplifier. I initially used a MC2250 with my 1.7i, and was also disappointed with the volume that was available.
My research found that most people with Magnepans had the best results with high current amplifiers. Typical brands include Bryston, Parasound, Magtech, and others. Magnepan would frequently use Bryston amps to demonstrate their speakers.
I purchased a Magtech amp from Sanders Sound Systems and I am very happy with it. The Magtech provides 900 watts into 4 ohm speakers, which provides ample SPL when I need to rock out.
I would recommend checking the Sanders ( http://sanderssoundsystems.com/ ) website as the founder, Roger Sanders, has provided a number of white papers regarding high current amps that I found interesting and would be relevant to your inquiry. They also offer a 30 day money-back trial period and a lifetime warranty.
I appreciate your input and will look into your suggestions. I typically listen 75-80dB but occasionally want (i.e., need) to crank it for a song or two.
Sanders also offers a significant discount to Planar Asylum and Martin Logan Owners Group members.
General options are:
- Larger amp
- Bi-amping (not an option with the serial XO)
- Stereo Subs with higher XO point between subs and mains
- Larger Maggie panels (but need larger room)
Are you running the 1.7i's full range or using a high pass filter on them ?
If you are running a high-pass filter on the 1.7i's, what is the XO point ?
Thanks for the input. I'm running them full range. I was planning stereo subs down the road but may need to put the amp at front of the line. I got a decent deal on the McIntosh and had to try it out. Great sound.
McIntosh has been a mixed bag with Magnepans for many over the years.
I had 180wpc on 1.6's years ago and it was strained at higher volumes.
If you go the sub route, you will have to find stereo subs that match well with the Maggies. Using a high pass filter on your Maggies will take the bass load off the amp allowing the amp perform better on the Maggie's higher frequencies.
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