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Magnepan speakers are a "love them or hate them " affair ....invariably folks talk about how they need power to operate to their full potential
might be interesting to talk about how they sound underpowered vs properly powered
( some folks may have never even heard them properly powered )
Edits: 12/17/22Follow Ups:
I drive a pair of LRS with a Willsenton R8 tube amp. I run it in its Triode mode which outputs 25 Watts per channel. Now in defense of the system :-) it is in a small room and complimented with a. Rel Tzero.
I mainly listen to jazz, small club recordings, it does just wonderful with or without the Rel, but I prefer having the Rel join in. :-)
another big issue with Magnapaners is speaker placement and the room they are in as much a factor are the correct amps
best regards
viperguy
Well, what IS under vs proper powered?
I cannot see any other way of answering this matter than to describe my "setup":
One Accuphase A-36 stereo poweramplifier, a pair of MG3.7i and one DWM.
The amp is "class A" and moderately specified to 30/60/120 W in 8/4/2 Ohm.
I guess that some of you are convinced that this combination will not give a proper sound result.
For me, my 100% symphonic classical music and my room it works very well.
What "very well" means is of course hard to communicate to others. One way to explain it is maybe that I have had this "setup" for quite a while now and I am not distracted by any compromizes or sound artefacts.
I find that having sufficient power makes a significant difference with my Mini-Maggies (and bass panel). I use them on a desktop system with a Crown XLS amplifier (yes, I know, it's more for professional sound reinforcement), but it opened up the soundstage and overall impact these speakers make.
I'm using an XLS 1502 to power my 1.5QR Maggies. It drives them with more authority than my pair ADCOM GFA-555 II or DENON POA-2800 ever did.
Briefly considered saving a $1k and going with a high powered class D.
Then again, Im listening more to jazz, female artists, middle of the road rock these days. Went class AB for more purity of music rather than rafter rattling. My Rythmik 400w sub can handle those rare moments.
It would be interesting to have a side by side test. Say 500w class D vs 160w high current class AB.
I believe Jay? Canadian reviewer on youtube did. Whatever very high power class D he tested was very bad yet some mid power high current class AB sang pretty. He was driving Maggies.
Really , the Crown XLS amplifiers can be a good match for Maggies. Selectable input sensitivity and several input options. Not particularly expensive. Good, clean power and fairly compact.
The reviewer didnt want to dis the class D brand so he didnt mention it. It was maybe 700w, but he said it failed big time with his Maggies.
Yeah, I couldve got 4 times the watts in a D class for what I paid for my Odessy class AB, but many have rated it great for Maggies. Im picking up my freshly, custom made Khartago plus next week.
High current a bigger factor with Maggies from what Ive read.
nt
Well, Ive been using my Carver m400 cube amp from 1980. 200 wpc into 8 ohms 300+ wpc 4 ohms. 9 lbs. Some hybred class, maybe H?
It was very unique for its day.
The little guy drives the Maggies at upper spl for hours without getting warm.
I know the 1.7i s have more to prove and I figure Im due for an upgrade after 40 years. Lol.
and could apply to most any speaker.
I find that all of my systems exhibit more "authority" and ease when playing truly dynamic content with multi-hundred watt amplifiers.
While I didn't plan it so, the magic number for three systems ended up being 300 watts/channel.
Since day one I would run a pair of Emotiva UPA-1's (high current 1kw mono amps) on the bass panels of my MG20's before I sold them. They were bi-amp'ed with a Marchand XM44 whhich allowed me to run a variety of amps on the mid/tweeter sections including a pair of 100w VTL tube amps at 'window rattlin' levels.
lol
"Properly powered" is a squishy term that might have a different level depending upon the room environment, the type of music, the preferred SPL, etc, etc.
Regardless, Magnepan's are certainly not a "love them or hate them affair."
That's just a silly statement. There is nuance and tradeoffs in everything audio. Especially speakers.
Dave.
Some time ago I powered my IIIa with a tube McIntosh MC275 gen. V. (75W sinus) and I did not miss anything. Actually, I am using a transistor Accoustic Arts Amp II mk II (2 x 530 W / 4 Ohm; 2 x 310 W / 8 Ohm with my 3.7. Comparing the two set-ups I do not regard power as a crucial element for SQ.
that's quite an amp - what was the story behind you making that acquistion ?
I was comparing two much more expensive power amplifiers with the Acoustic Arts, namely the BAT Rex and the Gryphon Essence. The AA and the Rex I listened to at home with my other gear and the Maggies, in particular. The Gryphon I heard at the dealer shop compared to the AA. The AA sounded best to me with a wide and deep room, good separation of instruments both for symphony orchestra, chamber music and small jazz ensembles. In this regard it was also superior to the McIntosh 275 but I don't think that this was due to power. The AA is pretty heavy though (56 kg), nothing to carry alone.
so my first experience with them was at stereo unlimited in southern California.I am not sure of the model but they were smaller - maybe some form of MMG ?
Anyway they were hooked up to some rather expensive electronics - its been years - maybe Naim.
the sound was flat - there were zero dynamics - it was lifeless - the sound was homogenous - the bass was unimpressive - it was 2 dimensional
my immediate reaction was that they sucked.
fast forward about a year and I heard the largest model - maybe a 3.5
massive sound stage - very life like - impressive - not particularly dynamic but life like ..... defiantly a speaker I would want to own .10 years later another shop had the LRS which I had never even heard of and I bought them on a whim right on the spot - no waiting. and cheap something like 650.
heard them on with a Rogue tube amp - pretty darn impressive - maybe not the most dynamic - passed on the rogue and then tried them with a used Eagle amp which had been designed to drive Apogee speakers at 2 ohms
how did they sound now ?
" mama - mia "
Edits: 12/18/22
in your first listen.
Andy
When I went from a 300W Outlaw Class AB amp to a 700W Nord One Hypex Class D for my 3.7s, my wife and I sat and listened and every once in a while we looked at each other and said "where did THAT come from!". In addition to the usual transparency, there was dynamic range that had never been there ... especially in the bass ... it was sometimes startling!
Agilist, Musician, Photographer, Audiophile
Magneplanar: 3.7, CCR, MC1, DWM; Outlaw: UltraX12, LFM-1C; Emotiva: XMC-1, PA-1; Nord: Nord One NC500DM; Outlaw: Model 7500; OPPO 205
When underpowered, they will sound strained. When properly powered, the
sound will just flow.
Life is hard. It's harder when you're stupid.
Underpowered ... they sound 'OK'.
Properly powered ... they sound fabulous!
Im going from a 200wpc into 8ohm Carver amp to a 160wpc into 8 ohm Khartago + amp for my 1.7i s. From what Ive read its more about current than power.
Dont know capacitance on the Carver, but the Khartago is 129k mf or so with 400+ VA xformer.
The Carver drives the 1.7i s pretty good, but Im hoping for some more umph from the Khartago.
Anyone have similar experiance?
That's a lot of capacitance!
You are right that it's more about current delivery than absolute power rating (160w vs. 200w is neither here nor there!) ... but a single 400VA power transformer for 2x 160w channels is a bit light on, IMO.
(The 100w into 8 ohms / 180w into 4 ohms monoblocs that I used to have driving my large bass panels each have a 300w power traffo.)
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