Maggie Current Eaters... NOT! Power Eaters... Yes.

Posted by gymwear5@hotmail.com (M) on April 16, 2007 at 07:31:31

In Reply to: Re: Murano P-1000S posted by salijema on April 15, 2007 at 22:03:23:

OK, Everyone Listen UP!

Maggies like power b/c they are just VERY INEFFECIENT! 82-83dB for 1 Watt! 1.6's impedance drops to like 3.5 ohms minimum - even under high drive conditions - actually the impedance rises from small signal conditions and the impeadnce. So let's figure out how much 1000 watts peak power gives you...

83dB for 1 Watt, 93dB for 10 Watts, 103dB for 100watts - now you can see why the maggies need power. With 100 Watt Peak power, you'll get peaks of "only" 103dB, while that would be enough for most program material, but with some very nice recordings the dynamic peaks @ 103dB means that the average pressure level in the recording might be around 80dB or so... not that loud! and certainly many of us like to play a bit louder than that - at least at times....

What about Current: POWER=CURRENT SQUARED*IMPEDANCE so for 100 Watts you get the CURRENT = Square Root (100/3.5)= 5.3AMPS Peak. That's a bit of current - but that's an instantaneous peak value - with the average value at least 1/10 that value with typical program material. Note also that the Reactance of a Maggie 1.6 is relatively low - it presents a mostly resistive load - which means when the current and the voltage track each other somewhat closely - an easy load for almost any ampilfier that is designed to deliver power into 4 ohms or so.

What about at 1000 Watts! It will deliver healthy 113dB Peaks out of the Maggies... with a peak current draw of SQRT(1000/3.5) or a peak current of a little less than 17 Amps and the average program material current at or less than 2 Amps. BTW, the peak voltage out of the Amp will have to be almost 60 Volts!

This is why the Maggies sound pretty good on pro-power amps as well as nice audiophile gear.

Oh, and for those that wan't to bring up that the line source has enhanced efficiency b/c SPL drops of less with distance than with a traditional two or three way "drivered" design. You are right - but I've compensated for the numbers (82-83dB efficiency) already for a traditional listening position with stereo speakers 2.5 meters listening position.

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

Follow Ups Full Thread

Topic - Anyone using EVS500M ICEpower amps with their Maggies? - salijema 20:59:15 04/15/07 (13)

Not quite what you asked, but I'm listening to a pair of EVS500M's... - gstew 18:45:27 04/16/07 (1)

Re: Not quite what you asked, but I'm listening to a pair of EVS500M's... - salijema 21:10:30 04/16/07 (0)

Re: Anyone using EVS500M ICEpower amps with their Maggies? - Mike Anderson 12:08:39 04/16/07 (0)

Here is a link to the 1000ASP datasheet ... - krikor 08:05:20 04/16/07 (2)

Re: Here is a link to the 1000ASP datasheet ... - salijema 08:39:10 04/16/07 (1)

Re: Here is a link to the 1000ASP datasheet ... - krikor 09:01:04 04/16/07 (0)

Re: Anyone using EVS500M ICEpower amps with their Maggies? - jjcarr 21:08:03 04/15/07 (6)

Re: Murano P-1000S - salijema 22:03:23 04/15/07 (5)

Maggie Current Eaters... NOT! Power Eaters... Yes. - gymwear5@hotmail.com 07:31:31 04/16/07 (3)

Re: Maggie Current Eaters... NOT! Power Eaters... Yes. - jjcarr 07:55:58 04/16/07 (2)

AAACK - Warning Will Robinson - gymwear5@hotmail.com 15:47:12 04/17/07 (1)

Re: AAACK - Warning Will Robinson - jjcarr 08:54:15 04/18/07 (0)

Re: Murano P-1000S - Travis 06:20:39 04/16/07 (0)

Follow Ups

Maggie Current Eaters... NOT! Power Eaters... Yes. - gymwear5@hotmail.com 07:31:31 04/16/07 (3)

Re: Maggie Current Eaters... NOT! Power Eaters... Yes. - jjcarr 07:55:58 04/16/07 (2)

AAACK - Warning Will Robinson - gymwear5@hotmail.com 15:47:12 04/17/07 (1)

Re: AAACK - Warning Will Robinson - jjcarr 08:54:15 04/18/07 (0)

You can not post to an archived thread.