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This is old news for a lot of folks, but I wanted to relate my positive experience with the Innersound Electrostatic amp on my Maggie 1.6's. I've been bi-amping with a pair of tube amps and an active crossover. Recently, I replaced the tube amp powering the mid/bass panels with the Innersound ESL amp. The tube amp was a rebuilt Citation II, which will deliver 4 amps, so it's no sissy. But I was unprepared for the way the Innersound grabs control of the panels and delivers OUTSTANDING bass detail and pace. Whipping out all the bass-heavy classics. St Saens Symphony #3 (Organ) is credible and clear. Nice! The bass on Vienna Teng "Blue Caravan" finally makes sense.Best features: detail, pace, and total control. Still using a tube amp for the treble, so I still have nice airy highs with no grain. After balancing the gain between the two amps the combination is seamless and the best I've ever heard with these speakers. I'm in love!
I'm sure this will wear off and I'll start nit-picking again, but for tonight it's nirvana
Follow Ups:
Thanks for the update.Leisure (frequent poster here) was selling his Innersound ESL-300 Mk I at Audiogon awhile back. I was very tempted to snag it for use on the bass panel of my 3.5r's in an active bi-amp set-up, and the price could not be beat. I made the assumption that it would have been a great amp for that purpose, but I passed on it.
Yes, you missed a very good deal. Good to know that the amp went to a Magnepan owner.The InnerSound amp has low output impedance and is good for controlling Maggie panels. I used it as a bass amp in a passive bi-amp setup.
I'm still finding new levels of resolution and coherence with the Gilmore Audio Raptor switching amps that replaced my bi-amp setup. These have lower output impedance than the InnerSound and cleaner treble than an OTL on the ribbons. Add up the costs of a used InnerSound, a decent set of tube amps and the crossover and extra cables, and the Raptors are cheaper, as well.
I'm using the Innersound amp on my Maggie 3.6r's and am thinking of bi-amping. What tube amp would you suggest for the ribbons?
Maybe the tube/solid state hybrid Moscode 401HR paired with the Innersound for the low end might be the answer. The Moscode sounds like it is a very listenable/enjoyable amp.Perhaps a combination of a tube pre and/or a active tube crossover like the Marchand XM26 (or XM126) with good solid state amp(s) might work.....or?
Bi-amping may help bring tube amps into the equation, but it still takes a lot of power to make the Mag's mid range come alive as well, which probably rules out more than a few tube amps, because in active bi-amping you supposedly need as much power for the mid/high amp as you do the low end amp (since the XO is around 250hz or so).
Not many tube amps can damp Maggie drivers as well as solid-state designs. The Speltz ZERO autotransformers can help improve the damping characteristics of tube amps (while changing the level, of course, so level-matching is important).
But I'm having good results with a pair of (borrowed) Manley Snappers on the treble panel (and the Innersound ESL-II on the bass).I'm still happy (day 2) with everything!
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