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Magic with Magneplanars?

Although my last pair was a circa 1984 MG-IIIa, I have always loved the warmth, imaging and immediacy of Magneplanars and never found listening to Martin Logan's, Apogees, WATT Puppies or anything else nearly as musical. I am now assembling a system -- perhaps with MG-20's (are they worth the difference over 3.6s?) -- and I am curious about bi-amping. Could I use Bryston on the bass and ARC tubes on the top? I am also considering an ARC SP-11, VPI TNT, and SACD. Any ideas here (also for cables) would be greatly appreciated!!! Don't care about state of the art, the highest resolution etc but just want to bathe in warm lush magical musical sound...
cwlondon5386
john_l
782 posts
 
In my experience/preference, tubes are great w/maggies. I tried vt100 and mv-50. Both were wonderful. The vt100 was the best, quite a bit clearer, the mv-50 warmer w/very forward midrange. Check out an earlier thread in this forum on amps for maggies. Lot's of good opinions. Not too many childish outbursts either !
lshreve
20 posts
 
If the last pair of Magnepans you have actually owned and spent time with were the MGIII A's...I suspect it would be worth your time to spend some time listening to the 1.6, 3.6 and the 20,,,or wait on the 20.1 before embarking on amp decisions. I believe that sonically you will be pleased by the entire lineup... and the decision regarding 3.6 .vs 20 or 20.1 would be best determined by the size of your room,listening habits and the type of music you like best. For the best advise on all things Magnepan suggest you visit the Magnepan Users Group (MUG) at http://www.sonic.net/~howl/MUG/
pikll
13 posts
 
I've owned 3.6s and currently have 20s,have had 20.1s on order for a year.The 20s are more powerful in the mid and low bass region.Overall a more believable sonic picture but you do need a good room for them. I use Audio Research 600 mkII monoblocks and Ref 2 pre amp with great results.I'll have my 20s for sale when the 20.1s come.
simontju
257 posts
 
High resolution powerful tube amps are great match with these brand of speakers. Matching solid state with tube amps is dangerous. You may easily break cohirence. Next, you said you are thinking of upgrading to SACD. Your speakers are hi-rez, they are limited by the source signal. SACD will bring you to another world; its better then vinil and DVD-Audio and second to the live event only. You can have breathtaking system.... Having SACD/Maggies you must have hi-rez amplification with harmonically full midrange
wdorrity8eda
3 posts
 
I run my MG 20Rs with a an ARC LS22/ Pass X350 combination with stunning results. Using MAgnepan's XO20 crossover. The Pass amp seems to have something that Krell and Levinson - the others I've tried - do not. In short, with the Pass, the speaker just seems to 'relax' and disappear. The sound isn't theatrical, it's just THERE. Going to an ARC REF2 / Pass X600 combo when I can afford it. The MG 20s, when driven with an amp that combines clarity and definition with the huge current/voltage swing of the Pass, just leave you breathless. Cable/interconnect choice is critical - get this wrong and you'll be hating life. After a lot of experimentation, I now use all silver-based speaker cables (including a set of 8 individual Audio Magic Spellcaster II .5 meter jumpers to go from the xover to the speaker itself) and Cardas Golden Cross interconnects. Tube amps are great, but you have to spend so much to get what works well that it becomes debatable whether it's worth the heat and maintenance issues in the long run. Check out Pass Labs ...
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