Mcintosh 501's with Magnepan 1.6 QR

Hi Dan I have not heard your exact combo but did own Maggie 20's and did try my Mac 501's on them and it sounded marvelous so I could only imagine with yours. No brightness the you refer to having with your current set-up. If you can get a pair to demo I would recommend you do so but so far anything that I have put the 501's with the sound has been great, bonus no heat from them so they don't heat up a room, the build quality is great along with their looks.

I think the Mac would be a step in the right direction. I have 3.6's and have used their MC500 and still have the MC1000 monos. A while ago I used their 352 with the 1.6, nothing bright at all. If you get a chance to demo, see if you can try a different pre also. It's about steps. Maybe one is all you need, maybe two. The room is always a factor. If it's hard and reflective you might try deadening it. I'm assuming you have already tried the tweeter attenuators. They are the first thing that should be tried, that's why Magnepan supplies them with the purchase. The 1.6's are great speakers, worth trying everything you can. Good luck.

Hi,
Until I hooked up the supplied resistors my 1.6's were too bright with any and all amplifiers. With the attenuators they sounded great with the same amps.
Curt

Thanks for all the input guys...I have tried the attenuators but not seem to work. I called magnepan and they are going to send me a 4db attenuator. Someone suggested I try a tube pre-amp. Any suggestions?

Regards,
Dan

Hi Dan,

I just changed my system to include a pair of 1.6's and a Mac MC 402. Now both the amp and speakers are new so they are alittle active on top. But I get a good feel that once the components settle in, all will be very nice. The Maggies take a long time to break in all on their own. The Mac amp has plenty of balls to drive those speakers no problem. I don't think you would need to get the 501's, but hey, if the pocketbook is willing then why not. For what it is worth, I am using an Aesthetix Calypso for my preamp, and a Lynn Ikemi as my digital source. The Calypso is a stone cold bargain! You can not go wrong with the Mac gear. Have fun.