I think the general consensus is that 200 watts is probably enough power to run the Mani’s full out. The purpose of this thread however is to obtain opinions, either positive or negative, as to whether 125 watts is enough to run the Mani’s given the criteria I mentioned in the original post. With that said I can tell you that I auditioned the Mani’s with the 9200 and IMO it’s a wonderful match. If you get the 9200, do yourself a favor and run it on 220v and be amazed. I know I was when I converted my 9100. |
ok, I have an update to my "experiment". The results would say that Baroque speaks truth. As I mentioned above, I started with one Conrad Johnson MF2100. The MF2100 sounded great. Then I added a MF2100. That is, vertically biamped using with 2 identical CJ MF2100's. This sounds really wonderful. Third, I removed the CJ's, and installed a pair of B&K M200 Sonota mono-blocks. That is, bi-wired with one 400 w/c amp on each speaker. That resulted in a very slightly better result than biamps MF2100s. Today I finally installed a second set of B&K M200s. So now I'm driving them in biamped mode with a single 400 w/c amp on each channel Bass, and M/T separately. Yes 800 w/c effectively.
Whoa!! This is really, really wonderful!
I think I'm still sub-optimized on speaker cables. I'm running Audioquest Slates, which I think may be too light guage. Also, I'm running them with a little Dared 2000A preamp which sounds great, but not as good as my Rega Hal.
My weekend project to tune these things up and see how much better they can run. It may be tough to actually peel myself away from actually listening to them in order to do the tweaking. |
Hi,
Would Plinius 9200 SS Integrated with 200 atts/ch at 8 Ohms and 300 watts/ch at 4 ohms be good enough to drive Mani-2 ?
Grakesh |
Thanks very much for your comments Js123. I haven’t had the pleasure of auditioning Levinson either; however, I’m sure it makes for an exceptionally good combination. It also appears that you are in the 200 W + camp for driving the Mani’s, so another vote for more power. Any more Mani owners out there using less powerful SS amps with satisfactory results? Or for that matter any more Mani owners that are adamant that you need something with at least 200 watts. Please, keep those cards and letters coming. |
Used to run Mani-2's with Levinson - a strong combination. A used 23.5 is really what you want. |
Well I've listened to the Forests, and while they’re very good speakers, they don't measure up to the Mani's IMO. Ever since I first listened to the Mani's over a year ago I've had "Mani on the mind". It is just an exceptional speaker, again IMO. I also owned Threshold gear many moons ago, back when Nelson Pass was designing/making it. Also very good gear, but I’ve really come to like the warm, fluid, and sweet sound that seems to be characteristic of the Plinius gear. So the request for opinions goes on. Come on Mani owners. I know you’re out there! |
Plinius seperates would be a nice match. Pass Labs & Mani-2 are MMIH - absolutely awesome. The Forest with you're current integrated would be a nice dynamic match. |
Ah ha, a naysayer. Baroque lover, I mean that in a very positive way. I really don’t want to make a $4k mistake or have to buy a new amp. Actually I wouldn’t mind a new 9200 or for that matter trying some Plinius separates, but alas back to reality. All you Mani owners please keep those comments coming, either positive or negative. |
The stands are made by a local guy in town and are solid black marble. To accomodate the open side and the sliding glass door I toed the Glass door side in a little more than the open side which removed some of the reflective properties and centered the soundstage more. |
I sold Totem for a couple years. The Mani-2 truly needs a bare minimum of 250-300 watts per channel. To extract maximum performence I reccomend 400-500 watts. The only integrated amplifier that I have experience with that drove the Mani's "OK" was the Krell KAV-400Xxi but even then it was not adequate IMO. The Mani's are a demanding speaker with amplification, placement, and cavles but the reward is worth it. I beleive with the power you have the Model-1 is a better fit.
Sorry about the grammer, on public computer and had to type fast. |
ok, this is a cheap tactic to keep this thread in the current list . . . .
I'm a little surprised the isn't more participation. I assume there are many Mani-2 owner's (or former owners) out there. Can more of you weigh in? I would like to hear more too. |
Thanks very much for your input Telemarc. I’ve read about the Amber but I’ve never had the opportunity to audition one. I’m sure it sounds wonderful with your Mani’s. Coincidently, I also have a sliding door along one wall and my other wall is open to a hall/stairway so it appears that our listening areas may be very similar. Based on what your said I’m also starting to feel a little more confident that the Plinius can do the job. I’m not sure that it measures up to the Amber but they are similar in terms of power. BTW I’m very intrigued by your stands. I guess you don’t have to worry about filling those babies with sand! |
I run my mani's with a Totem Amber which is a 230 watt into 4 ohm integrated made by sim audio for totem. Very pleasing to the ear and plenty of power for the room which is 14 by 22. If I play hard rock and crank it up to be almost unbearably loud then it is not enough amp but I mostly listen to Blues and world music with a bit of classical so it is fine. I considered upgrading to a W-5, P-5 seperate setup but the more I listen to my setup the more satisfyied I have become.Here is my system.
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?vopin&1133742864&read&3&4& |
Thanks very much and yes that gives me a good baseline to work from. I’m pleasantly surprised to hear that the single CJ gave you good results. I think my Plinius probably has a little more guts than the CJ so it appears that it may be a pretty good match, at least to start. I’m also not surprised that the more powerful B&K is giving you the best results so far. It’s my understanding that when you bi-amp, 2x100w doesn’t necessary give you 200w. So the two 2100’s probably weren’t giving you near the power that your getting from the Sonatas. Good luck with your search. I’d be interested in hearing about your next step. Please feel free to email directly and if I buy the Mani’s I’ll be happy to do the same.
Regards, Mark
BTW, where are all the other Mani 2 Owner’s? I’m very much interested in hearing as many opinions as possible. |
I just bought a pair of Mani-2's and have been experimenting with amps to drive them. I started with a single Conrad Johnson MF2100 (100 w/c @ 8 ohms, don't know the 4 ohm rating). They sounded really nice with the 100 w/c, but when I added a second MF2100 in biamp mode they really opened up. I also am trying them with B&K M200 Sonatas (bi-wired, not biamped) which are rated at 400 w/c @ 4 ohms. They sound much better than with a single MF2100, and a little better than biamp MF2100s. I don't know if this is because of the higher power/current of the B&K, or it's just a better combination.
I'm not at all familiar with the 9100 . . . but hope this gives you a baseline. |
