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Magnepan 20.7's & Tube Amp

Not looking for options beyond the two tube amps below.  I am only considering one of the two to drive my Magnepan 20.7's.  Would either drive the 20.7's well?  Do they provide enough bass? Is one better than the other for this application? Thanking those of you in advance who can assist me here!

PrimaLuna Dialogue Premium HP with KT150's / 88's as Monoblocks

or

Audio Research VM 220 Monoblocks
1985tqc
bluesy41
211 posts
 

@kalali

I have a upgrade option for the 20.7i and I plan on using it so my interest in getting this question answered was twofold. So this weekend I went to my local retailer and heard the 20.7i with 10ft of transparent cables using ARC 250SE monoblock amps and again they sounded amazing with great bass and a extended 3D sound stage. Listened to jazz, classical and female vocals. Ginger Baker ’Cyril Davis’ drum kicks and Stevie Ray Vaugh ’Tin Pan Alley’ was absolutely unreal. So like you I don’t care about what others say I heard with my own two ears. I will be upgrading my 3.7i to 20.7i next month and will not be concerned about my 8ft length of Tara Labs 0.8 speaker cables. Again to each his own.

kalali's avatar
kalali
1,977 posts
 
Congratulations. Your 8’ cables, especially of such high quality should not pose an issue but a pair of ARC 250SEs as compared with an ARC Ref110 may give you different results. I’m sure I’m stating the obvious but you may want to try the larger Magnepans with your amp if the dealer is local. Nothing to lose and just gain a peace of mind.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,834 posts
 
I Just spoke to Wendell Diller at Magnepan and reducing the speaker cables has zero affect unless your running 15-20ft of cable. I don't know why we get all this misinformation on Maggies.
We've built short speaker cables for a number of our customers who are really happy with the results. I would not want to cut an $8000 cable either!

But the difference was not trivial- shorter cables really help if you are running tube amps.
gdnrbob
4,447 posts
 
@kalali,
Funny, but I take the word of manufacturers before practitioners. First, they have more experience. Second, why would they lie?
With regards to speaker cables, it just makes sense that a short run will be better than a long run, when you look at the basic physics of electrical current. There is that nasty thing called Resistance. And, every cable, even $8K ones will be affected by it.
Bob
fsonicsmith's avatar
fsonicsmith
959 posts
 
I have zero quarrel with Ralph and I always read his posts with nothing but respect. The short speaker cable with monoblocks suggestion is also one touted by Mike Sanders of Quicksilver, and Mike Sanders gets widespread respect from all on both sides of the fence as well (needless footnote; aren't we dealing with tri-compartments like our knees-manufacturers, retailers/distributors, and consumers?). But that said, I have come around to viewing speaker cable and IC's as sometimes being necessary evils. Sort of like salt-a necessary spice that can cause harm but can also add much to the pleasure. Sometimes due to the inherent qualities of the components, lack of any cabling renders the sound like an unsalted pretzel. Pure, but not one I care for. 
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