Road trip to demo $10,000 speakers

Ozzy, when researching tubes versus solid state amp for the Magico A3's I've  found opinions all over the place. I've read where people point out the Magico A3's perform well, and may even have been designed utilizing solid state amps. Alon Wolf does recommend the solid state Hegel H360 to go with them.

On the other hand, I've read that the A3's are not "warm" sounding and would definitely benefit from pairing with a tube amp. I'd be interested in hearing what your opinion is if you demo your Carver Raven 350 tube amp with them. I ended up purchasing a Luxman 507ux Mark II solid state integrated amp to go with them since Mr. Wolf had recommended the solid state Hegel integrated. But I did not demo a tube amp with them and would have liked to have in retrospect. (I didn't get the higher output Hegels themselves because I mistrust Chinese manufacturing practices.)

I looked up your Ravens and they were listed as providing 400 watts into 4 ohms which is well above the 50-300 watts into 4 ohms impedance that Magico recommends for the A3's, and exactly the maximum output of the Hegel H360's. (My Luxmans max out at 210 watts into 4 ohms) So you would think they'd have enough juice to power the Magicos, but maybe other factors are just as important.  I really don't know. 

I'll bet your Raven 350's will last forever. My Carver designed Phase Linear equipment is still running strong after forty years and my sisters all-Carver outfit the same. Good luck and happy hunting. Keep us posted.

Mike

Mike, in the mean time one thing you could do is to clean your records. The best value with excellent results is Okki Nokki $500 cleaning machine with Audio Intelligent fluids. You will want solution #15 - precleaner followed by three step cleaning solutions - enzyme, archivist formulation and pure water. Also get MA Recordings inner sleeves directly from them and four Disc Doctor brushes - one for each fluid. Ultrasonic machines could get you a little further but they are not necessary and expensive.
The key to really clean records is soaking them with #15, then enzyme, then archivist solution. And the last step is double water rinse, yes double or triple. Soak for 5-7 minutes with each fluid except water, vacuum off. Repeat if the records were very dirty to begin with. Last step is always water rinse, this is very important. When spreading fluids do five revolutions clockwise, then five revolution counterclockwise, then again five revolutions clockwise. Not too much fluids but not too little, you'll figure it out.
Also get Japanese mylar outer sleeves. I also treat all my records with LAST record preservative, after cleaning. You can do it on the machine too - three revolutions counterclockwise.
It sounds very labor intensive but it is not that bad, and you don't have to do it often. I personally clean records with three steps after 10-15 plays, I use #15 precleaner only once. In addition get Lyra stylus cleaner, great stuff. Clean the stylus before playing each side or at least before playing each record. Besides good sound it will significantly prolong the life of both stylus and records. Be careful with stylus cleaning, back to forth gentle motions under adequate lightening conditions. Really clean records is big system upgrade. Pay no attention to how records look, you can't see dirt in the grooves, clean them all equally well.

And, yes, after you have cleaned a record, though it may look dry, you better air dry it for 25-30 minutes just to be on the safe side. Turn a coffee mug over, put it on the table and place a record on it ! Make sure it is clean and dry not to damage the label.
When vacuuming off do two and half revolutions at a time, no more or you can damage the machine and get static on your records. 

Skyscraper congratulations on the Luxman Magico combo, it will sound very nice.  I see you picked up the amp, do you have any speakers to hook it up to?  I didn't read the whole thread so assume you do and it would be nice to get your impression on the Luxman.  Enjoy!

Bjesien, Thank you. I’ve Magico A3 speakers on back order, due in this coming February. I’ll hook the Luxman up to my old Dahlquist DQ10’s in the meantime. I’ll post how it sounds when the Magico’s arrive for sure. I spoke to a Luxman tech today who informed me they are using the Magico A3’s to demo their amps at audio shows. I was pleased to hear that, so they should be nicely matched.

Inna, thanks for the advice on record cleaners. The salesperson who sold me the Luxman recommended the Okki Nokki too. I do have 99% of my records in soft plastic, not sure if they are Mylar, inner sleeves. They probably do all need a good washing though, since they’ve been around for so long, even if they have been treated well. I’ll have to get some of the Lyra stylus cleaner you recommend. I ran out of stylus cleaner many years ago and have been dry brushing since. I might have used rubbing alcohol once or twice on my B&O’s stylus. Also I accidentally located my Zerostat antistatic gun that’s been missing for a decade or so, so I’ll start using that again too.

Mike