2. amps-preamps
  3. 149186-5938

My speakers are set. Magnepan Tympani IVs

A year ago I acquired a pair of restored Tympani IVs (not IVa). I have been driving them with an Adcom  GFA - 555 that I have had for decades.  The matching pre-amp died and has been replaced with a Schiit SYS Passive pre.

The primary source was CD but has transitioned to a Bluesound Node 2 running TIDAL. I will be playing the MQAs whenever possible. My musical tastes are eclectic, with a pronounced preference for female vocalists, piano and acoustic guitar. Genres include rock of the 60s, jazz, folk, world, Celtic and classical.

The Tympanis do not suffer from the lower register issues to the same degree as some of the other Magnepans, but are still prone to occasionally overwhelming highs.  New components should tend towards the warm to mitigate this issue.

It is time to upgrade the amp.  The consensus judgement of people whom I respect and whom own these speakers are that they should be bi-amped.  Options include separate amps for highs and lows and an electronic crossover (Horizontal ?) or monoblocks (Vertical ?)   

I am only into the Tympanis for $1000, but have budgeted $2000 for amplification. One thing I have come to learn is that the traditional percentages of investment don’t always apply when Magnepans are involved as they offer such a high sound quality/cost ratio.

Cables and room treatments are on the to-do list. As always, I am here to draw upon the experience of the Audiogon community.  Please share your thoughts.  If you see something for sale here, please call it out as I am having trouble sorting through the plethora of options.
kythyn
audioman58's avatar
audioman58
4,384 posts
 
A great subwoofer to complement them and a steal is the New
SVS 3000 SB Subwoofer -2 even better and controlled by a very good app.it can do music excellent for $1k
will truly take the stress off your bottom end and sound even more effortless.
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 
A great subwoofer to complement them
If I remember them right they don’t need a sub, that bass panel with the right amp moves a lot of air and goes down low, I think they do close to 30hz flat.

Cheers George
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
10,248 posts
 
Right George, the Tympani bass and midbass is really something: very "percussive", taut. They do a drumset like nothing else I’ve heard. An aptly named loudspeaker! ;-) They "go" lower than do many cone woofers (the two bass panels compromise a considerable square footage), but to get the most bass out of them they need to be braced. Grant VanderMye makes a great stand for the Tympani, but it'll cost ya. A cheap way to do it is run a wood rod from the back of the bass panels to the wall behind them. Not pretty, but effective.
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 
My friend got more bass another way by adding a dummy wood panel (called wings) same size to the side of the bass panel, this gets even more out of the bass.

Cheers George
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
10,248 posts
 
Hey, that's a great idea. My pair of Eminent Technology LFT-4 have a short (half-height) wing on either side of each panel for that very reason. It partially prevents the front and back wave from meeting on each side and cancelling (the dipole effect), thereby extending the speakers' low end bandwidth and output. Side wings could also provide structural support for the panel, preventing front-to-back "sway".
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