2. amps-preamps
  3. 167036-159831

Tubes for Magnepan’s.

I think next up on my acquisition list is a tube amplifier. I'm not looking for the be all end all, cause I don’t think there is a definitive "Best", so am looking for as good as I can get for $3-4k.


Because tubes drive speakers so much more efficiently than solid state I am only looking for 40-50 watts to drive my modded Maggie’s, 1.7i's. (Or what you have when you add a new crossover and planer tweeters to 1.7i's.) Maybe 2.7x? I haven’t settled on that yet. And I have some Zu Dirty Weekend's upgraded to the max coming in in 2 months to replace my KEF's.

Anyway, I haven’t had a tube device since my Halicrafter short wave radio, and reviews are not the same as advice from people that own something. There is a Rouge Audio dealer in my area, last I looked, (opps, they no longer carry them), so I may have to go to another market to hear something, or get a try before you buy from a manufacturer or dealer.

You folks have taught me a lot, and I think asking users is the right thing to do on this change in direction.

Thanks in advance.
william53b
jjss49's avatar
jjss49
6,612 posts
 
good to give more exposure to paul s's autoformers which are useful tools to have for dealing with severe speaker impedance mismatch issues

i have a had a set since the mid 2000's... they are very helpful for lower power tube amps that lack multiple taps with insufficient electrical leverage... of course this comes at some cost of tranparency but of course we are dealing with tradeoffs again here
william53b's avatar
william53b OP
211 posts
 
It would be easier if Magnepan just incorporated copper resistive ribbon into their design. A resistor can be any material that resists flow of electricity by definition, so why not just build it in to give the speaker a higher ohm rating, and so better bass control?


Just sayin...
vinylzone
288 posts
 
It would be easier if Magnepan just incorporated copper resistive ribbon into their design. A resistor can be any material that resists flow of electricity by definition, so why not just build it in to give the speaker a higher ohm rating, and so better bass control?
This isn't going to work the way you think.  It's pretty much the same as sticking a 4 ohm resistor in series with your 4 ohm speaker to try and make it 8 ohms.  Not only will you be wasting half your amp's power as heat in the resistor, you'd need one rated for a large amount of watts, typically higher then the wattage your amp is rated for into 8 ohms.
william53b's avatar
william53b OP
211 posts
 
Or they could use less pure foil tape... Length x diameter x resistance is total resistance. You don’t have to use a resistor to increase resistance.


ieales's avatar
ieales
1,201 posts
 
POWER = V x I. I = V / R.

Increase driver resistance and you decrease the power in the driver and thus the sound level.

You could increase the magnet strength which would require a heavier frame, thus blocking some more area and thus the sound level.

It's called engineering and Magnepan has been doing a pretty good job for about 40 years
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