Magnepan 1.6 vs. B&W 805N


I have the 1.6 almost a year now bought it used. Somtimes i get bored with the maggies, im currently using it with a classe 20 pre and adcom 555II or 535 also planning to upgrade to classe 10 amp. I cant get the sound of i want from the maggies and since i'll go for the classe combo i'm thinking to go with the b&w 805N. I find a hard time dealing with dipole w/ my room. Any sugestions?
xtian_lugz
You mention 'the room'.....always a sticking point with panels. IF your room is not panel friendly you'll end up with some dynamic solution.

IF you can stick with panels and like the W4S solution, you can shop across the B&W ICE line. Many manufacturers source these modules so these amps have a LOT in common....perhaps more than big differences. For example, Bel Canto uses these same modules. My PSAudio makes good use of these modules, as well. The 'Gain Cell' technology changes the character a little.

Source First....cables last.

Panel setup is sometimes.....tedious. Space from the front wall must be 3 feet or more. Sometimes, in a very large space, much more. I toe my speakers in exactly 11 degrees so being about 65" apart...inside edges....they cross maybe 8 feet behind me.
Also, as a test, just rotate them in place. Listening to the mylar side is a drag. The pole piece side....the way Magnepan sold them until the mid-90s, is much better sounding to my ears. Better image and less strident highs. I was tempted to install that darn resistor for a while. I swapped the Chrome plated steel jumpers for some hand whittled #6 copper at about .41$/ foot.

What drew you to these in the first place? Try to reconstruct what you listened to and why you liked it.

Dump the Adcom. And don't consider Rotel, either, except perhaps at the very highest levels.
More important than watts per channel is the current the amp can deliver.If you can go with a class a power amp? Mono amps even better.Some note worthy suggestions are Threshold,Monarchy,Odessey,and there are some great tube amps as well.
Thank you everyone for the advise very helpful.. I decided to keep the magnepan I just moved in to a bigger place where the maggies can live as well. I like it better now more room to breathe for the maggies, same gears different room gave my maggies the sound I want.. Im going to a better power amp my next on the list an ARC D240. Have you guys tried using magnepan with high powered T amp monos? around 40w a piece..