Magnepan 1.6 speakers


I am currently using a cambridge audio 840w amp. My question is has anyone gone from a two channel amp to monoblocks with this speaker ? Was there a huge improvement ? Is it worth the extra money to do this ?
128x128maplegrovemusic
I expect at 200 watts into 4 0hms that the cambridge is sufficient for jazz and vocals but underpowered for large orchestral music. My suggestions for 1.6 magnepans from less expensive to more expensive are: Luxman R117 receiver ($300 used), Classe CAP 151 integrated ($900 used), innersound esl 300 mark2 ($1200-1500 used), Classe CAM350 monoblocks ($3,600 used..overkill). I'd go with innersound and add a tube preamp (I use a lector zoe) but the luxman R117 is surprisingly good and a no brainer for less than the price of good cables.
I had the best experience with my 1.6's with a Levinson 335. They need a lot of current and high damping factors to control those panels. No offense but the Cambridge is just not up to the challenge...
The cambridge stays. No need to defend it . I will be using it for many years to come.It is a high current amp. The question is about the advantages of adding a second amp, Regardless of what brand.
05-03-11: Maplegrovemusic
The cambridge stays. No need to defend it . I will be using it for many years to come.It is a high current amp. The question is about the advantages of adding a second amp, Regardless of what brand.
it seems that this statement has some merit per my calculations:
From the Cambridge Audio website:
the Azur 840W has a 1200VA xformer & yields 200W into 8 Ohms.
So, I calculate that the secondary voltage of the xformer is 40VAC & that the 1200VA xformer is rated to output a max of 30Amps.
It's a stereo amplifier so, we have 4 secondary outputs implying that each secondary gets 7.5Amps. This 7.5Amp is handled by 2 pairs of push & 2 pair of pull transistors in the output stage.
So, yeah, this amp is reasonably high current & should provide adequate current for the 1.6 speaker.
Of course, more is better as these are rather inefficient speakers (which is par for the course for ribbons/planars/electrostatic speakers). My suggestion would be to buy another exactly same Azur 840W & assign 1 amplifier for the left & one for the right. My suggestion would also be to not mix amplifiers as you cannot guarantee a match in the sonics, the amplifier gains, the amplifier input sensitivities.
FWIW.
It is indeed high current . I realized this when i went to upgrade the power cord. It is not a standard cord. The guys at Zu Audio called it a high current "Hubble" cord when i ordered one. I want to say i am very ,very happy with everything in my system. This is why i asked the question on spending the money for a second amp. My main thought is, the first 30 watts are in class A mode with the Cambridge amp. Adding another amp may keep it in class A at medium volumes since the amps wont be required to do as much work.