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Amplification Recommendations For Magnepan .7

I am new at this and I am hoping I can get some good advice.  I listened to the Magnepan and fell in love with them.  I've been gearing up to buy them over the last three weeks.  I started reading about them online and I'm seeing that good, powerful amplification is very important to get them to really perform.  At the stereo store I know they were powered by a top flight amp.  So now I have to get an amp/preamp and DAC, integrated amp with DAC or with a separate DAC. I listen to Tidal a good deal.  

The problem is that my budget is limited to around $1200 so I don't know if that can make the cut to get something that can do the speakers justice.  I'm open to buying used.  I would be grateful for any recommendations.  

amritash

Showing 8 responses by maplegrovemusic

maplegrovemusic's avatar
maplegrovemusic
1,113 posts
 
amritash - How do plan on turning the volume up when you buy an amp ? Do you currently have a stereo ?
maplegrovemusic's avatar
maplegrovemusic
1,113 posts
 
To get you started listening to music try to incorporate a SM Nano patch passive volume controller $60 new $40 used . I am listening to one right now with Magnepan 1.6 qr , Bryston 14bsst2 . Just did a comparison with a Bryston bp26 and to my ears it sounds better . Assuming you have a digital front end . If not i have no recommendations 
maplegrovemusic's avatar
maplegrovemusic
1,113 posts
 
Bryston 4bst will be in that range . Tried and true synergy with Maggies . Bryston is the ying and maggies the yang . Effortless , Black backround , great decay of notes . Put on short list for sure .
maplegrovemusic's avatar
maplegrovemusic
1,113 posts
 
Amirtash - What gear did you hear the maggies with?

 A fool proof way to get started is buy a preamp from whatever amp maker you choose to start with . It will give you a good baseline if you decide to venture out into the rotation of gear . They will be a match with each other . That is huge . I have experienced a small percentage of synergy between amps and pre's over the last five years . 


maplegrovemusic's avatar
maplegrovemusic
1,113 posts
 
It will only work with a good dose of a signal from say a cd player , standalone dac , dvd player ect... . It has it's limitations as far as what cables can be used without getting adapters . It is 1% the cost of what pre i just did a comparison with . LOL and i prefer it by a big margin . There are other passive volume controls geared to the audiophile as well . Those will have standard rca connections making it easier to incorporate but i have no experience with those . By no means is this a recommendation that will work with all systems . With the Bryston Maggie combo it does though .
maplegrovemusic's avatar
maplegrovemusic
1,113 posts
 
If your receiver has preouts (they will be labeled that way on the back of the receiver) you can use it . That would be a great way to start . Maggies are a speaker that is so inexpensive that you should actually spend more on an amp than the speakers .They sound ok with subpar amps driving them , but to fully appreciate them get a powerful amp .
maplegrovemusic's avatar
maplegrovemusic
1,113 posts
 
rvyne - +1   Yesterday i picked up an Apogee Duet 2 Audio interface . It is used by people who want to do mobile recording . Short summary it can be used for digital playback as a feature . Has a volume knob, USB 2 input , 24 bit DAC . And 1/4'' output . Price used $325 . It was very easy to install . All i needed to do was plug in the usb cable in my macmini and in my music program Audirvana select the audio device (which showed up without installing any drivers) .Sound is stellar . Anyone using these Audio interfaces ?
maplegrovemusic's avatar
maplegrovemusic
1,113 posts
 
Kudos , you are starting where many end with the Bryston . You can always try different amps in the future . The pro model is a little more flexible with the gain setting . Studios use more than one pair of speakers when playing back music , hence the adjustable gain is nice since they are likely to use two or more different speakers with the amp . Either one will work . Did you ever tell us your source ?
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