The Tympani's are a hard speaker to drive. That said, I'm not sure the Forte's have the "juice" to get these speakers to come alive. I had a Forte 1A (50w/ch stereo) about 6 years ago and had brought it to the Magnepan dealer to hear how the 1A / Mag 3.? combo sounded. I loved that amp with my Thiels, but it just couldn't handle driving the Maggies. The Tympani's are considerably harder to drive than the 3. series. My recommendation: either get an appropriate amp for the speaker or get an appropriate speaker for the amp (both have very nice qualities on their own, but together... well, not so good) My guess is that to get an acceptable volume level, you are pushing the amps into clipping which is causing the fatiguing and harsh sound.
Help! Forte, Linn, Magnepan. NOT RIGHT?
Looking for suggestions on how to get better sound from my gear. System: Linn LP12 valhalla, Itok, K9 Marantz CD 67SE Interconnects between CD and pre are DIY CAT 5. Forte F44 line leve preamp (long interconnect to power - 20ft) Forte Model 7 mono blocks (75 watts class A) Magnepan Tympani 1D (refurbished by Maganepan) I have modified these to look like the 4a with oak and also separated the tweeter panels. I have also removed the crossovers and made external boxes for them. Problems: 1.) Sound is fatiguing. Can't play Rock at all(not enough deep bass). Jazz sounds pretty good. Voices are a bit harsh. Overall I’m just not satisfied. 2.) Currently have no phono preamp. Any suggestions for under $300? Anyone heard the Forte FP-1? 3.) When I was running the TT, my CD sounded better (go figure). Is the Linn K9 crap? TT is lacking detail and punch. I have had it set up professionally by a Linn dealer in Chicago and shipped back to me in VA. Can a Linn be shipped and still expected to keep its setup? 4.) What can I do with the stock crossover of the Tympani's? Keep in mind I have removed them and have plenty of space to do whatever is necessary to make them right. 5.) Subwoofer? should I? 6.) Knowing the above info… where would you concentrate your efforts first? I am on a budget, please keep suggestions low $ (1k or less). Any help would be great. Thanks.