Maggie LRS amping question

I will be happy with the LRS+ because my room will dictate that I do not get anything bigger. The LRS+ is not bad, I was hoping it would be as good as my RAAL SR1a earphones (read that in a review) but it is not. However, the LRS+ sounds excellent and I am extremely happy with it. I only have 100 hours on it so a lot more room for improvement.

I noticed the LRS+ is even good at low volume with my modded Peachtree GAN1 (200W at 8 and 4). Though I am limited to only 1 source and a crappy volume experience. Thus, I am looking for an amp to pair with one of my 2 preamps, the Benchmark LA4 or Holo Serene. The modded GAN1 will go for headphone duty.

I spoke with a sales guy at TMR Audio today and he said the Benchmark AHB2 is OK with the LRS+ but it lacks power when the speaker is driven harder. I was guessing that to be the case from my experience with the Thiel CS3.7 and the AHB2.

I am looking to get another amp that will work with both the LRS+ and my soon to arrive Yamaha NS5000 (on Friday). I narrowed it down to the KRELL Duo XD lineup. I owned the Duo 175XD and sold it, but it will be great on the LRS+, I was not sure about the NS5000, but after some online research I think it will also be great. The other amp is the CODA #16 which will be heard with the LRS+ this weekend.

I look at the LRS as a gateway drug. If you start thinking that maybe you can get better sound, you'd better have the money. I quickly went from the LRS to the .7s to Spatial Audio Lab's X5s. That's a geometric progression money-wise and that doesn't include the amps which pushed the money envelop further. Maybe the best option is just to be happy where you are and do the little tweaks such as the magna-risers etc.

As I posted above about a year ago, I was interested and subsequently purchased a pair of the LRS+s. They are used in a medium sized bedroom which I believe serves as a good 'fit' for them.

I am currently driving them with a Pass XA25 as many know is a high current 25wpc class A amplifier which runs closer to 80wpc in A/B mode.. If my room was any bigger I believe I would need greater power.  As is I do not push the volume much above 90dB peaks. playing jazz and pop rock. The sound I am getting is sublime.  I believe I would want a more powerful amplifier for harder rock or large symphony music at higher dBs. 

I feel the LSR+ to be an outstanding speaker demanding of refined sources and amplification belaying there cost. 

Anyone use the Benchmark AHB2 stereo or mono on the LRS (or LRS+). 

I want to try LRS+. Do you think a McIntosh MC2100 amp would work? It's 100 watts @ 4ohms.

I’m an LRS + owner and I have to say that this speaker has an ability to show the flaws of the system more than any $1000 speaker I have ever heard. I ended up using a Peachtree GAN 400 it seems like a great match. The magna risers are a must, they improve the strengths of the speakers immensely. They will be a bit of moving around to get into the proper space but then they will cause you to sit there with your mouth open and think how is this possible. I have a few others that are quite a bit more expensive but they are not as revealing as the LRS+. 

I'm wondering if its worth it to buy a second RB-9808x and run them in mono. Would this be worth it? are we talking 1% better or 10% better? The detail is already superlative, I'm just wondering if the soundstage would benefit from the additional power

my 2 cents -- i would not get another 9808x unit... if you must stay rotel, get a michi level unit

otherwise, get a better sounding amp altogether... driving maggies it's not just about quantity - quality differences are shown through by the excellence of the speaker...

I've had a pair of LRS for a few months, and been extremely happy with them. I'm currently running them off a Rotel RC-9808x preamp and a Rotel RB-9808x amp. This setup seems great, but as I don't know if I'm reaching the LRSs potential, I'm wondering if its worth it to buy a second RB-9808x and run them in mono. Would this be worth it? are we talking 1% better or 10% better? The detail is already superlative, I'm just wondering if the soundstage would benefit from the additional power https://1921681254.mx/ https://100001.onl/.

further comment on rotels -- the new michi’s may be an exception (second hand info only, i have not heard one in my own rig), but in my experience, historically standard issue rotels are reliable, solidly built amplifiers with good but not great sound... to me the sound is somewhat grainy, with classic solid state electronic edge, not a very low noise floor...

I should add that I also am interested in owning a pair of these speakers. 

+1 jjss49.  

Maggies operate at low impedance, driven more by current than watts. Bridging an amplifier produces greater watts at the expense of current. 

I am not familiar with your Rotel amp. If it delivers far greater watts into low impedances than the rated watts at 8 ohms, and it sounds clean at high volumes, then it seems OK on the power front. 

Advice on improving the presentation requires more information regarding your source, room size, room treatment, speaker placement. Are you willing to pursue options other than the purchase of a second Rotel amplifier?

lrs will sound better and better with a better source, or better amp... the speaker, set up properly with proper stands (perhaps with subs supporting), has tremendous resolution and shows through any poor sounding source and/or weak amplification upstream of it

of course common sense should prevail, but it is not unreasonable to have a $2000-3000 hegel or pass amp drive it... of course if one wants to hear what the speaker is truly capable of... this is very very atypical of most sub-$1000 a pair speakers

My friend brought his LRS over to use with my Pass 250.8  it surprised me how good these speakers sounded as I have 3.7i for the $ I'd say unbeatable. We then added my 2 subs to the mix and it was truly astonishing to hear.

You do need plenty of great power these LRS speakers took a lot more volume on my amp to reach the same playing level of the 3.7i.

Enjoy

If you love what you have that is Something special.  As I am aging  closer to the "Get off my lawn" type, I am loathe to have a product that is telling me to buy more products!  Unless you have the money to spare, and enjoy spending it, I would not want to push you in that direction.

If you love them now, don't change anything, maybe begin to save up for a similar product that is larger, as others have said.  If you think they need to do better,  i agree with trying different amps.  From my own experience, it is not the price of the amp that is the deciding factor, but the amount of damping and/or some other synergy that is hard to define.  I found the SMSL DA-9 to do better than expected!  Not saying you should buy one, but if you can borrow one, try it, don't be afraid to try any inexpensive Class-D amp that you can borrow.  They may have better control over the bass, and the diffuse imaging of the LRS could maybe hide the other flaws the amp may have!

This is a true story, at least in my house, haha!

It is one of the only speakers I can think of that I have never read anything but glowing reviews.

Don’t read the ASR test review.

I just installed a pair of LRS driven by a pair high-current 800-watt Parasound JC 1 monoblocks, and augmented with a pair of KEF KC62 subs. The sound is impressive.

The Rotel is nice gear but there is much better stuff out there, look at some 250 wpc stereo amps, after that start looking at preamps. Each step will be a nice upgrade from what you are running now.

@avicci  I see this is your first post on your first day on Audiogon, welcome!

Regardless of the one post above, your LRS have received nothing but universal praise for the sound they deliver, regardless of place withing the Magnepan line.  It is one of the only speakers I can think of that I have never read anything but glowing reviews.  See @dbphd post above and enjoy.

For $650 speakers, you can't ask for much more. If I were you, I would just try another amp that is higher end from a company who gives trial periods, or maybe borrow another amp from a friend to try if you have one who has multiples. After seeing as many reviews on those speakers as I have, they are supposed to sound better the higher grade equipment you have. 

I agree with Jasonbourne 52 not to bridge in mono for the reasons given.  

I just installed a pair of LRS driven by a pair high-current 800-watt Parasound JC 1 monoblocks, and augmented with a pair of KEF KC62 subs.  The sound is impressive.

db

It seems to me that would be WAY overkill. LRS is, after all, their entry level model. Not that it's not great for what it is. But you will do MUCH better, assuming you like what Maggies do, to move you to the 1.7.

It's a $350 speaker.... Perhaps your expectations are too great.

Time to move up the food chain.

No! Stick to a single 9808. Why? Because using it as a bridged mono amp will make it draw double the current. This is never a good thing for any amp! Distortion increases too!