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Maggies with Mark Levinson preamp/amp

Hello! I am putting together my first hi-fi system and planning to go with a pair of Magnepan 1.6QR for speakers.

For amps, I have a Mark Levinson No.26 preamp and No.23.5 amp.

Searching around the web, I don't find many feedbacks on how Maggies sound thru Mark Levinson amps.

I would appreciate very much if anyone could share their experiences on the Magnepan-Mark Levinson combination, in particular, the 26 & 23.5 setup.

Any recommendations on speaker cables and interconnects?

Thanks in advance.
strooper
9 responses Add your response
cip57
14 posts
 
I used Mark Levinson 23.5 , ML3 to use with Magnepan speaker with great result.I was using MIT cables at the time.
aball
2,018 posts
 
Why do you think it could sound bad? Just go for it.
jimburger
104 posts
 
A friend of mine has a pair of MGIIIA's with some vintage Levinson ML7 pre and ML11 poweramp with Tara Labs cables. It is a sweet sounding combination. Your 23.5 should have plenty of power to light up a pair of 1.6's. It should be a fabulous match.
strooper OP
9 posts
 
I don't really think the combination would sound bad. Just that I've not really come across many who uses Mark Levinson amps with Maggies (as oppose to, let's say, Brystons) and wondered if there is a reason to it.

Listening to the 26/23.5 amps (thru non-Magnepan speakers), I found the sound to be "darker" than most SS amps I've come across. I hope to brighten the sound and discovered that using silver interconnects helps. I'm not sure about speaker cables, though. Any suggestions?

Thanks!
nsgarch's avatar
nsgarch
2,524 posts
 
A friend of mine (also a member) has, like me, a 23.5 and 26s. I have Martin Logan CLS IIz's, and he has a pair of Maggie Tympani 1-Ds. Both systems sound terrific, and although I think Brystons would also be very nice with Maggies, I think they'd be a little harsh with electrostats. He uses PAD Musaeus speaker cables, I use PAD Venustas.

I think it would be great if you could find a ML 26s. The 26 is OK but nothing special, whereas the 26s is one of the "killer" ss preamps of all time.

.
strooper OP
9 posts
 
I agree that the 26s would be awesome but they seem to be difficult to find. The 26s is undoubtedly on the top of my list of upgrades should I come across one in good condition in the future.

In the meantime, the No.26 I have came with a factory installed balanced input option which is quite nice.

Thanks for the input, Nsgarch!
mahandave
153 posts
 
my local store sells both. It would sound great- they are a fantastic match.
strooper OP
9 posts
 
Hi, Mahandave. How much is the 26 and the 26s going for at your local store? Does it come with balanced input option? Power supply unit included?
cwlondon
1,210 posts
 
I have a pair of Tympani IVa's which I power with a 23.5, following feedback from the Magnepan factory that it was one of the "best amps ever" through the Tympanis.

So I dont know how you could go wrong with the 1.6's. Too dark definitely won't be a problem, IMO.

If anything you might find all but the best digital sources to be a bit bright.

Good luck.

cwlondon
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