Magic with Magneplanars?

High resolution powerful tube amps are great match with these brand of speakers. Matching solid state with tube amps is dangerous. You may easily break cohirence. Next, you said you are thinking of upgrading to SACD. Your speakers are hi-rez, they are limited by the source signal. SACD will bring you to another world; its better then vinil and DVD-Audio and second to the live event only. You can have breathtaking system.... Having SACD/Maggies you must have hi-rez amplification with harmonically full midrange

I run my MG 20Rs with a an ARC LS22/ Pass X350 combination with stunning results. Using MAgnepan's XO20 crossover. The Pass amp seems to have something that Krell and Levinson - the others I've tried - do not. In short, with the Pass, the speaker just seems to 'relax' and disappear. The sound isn't theatrical, it's just THERE. Going to an ARC REF2 / Pass X600 combo when I can afford it. The MG 20s, when driven with an amp that combines clarity and definition with the huge current/voltage swing of the Pass, just leave you breathless. Cable/interconnect choice is critical - get this wrong and you'll be hating life. After a lot of experimentation, I now use all silver-based speaker cables (including a set of 8 individual Audio Magic Spellcaster II .5 meter jumpers to go from the xover to the speaker itself) and Cardas Golden Cross interconnects. Tube amps are great, but you have to spend so much to get what works well that it becomes debatable whether it's worth the heat and maintenance issues in the long run. Check out Pass Labs ...

If you are interested, I am in the process of trying to decide if I want to sell my Tympany IV4A's (I'm the original owner), and the amplifiers, ARC tubes on the Mid/Tweeters and a solid state Eagle on the bass panels. I haven't been able to decide yet whether I can bear to part with them, but if you are interested, email me and we can discuss it. Thanks, Martin

I recently auditioned the Maggie MG 3.6, ML Prodigy, and Avalon Eidolon speakers. It was pretty clear cut, the Maggie 3.6s easily is the best speaker of the 3, and considerable
less expensive. The Maggies were more transparent, more dynamic, tonal balance was correct from top to bottom,
a believable soundstage and quite good imaging. The MLs
we only listened for about 5 minutes then moved onto
something else(enough said). The Eidolons were good
speakers but not as dynamic or transparent though the
soundstaging was excellent as well as imaging, however,
when a very dynamic musical passage was presented, the boxy
characteristics of these type speakers clearly made itself known. The electronics were mostly Spectral for all 3
speaker systems tested. Now having said all of this are they
better than the Acoustats 2+2s that I currently own?? The
Maggies were definitely, but that much more,no. The others
were over priced audio salon stuff. The audiokinesis guy
in New Orleans is correct, you must audition a pure electrostatic speaker before you purchase anything. You owe
it to yourself to check out the Sound Lab electrostatics.

One question: what ever happened to Jim Strickland, the
owner/designer of Acoustat??