Manley Neo 250s and Maggies

I have just recently purchased 20.1s and after auditioning a number of ss amps (bryston, krell, bel canto) I just bought the neo 250s. Couldn't get over the soundstage, depth, midrange and bloom the music had.

Is it the perfect amp? Absolutely not for those that are looking for detail, more detail and even more detail. However, they are extremely musical and were the only amps that had me tapping my toes and really enjoying the music. Plenty of bass and a cymbals that shimmer and you can hear the space around them.It was the first time in my audio career I had an emotional bond to the music.

Now, it could also be the interaction with the Manley 300B preamp I have that also is full of NOS tubes, so you'll want to consider how your preamp interacts with the amps.

My room is medium sized. 15 feet wide by 40 deep and the Maggies are about 20 out in the room. Plenty of dynamics and loudness for me, but the size of your room will matter here.

The SS amps were a little more dynamic, the treble was a little louder(more extended?), but everything I mentioned earlier was missing.

Obviously your audio biases will be very important as to whether tubes are the right way for you to go here.

This response might be a bit late but I have owned the Manley 250's with Maggie 3.6's since May 05 and I love the breadth/depth of my soundsatge. I recently, based on Paul Fargo's recommendation, switched out the GT EL-34's for Electro Harmonix 6CA7's because the amps were going thru tubes. These are great amps and I wonder why I don't see more discussion about them on A'Gon.

Hey Xagwell,

What difference do you hear with the 6CA7s? SO far I have not had any tube issues with mine.

As usaul when spending at this level I believe the differences are minor, but first the 6Ca7's were perceived to be more reliable. They are biased at twice that of the GT's. The higher bias is at the recommendation of the tube dealer/not Manley. The tube dealer states the higher bias is needed to hear the bass improvement. I agree that there is an improvement in the base region. Second, their have been posts about these amps/tubes. This last time a resistor was blown so I sent them back to Manley at their advice for a mod/repair which was covered under the warranty. (I can't say enough positive things about their tech support) To date these amps/tubes are performing flawlessly. Also I subjectively believe my soundsatge is bigger as well. I hope this is helps.

Xagwell,

Which 6CA7 did you get?

Biased at 550ma?

Bruce

I purchased 4 matched quad's/2 matched pair of the Electro Harmonix 6CA7's. The bias ranges from 0.52 to 0.55. I looked at other tubes like the "Winged C which I had heard about but the budget dictated otherwise.