I found a local Parasound, Hegel, Sim Audio, Rogue Audio dealer and I think I can trust him and his recommendations. He has a Rogue Audio RP9 that he made me a very attractive offer. ($6,000) I expect to try it ASAP. For me that is an expensive system, Oppo 105D, Rogue Audio RP9 ($7,500 MSRP), Sanders Magtech ($5,500 MSRP) and Magnepan MG 3.7i speakers ($7k). I hope it sounds as good as I expect, I pulled out all my stops.
Powering my Magnepan 3.7i speakers.
I have a pair of Magnepan 3.7i speakers that until January
this year I drove with a (1981) Yamaha M-2 power amp rated 200 wpc into 8ohn
and 330 wpc in to 4 ohm. A pair of
Magnepan can suck up a fair amount of power and I could overdrive the Yamaha into
the red with out the speakers really getting too loud.
It has taken since February to get my power amp recapped and
repaired at a cost of a little over $800. Of course it was worth about $800 when working. Only $100 of the bill was repairs, the
remaining $700 was an extensive recapping including the two huge coffee can size
capacitors. I never thought the Yamaha
could be hurt but the repair guy asked me: “You didn’t use this on any 4 ohm
speakers because that’s what it looks like and it tore up the insides of your
Yamaha”? I didn’t lie but tomorrow the Yamaha will only be used for 8 ohm
loads. I still have my restored Dahlquist
DQ10 speakers and the Yamaha will drive those exclusively. I will get the replaced parts and I look forward to inspecting them.
So I have been using a Sanders Magtech to drive the Magnepan
and been happy with 900 wpc. I now
listen at lower sound levels because I can find the sound I was listening for
at those lowered levels. With the Yamaha
I was searching for something, with the volume knob, that I was never going to
get at any SPL.
I still have the ambition to replace my Rotel pre amp. A Parasound Halo JC Preamp leads the list of candidates.
Also on the list would be a Hegel P20
and a Naim NAC N 272 preamp/streamer. I
can pick up the Parasound locally and hopefully listen first. I don’t think I have local sources for Hegel
or Naim and the musicality is far more important to me than streaming.
The Parasound retains it value so well I don’t see the value
in buying one used? I did have an issue
with speaker placement. My Magnepan
speakers were on my long wall, 4’ from the back wall and too far apart. Now
the speakers are the same distance from each other as they are from me and they
sound much better.
I think that is how my system will shake out. I wanted to share an update with the group as a way of thanking folks for all their kind contributions.
3 responses Add your response