symphonic Line RG4 III vs RG4 IV?

Hi Tim--
I wouldn't be surprised if the designing engineer changed, it happens quite often apparently!
I WOULD be surprised however, if the sound were drastically changed by the engineer as the equipment voicing is done by the owner (Mr Gemein) as far as I know. (BTW, allegedly one of the better known, past engineers was Mr Lindemann of exotic cd/sacd player fame)

Bombay: It would be interesting to know what the mod entails? Last time a guy I know tried to mod old rg4's, he never got the transistor biasing right & stable for some strange reason -- & promptly blew the output stages (but SL sent him new circuits, so it all turned out OK). Cheers

I only got a quick glimpse of the "newest" version vs. the previous one (I assume the "newest version" was the MK IV). These latest amps were probably NOT fully broken in...

As Symphonic Line products have a long life-cycle, but this IS a "new" version, there MUST be differences... Well, they didn't sound so earth-shattering to me.

The quick subjective results were:
*the new sound was slightly more extended in the upper highs & less full bodied..
*the typical S-Line sound was there (i.e. dynamics, transient attack, sense of "speed" etc) but the old sounded a tad "slower" and a tad more refined: as "speed" is a nonsense per se, maybe a matter of higher biasing towards class A in the newer version?
*overall, between the two, I wouldn't be hard-pressed to exchange one version for the other: if I had the earlier version, I'd stay with it -- OTOH if I were on the market for a pair of amps, I'd go for the current version...

The pre was an RG3+ turbo PS & speakers were Triangle Magellan. Again, this was just a quick listening session at a dealer's, no measurements taken, equip probably not broken in, etc.
Cheers

Overall, the mod sounds reasonable & careful.
As to changing the electrolytics -- of course: electrolytics *do* have a shelf life after all, and heat, etc, don't help them much... I've read good things about the Panasonics.

OTOH, b-gates in the signal path would/should alter the voicing somewhat; where I've used b-gates (cdp, tube amp) the sound is less "punchy" but very detailed at the same time. It's a matter of taste -- why not go for it (you can always get the modders to change to another brand if you like)!

I'd be KEENLY interested in your opinion of the sonic results -- if you go ahead!
Cheers

Hi George -- the Magellan i listened to were privately owned; I happened to drop in while an audition for electronics was taking place, was kindly asked to stay a bit -- and... I ended up leaving hours later! It's amazing that the guy actually moved the speakers. I would have thought that moving a few amps to his *house* would have been more practical solution...

Unfortunately, I don't know who, if anyone, has Magellans on display. Cheers

Hassel, the thread refers to the RG4 -- mono power amps. The 14 is an integrated.
As to the rest, I must have been misinformed! Cheers