Many thanks. I'll ping him. I have no experience with them but they are intriguing.
For acoustic music, Maggies are incredible. I always tell the story of how I went to a high-end shop in Palo Alto, CA., with a colleague. This was 1978 and I was a school teacher. I heard a sax playing in the back of the store and wandered back for a listen. I saw instruments hanging on the wall but no sax player. Turned out it was Magnaplanars powered by Audio Research (with solid silver cabling) from a vinyl recording of Sonny Rollins. I was completely stunned. I stood there and the owner came in and explained the full set up. He was gracious enough to play serveral jazz cuts and I was in nirvana. In no way could I even afford the cartridge!
I made it my mission to own a pair. I finally did so in 1996 or thereabouts. I couldn't swing the Audio Research but the custom built Cary pre and amps have served them well over the years. Peter Dahl transformers and Class A all day long. :-) Oh, and they will boogie too! Granted, there is nothing like a cone for moving air for rock and roll and all the derivatives, but they can hold their own. I am more into timbre, tone and that enveloping natural sound they provide. Sublime... They are not for everyone though for sure.
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My monoblocks are 80 watts. They do have Peter Dahl transformers which make a huge difference. They deliver the goods and the Maggies seem to like them as far as I can tell. One thing of note is I tend not to listen at super high levels. They are so articulate, musical and transparent, I don’t find the need for high power to get into the essence of the music. That, in fact, was their allure when I first heard them way back when.
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Thanks, guys. I don't listen at super loud levels and don't expect thundering bass. (I did have a sub, but it died, and frankly I don't miss it). The Maggies sing with music on their own. Double bass sounds like double bass, brass cymbals sound like brass cymbals and instruments and voices have timbre for days. That is Magnapan's calling card and precisely why I bought them. They are in a small office/study and the acoustics preclude me from blasting (although I have on occasion). It is like listening in an intimate night club right in front of the musicians. Magical, especially when I invoke the SS-X for live recordings which I acquired for just that purpose. That thing is incredible. I wrote about it which was the only other post I think I ever started in all these years.
I just thought you'd get a kick out of this. There is an ongoing thread posing the question 'why topics get contentious' when this is just a hobby for fellow audiophiles wishing to share. For everyman's passion, there is always a cold wet blanket in the wings. I refer to it as 'the messianic compulsion'. "Corvette parked next to a Ferrari". HA! Well put, indeed! My friend did call me later to apologize, noting I never expressed interest in what his friend had for comparison. I cared less.
I will concede a high current amp with stable power into 2 ohms would drive the Maggies into nirvana. Maybe I'll break down one day and score if I move my system into a larger room. I have a friend who has a Krell driving Martin Logans which would be ideal. He has a large room and he can turn up the heat! He also heard my system at full tilt and gave it the thumbs up. He is an audio technician and it was gratifying to get his approval.
I am actually considering some speakers I could drive with a SS amp for full-tilt boogying where timbre is not the first priority. Perhaps some Klipsch Horns would do the trick, eh? :-). Actually, I rekindled my rememberance of some Walsh Ohms that knocked my socks off. Hmmmm...
Good fun sharing this hobby. I've learned over the years to tune the nay-sayin' know-it-alls out. When good suggestions are put forward for consideration, it is an entirely different matter. Knowing the difference saves one's sanity in this passionate hobby.
Thank you for the positive responses and indulging me. I have been on Audiogon for a bit and have always enjoyed seeing the sharing and camaraderie. My hope is new comers to our community on Audiogon get a chance to read this for its true intent. Our younger brethren don't care to participate due to the contentious berating and that is a tragic shame.
Best to all... |
Oh, they are Cary Audio SLA70s in monoblock configuration, which Dennis Had custom built for me just after he opened his company in Cary, NC. I was one of his first customers. He is a fellow Ham and I bought the amps and a SLP-70 which he heavily modified also with his RPC circuit, right down to the Peter Dahl. Spooky transparency. I was running the amps with 8 ohm Celestions before I bought the Magnapans. If Magnapan said I needed to alter them, I would have sent them back to Dennis. He wasn’t a fan of planars but respected my passion for them. Good guy, that Dennis. |
Points well taken, thank you. Guess its time for a higher powered amp!
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@frogman
Thanks for that 8 ohm comment!
My memory of what I heard from Magnapan may be faulty. It was in 1992-ish if I recall correctly. I got the tubes and speakers within months of each other. The file with my notes is long archived. I just have the manuals on file but Dennis modified everything so it may have been he who said it wouldn't be a problem. At any rate, they sure sound good. Thanks again!
Contention, as the OP in that thread postulated, is counter-argument with little value except to personalize and incite discord. This is counter productive and what has chased so many away. Just look at the demographics of the forum and the sparsity of new posters. I've been around here and watched the decline. No new blood, so-to-speak.
In the headphone forum, Head-Fi, Jude set up a separate place for objectivists to share their views, and several other forums followed. The arguments were ruining the enjoyment with dogma and the overwhelming messianic compulsion to demean another's experience. What one person hears isn't necessarily what another hears and no amount of recitation of theory will ever change that. It is the passion of the hobby.
I am all about measurements, hence my stipulation. My post was genuine. I wanted to get my fellow audiophiles' experiences with tubes and Magnapans. Doubt was sown and I needed a lifeline! Frogman to the rescue!
As I compose listening to an acoustic jazz track, that double bass player owns that fret. The drummer owns the high hat and cymbals and the piano has that wooden quality that one would hear sitting down front listening. It was that which drew me to Magnapans.
Best to all! |
Excellent, thank you very much! I'll do so indeed.
I was considering, at one point, Autoformers, to adjust the output impedance down to 4 ohms. Apparently, they really help with Magnapans and are a good way to match amp to speaker load. I'll run that by your contact.
If anyone has any experience with them, I'd welcome the input.
Now, I'm off on a toot to get Walsh Ohms for my home office. I heard a pair once and the way they hung an image in the middle of the room was breathtaking. I'm not moving the Magnapans out of my study. That's where they live. I'm too spoiled by the intimacy of sitting in front of them in the sweet spot and getting lost in the music..
Lastly, I wanted to share another tid-bit. I received some solid silver interconnects from a fledgling company as part of a transaction - source to pre and pre to amp(s). I was told they would be good with tubes with their reputation for being detailed. Well, I lived with them for many months and I did enjoy them. After a while, I started thinking they were a bit too strident. I replaced them with my original interconnects, Mogami studio wire, and voila!
Damned if this isn't a OCD hobby!
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Correction: Meant to say step up the speaker impedance to 8 ohms.
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I just may have a set of Autoformers coming to passively step the impedance down to 4 ohms. I'll give them a listen. Could very well marry 'good practice' with 'good listening'! 👍
I'll post my findings to close this out and return back to anonymity. |
Retreived my archived file and refreshed my memory on the criteria I used to build the system. It appears my recollection was consistent with the exception of the conversation with Magnapan. They did say it would not be a problem if I wasn’t trying to fill a large room with high volumne but they did not provide the impedance curve I cited.
My notes also reminded me I consulted several knowledgeable people, including Dennis, who further went on to say it was recommended to run the Magnapans on 8 ohm output transformers as the measurements were better, less distortion and more pleasant to the ear. This is consistent with you fellas with Magnapans and 8 ohm output transformers who said the same thing. This was the determining factor in not sending the blocks back for 4 ohm transformers.
Phew! Glad that is settled in my head. My ears always said, "I told you so!" I was dreading admitting my friend’s friend was right. Ugh! (But I would have begrudgingly).
Zero Autoformers are out. Now, back to my study for some jazz. Thanks again for the great repartee! Reminds me of days when, with only one snarky comment in the entire thread! An Audiogon record!
Best to all...
P.S.: If I do get my hands on a pair of autoformers I can audition and return, I might experiment. That's the Audiophile in me and all of us here on Audiogon, eh? HA!
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