i seriously considered splurging on the 3.6rs; ultimately i passed because i was too overwhelmed by what i deemed to be the necessity of popping for upgraded power amps and two more compatible subs. that said, they are awesome speakers--to my ears, eons better than you b&ws. i would think your 350w monoblocks would do just fine (i heard 'em auditioned with classe gear and they sounded great). the 20.1s are better, with an audibly bigger soundstage, but they're not $7 grand better--to me, the difference isn't cost-justified. plus, unless you have a really, really tolerant wife, the size veers on the ridiculous. |
I've owned Magnepans,curiously there is an unfounded belief by many that they requie a gazillion watts to deliver the music.Not true.I can assure you in no uncertain terms that the Classe amps will give you what you're looking for.
Flip me a pm if you're interested in additional particulars. |
My room is comparable in size to yours. My Maggie 3.6's are powered by a Theta Dreadnaught II (approx 450wpc into 4 ohms) augmented by a pair of Vandy 2WQ's and they easily fill the room. |
I have decided my room is too large for my current tube amps. I bought a pair Classe CAM-350 350 Watt Monoblocks in anticipation of auditioning the Magnepan 3.6r speakers. I hope these will be large enough at 700 watts per channel at 4 ohms.
I guess my next question is should I look at the Maggie 20.1 speakers as well? Are the 20.1 speakers a lot better than the 3.6rs?
I had a chance to listen to a pair of Avalons with some German equipmnet driving them in a large room. It seemed like you needed a high volume to bring out the bass. Any comments? |
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Get a PAIR of Vandersteen 2WQ subs to go with your 3.6's. The way Vandersteen uses a high-pass filter between the amp and pre-amp allows your amp to be relieved of it's deep bass duties which gives several positives 1)the midrange becomes more dynamic and clean (and more effortless due to lower distortion) 2) the soundstage expands and becomes more dimensional with images in the soundstage more firmly present 3) last but not least you have tighter,deeper bass.And that experience has been shown to be consistant in a number of different systems that I've heard them in.Love the Vandersteen subs!! |
Have you thought about selling the 801's? Huge, near impossible to ship, but they should sell at some price. Also the drivers &/or crossovers tend to fail on M801's or M802's.....I sold my M802's a few years ago & bought Totem Mani 2's; never looked back.
I'd say: if you get a nice deal on Maggies, go for it. But you may have to replace your amps, etc. etc. OR: if you like tubes, & you've got nice tube amps, get Merlins, or some other tube-friendly speakers. I'd almost vote for the latter, keep the tube amps, & get Merlin VSM's (drastically different from either b&w's or maggies of course)..... |
If you get Maggies, make sure to get the after market Mye stands. They will tighten up your bass and overall detail considerably. Best, Peter |
if you like the 801's the Maggies MAY not be your cup of tea ... certainly will not move air the way the 801's do. Both the 3.6's and 801's are classics but VERY different speakers. Not sure the 3.6 would be an upgrade per se. Different, yes but not necessarily a "better" speaker. If you have the $$$, buy the 3.6 but don't sell the 801's til you decide if they are for you! |
I have the older 801s. My mono-blocs have KT88 tubes instead of the 6550C tubes. The KT88 add about 15 to 20 percent more power. The 8 ohm power is around 285 watts with the KT88s. The 801 were very boomy for 2 weeks while I figured out how to adjust the speakers. The back of the speakers are 3 feet out from the wall and the front of the speakers are 5 feet out from the wall. The speakers have almost 8 feet between them. There is about 4 feet on each side to the wall. I live in an old house with wood floors on peer and beam. There is not a slab of concrete under me. |
I'm amazed that you've been able to power b&w 801's with tube amp(s), in that large a room, & have been happy with the combo. Even mono-blocs w/eight 6550C output tubes per side, is that correct?
IMO, you need to use big SS amps in a room that large, with either b&w 801's, or maggies. Or even in a smaller room. OR: get tube-friendly speakers..... nothing wrong with keeping the tube amps & getting speakers that match well....
(From someone who learned the hard way trying to power b&w M802's with tube amps.....) |
agreed that the room size for the 3.6 is great, especially if they can be put out into the room 5-7 feet.
I used to have the 1.6 Maggie with a Rogue 120M amp (120 watt 6550 monoblock) and it had terrific tone but was not very lively, it just kind of sat there, compared to the SS amps I compared it to. |
I think the 3.6s will probably sound great in a room that size - they need room to breathe. (At least, my 3.5s needed more room than I could provide). The Power 3/Line 3 SE is a terrific combo, but as others have noted you might need more power for high SPL. If you're willing to consider replacing the amp (should that prove necessary) or adding subwoofers to relieve the Power3 of the heaviest lifting, I'd be inclined try it before concluding that it won't work.
Good Luck
Marty |
You're in a big room, so whether you get Maggie's, Thiel's, B&W's or whatever you need a lot of power.
Your other option is to go with a high efficiency speaker.
The Meadowlark Blue Herron that The Tweek Geek is selling for a friend is also a really good speaker that may work with your amp.
http://www.tweekgeek.com/_e/Trade_Ins_Demo/product/Blue-Heron/Meadowlark_Blue_Heron_Loudspeakers.htm |
And the ceiling is 10 feet. If it makes a difference.
What speakers should I look at? |
I want to restate the room size. The room is 28 feet in length and half is 16 wide and the other half is 22 feet wide. The room is not 56 feet long. I think I could have worded it better. |
Forget about the 3.6R. Your Sonic Frontiers Power 3 won't have enough current to drive them. |
consult with maggie hdqtrs....going from one classic to another. |
it will sound nice but lack dynamic range - for a room that big especially |
