Which to Upgrade first? My Amplifier or Speakers?


I have owned a nice system for years, but I am hardly an audiophile. You people impress me with your depth of knowledge of audio. I've been following this site for some time. This is my first post.
From time to time I replace or upgrade components. I've got a tricked out Linn Sondek LP 12 turntable. I recently acquired a McIntosh MP 100 phono amp and am hearing LP's now that exceed anything I've heard on CD's and equal if not exceed the output of my SACD's. I bring this up only to give a flavor of what I listen to.
The issue is as follows: I have a McIntosh MC 206 Amp that I bought in 2003 that puts out 200 watts per channel. I have no issues with it, although I've never had anything to compare it with. I've read some impressive reviews of how much of a difference an amplifier can make to the quality of sound output. For speakers I have Magnepan 3.6R's that I also bought in 2003. I love them. I can only afford to upgrade one at a time - let's say in the neighborhood of 10 - 12K. So, I'd like to hear what this august body has to say about which I should upgrade first and why? The amp or the speakers? Thank you.
normantaylor

Showing 1 response by arrowheadrss

Hi Norman,

I have sold McIntosh and Maggies since the early 80's and many of my customers have paired Mac and Maggies together and would never consider changing, if they do upgrade they stay with those same manufactures. You must remember personal taste and system synergy are critical in putting together a system, Mac and Maggies have great synergy together so that only leaves your personal taste. (not someone else's)
I am going to make a few suggestions:

1. You have a six channel amp that is rated at 120 watts into 8 ohms, having worked with Maggies for decades I would suggest you sell that amp and buy another Mac that is rated at 400 (or better) watts in 8 ohms. For around 2 grand over what you get for the MC-206 you can buy a used 2 channel MC-402 (400 watts at 8 ohm) for around 3 grand extra you can buy a pair of used MC-501 mono blocks( 500 watts at 8 ohm) I think you will pleasantly surprised at the difference in sound quality.

2. Get a used matching pair of subwoofers. Single subwoofers are great for multi channel but you must have a matched pair for quality stereo reproduction. To keep up with the speed of the maggies the subs need to be fast. You don't need to speed a lot of money to get a good sub these days, especially used. The top three subs our customers match with maggies are REL. JL audio and the Vandersteen 2WQ.

3. If you do upgrade your amps make sure you have a good electrical circuit to work with, we like to install a separate 20 amp circuit for the amps and a dedicated 15 amp for the rest of the equipment. I know in a lot of circumstances that is not possible but at least put in a good hospital grade or better outlet and we also suggest getting upgraded power cords. Again don't go crazy spending a lot of money on the outlets and power cords, there are many good products today at very reasonable prices.

4. Room treatment has been suggested and we agree. Standing waves and reflections need to be addressed but it is complicated, time consuming process and can be expensive. DSP and the like could be a much cheaper and less agrivating solution. We have many customers who have no room treatment at all and are very happy.