Sanders Amplifiers

[tsv_1]

So, owning a pair of Martin Logan CLX as I do, I'm giving some thought to trying out a pair of Sander's ESL (or Magtech) monoblocks.

Anyone here either own or have any experience with these (well reviewed) amplifiers? I know the best way to decide is for me to try them here in my home with my system, and thanks to their (nearly) free in-home trial, I plan to do just that - but more information from those with experience is always a good thing (well, almost always good... I think).

Thanks

(p.s. I recently tried a pair of high powered tube monos... didn't work for me. I do love my current ModWright KWA150SEs, but the itch needs some scratching )

[Still-One]

I have only heard the amps with his speakers at a couple of recent RMAF's. Sounded pretty good to me and if you can get a home trial, I'd say go for it. Pretty reasonable if I remember correctly.

Jim

[bzr]

I have the Sanders Magtech & if I was you I'd go mono Magtech with a Silver Circle power conditioner. Yesterday i listened to the importer of Magnepans into Aus demo system, OPPO 95, Sanders pre, Magtech mono's all plugged into the same below & feeding Maggie 3.7's & the only way for me to express what I heard was "holy sh*t". Needless to say i took this Silver Circle home. Soon as I heard my system I was impressed.

[tsv_1]

Originally Posted by bzr

I have the Sanders Magtech & if I was you I'd go mono Magtech with a Silver Circle power conditioner. Yesterday i listened to the importer of Magnepans into Aus demo system, OPPO 95, Sanders pre, Magtech mono's all plugged into the same below & feeding Maggie 3.7's & the only way for me to express what I heard was "holy sh*t". Needless to say i took this Silver Circle home. Soon as I heard my system I was impressed.

Hi Kevin,

Thanks for the post. I'm not familiar with Silver Circle and will look into that. I bet that demo you heard was stellar. Having owned the 3.6r, I know what that awesome maggie ribbon tweeter is capable of... but with the improvements of the 3.7, it must have been glorious.

So how long have you owned the MagTech and what can you share about it's performance? Any issues at all with it? Do you leave yours powered up continuously? (I think I read that Roger stated it runs cool and draws very little idle power, so always-on is encouraged). I don't suppose you ever even come close to "over-doing it" with the Magtech given it's rated power into 4 Ohms and the fact that the Summits have built in woofer amplification.

Can you comment on the standard performance attributes of this amp - say in comparison to other amps you've heard in your system?

Thanks for any feedback.

-Todd

[audiot servant]

Originally Posted by bzr

I have the Sanders Magtech & if I was you I'd go mono Magtech with a Silver Circle power conditioner. Yesterday i listened to the importer of Magnepans into Aus demo system, OPPO 95, Sanders pre, Magtech mono's all plugged into the same below & feeding Maggie 3.7's & the only way for me to express what I heard was "holy sh*t". Needless to say i took this Silver Circle home. Soon as I heard my system I was impressed.

Very nice Kev.

Graham

[bzr]

Hey Todd, glad to help if I can. I've now had the Magtech for 8 months & it really is a no nonsense amp that just grabs everything in a very neutral sounding iron fisted way & lays it to the speakers with delicacy. Any genre of music doesn't change it's pace at all, it is just a truthful workhorse of an amp. For the power that it can run at it does run cool. I always leave my gear powered up, absolutely 0 issues with it. One thing worth of note is that when you turn it off it will hold current for approx. a minute afterwards, something that needs to be remembered ( red & black/white don't play well together) when disconnecting/switching components. I wholeheartedly recommend this to anyone as a very neutral sounding & powerful amp. In trying to nail the signature of this amp I would be hesitant as it is neutral, did I mention that? An amp that I have listened to in many sessions is the Plinius 102 Class A, seems to come to mind when thinking of a similar sound or lack of signature but glorious to listen to without the heat !!!
If I had the CLX speakers I would run them in mono but as I have the Summit X with inbuilt amps there is no need, the one for the midrange & highs is plenty.
Forgot to add that the demo maggies I listened to had a JL f112 sub as well.
Sorry for the rant but the Magtech is a super

[tsv_1]

Originally Posted by bzr

Hey Todd, glad to help if I can. I've now had the Magtech for 8 months & it really is a no nonsense amp that just grabs everything in a very neutral sounding iron fisted way & lays it to the speakers with delicacy. Any genre of music doesn't change it's pace at all, it is just a truthful workhorse of an amp. For the power that it can run at it does run cool. I always leave my gear powered up, absolutely 0 issues with it. One thing worth of note is that when you turn it off it will hold current for approx. a minute afterwards, something that needs to be remembered ( red & black/white don't play well together) when disconnecting/switching components. I wholeheartedly recommend this to anyone as a very neutral sounding & powerful amp. In trying to nail the signature of this amp I would be hesitant as it is neutral, did I mention that? An amp that I have listened to in many sessions is the Plinius 102 Class A, seems to come to mind when thinking of a similar sound or lack of signature but glorious to listen to without the heat !!!
If I had the CLX speakers I would run them in mono but as I have the Summit X with inbuilt amps there is no need, the one for the midrange & highs is plenty.
Forgot to add that the demo maggies I listened to had a JL f112 sub as well.
Sorry for the rant but the Magtech is a super

Thanks Kevin... just the kind of rant I was looking for. If you have any other thoughts on the amp that pop up, please share or PM me. Frankly, I'm considering selling my ModWright Amps and Pre and have had my eye on the MagTech for some time. Oh... btw, did you take Sander's up on their 30-day free in home trial? If so, what did that entail? I assume you (as the auditioner) are responsible for shipping in the event you decide not to buy...?

Thanks again

[audiot servant]

Originally Posted by bzr

Hey Todd, glad to help if I can. I've now had the Magtech for 8 months & it really is a no nonsense amp that just grabs everything in a very neutral sounding iron fisted way & lays it to the speakers with delicacy. Any genre of music doesn't change it's pace at all, it is just a truthful workhorse of an amp. For the power that it can run at it does run cool....

Sorry for the rant but the Magtech is a super

Todd,

Kev is really on the money.. I found pinning a signature on the Magtech initially a bit difficult... at first I thought it just a shade dry of neutral... I'm starting to think it fairly much just reflects the signature of the preamp. Pairing with either a really good tube or SS pre is very important and will really govern how the amp sounds. If you are going panels then it's just a natural fit and you will hear the best of what it can do.

What the Magtech amp brings to the system are seemingly endless reserves of energy... it is sometimes like this giant wave that just keeps getting bigger and bigger above you.

As a person who listens to large scale classical you will just love the way it never hints at any compression during the big moments... it makes listening to dynamic orchestral works quite breath taking. It reaches deep and has also great extension up top... I found pairing it with a pre with a beautiful lush mid range really optimal.

With a front end that builds a good soundstage the images are just incredibly lifelike... a lot like Maggies and Martin Logans that it teams so well with... this is maybe because it has so very little grain in it's presentation to start with.

Put a really good power cable with it... it responds and pays back by sounding like a much more expensive bit of gear... I have a Shunyata Black Mamba HC on it now and am waiting on the new Zitron Cobra that I have ordered. I will be getting a Shunyata Cyclops in for a listen when they are available as well.

Like Kev's experience with the Silver Circle the supply you feed it is critical... it might have to do with it's architecture... it's one of the few amps around with a fully regulated power supply... this might be why it tends to sound limitless.

I have noticed when Roger Sanders has his amps and speakers at shows he seems to usually run with the stereo amp so I am unsure if the step to mono is needed given how powerfully the stereo amp performs... I might consider putting that extra investment into really good power cable and conditioner (and even upgrade the amp's two fuses to Hi-fi Supremes).

Probably the best sign of how good the Sanders Magtech amp is that you rarely if ever see any around second hand... If I can save up enough for a pair of ARC Ref250's I will still keep the Sanders here as well... it is one of the rare bits of gear that are just too good to get rid of.

Graham

[tsv_1]

Originally Posted by audiot servant

Todd,

Kev is really on the money.. I found pinning a signature on the Magtech initially a bit difficult... at first I thought it just a shade dry of neutral... I'm starting to think it fairly much just reflects the signature of the preamp. Pairing with either a really good tube or SS pre is very important and will really govern how the amp sounds. If you are going panels then it's just a natural fit and you will hear the best of what it can do.

What the Magtech amp brings to the system are seemingly endless reserves of energy... it is sometimes like this giant wave that just keeps getting bigger and bigger above you.

As a person who listens to large scale classical you will just love the way it never hints at any compression during the big moments... it makes listening to dynamic orchestral works quite breath taking. It reaches deep and has also great extension up top... I found pairing it with a pre with a beautiful lush mid range really optimal.

With a pre that builds a good soundstage the images are just incredibly lifelike... a lot like Maggies and Martin Logans that it teams well with... this is likely because it has so very little grain in it's presentation to start with.

Put a really good power cable with it... it responds and pays back by sounding like a much more expensive bit of gear... I have a Shunyata Black Mamba HC on it now and am waiting on the new Zitron Cobra that I have ordered. I will be getting a Shunyata Cyclops in for a listen when they are available as well.

Like Kev's experience with the Silver Circle the supply you feed it is critical... it might have to do with it's architecture... it's one of the few amps around with a fully regulated power supply... this might be why it tends to sound limitless.

I have noticed when Roger Sanders has his amps and speakers at shows he seems to usually run with the stereo amp so I am unsure if the step to mono is needed given how powerfully the stereo amp performs... I might consider putting that extra investment into really good power cable and conditioner (and even upgrade the amp's two fuses to Hi-fi Supremes).

Probably the best sign of how good the Sanders Magtech amp is that you rarely if ever see any around second hand... If I can save up enough for a pair of ARC Ref250's I will still keep the Sanders here as well... it is one of the rare bits of gear that are just too good to get rid of.

Graham

Thanks Graham for taking the time to chime in - most appreciated!

I currently run a PS Audio PPP for power conditioning (or rather, regeneration). I don't think it's restricting dynamics at the moment, and it certainly does quite a job stripping noise out of the AC supply... but I may at some point look toward other conditioners. As for power cables, I run Lessloss DFCPs to all my gear (electrostats included). I've had nothing but great experience with Louis' cables, but I'm always happy to audition other options.

Based on your input and Kevin's I'm certainly going to put more focus on MagTechs moving forward. I have a deep respect for Roger Sanders (coming from an EE background myself) and find his approach to designing and manufacturing his products most acceptable.

Cheers!

[bzr]

Hi Todd, no i never auditioned the amp in house. Listened to it at the Aust. importers demo room, the same as the Magnepan's, went home & read up on them & rang back the next day for a pick-up.
Another thought that I did have was that as far as I know,( google etc.) you will not find a bad word about Roger's Magtech's anywhere & those that have them are quite the smug!