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Maggies and Tubes
Hi all -- I am faced with a conundrum of sorts... but maybe a good one....
I currently have Martin Logan Odysseys biamped with a sunfire cinema grand signature.... Per the spec - this equates to 850 watts into the woofer and 850 watts into the panels into a 4 ohm load... divide that by 2 into an 8 ohm load.... this is all hooked up to a cary slp98p preamp.... My plan is to get some maggie 20.7s... However, this leaves me with a need for an amp for the secondary system.... or a better amp for the primary system.... Since the sunfire is a big solid state amp - my thought was -- could I get something that might be different - but great none the less... I need to hook up the sunfire to the maggies when I get them... and see how things go.... but, the other system at that point will be 'amp-less'..... I have a couple of solid state pre-amps I can utilize with the Martin Logan system but would need an amp.... So.... back to the OP's topic (that would be me)..... I saw this PrimaLuna Dialogue Premium HP stereo amp.. Produces 70w ultralinear mode.... but.... it has a mono switch on the back... so if you flip it - power doubles and if you purchase a second one - you have two mono-blocks w 150-175 watts (depending on tube choice).... This seemed interesting to me - since I could essentially buy one - possibly use it on the ML system (or if it sounds better on the maggies)... The ML system would be for casual listening .... What are your thoughts on this? It allows me to create a big mono-block possibility in the future - if the maggies are happy with tube amplification with this type of power etc.... and also gets me an amp for my secondary system now....... Or if the sunfire just sounds great with the mags - I just stay with the stereo amp and not get the monoblock addition down the road Give me some feedback on tubes (150-175 watts worth of tubes) and maggies... I am hoping the stats will be fine for non-critical listening....(i.e. - I put it on when we are eating dinner...or sitting on the deck outside.... The current system is located near both areas.... |
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Amps I have used with my 3.7's include a 300 wpc krell SS, 185 wpc Emotiva SS, 700 wpc pass lab SS, 200 wpc pass labs SS, 75 wpc Cayin tube, 400 wpc Modwright SS, 900 wpc Sanders Magtech SS, 500 wpc BAT SS, and my current 180 wpc Rogue M180's Tube. Thus far the only amps I felt were to underpowered to actually use was the cayin and the emotiva. The 200wpc pass labs are class A and I never felt like they were running out of juice. The Rogue M180's are plenty of power for me but I think 180-200wpc class A or tube power is about as low as you can get away with.
Last edited by harri009; 01-18-2015 at 03:25 PM. |
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Favorite would probably be the Pass XA100.5's but the Rogues are probably number 2. If you have the coin for some 100.5's or 160.5's I say go that route. If you only have about 3k to spend the M180's are excellent
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Caelin Gabriel President Shunyata Research |
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It's been a while since I owned the Magtech and at the time the direct comparison was with a X350.5. The only thing I remember as notable was that the Magtech was darker. :/ been to long
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As for tubes vs SS for Maggies, I prefer SS for amp(s) and tubs for source devices. Maggies need power and LOTS of it to sound their best and this means a really good power supply (read about the Magtech Power supply), Magnepan states this on their website too. There are some decent sized tube amps available however, very few get to the level (and at what cost?) that the big Maggies require to sound their best. Brett
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Main System: McIntosh C1100 preamp w/Mullard CV4004 & CV4024, Bryston 14B3, Magnepan 20.7s, Mye Stands, JL F110 Sub(2), Oppo UDP-205, Linn Klimax DSM DAC/Steamer |
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I agree that the best match for the 20.7s is a solid state amp with a large power supply. |
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I went from ARC to Krell for more raw power (I have 20.1's), and I am now buying harri009's Pass Labs, which are the best solid state I have heard with Maggies.
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Poland: Silenzio, Simaudio, Luxman, Bricasti, Bryston, Shunyata, Stax, Meze, Linn, Audeze, and Dan Clark Headphones, Stax, Wireworld, Crystal, Nordost, Siltech. Home Main System: Magnepan 20.7, Pass Labs XA 100.5, Audio Research Reference 6, Esoteric P-03, D-03, G0-Rb, DV-60, Clearaudio Innovation & Tangent arm, VPI HW19 MK4 & ET 2.5 arm, Mark Levinson 37, Aesthetix Rhea Signature, Magnum Dynalab Etude, Kiseki PHS, Sumiko Palos Santos Presentation,Wireworld, Crystal Absolute Dream, Shunyata, Acoustic Zen, and Stealth cables Other Avalon Arcus, Snell Type AIII, Tympani IV, Green Mountain Europa, Martin Logan CLS, Tympani 1D, Counterpoint, GAS, Yamaha, Levinson, Perreaux, Proceed, Theta, Linn, and other collectibles, including 60 different headphones and 30+ headphone amps, over 60 cartridges, and too many cables, stands, and tweaks to list. |
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