Sanders Amplifiers

[Drubin]

Any new thoughts on power cord pairings with the Magtech amp? I just got mine and, with my original Lessloss power cord, it was more than a shade dry of neutral, to borrow from Audiot Servant's comment above. Would like to find some candidates to steer it in a wetter direction, or whatever is the opposite of dry in audiophile-speak.

[audiot servant]

Drubin,

It would be great to have the rest of your system for context, you've got an amp that is capable of a high degree of transparency as I am sure you well know... I reckon it's a big, endlessly deep and kinda still lake of an amp. Where the tonal balance can really come in to play is probably in the electronics upstream of it IMO... not sure cables are the best place to chase additional warmth but thats just my couple of cents on that. A good tube pre with a Magtech is the way to get nicely warm if not exactly wet.

The Shunyata Zitron Cobra if you can go for one is a magic cable that is very highly resolving and musically its a joy. But I think overall it's balance is largely very neutral. The Black Mamba HC is a bit warmer but not nearly as resolving.

I'm thinking a couple of the guys here have or have had Magtechs (TSV, BZR and NoahG maybe) and might chime in with their experiences with cables for them. It's surprising how good that amp is if you give it the right gear around it tho.

Graham

[Drubin]

Thanks Graham. At the moment, I am feeding the Magtech directly from a Metric Halo LIO-8 Firewire DAC (also very neutral) and the Magtech is feeding Dunlavy SC-IIIA speakers. The amp I had been using was a Spectron, which, in the same system, has a darker, somewhat wetter sound.

I agree with your thought to not put too much emphasis on cables, but I was surprised by how much the Magtech responded to a simple power cord change I made the other night, hence the question. I have tube pre I can and will try out, but lately I've been preferring my system with the direct connection.

The new Shunyata is on my short list.

Dan

[chessman]

Drubin, welcome aboard!

And, oh yeah, what Graham said.

[Masterlu]

Drubin... Welcome!

[tsv_1]

Originally Posted by Drubin

Thanks Graham. At the moment, I am feeding the Magtech directly from a Metric Halo LIO-8 Firewire DAC (also very neutral) and the Magtech is feeding Dunlavy SC-IIIA speakers. The amp I had been using was a Spectron, which, in the same system, has a darker, somewhat wetter sound.

I agree with your thought to not put too much emphasis on cables, but I was surprised by how much the Magtech responded to a simple power cord change I made the other night, hence the question. I have tube pre I can and will try out, but lately I've been preferring my system with the direct connection.

The new Shunyata is on my short list.

Dan

Welcome Drubin

I've actually never tried swapping out my Lessloss DFPCs with any other PC so I don't have any sort of comparison to share with you. What I can say though is that my system has never been more revealing and nuanced as it is now in it's current configuration. If I try a diff PC model on the Magtech monos and notice any real change, I'll be sure to report back.

Good luck

[NoahG]

Welcome Drubin and congrats on your new Magtech.

I haven't tried many power cables with my Magtech. Since it sits very close to my PLC, I'm using a short DIY XLO/VDO ER-10 power cable.

I agree with audiot servant's recommendation to try a tube preamp if you're after a warmer sound.

There's a recent Magtech review on Stereotimes.com, and the reviewer uses
a Aesthetix Calypso Signature tube preamp.

If you don't want to change your front end components, I'd try some different
interconnects and speaker cables.

Another interesting tweak to try under the Magtech is the Synergistic Research MiG:Mechanical Interface Grounding.

[bzr]

Hi Drubin What everyone has said above is pretty much 100% on the money. For the wetter/warmer, that would be your pre-amp for the best result, do some auditioning in your own system. Also I agree with what NoahG said as the Magtech is a very neutral amp that reflects what you feed it hence sensitive to change/tweaks.

[Drubin]

Thanks for warm (and wet) welcome, everybody.

tsv_1 -- I've had pretty good luck with the Lessloss cords myself (I have 3 of them), but in this case.... BTW, the Magtech is plugged into a PS Audio P-5, though I also tried it straight into the wall.

I hear what you all are saying about preamps, but I respectfully disagree for me in this particular situation, at least for the moment. I don't want to warm up its neutrality, I want its neutrality to sound right and not to sound dry and bleached. From my many many years in the hobby, I have a feeling that cables and perhaps isolation can move the needle without having to insert a preamp into the signal path. But we'll see.

I'll keep you posted.

Dan

[Drubin]

Quick update to say that I absolutely love this amp. Perhaps there was some getting used to it. I did make a few changes: new speaker cables (AZ Satori replaced my Empirical Audio), Nordost Heimdall interconnects and the acquisition of a Shunyata Zitron Python power cord. The speaker cable and power cord changes seem to be very successful. This amp is more neutral and more dynamic than any I have had before and it also resolves spatial information in an almost frightening way. Most importantly, my system has the organic, human quality (oh the humanity!) that is essential for me, though its neutrality means it doesn't serve this up with an extra flesh and blood.

I'm about to build a dual mono implementation of the Hypex NCore 400's, but I'll be surprised if that's as good as, let alone better than, the Sanders.

Still want to play with a pre-amp. I have both the Lightspeed Attenuator, which I suppose doesn't really count, and a Doge 8 tube preamp. But at this time, I kind of hate to change anything.