The French Connection to the Great American Sound

[thur]

Hi everyone,

Before I am going to introduce myself (http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=11494) in the proper department I shall publish my system here! Narcisme isn't strange to us all, right :)

The Present:

http://www.thurbroeders.nl/images/TAOS/taos001.jpg
Third Magnepan installment: the Magneplanar 1.6 (the MG-2a's working as diffusers ... plus I can still listen to the old ladies whenever I like)

http://www.thurbroeders.nl/images/TAOS/taos002.jpg
Some SMGa's in the back (recently waxed the wood)

http://www.thurbroeders.nl/images/TAOS/taos003.jpg
The listening space

http://www.thurbroeders.nl/images/TAOS/taos004.jpg
Here's the Denon AVC-A10SE + Denon AVC-A1D (just in case).
As a source there is the allrounder Denon DVD 2900 and a Technics SL-1210mk2 (Denon DL-160 cartridge), using my Sony TA-FA3ES as an ad interim phono amp.

http://www.thurbroeders.nl/images/TAOS/taos005.jpg
The collection

The Past:

http://www.thurbroeders.nl/images/TAOS/taos006.jpg
Second Magnepan installment: MG-2A + SMGa

http://www.thurbroeders.nl/images/TAOS/taos007.jpg
First Magnepan installment: SMGa (2 pairs: 1 black, 1 vintage)

http://www.thurbroeders.nl/images/TAOS/taos008.jpg
The French Connection: 4 x Jean Marie Reynaud Opera.

http://www.thurbroeders.nl/images/TAOS/taos009.jpg

Greetings,

Thur

[Slippershod]

classy stuff all round...

love those Jean Marie Reynaud Opera speakers: look a bit like kef 105s to me but cuter?

[Spectral Morn]

Interesting set up Thur

Welcome to AOS.

Love big Denon AV amplifiers I have an A1SE myself, excellent even if it is a bit on the old side. Love Lowe TVs too, only the CRT ones mind, their LCDs are pretty poor.


Regards D S D L

[thur]

@Slippershod,

Yes, I loved them too. I sold them some months ago ... and regretted that immediately :doh:

Especially since I do have enough room to store them all. But at that time I had 3 pair Magnepans and 4 pair Jean Marie Reynauds. That was crazy. Still, shouldn't have sold the Operas.
They sound very different from the KEFs, though.

@D S D L,

Yes, the older Denons are great. In Stereo Direct mode quite sufficient for the MG 1.6, in DD and DTS certainly good enough. They are dated, but with 4 Magnepans one does not need a 7.1 setup ... and I do not have any Blu-Ray discs but an old - indeed a superior Loewe - CRT.

Greetings,

Thur.

[Reid Malenfant]

Hi Thur :) 4 Maggies, you'll have Alex (magiccarpetride) in a bit of a sweat :eyebrows:

Nice looking setup you have there & some very interesting kit! Also good to see someone else on here that listens to multichannel as there aren't many of us - i have to keep burning the torch :exactly:

I have gone down the blu ray route however so i had to go full HD, i do have a choice of TV or projector though... All good fun.

All the best to you :wave:

[Slippershod]

@Slippershod,

Yes, I loved them too. I sold them some months ago ... and regretted that immediately :doh:

They sound very different from the KEFs, though.



I know we're all very different on such matters, Thur, but aesthetically alone they do it for me - one of the nicest speakers I've seen. No doubt way out of my price range 'tho, so by the bye for me ...

Anyhow, I would imagine what you're left with more than makes up for letting them go :)

[s70rmp]

Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ

excellent cd, I bet that sounds great through them speakers

[Erik van Voorst]

Nostalgia....one of the very first serious audiophile speakers I heard for the first time in a home-situation listening room at a friend......

I was stunned...never forgot that moment.....:)

[MartinT]

Nice setup, Thur. How do the Maggie 1.6s compare with the 2as?

[thur]

Nice setup, Thur. How do the Maggie 1.6s compare with the 2as?

I did (and do) like the MG-2A's very much. But they are 30 years old and never serviced, so I didn't dare playing very loud, afraid I might harm the old ladies.
Then I listened to the 1.6's ... was pleasantly surprised ... so I bought them new.
But once home, to be honest, the MG-2A's were proving to be (in my room, that is) far far far superior: on paper they do only 45Hz to 16,000 Hz and all, but they really sing, while in comparison the pair 1.6 only play.

Greetings,

Thur

[MartinT]

but they really sing, while in comparison the pair 1.6 only play.

That's a really good way of describing the difference between components that are musical and components that are hi-fi :)

[thur]

Nostalgia....one of the very first serious audiophile speakers I heard for the first time in a home-situation listening room at a friend......
I was stunned...never forgot that moment.....:)

Hi Erik,

You are referring to the Jean Marie Reynaud Operas, I guess?

They truly ARE stunning, but need a lot of space to breathe. So in the room where I shelter my system the Magnepans do a better job. It's that simple.
And for my own peace of mind I decided to stop searching any further: what I am listening to now is a/my perfectly balanced - enjoyment, preference, space and budget - hotchpotch.

So an audiophile delight? I don't know. But MY pleasure? Yes :)

(While my son is preparing a 70's/80's playlist for a party this evening ... I listen to Penderecki's Seventh Symphony 'Seven Gates of Jerusalem' (Naxos 8.557766). This is what matters, isn't it?)

Greetings,

Thur

[Stefaan]

Marvellous set-up Thur!

[Alex_UK]

Looks great, and the Corbusier chair. :)

[keiths]

Looks great, and the Corbusier chair. :)

Shame about the curtains. ;)

[Alex_UK]

Shame about the curtains. ;)

:lol:

[thur]

Shame about the curtains. ;)

Err ... CURTAINS? WHAT CURTAINS?

I DO have the curtains ready, mind you. They are to be found somewhere deeply hidden in my bedroom wardrobe. (Just like I have my dishwasher somewhere on the ground floor in the scullery, still wrapped in cardboard so to speak, for 8 years already :rolleyes: )

But first - just for fun - I'm going to incorporate my (good old) Lenco L78SE into the main system. Bought that one somewhere 1978. Never stopped turning.

http://www.thurbroeders.nl/images/audio/Audio20101220002.jpg

I have ordered a Musical Fidelity V-LPS for that purpose. Nice :)

Greetings,

Thur.

[Alex_UK]

Err ... CURTAINS? WHAT CURTAINS?

Just a little standing joke I make about liking to see people's curtains - I know a lot more about curtains than I do hi-fi! :lol: