Amp for Magnepans

[hoopsontoast]

I will need a new Power Amp to go with the Magnepans, the Audion is on its way to a new owner tomorrow.

The impedence load is pretty resistive, but at around 4 Ohms so I need a pretty stable amp that has plenty of punch if not outright power.

Any ideas around the £200 mark, maybe up to around £250 (just sold the sub so can spend a little more)

Also if its available (for sale) now, would be a bonus.

Cheers, Rob

[sq225917]

Rob, these do like a few watts up em, you're asking a lot.

[hoopsontoast]

Any idea if this may work well...

http://www.bkelec.com/HiFi/ClassD/ClassD.htm

[Effem]

Any idea if this may work well...

http://www.bkelec.com/HiFi/ClassD/ClassD.htm

That seems very good value :eyebrows:

I don't see why it shouldn't be enough to get the Maggies going, unless you want high volumes in a very big room

[Stratmangler]

Just have done with it and buy a NAD http://www.superfi.co.uk/p-3149-nad-c316bee-amplifier.aspx
You'll get a remote controllable amp with plenty of grunt, and a decent sound to boot.

[hoopsontoast]

Just have done with it and buy a NAD http://www.superfi.co.uk/p-3149-nad-c316bee-amplifier.aspx
You'll get a remote controllable amp with plenty of grunt, and a decent sound to boot.

Cheers, but looking for a power amp.

[hoopsontoast]

Any other ideas?

[Alan Sircom]

I will need a new Power Amp to go with the Magnepans, the Audion is on its way to a new owner tomorrow.

The impedence load is pretty resistive, but at around 4 Ohms so I need a pretty stable amp that has plenty of punch if not outright power.

Any ideas around the £200 mark, maybe up to around £250 (just sold the sub so can spend a little more)

Also if its available (for sale) now, would be a bonus.

Cheers, Rob

Planar magnetic designs are notoriously power hungry, especially at high frequencies, because while they are a resistive four ohm load, the reactance varies considerably WRT frequency. It's not a room dependent issue; you need a fair degree of power just to prevent the loudspeakers from sounding uneven across the frequency range at any volume level.

Worse, the load characteristics mean you need an amp with a very stiff power supply (one that basically doubles its power output almost perfectly from eight ohms to four ohms... and that immediately invalidates a lot of Class D designs, which can often crap out below eight ohms). Try this and you'll be driving the amp into clipping at very low listening levels.

I'm not a Maggie user, but many of my American colleagues love them. They recommend an amp that can deliver 140W into eight ohms and 280W into four ohms as a bare minimum to drive any Magneplanar loudspeaker. You'll also probably need an amp with a very low output impedance. Realistically though, you'll need 400wpc to be able to listen to any Maggies without them sounding significantly dynamically limited.

You might want to try a second-hand NAD or Rotel power amp that fits those requirements. But I think you'll struggle to find such a thing at £200.

[hoopsontoast]

Cheers, My room is not massive so I dont think I need massive power, but will have a look!

[chelsea]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Classic-Vintage-NAD-2200-Power-Amplifier-/300790812959?pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_HomeAudioHiF i_Amplifiers&hash=item460887911f

any good?

or a sony 55es on ebay.

Don't have a clue if they would be any good though.

[Alan Sircom]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Classic-Vintage-NAD-2200-Power-Amplifier-/300790812959?pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_HomeAudioHiF i_Amplifiers&hash=item460887911f

any good?

or a sony 55es on ebay.

Don't have a clue if they would be any good though.

That would be perfect!

[hoopsontoast]

Just say, how would that NAD compare to a Quad Elite Stereo?
Found one within budget.

[Alan Sircom]

Cheers, My room is not massive so I dont think I need massive power, but will have a look!

The power requirements of Maggies are not room dependent. They need a considerable amount of power just to get going.

They have their own room-related issues, like needing to be about a metre from the rear and side walls, but the juice thing isn't one of them.

[Alan Sircom]

Just say, how would that NAD compare to a Quad Elite Stereo?
Found one within budget.

I'd say go with the NAD.

1. It seems extremely cheap for what is basically a new amp, even s/h
2. I'm not convinced it will drive the Maggies well enough

[hoopsontoast]

I have had a photo of the sales receipt, it seems fine (Audio Affair, where he bought it from are selling it new for £550 odd) and the main thing that puts me off the NAD is experience with big power amps of that age, with reliability issues as they are now 20 odd years old.

[Alan Sircom]

I have had a photo of the sales receipt, it seems fine (Audio Affair, where he bought it from are selling it new for £550 odd) and the main thing that puts me off the NAD is experience with big power amps of that age, with reliability issues as they are now 20 odd years old.

Then go for it, but I'm still wary of the power issue. It just might not be powerful enough, and you'll end up complaining about the 'grey' sounding Maggies.

The last pair of Maggies I reviewed I used with a Meridian 557 (200W/8, 300W/4) and it was just the right side of struggling.

[DSJR]

Haven't a clue here, but the power rating into 4 ohms and besically well behaved (sonically and measured) performance of some of the later HH amps (amongst other pro amps I'm unfamiliar with) may be worth a gander for £250. My HH VX300 has a nice large transformer, seemingly good reservoir supply and if the bigger models are as good as this one, a VX900 should be "adequate ;)"

[hoopsontoast]

Went for the Quad Elite in the end, play it safe. :)

[sq225917]

At 80w, and not doubling down 160/320 etc that Quad amp might not have the guts.

[Alan Sircom]

At 80w, and not doubling down 160/320 etc that Quad amp might not have the guts.

That would be my concern too.

[hoopsontoast]

Worries noted.

[PLINIUS]

It is nowhere near enough, a Musical Fidelity E300 IS THE MINIMUM. Better, but more expensive on the second market, a BRYSTON 3b.

[hoopsontoast]

Right.....

Going by specs, the E300 is no better than the Quad apart from an extra 20w output....

The MMG's are not a particularly difficult load, pretty resistive at 5Ohms'ish dipping to just below 4Ohms in the treble with no odd phase angles.

[griggsy_w]

You could look out for a 2 separate Rotel RB-970BX power amps. These are rated at 60W RMS x 2 at THD 0.03% but if you get 2 you can bridge them - Bridged Mono Rating: 180W x 1 at 8 ohms. Dynamic Power: 110W DIN at 4 ohms, 1kHz, 1% THD
I know as I was thinking about this once a long time ago. Any way I just happen to have one that is up in my loft in original box as new if you are interested and you can have it for £125.00 -That gives you half to find another one and they are always on ebay.
I also have the pre amp and Phono if any one out there wants them. I live on the outskirts of Southampton so not that far for you to travel if you want to give it a go. Don,t think you can loose really at that price. You can even borrow it for a week to try it out if you want but you would have to do the travelling. Food for thought any way
http://www.hifidatabase.com/Detailed/Rotel_RB-970BX_MKII_31.php
Regards - Wayne.

[PLINIUS]

Right.....

Going by specs, the E300 is no better than the Quad apart from an extra 20w output....

The MMG's are not a particularly difficult load, pretty resistive at 5Ohms'ish dipping to just below 4Ohms in the treble with no odd phase angles.
It has more current than the Quad at 4Ohms, wattage is less important.

[hoopsontoast]

You could look out for a 2 separate Rotel RB-970BX power amps. These are rated at 60W RMS x 2 at THD 0.03% but if you get 2 you can bridge them - Bridged Mono Rating: 180W x 1 at 8 ohms. Dynamic Power: 110W DIN at 4 ohms, 1kHz, 1% THD
I know as I was thinking about this once a long time ago. Any way I just happen to have one that is up in my loft in original box as new if you are interested and you can have it for £125.00 -That gives you half to find another one and they are always on ebay.
I also have the pre amp and Phono if any one out there wants them. I live on the outskirts of Southampton so not that far for you to travel if you want to give it a go. Don,t think you can loose really at that price. You can even borrow it for a week to try it out if you want but you would have to do the travelling. Food for thought any way
http://www.hifidatabase.com/Detailed/Rotel_RB-970BX_MKII_31.php
Regards - Wayne.

I thought with those amps, bridging them caused them to be less stable with a 4 Ohm load?

[hoopsontoast]

Well I will see how I get on with the Quad for the moment as I have already bought it :)

[daytona600]

Bit over budget but drive maggies to any level
Drive just about anything

http://dagogo.com/View-Article.asp?hArticle=393






.

[hoopsontoast]

Bit over budget but drive maggies to any level
Drive just about anything

http://dagogo.com/View-Article.asp?hArticle=393


'Bit' over budget @ $5k :doh:

[magiccarpetride]

Planar magnetic designs are notoriously power hungry, especially at high frequencies, because while they are a resistive four ohm load, the reactance varies considerably WRT frequency. It's not a room dependent issue; you need a fair degree of power just to prevent the loudspeakers from sounding uneven across the frequency range at any volume level.

Worse, the load characteristics mean you need an amp with a very stiff power supply (one that basically doubles its power output almost perfectly from eight ohms to four ohms... and that immediately invalidates a lot of Class D designs, which can often crap out below eight ohms). Try this and you'll be driving the amp into clipping at very low listening levels.

I'm not a Maggie user, but many of my American colleagues love them. They recommend an amp that can deliver 140W into eight ohms and 280W into four ohms as a bare minimum to drive any Magneplanar loudspeaker. You'll also probably need an amp with a very low output impedance. Realistically though, you'll need 400wpc to be able to listen to any Maggies without them sounding significantly dynamically limited.

You might want to try a second-hand NAD or Rotel power amp that fits those requirements. But I think you'll struggle to find such a thing at £200.

I'm driving my Maggies using a 40 wpc Deltec amp (DPA 200), and they sound marvellous. I've tried driving them with a few ten times more powerful but way cheaper amps, and they caused Maggies to sound incoherent. From that I conclude that it's not the quantity, it's the quality that matters. Just sheer copious amount of wattage ain't gonna cut it.

Many lower quality amps have (somewhat hidden, but nevertheless serious) issues with deep bass, in that they don't seem to be able to cope with the deep bass signals. This causes them to mess up the mid and upper range too. A good sturdy little amp, even if built to deliver only 20 wpc, can withstand the demands of the deep bass signals, and will continue to deliver coherent sound across all frequencies.

Maggies are very revealing of the upstream signal, and if your amp is not doing its job properly, Maggies will reveal all the blemishes and put them in the spotlight. At which point no amount of sheer wattage will be able to rectify the poor sound.

[hoopsontoast]

Well I got the Quad yesterday, and its works brilliantly!

Matches a lot better than the Audion did.

[macvisual]

You could try a "Behringer A500" (balanced/single ended) power amp, around 300 watts into 4 ohms, should do the trick I would imagine..!!

The Behringer A500 costs £139.99 new with free postage within UK from 'gear4music', I ordered mine today.

[Reid Malenfant]

You could try a "Behringer A500" (balanced/single ended) power amp, around 300 watts into 4 ohms, should do the trick I would imagine..!!

The Behringer A500 costs £139.99 new with free postage within UK from 'gear4music', I ordered mine today.
While a whole lot of Behringer gear is superb value for money (I love the DCX24/96 Ultradrive speaker management system - I have five (5) of them), the A500 isn't all that much cop imho...

If you want to go pro equipment, look to Lab Gruppen for amplifiers ;)

With a standard five year warranty you know it'll last in a domestic setting :lol:

[hoopsontoast]

I have had the A500 before and it was not great, that was with some ATC SCM7's.

Those Lab Gruppen amps are just a bit over budget ;)

[hoopsontoast]

Do you think a denon pma-2000ae would do the trick? Had one before and it was certainly quite muscular

[Reid Malenfant]

Looking at the price & spec of one, I'd probably have to say yes! :)

That's a fair chunk of cash for an integrated, so I guess that while the power output isn't humungous, it'll probably have some serious current delivery :eyebrows:

[hoopsontoast]

I had one earlier in the year but only used it with some AE2's and the Kolts:
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7227/7348667210_7665abd8fe_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/hoopsontoast/7348667210/)
System (http://www.flickr.com/photos/hoopsontoast/7348667210/) by RSdesignUK (http://www.flickr.com/people/hoopsontoast/), on Flickr
I have the opportunity to buy it back, at the same price (£550)

[Reid Malenfant]

Hell, it's a monster :eek:

Well the spec says it'll put out 80W RMS 8 ohm & 160W RMS 4 ohm with only a slight increase in distortion. My guess is it'd nearly double again into 2 ohms.

It obviously has a well built, stiff power supply :)

[Alan Sircom]

Do you think a denon pma-2000ae would do the trick? Had one before and it was certainly quite muscular

Well, it doubles its power output into four ohms, so it should be a good on-paper choice. Maggies tend to like amps with a fully regulated (or 'stiff') power supply.

[hoopsontoast]

Cool :)