Thanks for all the opinions so far. I am hopefully going to listen to and pick them up this weekend. Up until this point, I have been listening to Horns (Front and back loaded - fostex and Electro-Voice drivers), and a couple of Parts Express kits - BR-1's and the Usher 701 kit. So I am pretty excited to check out these Maggies and hopefully take them home.
I will be driving them with a tube amp running 4 6550/KT88's. I also have a 3886 based gainclone (which might be a little under-powered for this application- I can see this one burning up under load) and an Aleph 5 clone that I am in the process of building. So one of those puppies will hopefully do the trick.
Thanks to all who sent links, etc. I really appreciate that the info provided here...that is why I keep coming back to this forum....great minds and experience (plus it's pretty well organized).
Keep the opinions and info coming....I will try to report back when and if I decide to get them.
Thanks,
Wayne
I will be driving them with a tube amp running 4 6550/KT88's. I also have a 3886 based gainclone (which might be a little under-powered for this application- I can see this one burning up under load) and an Aleph 5 clone that I am in the process of building. So one of those puppies will hopefully do the trick.
Thanks to all who sent links, etc. I really appreciate that the info provided here...that is why I keep coming back to this forum....great minds and experience (plus it's pretty well organized).
Keep the opinions and info coming....I will try to report back when and if I decide to get them.
Thanks,
Wayne
My guess is that you will like the Aleph 5 clone the best on the SMGa.
Your GainClone might be the sleeper here. They never fail to impress me on their potential. As long as your rail voltages are lowish - 35VDC or less, 4 ohm loads are not an issue for the GC.
With all those amps, try biamping the SMGa. The Aleph on the Woofer panels and the GainClone on the Tweeter panel. Get one of those Marchand 2 way active crossovers and get rid of the stock Serial 2 way crossover (someone on this forum will buy it).
Your GainClone might be the sleeper here. They never fail to impress me on their potential. As long as your rail voltages are lowish - 35VDC or less, 4 ohm loads are not an issue for the GC.
With all those amps, try biamping the SMGa. The Aleph on the Woofer panels and the GainClone on the Tweeter panel. Get one of those Marchand 2 way active crossovers and get rid of the stock Serial 2 way crossover (someone on this forum will buy it).
I should say... I first listened to our SMG'a using a horrid mini system CD/Radio thing that was in the clearance bin at the Fry's electronics store. Despite this being far short of the required power, I could tell that the speakers were something special.
They are now driven by an Adcom GFA 585 that I repaired (see elsewhere on the forum). This is a good combination as the Adcom doesn't care what is connected to it (rated approx 400W into 4 Ohm and 250 into 8 ohm loads). Moreover, the speaker is quite loosely coupled to the source i.e. little motor feedback and a largely resistive load.
Ed
They are now driven by an Adcom GFA 585 that I repaired (see elsewhere on the forum). This is a good combination as the Adcom doesn't care what is connected to it (rated approx 400W into 4 Ohm and 250 into 8 ohm loads). Moreover, the speaker is quite loosely coupled to the source i.e. little motor feedback and a largely resistive load.
Ed
quote:
Originally posted by kuroguy
Lets not start quoting bloated amplifier power ratings. My 832 puts out about 5 watts per channel and works my Maggies hard. The Maggies rate about 86db/w at one meter. You should be able to figure out the required power from that.
JimOfOakCreek:
I don't think your opinion on 5 watts is in the mainstream. I'm not disputing your experience but in general, most Maggie owners recommend well more power than 5 watts.
I'm with Jim.
i have 3 MGMC1s (the 2 way mmg upgrade) and i put a fair amount of power into them and they sound best (not just loud) but even modestly run with more power: http://www.qscaudio.com/products/amps/rmx/rmx.htm
my L&R are 2 channels of a 1450, my Center is one channel of a 1850hd (so into 4 ohms at least 400W each)
i've also run them well (L&R) from an Accurus 200x3 (using only 2 channels) and that's 400W into 4 ohms as well.
with a parasound (180W into 4 ohms) not as effortless. and with the Behringer A500 (supposedly 230W into 4 ohms) they sounded much less authoratative when pushed.
i don't play them hard, even in a home theater, so i'm not as concerned about overdriving, but based on my highly unscientific research
they seem happiest with 400W into 4 ohms form amps with big power supplies (heavier the amp the happier the speaker)
Originally posted by kuroguy
Lets not start quoting bloated amplifier power ratings. My 832 puts out about 5 watts per channel and works my Maggies hard. The Maggies rate about 86db/w at one meter. You should be able to figure out the required power from that.
JimOfOakCreek:
I don't think your opinion on 5 watts is in the mainstream. I'm not disputing your experience but in general, most Maggie owners recommend well more power than 5 watts.
I'm with Jim.
i have 3 MGMC1s (the 2 way mmg upgrade) and i put a fair amount of power into them and they sound best (not just loud) but even modestly run with more power: http://www.qscaudio.com/products/amps/rmx/rmx.htm
my L&R are 2 channels of a 1450, my Center is one channel of a 1850hd (so into 4 ohms at least 400W each)
i've also run them well (L&R) from an Accurus 200x3 (using only 2 channels) and that's 400W into 4 ohms as well.
with a parasound (180W into 4 ohms) not as effortless. and with the Behringer A500 (supposedly 230W into 4 ohms) they sounded much less authoratative when pushed.
i don't play them hard, even in a home theater, so i'm not as concerned about overdriving, but based on my highly unscientific research
they seem happiest with 400W into 4 ohms form amps with big power supplies (heavier the amp the happier the speaker) 
I guess the discrepancy comes from the fact that you are using nameplate power ratings for your amps and I am using actual steady state measured power for my amp. I seriously doubt you are throwing 400 watts continuously into your speakers. more likely, you are throwing something like 4 or 5 watts average and the instantaneous power dissipation jumps to some very high value during transients. The real problem here is that manufacturers rate their power output differently and in particular, sand amp manufacturers are more concerned with being able to quote a high power rating rather than a realistic one, even if it is an instantaneous power rating that if sustained for any amount of time would likely damage your speakers.
kuroguy said:
sounds fine, the point being if they're liars, i find the ones peddaling 400W lies were a better fit than the ones claiming 180-220W
kuroguy said:
what is a "sand amp"
kuroguy said:
thank goodness i listen to music and i stopped listening to sustained sine-waves in college, phew!
^^ certainly. Even a "back of the envelope" calculation tells us that the 400W amplifier is operating with plenty of headroom.
As to the Magnepans being a difficult load, I think this is somewhat misleading. Electrically speaking they are closer to a purely resistive load than many speakers. That the impedance is low (4 ohms nominal for an SMGa), in combination with low sensitivity means that an amplifier will need to supply greater current for a given sound level, so you'll run out of steam sooner.
The speakers will favour amps designed to drive low impedance loads.
Ed
As to the Magnepans being a difficult load, I think this is somewhat misleading. Electrically speaking they are closer to a purely resistive load than many speakers. That the impedance is low (4 ohms nominal for an SMGa), in combination with low sensitivity means that an amplifier will need to supply greater current for a given sound level, so you'll run out of steam sooner.
The speakers will favour amps designed to drive low impedance loads.
Ed
ok...I picked the Maggies this morning...after close examination they seem to be in really nice shape. The oak sides are a little scratched and tweed material has a couple of snag marks - but all in all they look great...a good 7.5 - 8 out of 10.
Going to fire them up later this evening (need to re-arrange some things). I will be using my gainclone to start off with. 4ohm might be pushing it a little...but for testing I think it will be ok. Once the Aleph 5 clone is complete...I will use that to drive them.
I will report back later.
Wayne.
Going to fire them up later this evening (need to re-arrange some things). I will be using my gainclone to start off with. 4ohm might be pushing it a little...but for testing I think it will be ok. Once the Aleph 5 clone is complete...I will use that to drive them.
I will report back later.
Wayne.
Jim,
I think that I really did...been listening to them for about an hour and they sound wonderful....imaging is beautiful....background is very "black".....You almost can't tell where the sound is coming from. There was huge smile on my face when I fired them up for the first time!!
I think that I may do a few upgrades over time. The crossover mod looks fairly simple and I may recover them...slightly faded and like I said there are a couple of snags in fabric. But for now they seem fine.
The gainclone seems to drive them fine for now....it does get a little hot....but I am driving a 4 ohm load (I expected that).
I will try and post a couple of pics later.
Wayne
PS. Jim, if you think this was a good deal...let me tell you about my Marantz 2130 tuner....found it a Goodwill for $9.50! Works perfectly - yes even the scope...one of the lamps was out.
I think that I really did...been listening to them for about an hour and they sound wonderful....imaging is beautiful....background is very "black".....You almost can't tell where the sound is coming from. There was huge smile on my face when I fired them up for the first time!!
I think that I may do a few upgrades over time. The crossover mod looks fairly simple and I may recover them...slightly faded and like I said there are a couple of snags in fabric. But for now they seem fine.
The gainclone seems to drive them fine for now....it does get a little hot....but I am driving a 4 ohm load (I expected that).
I will try and post a couple of pics later.
Wayne
PS. Jim, if you think this was a good deal...let me tell you about my Marantz 2130 tuner....found it a Goodwill for $9.50! Works perfectly - yes even the scope...one of the lamps was out.
Pics of the SMGa's can be found here...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/16460801@N06/2398735514/in/photostream/
Wayne
http://www.flickr.com/photos/16460801@N06/2398735514/in/photostream/
Wayne
If you have replaced the fuse and cleaned the contact points on the crappy fuse holder and still no sound, you are going to have to pull the socks as see if you have a break in the circuit elsewhere. Be advised though, this old a Maggie is usually ready for a tweeter rebuild. The aluminum wiring used on the tweeter section is small diameter and disintegrates eventually.
Probably time for an inspection of the mylar and wiring.
amt
Probably time for an inspection of the mylar and wiring.
amt
- Status
- This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.