Hi Sogood51, pop away my friend!

we have to be careful here in describing what we are hearing in the presentation. The amps you mention are all ok. Nothing wrong with them. Trust me once you hear something like a Halcro you will understand. It adds nothing and is utterly detailed. It is the last word in faithful reproduction. Remember it has the honour of being the amp with nearly 0 distortion! No valve amp I know of can do that.

I dont want to be a valve amp basher as Iike most good ones have owned some great ones. But you will find in a full range set up, there is a "thud" like approach to low bass in comparison. Some recordings benefit from it, but its not real, its an artifact of the amp. The rest is down to taste but facts are facts

chadeffect January 15, 2008 20:31

I hate to pop your post Chadeffect, but tubes do work well with some panels. I'm using Rogue Audio mono blocks with my Apogee Duetta Signatures with "great Results"....better than: Krell Ksa-250, Krell Kav-500, Bat VK-500, Pass 150....and a few others.

Your Apogees are not set up properly...this could affect your opinion to some degree?

Dave

sogood51 January 15, 2008 02:10

Vinyl19 "Jolida JD 3000 mono blocks"
Remember the valve is over 100 years old now. Technology has moved on.

The only problem with these tube amps is driving a full range speaker. None of these valve amps can give you real controlled bass especially with a MG20.1 or MG3.6 etc. Besides wasting more energy than is ever right in the 21 century! Think ice caps.

We love them for there midrange and 3rd harmonic distortion but the new generation of solidstate amp really is as fluid as a valve without any of the problems. Just make sure its good one and your source is good.

chadeffect January 15, 2008 01:10

Best amps for the Maggies, Without a doubt the Jolida JD 3000 mono blocks 200 watts each [best amps for the money!],
Audio Research's Reference 110 Stereo Amplifier and 210 Tube Mono blocks.
VTL's MB-750 Reference at 750 Watts per channel.[HUGE] These amps along in combination with Viva and VAC pre amps are the best I've ever heard with the 3.6 or 20.1 by far!

Makes me wonder why any one would even bother with solid state.

Cheers,

Vinyl9

vinyl9 January 13, 2008 08:01

I had 3.6r and at the time tried a lot of different amps. I have to say the big Audio research tube amps were a match made in heaven. But at the expense of the last bit of control and volume. But what they did was magical. Anything from VT150 onwards would be good. If you want that last bit of control and ultra low noise and distortion, Halcro DM series will blow your mind. If thats too rich for the blood try ICE power amps like Bel canto Ref 1000 etc! I use them on my Apogees and it is the finest sound you will hear if your source is good! Oh BTW move the Maggies away from the back wall when you are listening. In your picture they look too close. The panel will sound congested and less dynamic like that

chadeffect January 12, 2008 12:39

Shhh! come close I'll tell you the ideal amp for maggies.NYAL Moscode 600.

gregadd November 25, 2007 02:31

Another amp suggestion could be the Carver Pro ZR1600 I have one powering my .5's. Alot smaller than yours but power in spades. I am curious if it would still be enough for you ;)-~. It's 600watts x 2 into 4ohms. It's a pro amp so it has 1/4in. phono plug inputs, that you would need a mono phono plug adapter to run your RCA's into(to avoid hum). Or have a custom cable made for your needs.

This amp has been especially sought after by Maggie owners for it's tube-like qualities and overall power. I bought mine used on Ebay for around $550 a couple years ago.

colitas November 24, 2007 19:31

Very nice system you have. I agree with the others though, they are to close to the wall....try the "CARDAS" setup method for dipoles if you can.

I would run the mr/tw ribbon on the inside once you get them setup properly. Running them on the outside smears the center image and forces a large degree of toe-in to overcome the damage done...properly setup dipoles don't require toe-in, a half inch "at most" if you must.

Dave

sogood51 November 21, 2007 01:03

Hey,

A great start and recommend some simple changes initially. Consistent with other Magnepan owners moving the speaker out from the wall will help. My 3.6's are 38" from the back wall, toed in with the tweeters on the outside.

I have had solid improvement using the large Golden Cones (from MusicDirect) under my Magnepans in a tiangle. Two on outer end of one stand and the other in the middle right under the speaker. I do not have children and my speakers are not in a traffic area. Improved focus was the benefit.
You might also consider isoldation cones under your components especially the CD.

I have also had great luck with power cord upgrades and like the Shunyata's which are always available on Audiogone.

I have owned Magnepans since I first started in 1984. (II,III,3.5 and now 3.6) and learned they require solid fast power. I am currently using a Levinson 336 with a Conrad Johnson CT5 tube preamp. I like the recommendation of the Audio Research VT200 and have heard this combination.

Simple upgrades such as isolation, power cables and speaker placement is a great start.

Regards
Drew

drew3 November 20, 2007 22:03

Casej:

I concurr with our fellow audiogoners that you have a very good setup indeed.

Basically I'd like to suggest that at this point if you haven't done any changes since posting in 2/27, that you start refining (read try different things in order to get a more suited to your taste sound...

I'd take a look into vibration tuning (footers ) for your player and integrated on one side and cones/footers under your MIT boxes, cable elevators on the other might be worth considering.

It really attracted my attention the different surfaces where your Magnepans are one is tile and the other is on carpet. Maybe another member who has or had Maggies could share some suggestions here.

Another area to consider definitely is accoustics and power feed

Just pointers, regards

Luis

sol322 August 09, 2007 12:59

What a great first system or second or third for that matter. Should you feel the need to replace something, more power would be my first choice. But it really seems like you should sit back and enjoy the tunes.

glenfihi August 09, 2007 00:09

power is good for maggies. power is expensive. then maybe have the phillips modified. while you can get away with low power the maggies continue to bloom with addition of power. In fact I always thought the maggies were an excellent speaker for testing how an amp behaves under clipping.

gregadd August 08, 2007 09:40

Moving them away from the wall is great advice. You may want to try placing them on edge for something different sounding[you can always put them back]Seems like a cool system to me, the 3.6's would be my dream speaker. You may want to try a tube output cd player for a real warm sound. I've heard the 3.6 with Jolida's 200 watt monblocks with VAC and Viva Preamps, either combo really makes them sound sweet! I would just listen to what you have for now. Another nice subwoofer is the BG Radia Z-subi it has a real 150 watt triodal amp built in with real internal wiring for a change! Plus it comes with very nice cherry wood verneer all for about $699.

Happy listening!

Vinyl9

vinyl9 February 26, 2007 20:17

Hi,

A nice start! Not many people start at this level.

I have a comment,
I have Magnepan 3.6's. I have tried several high quality amps. Solid state and Tube. The magenpans really came to life with the Audio Research VT200. 200 watts/ch tube amp.

Good Luck
Dave

boycephoto February 26, 2007 02:56

Hi Casej,

Looks like quite a good "1st attempt" - congratulations. Nice clean and simple setup too I might add. Going with the Rogue was a particularly good choice and good value for money.

You may get some benefit from moving the Maggies a bit more out from the wall if possible. Aside from that, not sure that I would be replacing anything and, rather, might think of adding a subwoofer. Of course this depends on whether you deem it necessary and/or are happy with the sound as is. If you do ending up considering it, a nice fast sub akin to a REL, Velodyne, MJ Acoustics, ACI, etc., would likely suit your Maggie's quite nicely.

That said, take your time and enjoy what you've got.

Happy listening,
Garry

garryh February 26, 2007 02:45