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Amp Section for New Pair of Magenpan 3.7i

Not long ago I purchased a new pair of Magenpan 3.7i speakers after listening to them driven by Classe preamp and amp. My uncomfortable truth is the Magenpan speakers never sounded half as good at home as they did at the dealer which I attribute to my aged but working 40 year old Yamaha M-2 power amp.


My only source of music is a (lossless files) USB hard drive by way of my Oppo 105D optical drive.  I foresee no more tuners, tape drive or vinyl in my future and after my experience with RTA and equalizers I would say I am a straight wire with gain type of person.  With my bad knees at least a minimal remote control for off/on & volume control is essential.  Stereo music is the critical priority so 5 channel and 7 channel home theater amps are not something I would be interested in. The total budget is less than $10,000. Given the dealers willingness to make deals on demos that would mean perhaps under $15,000 retail price.

One huge reservation I have is that in my experience the Classe amps do double duty as very effective space heaters which is not desired in my modest 15’ by 24’ listening room.

The same dealer also sells AR and PrimaLuna. I assume PrimaLuna is not the same quality as AR and Classe?

Right now using the Oppo 105d I select music from my USB hard drive that I can view on my TV. Is there a more elegant solution I should consider?

Thank you in advance.


timothywright
16 responses Add your response
gdnrbob
4,407 posts
 
AR and Primaluna are pretty good quality. The question is:
What will be the best fit for the Maggies?
My suggestion is to PM John Rutan (Audioconnection is his Agon tag).
He sells Maggies and knows what works with them. And, despite being a dealer, he's a really nice and knowledgeable fellow who won't try to sell you anything unless you want it.
Bob
timothywright OP
55 posts
 
Thank you I will PM John Rutan as soon as I figure out how.
roxy54's avatar
roxy54
7,635 posts
 
I would think that a Prima Luna would put out more heat than a Classe amp.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,566 posts
 
Because Maggies have rear-firing output, they should be at least 5 feet from the wall behind them for best results.

If you are using a tube amp its mandatory to keep the speaker cables as short as possible- we've made 8" cables for our customers for this purpose (the amps our customers use on this speaker are monoblocks). It makes a big difference in the amp's ability to make bass on the speaker!

Its a good move you're getting the Yamaha power supplies refurbished. A speaker like this needs power and the power supply has to be up to snuff.

Pass Labs makes great amps for this speaker but since heat is a concern you'll want something class AB (your Yamaha is class AB) or else class D. The newer crop of class D amps can do quite well on this speaker. Your Oppo already has remote volume control. As remotes go, their solution was not too bad; Oppo had/has a lot of respect in the high end community- they were missed when they elected to get out of the sport.
brownsfan
1,508 posts
 
I was a fan of Maggies for years.  My last pair was a set of 3.7's which were used in a room slightly smaller than yours.  Since you don't want space heaters, I think Ralph's class D suggestion is well worth considering.  I use Atmasphere M-60's in my main rig, but I recently picked up a Lyngdorf for my downstairs rig and really enjoy it.  It is not in the same league as my M-60's, but it is really good.  I would think the Lyngdorf 3400 would be well within your budget and easily up to the task of driving the Maggies at 2x400 WPC into 4 Ohms.  And I would urge you not to discount the DSP (room perfect) which I found to be a game changer in a room with bad acoustics.   The Lyngdorf produces almost no heat and can be left on 24/7, but it does come with a full feature remote.  Seems like a perfect choice to me.  If I went back to Maggies, the Lyngdorf would be the first amp I would try.
rodge827's avatar
rodge827
614 posts
 
Tommy at Digital Amplifier Company tests his amps on Maggies. Fantastic sounding class D amps that deliver a smooth non fatigued sound with plenty of grunt to drive them. I use a low power STM integrated on my 100db horns with great results. Thinking to sell my SET monos since the DAC amps are that good. 30 day return policy to boot. 
https://www.cherryamp.com/
johnto
972 posts
 
I running mine with a Pass 250.8 great sound plenty of power for Maggie's. There is some heat but I find people who don't own Pass greatly exaggerate it. That falls within your price range.
gdnrbob
4,407 posts
 
@OP,
To PM someone, just go to home page.
Click on the explore tab dropdown and click on member lookup to the right.
Enter Audioconnection and Viola!
B
rdoc
88 posts
 
I have Maggie 1.7i's.  They sound superb driven by my Gryphon Diablo 120 and by my Bryston 4B3 using my dac's volume control.   Bryston amps have always been considered to be a great match with Maggies.  I currently have my Bryston for sale, but I could live with either amp with my Maggies.  I am also using a pair of REL subs with the 1.7's.  
Ag insider logo xs@2x
shosugi
20 posts
 
Timothy - I would recommend Sanders Magtech, especially given your comment about power/heat.  I have Magnepans, and have used them with several different amps.

I think you may find high current amps really help your speakers sound their best.  I have an Oppo 205 > preamp > Magtech > Magnepan 1.7i setup.  

I previously used Pass Labs Aleph, and Mivera class-D amps with those Maggies.
sjsfiveo's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
sjsfiveo
57 posts
 
I have a pair of Maggie 1.7i’s I have a Magtech by Sanders Sound. Huge power and huge current it was designed to run magnaplaner speakers. Really opens the speakers up and let’s them shine, sounds amazing. Also the amp runs incredibly cool do to it's design.
timothywright OP
55 posts
 

One can argue that women's breasts are non-essential for human reproduction when the bottle option is available; or that the T-Rex's vestigial arms served no use. In the same way modern power amps need no meters or LEDs on the front.

But I have spend some memorable hours of my life relating to both woman's breasts and the light displays on power amps. I've no intimate stories to tell about T-Rex's arms but two out of three ain't bad.

I own both Blue Man CD's and DVDs. How important are the visuals, the need to watch the show?

In my heart I wish my Magtech a little more goin' on in the front. Otherwise I like it so far.


gte357s
281 posts
 
I watch a YouTube blogger who Is a long time Maggie fan.  He speaks highly for the Hegel as a good match for Maggie’s.  in another video, he highly suggest Hegel h190 thinking it is the sweet spot considering the price to value ratio.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fw_WSyI1LDI&feature=share
timothywright OP
55 posts
 
He does not mention Sanders Magtech, but had I watched this before I purchased my Magtech I would have considered Parasound more than I did.

Thank you.
timothywright OP
55 posts
 
I wanted to share an update. I did purchase a Sanders Magtech. 900 wpc will solve a lot of problems but not all. I seldom take my preamp above 70%.

 

I had an issue with speaker placement. I have my speakers on the long wall about 4’ from the back wall. I sit about 9’ from the speakers and the speakers were 14’ apart. When I moved the speakers much closer together, 9’ apart the imaging clicked together.

 I am still interested in a different preamp to replace my Rotel, I am not sure which one.


secretguy
1,569 posts
 
Yes...14 ft seems like way too far apart.
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