2. amps-preamps
  3. 149186-5938

My speakers are set. Magnepan Tympani IVs

A year ago I acquired a pair of restored Tympani IVs (not IVa). I have been driving them with an Adcom  GFA - 555 that I have had for decades.  The matching pre-amp died and has been replaced with a Schiit SYS Passive pre.

The primary source was CD but has transitioned to a Bluesound Node 2 running TIDAL. I will be playing the MQAs whenever possible. My musical tastes are eclectic, with a pronounced preference for female vocalists, piano and acoustic guitar. Genres include rock of the 60s, jazz, folk, world, Celtic and classical.

The Tympanis do not suffer from the lower register issues to the same degree as some of the other Magnepans, but are still prone to occasionally overwhelming highs.  New components should tend towards the warm to mitigate this issue.

It is time to upgrade the amp.  The consensus judgement of people whom I respect and whom own these speakers are that they should be bi-amped.  Options include separate amps for highs and lows and an electronic crossover (Horizontal ?) or monoblocks (Vertical ?)   

I am only into the Tympanis for $1000, but have budgeted $2000 for amplification. One thing I have come to learn is that the traditional percentages of investment don’t always apply when Magnepans are involved as they offer such a high sound quality/cost ratio.

Cables and room treatments are on the to-do list. As always, I am here to draw upon the experience of the Audiogon community.  Please share your thoughts.  If you see something for sale here, please call it out as I am having trouble sorting through the plethora of options.
kythyn

Showing 3 responses by richopp

richopp
760 posts
 
Good for you!  These are excellent speakers.  Personally, I use Tympani III speakers and have an "extra" pair that are still in the boxes that Magnepan sent them to me in after a refresh there.  I BELIEVE they were the last set of III's they refreshed.  

I still use the Hafler 500 I built in 1977 with a CL-32 pre-amp.  Not the best, but what I can afford right now.  I sold Audio Research and Magnepan in my shop when these companies were marketing their products together, and I have never heard better sound than that combo (back then, of course).

Today, Magnepan has more advanced speakers, but I agree that there is no more accurate music reproduction than Maggies regardless of the model you use.  If I had the funds, i would, of course, use Audio Research gear all the way, but restoring cars (currently a '66 'vette) and playing with "toy" trains (with engines in the $2000 range!) and playing at music on various instruments takes both time and funds, so I am just fine with what I have.

Enjoy your Maggies, and if you can get some Audio Research stuff eventually, you will enjoy them even more.

Cheers,

Richard
richopp
760 posts
 
@kythyn Well, ARC has so many products out there today and I have been out of the retail audio business for a long time, so it is not easy for me to suggest current products.  If your dealer sells AR, borrow a few and see what you hear.  I would guess that Maggies still respond well to the tight bass they had on the D-76A and D-150, but those amps are way out of production (1970's) and have been replaced with better ones, I would guess.  As for a pre-amp, I like phono sections since I like records, so borrow one with a phono section if they have one and you play records.  ("LS" ARC preamps do NOT have phono sections.)

Failing in that (your dealer does not carry ARC products and no one near you does), I would go after a medium-priced used tube amp with the most power you can afford.  While the IV's are more efficient than earlier models, with Maggies, the more the merrier, especially on those power-hungry low notes in both modern and orchestral recordings.  Match it with a tube ARC pre-amp from the same basic generation as the amp you get and I would guess it would work out fine.  Also, Maggies work well with ARC external crossovers (if you can find one!), so you may eventually bi-amp in the future.

BUT, don't ever keep anything you don't love.  We always asked customers to bring their favorite tunes to the shop to play on the system they were evaluating, but also cautioned them that their ROOM was more important to the sound than the equipment.  Thus, we always let the customer take the stuff home and try it out there.  Of course, we went out to set it up correctly for them, but then they decide what to keep.

Buying used is somewhat treacherous, of course, but a seller who is also a dealer is fairly safe; get it all in writing!  Failing that, there is always this site or evil bay.  They have a pair of 600 monoblocks right now for $8650, which is a steal if they work properly (AND if you have $8650 lying around, of course!).  There is also a 100MK3 for $5900 and so forth.  Your budget is the key, of course, and new is better than used, usually(!), so starting  your journey at your dealer and going out from there would be my best advice for now.  If I still sold all that stuff, I would take care of your requirements; any good dealer will.

Cheers!

Richard
richopp
760 posts
 
@kythyn Sorry, forgot to suggest you buy electronics that ARC still services.  OR, make sure you have access to a company to service older ARC stuff.  They have been bought out, and only service some of the older stuff due to parts, time, their desire to sell you something new, etc.

MANY good deals on evil bay; hard to tell what will be best, but look at the sellers' ratings before buying, and communicate with the seller many times before buying any electronics, please.  You can get a good deal if you perform due diligence.  I see several out there now I would go after if I were in the market and had the funds!

(Don't buy a C-2 Corvette unless you have tons of extra hobby money lying about!)

Cheers,

Richard
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