Sanders magtech or odyssey kismet


I am looking for a "last amp purchase" one I can keep for 20+ years and pass down to my son someday.
This probably won't happen, but it is a very good possibility.

I have gone through numerous over the years, with fairly bad luck with them, UNRELIABILITY!

I have narrowed it to these two amps. I know they are both very good.

I would like thoughts on them from other audio people as yourselves.
Before you say these speakers suck, I wanted to say I auditioned A LOT of different ones before settling on these. I use energy rc-70's, only about 45-50 hours on them, nowhere near broken in yet. I LOVE their sound, period.

People say these amps are too good for the speaks, I think not.
Maybe sanders preamp.

I have heard magtech sounds thin, and others say it's amazing.

Anyway, what's your thoughts on odyssey kismet monos or sanders magtech. Thanks
128x128arcticdeth

Showing 6 responses by bombaywalla

the Sanders Magtech & ESL amps are meant to drive ESL speakers. That doesnt mean that they cannot drive other speakers...
.....but you have to understand the difference, electrically, between an ESL & a cone-driver speaker.
An ESL can be thought of as a huge capacitor. The impedance profile of a capacitor is XC= 1/2*pi*f*C. I.E. when the freq is low (bass), the impedance of an ESL is very high. When the freq is high (treble) the impedance of an ESL is very low. Exactly opposite of a cone-driver speaker. Another difference is that an ESL is a voltage driven speaker - remember it's a capacitor & a capacitor is a voltage-driven device. 
A cone-driver speaker, 99% of the time, is a current-driven device since it often has a much lower impedance. 
Therefore, if you read the Magtech & ESL specs, you will find that their rails voltages are very high. This is done to develop sufficient voltage at the speaker terminals. You might not need such high rail voltages for your Energy RC-70 speakers but i think you will need a lot more current. 
Keep this info in mind as you make your selection....
bdp24,
the correct answer is that I'm not sure.........
..........but if I read between the lines then 
* if you see the electrical specs, you see 500W/ch in 8 & 900W/ch into 4 (Magtech).
* if you see the weight, you see it's just 55lbs. When did you last come across a 500W/ch in 8 Ohms that weighed just 55 lbs? In my experience once the amp is 500W/ch into 8 the weight of the amp is well north of 100lbs if they are high current. 
Maybe this amp is suitable for Magneplanars? The best would be to ask Roger. He's very helpful & a really nice person to talk to...
bdp24,
your post referencing member Satie & his amp output power was indeed illuminating to me.
yeah, the Tympanis want some real power, eh!

PArasound is a good choice for a brute amp at a reasonable price. Here are 2 choices that might fit:

https://www.parasound.com/vintage/hca2200.php

http://www.parasound.com/vintage/hca1500a.php

needless to say they are both discontinued but the HCA in the model number tells its a high-current output esp. the 2200 - 2 toroidal xformers.

this one might be even better:

http://www.parasound.com/vintage/hca3500.php

but I think the best route for you is very likely a class-D power amp - small size & most of them can output large wattages. Seeing a 500W/ch into 8 Ohms in a diminutive size is quite the norm these days. If you are looking for 2500W/ch into 4 like Satie has you are going to go broke if you try to get a class-A/class-AB amp. The only amps that i know of that output such large wattages are frightfully expensive (think Boulder, MBL, Rowland's new Daemon integrated, Gryphon).  
Satie IS an audiophile (purist analog lover, with a tube amp on the M/T panels of his Tympani’s), and the Crown he has on his T-IV bass panels is the discontinued Macrotech 5002VZ.
ok. what did he do about the mismatched input sensitivity of the tube amp vs. the Crown? Or, are the input send of both amps the same or very similar so that they both output max power at about the same input voltage level? 
My understanding is that if the inp sensitivity of both amps is different you could end up with too little bass or too much bass....

Satie IS an audiophile (purist analog lover, with a tube amp on the M/T panels of his Tympani’s), and the Crown he has on his T-IV bass panels is the discontinued Macrotech 5002VZ. He advises against the cheap and popular XLS line, so maybe I can find a 5002VZ used.
thanks to you bdp24 for introducing me to these Crown amp. :-) I got a hold of 2 2402 models to use for my bass panels in parallel mono mode. I was advised to use the amp in parallel mono mode due to the speaker low impedance & that the amp was rated to drive this sort of low impedance in parallel mono mode only.
In stereo mode (in another 8-ohm system) the amps sound very nice & seem to have very nice bass drive.
Two things to watch out - these amps are very heavy. The 5002VZ that Satie uses is 80lbs atleast & the fan noise. One cannot operate them w/o the fan - it wont even turn on. They are pro amps hence the designers knew that people would kick the shi$ out of them hence have put many safeguards one of which is a continuous fan. At those stupid-high output powers it is required, I'm afraid. One has to come up with a plan to deal w/ fan noise. I'm working on mine....