Good luck finding a pair of JC1's or a Gryphon for $2,000! What CAN be done at that price is a cheap high-powered amp on the bass panels, and a better amp on the m/t (that Maggie ribbon tweeter reveals any grain or hardness in an amp). Bi-amping removes the power requirements of the bass panels, making the use of a (relatively) lower-powered (say, a hundred watts into 4 ohms), sweeter-sounding amp on the m/t panel. The high-pass filtering can be done cheaply by installing an r/c network (just a single cap and resistor) on the input jacks of the m/t amp, only an active 3rd-order filter then required for the bass amp. As I said above, the Dahlquist DQ-LP1 is perfect for the job.
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.
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.
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- 35 posts total
What CAN be done at that price is a cheap high-powered amp on the bass panelsYeah a class-D they’re good for that. and a better amp on the m/t (that Maggie ribbon tweeter reveals any grain or hardness in an amp). And high biased Class-A a/b amp maybe a used Parasound Halo A21 or 23 https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lis9e24e-parasound-halo-a21-solid-state This was Absolute Sounds take on the John Curl designed Halo A21
Cheers George |
- 35 posts total