What is Floyd Toole saying about extra amplifier power and headroom?

A DBA has its own benefits regarding good bass throughout the room but only 1 sub is needed to offload work and reduce risk of compression initially although a DBA might introduce some unique connection requirements that would have to be addressed sooner or later so best to consider that up front.

DBAs add complexity and would also likely take more time and effort to get right initially as a result. If it were me I would solve one problem at a time....resolve the problem at hand first with existing sub then consider adding DBA after that is resolved, but only if worth it for you.

OR try those Bel Canto Class D amps as well if you can with no financial risk. That would keep things simplest and might make a big difference. How much will depend on the Magico’s ability to go loud without significant compression and how well the current amps truly can stand up. Other Magico mini owners would probably be best ones to provide information on how well they go loud and dynamic. Compression is real but may or may not be a significant issue case by case. Smaller speakers certainly up the risk. Sometimes you never know until you try. It’s nice to only have to add subs to extend the bass, not as part of a solution to fix it. Unless you are a "bass hound", I would expect the Minis driven to their max to be all the speaker most would need in most rooms, at least if room is not too large.

If it were me that owned the Magico Mini’s like any very good speaker, I would do anything I could ie throw the kitchen sink at it as needed to allow it to perform at its best before adding anything else.

That’s what I did with my big Ohm 5s and it payed off 100%. No subs!!

I never felt a need to add a sub even with the Dynaudio Contour monitors, though for some more extended recordings it would certainly have helped.

I do use a sub with my kef ls50s. Those are the smallest monitors I have run regularly but wonderful within their limits and with a sub they are top notch, up to a certain SPL level that is more than satisfactory in the small room they are in. THe kefs + sub cannot compete with the much larger Ohm 5s in a much larger room with no sub in terms of going loud and clear.

The Ohm 5’s with the 500 w/ch Class D Bel Cantos are the bomb. You turn up the volume and they keep going louder and clear until you reach those very high SPL levels that eventually get uncomfortable and can even cause damage to to the ear no matter what. THing is you never realize how loud the things are actually playing until you try to talk to someone and hear. That’s always a good sign from a distortion perspective! I know Ralph would agree with that. Compression is not an issue.

My goal was to be able to do that. It took the 500 w/ch Class D BEl Cantos to do that. The previous 120 w/ch Musical Fidelity was no match. Nor the 330 w/ch Carver amp prior to that (voiced like a tube amp, limited current delivery into 4 ohms). The Carver did very well with the Magnepans I had prior to the big Ohms though.

Magico Minis.....those are very good standmount speakers.....larger than many if not most.   I would not expect them to compete with larger speakers of similar quality in terms of ability to go loud, but would expect them to be more than capable alone in a small to modest sized room driven to their max.  Again, would be nice if other Magico mini owners would chirp in with their actual experiences trying to crank up the minis.

@barts thanks, lots of customization with that unit. Are you familiar with the MiniDSP? Any thoughts on how they compare? Much appreciated. 

@mapman I'm going to try rolling off the Minis closer to 80hz or thereabouts with an active crossover and see what that does before I get a second JL sub, which I may do at some point down the road. I also want to demo the Bel Cantos from my local dealer and possibly some Simaudio monoblocks. I'm still not sold on Class D for mains but willing to give them a shot. Thanks for your responses! 

Hi OP:

The Loki was offered as a tone control, in case you just want more bass as an alternative to buying a subwoofer.

Yes, the ceiling can be part of the issue. At louder volumes reflections and the resonance time matters a lot more.

miniDSP is an active crossover with EQ capabilities. Some JL Audio subs include automatic integration/crossovers and so I highly recommend them as they include all the expert knowledge in configuring your mains and subs, plus I like the results.

I know what you were trying to do, but without measurements it’s hard to tell what the right HP or LP setting is correct. Often crossover filters are offset to match both in phase and amplitude. Your speaker doesn’t go down to 38 Hz. it has a -3 dB response at 38 Hz (usually how this is spec'd, some use -6 dB), below which it drops around 12 dB/octave. So something like this:

-3 dB @ 38 Hz
-15 db @ 18 Hz


However this is the anechoic response. Who knows what it’s doing in your room without measurement? :)

One quick test I forgot to mention was the 2' test.

Sit in front of your speakers, around 2-3' and listen when you hear the problem.  Is the problem still there close up?

If yes - The problem is your room.

If no - The problem is the speaker or before.


Best,

Erik