MKIII's and magneplanars
Posted: Wed Sep 16, 2009 4:37 pmIs 60 watts enough to drive magneplanar speakers?
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MKIII's and magneplanars
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Posted: Wed Sep 16, 2009 4:37 pmPosted: Wed Sep 16, 2009 6:35 pmI once brought my MkIII over to skidave's place and hooked them up to his Magneplanars. Despite the MG's relatively low sensitivity, they can get rather loud with a pair of MkIII behind them. I think you'll run out of travel on the membrane before you run out of power. Overall, I'd say the combination performed rather well. Maybe Dave can add his two cents.
Posted: Wed Sep 16, 2009 6:37 pmFrom their web site:
How much power do I need?
We are asked this question every day. But, individual tastes vary so greatly that a definitive answer is impossible. We are using a 35 watt receiver in the lobby to our factory. Therefore, can we say that 35 watts is all you need? For each increase of 3 db, the power must be doubled. So, 70 watts, 140 watts, 280 watts, etc. will result in 3 db increases over the receiver we are using in our lobby. Personal tastes are "all over the map". We hear of customers that are perfectly happy with 25 watts and others using 1000 watts.(And there is no lack of opinions in chat rooms on the internet.) Without the option of listening with you, we have no way to give meaningful advice. The most reliable way to answer this question for your particular needs is by visiting a dealer. If you listen to your music at your normal volume, in a room that is approximately the same size as your room, with an amplifier similar to what you plan to use, an accurate power requirement can be determined for your listening habits. The amplifier used in this test should have a similar 4 ohm rating as the amplifier you plan to use at home, but it is not necessary for it to be identical to your amplifier. Anyone that has a definite answer to this question (without having met you) is probably telling you their personal preference.
How much power do I need?
We are asked this question every day. But, individual tastes vary so greatly that a definitive answer is impossible. We are using a 35 watt receiver in the lobby to our factory. Therefore, can we say that 35 watts is all you need? For each increase of 3 db, the power must be doubled. So, 70 watts, 140 watts, 280 watts, etc. will result in 3 db increases over the receiver we are using in our lobby. Personal tastes are "all over the map". We hear of customers that are perfectly happy with 25 watts and others using 1000 watts.(And there is no lack of opinions in chat rooms on the internet.) Without the option of listening with you, we have no way to give meaningful advice. The most reliable way to answer this question for your particular needs is by visiting a dealer. If you listen to your music at your normal volume, in a room that is approximately the same size as your room, with an amplifier similar to what you plan to use, an accurate power requirement can be determined for your listening habits. The amplifier used in this test should have a similar 4 ohm rating as the amplifier you plan to use at home, but it is not necessary for it to be identical to your amplifier. Anyone that has a definite answer to this question (without having met you) is probably telling you their personal preference.
Posted: Sat Sep 19, 2009 12:22 amI'm running MG 20's with a pair of MkIII's, and previously with a pair of 80AZ(30 watt).
I am nowhere close to clipping. However I am running a Marchand active crossover to lowpass @ 80Hz to a DD-18 subwoofer.
You'll often hear from someone who switched from lets say a 300 watt solid state amp to a 400 wat solid state amp say how much better these speakers were with the more powerful amp. In reality its more likely that the bigger amp had a different voicing, or damping factor that gave it better control of the lower freq's.
I think you'll be impressed how good these are with a low powered tube amp.
John C.
I am nowhere close to clipping. However I am running a Marchand active crossover to lowpass @ 80Hz to a DD-18 subwoofer.
You'll often hear from someone who switched from lets say a 300 watt solid state amp to a 400 wat solid state amp say how much better these speakers were with the more powerful amp. In reality its more likely that the bigger amp had a different voicing, or damping factor that gave it better control of the lower freq's.
I think you'll be impressed how good these are with a low powered tube amp.
John C.
Posted: Sun Sep 20, 2009 1:42 pmI just returned from vacation.
I have Magneplanar 1.6s and I have used various different amps with them; Tube, Transistor and MOSFET. This is my opinion and only my opinion, but low power transistor amps (40 watts) do not give much gain prior to clipping. I normally use a pair of 200 watt (@ 8 ohms) transistor amps to drive the 1.6s. I personally like to bi-amp these speakers (one amp channel for the ribbon and one amp channel for the 'bass' panel). I do not use an external crossover...my only complaint about the 1.6s is the crossover is internal and to get to it you have to do quite a bit of work. Therefore, I use the built in crossover.
However, my Stereo 70 and Ty's Mark IIIs do / did a nice job. These amps are similiar in wattage, to small transistor amps, but they seem to soft saturate / soft clip prior to major electronic sound distortion. I would say with one ST-70, the 1.6s can play loud enough to make you want to turn the volume down. Also, bass control has a lot to do with the response of the speaker. I have a preamp with tone controls and one without...as the volume level gets louder, I dial back the bass to prevent the bass panel from distorting. Not possible with the preamp without tone controls!
Sometimes I run the 1.6s with subs and sometimes without. These speakers take a lot of tweaking to get them to your personal preference. Many people think they have poor bass response; not so true. You need to place them properly and they need some acoustical treatment behind them (on the wall). I have a decent size room 14' x 24' and they play loud and clear with a well defined sound stage. These are not BOX speakers.
Ty, feel free to add more...
I picked up another ST-70 recently and I'm excited to run one on each speaker. I want to see the differences with between bi-amping and running each ST-70 in mono for additional power.
--one more thing, I built a Nelson Pass Zen amp and it puts out something like 10 watts using one FET. The 1.6s play decently with the Zen, but there is not much headroom! I did listen to a pair of Magneplanar 20.1s with a current top of the line Pass amp--NICE!.
Dave
I have Magneplanar 1.6s and I have used various different amps with them; Tube, Transistor and MOSFET. This is my opinion and only my opinion, but low power transistor amps (40 watts) do not give much gain prior to clipping. I normally use a pair of 200 watt (@ 8 ohms) transistor amps to drive the 1.6s. I personally like to bi-amp these speakers (one amp channel for the ribbon and one amp channel for the 'bass' panel). I do not use an external crossover...my only complaint about the 1.6s is the crossover is internal and to get to it you have to do quite a bit of work. Therefore, I use the built in crossover.
However, my Stereo 70 and Ty's Mark IIIs do / did a nice job. These amps are similiar in wattage, to small transistor amps, but they seem to soft saturate / soft clip prior to major electronic sound distortion. I would say with one ST-70, the 1.6s can play loud enough to make you want to turn the volume down. Also, bass control has a lot to do with the response of the speaker. I have a preamp with tone controls and one without...as the volume level gets louder, I dial back the bass to prevent the bass panel from distorting. Not possible with the preamp without tone controls!
Sometimes I run the 1.6s with subs and sometimes without. These speakers take a lot of tweaking to get them to your personal preference. Many people think they have poor bass response; not so true. You need to place them properly and they need some acoustical treatment behind them (on the wall). I have a decent size room 14' x 24' and they play loud and clear with a well defined sound stage. These are not BOX speakers.
Ty, feel free to add more...
I picked up another ST-70 recently and I'm excited to run one on each speaker. I want to see the differences with between bi-amping and running each ST-70 in mono for additional power.
--one more thing, I built a Nelson Pass Zen amp and it puts out something like 10 watts using one FET. The 1.6s play decently with the Zen, but there is not much headroom! I did listen to a pair of Magneplanar 20.1s with a current top of the line Pass amp--NICE!.
Dave
Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 12:57 amI have my MKIIIs hooked up to my Magnepan MMGs and love it...
I also have a DIY based ST70 (Cap Board power suply) and loved it. TO be honest I think I liked my ST70 better than the MKIIIs.
I also have a DIY based ST70 (Cap Board power suply) and loved it. TO be honest I think I liked my ST70 better than the MKIIIs.
Re: MKIII's and magneplanars
Posted: Mon Feb 21, 2011 12:13 am[quote="kt88seamp"]Is 60 watts enough to drive magneplanar speakers?[/quote]
I own a Magneplanar MG-IIIa's and drive them with an amp that delivers ~100 watts/channel into 4 ohms, and I can crank the Magneplanars at extremely high volumes without any clipping. Some people say that Maggies need 400-500 watts/channel to sound good and to avoid clipping, but that has not been my experience.
I own a Magneplanar MG-IIIa's and drive them with an amp that delivers ~100 watts/channel into 4 ohms, and I can crank the Magneplanars at extremely high volumes without any clipping. Some people say that Maggies need 400-500 watts/channel to sound good and to avoid clipping, but that has not been my experience.