Cables for Magnepan

andi · May 2, 2012

I would like to come back to Nordost cables again.

I just puchased a Heimdall for my SME IV. That cable impresses me very much. It is very open with a lot of detail.

Now I learned in some reviews that only a complete Monofill system will give you the benefit from the Nordost cables. Does anyone heard a Maggie system fitted with Nordost throughout?
I am afraid that the system will go to the (very) bright side. Roy Gregory has an other opinion. But he moved from Hifi+ to Nordost after his rave reviews.

)

If somebody has experiences with this stuff, please let me know.

Andreas

bdiament · May 2, 2012

Hi Andreas,

andi said:
I would like to come back to Nordost cables again.

I just puchased a Heimdall for my SME IV. That cable impresses me very much. It is very open with a lot of detail.

Now I learned in some reviews that only a complete Monofill system will give you the benefit from the Nordost cables. Does anyone heard a Maggie system fitted with Nordost throughout?
I am afraid that the system will go to the (very) bright side. Roy Gregory has an other opinion. But he moved from Hifi+ to Nordost after his rave reviews. )

If somebody has experiences with this stuff, please let me know.

Andreas

I'm running 3.7s in a system that uses Nordost cables throughout - except for now on the AC cords, which I have not yet experimented with and remain stock on my DAC, amplfiers and subs. (Before the 3.7s, it was 3.6s and before them 1.5s, with the rest of the system unchanged.)

The speaker cables are Blue Heaven (the previous version - the clear ones). Interconnects are Blue Heaven too (also the clear, flat ones), except for the feed to the power amps, which is balanced Valkyrja.

Never heard anything like brightness from the system. I think complaints in this regard about Nordosts are blaming the messenger for revealing something else about the system and/or source. I've heard various Nordost setups in a variety of different systems and have always liked what I heard. And the bass is wonderful - not the "thick" sound I hear from many other cables with a more pronounced low-pass.

I know Nordost is suggesting using the same cable throughout. I don't know if it qualifies as a departure from this but when I substituted the Valkyrja for the Blue Heavens feeding the amps, I felt system transparency *increase*. Not a frequency balance change so much as simply more information, more fine detail, all the way down to the bottom of the range.

Best regards,
Barry
www.soundkeeperrecordings.com
www.barrydiamentaudio.com

MylesBAstor · May 2, 2012

bdiament said:
Hi Andreas,

I'm running 3.7s in a system that uses Nordost cables throughout - except for now on the AC cords, which I have not yet experimented with and remain stock on my DAC, amplfiers and subs. (Before the 3.7s, it was 3.6s and before them 1.5s, with the rest of the system unchanged.)

The speaker cables are Blue Heaven (the previous version - the clear ones). Interconnects are Blue Heaven too (also the clear, flat ones), except for the feed to the power amps, which is balanced Valkyrja.

Never heard anything like brightness from the system. I think complaints in this regard about Nordosts are blaming the messenger for revealing something else about the system and/or source. I've heard various Nordost setups in a variety of different systems and have always liked what I heard. And the bass is wonderful - not the "thick" sound I hear from many other cables with a more pronounced low-pass.

I know Nordost is suggesting using the same cable throughout. I don't know if it qualifies as a departure from this but when I substituted the Valkyrja for the Blue Heavens feeding the amps, I felt system transparency *increase*. Not a frequency balance change so much as simply more information, more fine detail, all the way down to the bottom of the range.

Best regards,
Barry
www.soundkeeperrecordings.com
www.barrydiamentaudio.com

But you can adjust the output of the tweeter.

bdiament · May 2, 2012

Hi Myles,

MylesBAstor said:
But you can adjust the output of the tweeter.

I've always used the "pads" that come with the speakers, for every set of Maggies I've owned or installed for friends, relatives and clients (many dozens now) - ranging from MMGs to 3.7s. This, regardless of the associated cables - even with the much "softer" MITs - as to my ears, it always brought the speaker into better balance than not using the pads.

I'd go so far as to say, for my ears (and those of my close associates), without the pads, there is no magic. With the pads, it has always been sublime and wondrous.

Best regards,
Barry
www.soundkeeperrecordings.com
www.barrydiamentaudio.com

MylesBAstor · May 2, 2012

bdiament said:
Hi Myles,

I've always used the "pads" that come with the speakers, for every set of Maggies I've owned or installed for friends, relatives and clients (many dozens now) - ranging from MMGs to 3.7s. This, regardless of the associated cables - even with the much "softer" MITs - as to my ears, it always brought the speaker into better balance than not using the pads.

I'd go so far as to say, for my ears (and those of my close associates), without the pads, there is no magic. With the pads, it has always been sublime and wondrous.

Best regards,
Barry
www.soundkeeperrecordings.com
www.barrydiamentaudio.com

Hi Barry,

Not knocking the use of the resistors, but just that they can assist in taming a brighter cable

Also, do you use the stock resistors or have you tried some Vishays, etc. Dave Gordon used to recommend one manufacturer's resistors but their name escape me.

bdiament · May 2, 2012

Hi Myles,

MylesBAstor said:
Hi Barry,

Not knocking the use of the resistors, but just that they can assist in taming a brighter cable Also, do you use the stock resistors or have you tried some Vishays, etc. Dave Gordon used to recommend one manufacturer's resistors but their name escape me.

Having heard several different cables in the Nordost line with a wide variety of loudspeakers, I would not attribute brightness to the cables. Again, I say these often get blamed for being messengers of something elsewhere in the chain, be it system and/or source related.

I think there are issues of relationship too. Many cables I've heard tend to be on the "soft" side, being the low pass filters they are. In comparison with something that is "soft", something that is neutral can often be mistaken for being "bright". That is what I believe is behind many of the claims of brightness with regard to Nordosts. I don't think they're bright at all; its that other cables are a bit down with increasing frequency. Just my take, of course.

I have not (yet) experimented with different resistors, having just used the stock ones that come with the speakers.

Best regards,
Barry
www.soundkeeperrecordings.com
www.barrydiamentaudio.com

bdiament · May 2, 2012

Hi Myles,

Perhaps I missed your point about the resistors. Yes, I agree, they can be used to *somewhat* offset a bright cable. I would just caution against attempting to compensate for one flaw by introducing what may at first appear to be a "complementary" flaw. In my experience (perhaps you've found the same), things don't sum algebraically to result in something in the middle but instead, will often result in doubling the problem. In other words, the cables will still be bright and the speaker may well end up somewhat "dull" at the same time.

In the case of Nordost cables, Maggies and resistors, for my ears the cables and speakers are magical, especially together. I think the resistors complete the Maggies.

As to using third-party resistors, what about you? Have you tried any alternate resistors with Maggies?
If so, I'd be curious about what you experienced.

Best regards,
Barry
www.soundkeeperrecordings.com
www.barrydiamentaudio.com

MylesBAstor · May 2, 2012

bdiament said:
Hi Myles,

Perhaps I missed your point about the resistors. Yes, I agree, they can be used to *somewhat* offset a bright cable. I would just caution against attempting to compensate for one flaw by introducing what may at first appear to be a "complementary" flaw. In my experience (perhaps you've found the same), things don't sum algebraically to result in something in the middle but instead, will often result in doubling the problem. In other words, the cables will still be bright and the speaker may well end up somewhat "dull" at the same time.

In the case of Nordost cables, Maggies and resistors, for my ears the cables and speakers are magical, especially together. I think the resistors complete the Maggies.

As to using third-party resistors, what about you? Have you tried any alternate resistors with Maggies?
If so, I'd be curious about what you experienced.

Best regards,
Barry
www.soundkeeperrecordings.com
www.barrydiamentaudio.com

Haven't had Maggie's in many yrs but did try the Caddock wire wound resistors Dave Gordon mentioned (see I remembered

) they were better than what Magnepan was using then as we're the polyp ropes over the early 3.3s Mylar cap.

bdiament · May 3, 2012

Hi Myles,

MylesBAstor said:
Haven't had Maggie's in many yrs but did try the Caddock wire wound resistors Dave Gordon mentioned (see I remembered ) they were better than what Magnepan was using then as we're the polyp ropes over the early 3.3s Mylar cap.

Thanks. I'll have to put these on my audition list.

Best regards,
Barry
www.soundkeeperrecordings.com
www.barrydiamentaudio.com

andi · May 3, 2012

Hi Barry, hi Miles,

thanks for telling your experiences and thoughts.

I think it makes sense to try these cables. I will contact a dealer to borrow these Heimdalls.

The resistors are still in the bag. I never felt that the speakers are too bright. But I will try too.

Cheers
Andreas

Lee · May 8, 2012

A lower cost alternative to Nordost is the Black Cat line. They sound quite good.

andi · May 9, 2012

Hi Lee,

thanks for your suggestion. It seems there is a dealer in Germany for Black Cat.

Andreas

Lee · May 9, 2012

andi said:
Hi Lee,

thanks for your suggestion. It seems there is a dealer in Germany for Black Cat.

Andreas

Let me know how you like them if you get them.

MrAcoustat · Jun 13, 2012

Hi guys, have not read all the post here BUT i belong to a forum in Europe and the thread on Magnepan is over 300 pages and i have been there since the beginning i love ALL panels have been with Acoustat's for 28 years in my book dollar for dollar they are #1 and Magnepan is #2 FRIENDLY WARNING to all Magnepan users one thing i know for sure is that they DON'T LIKE bi-wiring and they also DON'T LIKE silver cables so think about it before you make a purchase.

Magnepan proud owners 304 pages ( It's all in French ) http://www.homecinema-fr.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1031&t=29884761

PS: Owned Magnepan 1.6 with Audioquest Bedrock speaker cables ( NO BIWIRING ) single wire only you're ears will thank you for that.

DonH50 · Jun 13, 2012

I'll have to check that out, and hope Google Translate works... Never heard of problems with either biwiring or silver cable and Maggies. The cables I used for a long time were silver-plated copper but I am sure I don't have the ears of some on this board. Like most panels, Maggies IME like low-resistance cables to help control all that surface area. Electrostats too, for the same reason, plus 'stats drop to very low impedance at high frequency.

Um, aren't those your Acoustats in the picture, not Magnepans?

MrAcoustat · Jun 13, 2012

DonH50 said:
I'll have to check that out, and hope Google Translate works... Never heard of problems with either biwiring or silver cable and Maggies. The cables I used for a long time were silver-plated copper but I am sure I don't have the ears of some on this board. Like most panels, Maggies IME like low-resistance cables to help control all that surface area. Electrostats too, for the same reason, plus 'stats drop to very low impedance at high frequency.

Um, aren't those your Acoustats in the picture, not Magnepans?

Yes Don, they are Acoustat's 1+1s in the last 28 years i have owned 6 different pairs of Acoustat's and one pair of Magnepans 1.6qr when i first moved into my condo, silver plated COPPER is fine i'm talking about 100% silver cables & bi-wiring will get you more highs wich i don't think you need with Magnepan's, but if that's what you like ( livelier sound ) then go ahead, it's always a question of CHOICE.

mep · Jun 13, 2012

MrAcoustat-According to my calibrated eyeballs, your right speaker appears to be about 8" forward of your left speaker.

Fred · Jun 13, 2012

mep said:
MrAcoustat-According to my calibrated eyeballs, your right speaker appears to be about 8" forward of your left speaker.

Giving it a head-start. Didn't run so fast in the 40 yard dash.

MrAcoustat · Jun 13, 2012

mep said:
MrAcoustat-According to my calibrated eyeballs, your right speaker appears to be about 8" forward of your left speaker.

Your exacly 8 inches off, get your eyes checked.

andi · Jun 14, 2012

Hi Andre,

I understand that somebody does not like silver cables on Maggies.
But what is wrong with Biwiring?
I tried single and biwiring. In my opinion there is a better control in the bass region.

Andreas

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