Cables for Magnepan

[puroagave]

I think they're referring to the leads Don. Many caps and resistors use a ferromagnetic wire that allows the piece to be easily picked up off the assembly line. OTOH, ferromagnetic leads in my experience, add a harshness/brightness to the sound in the upper midrange. (that was done comparing the same cap with copper and ferromagnetic leads a while ago.)

Sidereal capacitors were the first to use teflon coated stranded lead-out wire (Kimber) b/c of the sonic inferiority of ferro wire. the trick is actually hearing the difference - I applaud any of you guys that can

 

[MylesBAstor]

Sidereal caps were the first to use stranded wire lead-out material (teflon coated by Kimber) b/c of the sonic inferiority of ferro wire. the trick is actually hearing the difference - I applaud any of you guys that can

And it was done double blind using a switch box built at that time by Larry Smith of Perfectionist Audio Components out in LI, NY. We listened to five different caps; one of them was a ferromagnetic lead F-dyne and another was an F-dyne equipped with all copper leads. There problem also in those days was connecting the copper lead to the foil; the rejection rate was very high for copper wire. .

BTW, the reverse was true for Moncrief's Wonder Caps. First generation was good, then the next generation ripped the wallpaper off the wall. Turned out they had switched to ferromagnetic leads

 

[puroagave]

And it was done double blind using a switch box built at that time by Larry Smith of Perfectionist Audio Components out in LI, NY. We listened to five different caps; one of them was a ferromagnetic lead F-dyne and another was an F-dyne equipped with all copper leads. There problem also in those days was connecting the copper lead to the foil; the rejection rate was very high for copper wire. .

BTW, the reverse was true for Moncrief's Wonder Caps. First generation was good, then the next generation ripped the wallpaper off the wall. Turned out they had switched to ferromagnetic leads

i remember that stuff. i hung out back with the techs at the mod squad as they built line drives with that wire (the good stuff) and used it anywhere they could between rca jacks and circuit boards in all their products and mods. ARC and Counterpoint used wonder caps exclusivey for a number of years, Rowland and klyne used sidereal around the same time.

 

[MylesBAstor]

i remember that stuff. i hung out back with the techs at the mod squad as they built line drives with that wire (the good stuff) and used it anywhere they could between rca jacks and circuit boards in all their products and mods. ARC and Counterpoint used wonder caps exclusivey for a number of years, Rowland and klyne used sidereal around the same time.

Not a big fan of the Sidereals. Much preferred the Rel caps of the day.

 

[MrAcoustat]

Anyone have any cable recommendations for Magnepan? I have Plinius gear and some 3.7's on order.

May i give you a suggestion ????? Stay away from BI-WIRING unless you like EXTREME high frequencies, your ears will thank you.

 

[DonH50]

That is not a general conclusion, though I do not see any real advantage (or disadvantage) with bi-wiring. I'll be quiet now, I am a cable skeptic except for general guidelines (big, fat cables, or at least with high cross-sectional area).

 

[MrAcoustat]

That is not a general conclusion, though I do not see any real advantage (or disadvantage) with bi-wiring. I'll be quiet now, I am a cable skeptic except for general guidelines (big, fat cables, or at least with high cross-sectional area).

While having my Acoustat's rebuilt i had a pair of Magnepan's 1.6QR's for about a year, all i can say is that going bi-wired was very very bright, tried single wire with the same cable PROBLEM SOLVED, now i always stick to my motto KEEP IT SIMPLE.

 

[andi]

Hi,

with my 3.6 I have made different findings.
It is much clearer in bass and treble when biwired.
BTW......you will find no Biwire option on 3.7 anymore.

BG
Andreas

 

[Lee]

I'm trying the new Lectraline solid core silver cables from Black Cat now. Chris has made interconnects for me but the speaker cable will be out sometime in January.

 

[andi]

Hello again,

because of Barry Diaments suggestions I bought a Nordost speaker cable. A Reddawn in my case. In the first months I was not really happy with it and went back to my cheap standard cable.

During the last months I did invest no money but much time to optimize my system. I used only things I had in stock.
The right conbination of powercables, ICs and most of all the placement of the speakers (following Barry again).

Now I am very happy with the Nordost. Much better soundstage, surprisingly deep bass, voices to die for and no harsh treble. The pads are not used in the moment. The room is well damped now (carpets, record shelves).

During my optimisation, I ordered the Mundorf pads for the tweeter. These are much better than the stock ones. In my setup the stock ones seemed to distort This is not the case with the Mundorfs.

Listening to this setup for some weeks now, I am very happy with it. It is exactly I was looking for.

Because of limited experience with Maggies it took aproxx. one year to get this performance.

Without the help of Barry and other guys in this forum it would be not possible, I guess.

Thanks !!!

BG
Andreas

 

[bdiament]

Hi Andreas,

Hello again,

because of Barry Diamonds suggestions I bought a Nordost speaker cable. A Reddawn in my case. In the first months I was not really happy with it and went back to my cheap standard cable.

During the last months I did invest no money but much time to optimize my system. I used only things I had in stock.
The right conbination of powercables, ICs and most of all the placement of the speakers (following Barry again).

Now I am very happy with the Nordost. Much better soundstage, surprisingly deep bass, voices to die for and no harsh treble. The pads are not used in the moment. The room is well damped now (carpets, record shelves).

During my optimisation, I ordered the Mundorf pads for the tweeter. These are much better than the stock ones. In my setup the stock ones seemed to distort This is not the case with the Mundorfs.

Listening to this setup for some weeks now, I am very happy with it. It is exactly I was looking for.

Because of limited experience with Maggies it took aproxx. one year to get this performance.

Without the help of Barry and other guys in this forum it would be not possible, I guess.

Thanks !!!

BG
Andreas

Great news!
So glad it worked out for you.
Happy Listening!

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

 

[andi]

Hi Barry,

the breakthrough was your placement advise you gave to the parttimeaudiophile in another forum.
1/3 of the backwall width between the speakers, listening distance is the same as the distance between the middles of the speakers.
Fourthermore I decoupled the speakers by SSC - pucks ( http://www.dienadel.de/SSC+Pucks+net+point+100+-+Schwarz+-+Absorber-4er-Set,i4.htm )because the Rollerballs does not work for me because of my old wooden floor.

BR

Andreas

 

[bdiament]

Hi Andreas,

Hi Barry,

the breakthrough was your placement advise you gave to the parttimeaudiophile in another forum.
1/3 of the backwall width between the speakers, listening distance is the same as the distance between the middles of the speakers.
Fourthermore I decoupled the speakers by SSC - pucks ( http://www.dienadel.de/SSC+Pucks+net+point+100+-+Schwarz+-+Absorber-4er-Set,i4.htm )because the Rollerballs does not work for me because of my old wooden floor.

BR

Andreas

Well perhaps we can take it one more step.

A few thoughts:

First, perhaps my wording was not as clear as I thought it was. I do suggest 1/3 the wall width between the speakers and 1/3 the room length behind the front plane of the speakers - and also aiming both speakers toward the center of the wall behind the listening position (all as a starting point). But as to seating distance, my suggestion is to experiment with a range that is approximately 10% *greater* than the distance from left speaker center to right speaker center.

My experience has been that an isosceles triangle will make for greater "focus" than an equilateral triangle. With the listening chair in roughly the position described above, I would play a recording (or two) that is known to have very good clarity and imaging and soundstaging (preferably one made with very few microphones). While listening, lean forward and backward from the listening position, so as to change the distance between your ears and the plane of the speakers. I find this can be much like rotating the focusing lens of a camera past the ideal... you can hear the image go in and out of focus. In most instances, I've found the ideal point of focus to be, as I mentioned, about 10% further from either speaker than the speaker centers are from each other.

As to pucks vs. good roller bearings under speakers, to my ears, pucks (like anything) will *change* the sound but they do not isolate (i.e., do not decouple). The changes they make tend to be random and not consistent, where with proper isolation, I find the differences are *improvements* (not mere changes) and they are consistent and repeatable, across every area of sound I know how to describe.

I'm not sure why the old wooden floor would be a problem. Of course, you can always make a small platform to sit on the floor and on which you could place the roller bearings. Just a thought... Once I heard what they did for speakers, I couldn't imagine ever going another way. (Townshend's wonderful Seismic Speaker Stands accomplish very similar results, albeit at somewhat more cost. They may be a viable alternative for you to consider.)

Most importantly, you are happy with where your system is now, so perhaps there is nothing further to change and it is time to simply sit back and enjoy your music library.

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

 

[MrAcoustat]

I know that Caddock has a high power metal film, but that is a little brittle in the high frequencies.

I prefer Ayton-Perry wire wound. The absolute best would be the Vishay metal foil, but those can be over $100 each. You can sometimes find the white ceramic types with Ayton-Perry windings, but they are extremely rare and would have to be custom made.

These are the resistors in my Acoustats, yes they are expensive ( MS-322 ) $65.00 each.

- - - - - -

 

[garylkoh]

Yes. That's the Ayton-Perry winding pattern, going back and forth to reduce inductance. They are usually quite a bit more expensive than the usual spiral-wound type. The Vishays also have the same pattern.

 

[MrAcoustat]

Yes. That's the Ayton-Perry winding pattern, going back and forth to reduce inductance. They are usually quite a bit more expensive than the usual spiral-wound type. The Vishays also have the same pattern.

Gary will you be at T.A.V.E.S. 2013 - November - 1 - 2 - 3 - ?????

 

[garylkoh]

Gary will you be at T.A.V.E.S. 2013 - November - 1 - 2 - 3 - ?????

Yes. I will do my best to be there. I'm working out the exhibit now together with my Canadian distributor.

 

[MrAcoustat]

Yes. I will do my best to be there. I'm working out the exhibit now together with my Canadian distributor.

Thank's for your response.

 

[MrAcoustat]

Andreas, if you are using the pads, the best $4 you could spend would be to buy resistors with non-inductive Ayrton-Perry windings for the Maggies. An example are these:
http://www.vishay.com/docs/30204/rsns.pdf

Magneplanars are sort of my competitors, but the resistors would improve them tremendously.

gary i love Magnepans BUT being sort of you're competitor wow you are a HUMBLE man.

 

[garylkoh]

gary i love Magnepans BUT being sort of you're competitor wow you are a HUMBLE man.

Thanks. Magnepan is a competitor, but the industry is so small, and we are so denigrated by the masses out there (did you read the outside comments on that audiophilia thread?), why all this in-fighting. I will help a competitor if it will ultimately make for a larger/better hifi industry. I think that we all should be working together to grow the pie - instead of trying to slice and dice the ever-shrinking one.