Cables for Magnepan
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Well actually I preferred my rebuilt MGIIIas biamped. Worked especially well with the same amp top (Premier 4s) and bottom. Not to mention using one channel of one amp for the mids/tweeter and one for the bass. Also sounded great with the Perreaux 2150 bass and Premier 4s on top. Only issue was with the xover slope, would hear some if the Perreauxs in the lower mids.
Did you ever hear biamped Magnepans?
Sorry Myles, was talking about BI-WIRE not biamped because i have never heard them biamped but i did try them (1.6qr ) bi wired and for ME i prefered single wire, to each is own.
PS: Whe are not talking about the same speakers here, i would choose MG-3A's over 1.7s & 3.7s anyday but that's ME.
I'll save everyone from the bold, caps and colors
I also had IIIa's back in the day, I bought them after hearing them bi-amped thru an elec x-over. The dealer had a tech that mfrd them under KMF he also made a version for the tympani (one of the best systems i've heard) Jim Winey gave his blessing on the mod.
Well you answered yes to Fred's question as to both bi-wired and bi-amped. Reread his post then.
The slope is so mild in the IIIa's (etc.) that the top and bottom amps really need to match fairly well. That was the reason, after months if not years of piddling, I ended up with a hybrid bass amp to pair with my tube treble amp in my system. Now I am driving them full-range through a cheap SS amp and they still sound good to me. Getting old can have its advantages.
That said, I was sorry to see Magnepan scrap the bi-amp option in the new designs, but in truth I bet a very tiny fraction of owners actually did that.
That said, I was sorry to see Magnepan scrap the bi-amp option in the new designs, but in truth I bet a very tiny fraction of owners actually did that.
Well actually one has to be careful when making sweeping statement eg. single wire is simpler. You better check the speaker's xover circuit first. In the case of the MGIIIas, biamping actually eliminated a big, especially in the stock version, crappy capacitor. So eliminating that cap does actually simplify things. Plus because of the xover order used in the MGIIIas, you can also choose to use a small cap placed in the amp to roll off the bass amp, also simplying and improving things eg. that top end amp doesn't have to do lows at all.
The slope is so mild in the IIIa's (etc.) that the top and bottom amps really need to match fairly well. That was the reason, after months if not years of piddling, I ended up with a hybrid bass amp to pair with my tube treble amp in my system. Now I am driving them full-range through a cheap SS amp and they still sound good to me. Getting old can have its advantages.
That said, I was sorry to see Magnepan scrap the bi-amp option in the new designs, but in truth I bet a very tiny fraction of owners actually did that.
Agreed.
Since we've gotten OT, when I had my Maggies, found Transparent, MIT and OCOS worked very nicely with the speakers. In fact, had completely rewired in those days, the speaker with tripled up, MIT hookup wire (thanks to Mike Percy).
Myles Fred's post was about the 1.7s & 3.7s NOT the MG3As a much smoother speaker at least to me.
With my 3.6's I get the best results with Cardas Golden Cross speaker cable. George Cardas uses Magnepans as his reference speakers.
5.5 Gauge and short lengths. No resistors for the tweeters, fuses replaced with brass tubes, and jumpers replaced with 12 Gauge OFC wires.
The Golden Cross's take a long time to break in, but sound great!
5.5 Gauge and short lengths. No resistors for the tweeters, fuses replaced with brass tubes, and jumpers replaced with 12 Gauge OFC wires.
The Golden Cross's take a long time to break in, but sound great!
Cardas sounds good with Maggies but the Lectralines actually beat the Cardas Golden Reference cables I have.
Just for informations, I have connected Furutech Speakerflux between Magnepan 3.7i and Jeff Rowland Model 625 ( First version).
I have tried old cable : Van Den Hul The Revelation : there is more bass and voices are warmer compared to the Furutech.
Another “what’s best” thread that that leads to no agreement, because cable choice is dependent on power amplifier and personal taste.
I have listened to Magnepan IIIa and 3.6R speakers with ribbon tweeters every night since 1987 and never found the sound bright ever!
I do not buy bright sounding power amps. Which I feel is the cause.
Never felt the need to use trimming resistors.
I have listened to Magnepan IIIa and 3.6R speakers with ribbon tweeters every night since 1987 and never found the sound bright ever!
I do not buy bright sounding power amps. Which I feel is the cause.
Never felt the need to use trimming resistors.
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