[avahifi]

As word has spread out there in audiiophile land and great reviews in Parttimeaudiophile and Audiophilic for our little SET 120 power amplifier, I have been getting increasing inquires asking if the SET 120 would be a good match with Magnepan LRS speakers.

Since i had not heard these speakers, I called Magnepan themselves and asked if they had a loaner pair available.

Eric Norgaarden, their marketing directer said yes, and a few days later I now have a pair running in my sound room.

The first comments from all my helpers was unanimous.  These are way better speakers then I would have expected.  After a bit more listening, this was refined to, these are really good speakers!

I agree, they are simply high resolution speakers with an engaging natural balance and no rough edges, I was really impressed at the huge, wide, tall, and deep image and sound stage the combination presented.  We know our amplifier could do it, but the LRS speakers kept right up with it.

I am happy to report that the LRS speakers are a great match for our SET 120 amp.  The combo will play as loud as I would ever want without distress from either the amplifier or speakers. Note that our SET 120 60W/Channel amplifier actually is 120W/Ch into the LRS 4 ohm load.

At the combined price, $750 a pair for the Magnepan LRS speakers and $999 for our SET 120 amplifier I actually can’t think of any other combination at this price that would take you so deep into audiophile heaven.

Frank Van Alstine

[Norman Tracy]

I am not surprised. Combining Magnepan speaker with Van Alstine amplification and one has returned to the headwaters of High-End HiFi. Both LRS and SET 120 represent decades and decades of refining the two companies respective products. Also both companies have an ethos that avoids massive overbuilding and bling pushing products up into the 5 figure price tag regions where small improvements come at massive cost.

Magnepan LRS with Van Alstine SET 120 at $1749 is the new answer when someone complains HiFi has gotten too expensive. As a historical perspective exercise I used summer job money to purchase my first 'real' HiFi in 1976. An inflation calculator tells me that $1749 in 2022 dollars is equal to $354 in 1976!!! I would have been over the moon if I had such exotic panel speakers and power amp to take to college!!

[SteveFord]

That will have plenty of power and does sound like a good combination.
Throw in a small sub and you'd be all set.

[jandrews]

Great to know
I’ve been curious about this combo myself as I have some LRS’s on order.
To further the idea, what are some thoughts regarding an appropriate “budget” preamp to use with the Set 120 and the LRS’s assuming one buys the non-control version of the 120?
Thank you

[Dieterle Tool]

Congrats to Frank and team, as well as Magnepan. This is a great endorsement with legitimate credentials.

-Dieter

[jandrews]

Hello
A bit of user feedback on this pairing and a question:
I’ve been listening to this exact combo for the past couple weeks since receiving my new LRS speakers.
I received my SET 120 in April.
I can’t compare to how the LRS’s perform with a higher wattage amp, but I can say this pairing sounds very good in my listening space.  There’s so much musical information being delivered.  Soundstage is quite wide and high.  With the addition of my omega sub, it’s also quite deep.
I’ve got my speakers in an unconventional diagonal placement with my listening position facing a corner.
This ensures I’ve got at 4 feet behind the panel speakers .
I’m really surprised at the bass response.  Everything I’ve read is that they have none, but in this setup bass is quite satisfying without the sub.  Adding it in extends the depth so I use it but it’s set at about 50 hz and the gain is pretty low. I will say the top end seems rolled off a bit.  These are not overly bright speakers in my room. Of course they are nowhere near being broken in yet.
The AVA SET 120 sounds so open, big and resolving with my Omega monitors too.
Very happy with this set up for now.  Streaming only but hoping to add in a turntable and phono pre in the coming months.
My question is this:
Given that both the Magnepan and AVA manuals state that a 4 amp fast blow fuse shouldn’t be exceeded and given the fact that both the speakers and amp are delivered with 3 amp fuses and given the fact that the LRS’s like current , would I benefit by replacing the 3A fuses in both the speakers and SET 120 with 4A?
Pic of my set up below:
Thanks
J

[gammi]

Bumping this instead of starting a new thread, just want to add that I picked up a pair of LRS+ and they work beautifully with my Van Alstine M225 monoblocks.
Magnepans are excellent at imaging and I think that's one of the strengths of the M225 as well, so together they're superb.

[johnto]

I would think you are better off leaving the 3 amp fuses the manufacturers installed. If you ever have a problem these will have a lower blow point protecting your equipment.