Virtue amp with Magnepan 1.6 etc?

Welborne · « **on:** 7 Jun 2010, 10:50 am »

Any review/experience with this kind of combo? Are virtue one, two or sensation good (sweet and powerful) enough for maggie?

jtwrace · « **Reply #1 on:** 7 Jun 2010, 12:11 pm »

I'm going to try the TWO.2 on my electrostats (Final Sound 1000i)

They are 86dB 1W/1M wtih Nom 4 Ohms. I'll let you know how it goes..

virtue · « **Reply #2 on:** 7 Jun 2010, 02:37 pm »

I got this the other day from my engineer Ivan who loaned some gear to a friend with Maggies. I don't know what model. He's referring to the JT/Antek supply below, I think.

"I wanted to let you know, I did receive the mighty power supply, a few days ago. My initial impression is the MPS does improve bass authority. I've not had time to do extensive listening, with the mighty power supply, but I plan to, next week.

I must say both these amps sound very good. They are both very transparent, well focused and detailed.

Although, out of the box the Sensation was a bit bright, harsh on top and puny on the bottom. That all changed after 80 hours of break in, which you said it would need. It has only improved since. This amp has blossomed into a very nice sound.

The Virtue Two sounded amazing, right out of the box. I have to say, I was astounded by the beautiful noise this little box makes, but not surprised. It had no problem managing the Maggies, or the Vistas. In fact, neither amp did. More on this later.

Thanks for letting me break these in for you.

In audio heaven,

XXXX"

eclein · « **Reply #3 on:** 7 Jun 2010, 02:56 pm »

These little babies will drive anything won't they??

jtwrace · « **Reply #4 on:** 7 Jun 2010, 02:58 pm »

Quote from: eclein on 7 Jun 2010, 02:56 pm

These little babies will drive anything won't they??

I'm going to torture it tonight on my big electrostats.

It drove my 3-way 89dB 1M/1W with NO PROBLEM at all to ear bleeding levels.

JohnR · « **Reply #5 on:** 7 Jun 2010, 03:06 pm »

Quote from: jtwrace on 7 Jun 2010, 02:58 pm

I'm going to torture it tonight on my big electrostats.

What do you have? I've been wondering if I'm game to try one on my ESL 57s.

virtue · « **Reply #6 on:** 7 Jun 2010, 03:18 pm »

We bridged the output chips, making 4 ohms viable. And the results are impressive... We did better with Mark & Daniels than many other amps including a Bel Canto that they had at CES 2009.

However, the amp won't drive everything well.

We're crap with many Totem speakers (like the Arrows), unsatisfying with the Acoustic Technologies single driver speaker, and will probably stumble on the ESL 57s.

We've far more examples of them pairing beautifully than poorly, but this isn't a high voltage dual rail amp with FET outputs after all.

jtwrace · « **Reply #7 on:** 7 Jun 2010, 03:18 pm »

Quote from: JohnR on 7 Jun 2010, 03:06 pm

What do you have? I've been wondering if I'm game to try one on my ESL 57s.

I've still got a pair of Final Sound 1000i's.

jtwrace · « **Reply #8 on:** 7 Jun 2010, 03:20 pm »

Seth-

Don't sell yourself short.

Volume level will also play a huge factor...

virtue · « **Reply #9 on:** 22 Jun 2010, 04:38 pm »

Got this today from Ivan. He loaned a Virtue TWO.2 and Sensation with the Antek supply to a friend.

"Both amps sound amazing. The Sensation handles the older 3.5 Maggies effortlessly. Both amps are beautifully detailed, resolved, yet easy on the ear. The power supply took some break-in, but now, the combination sounds more delicate, if that is possible? Both amps/power supply combination sound warmer, than they did early on. It could be I've become used to the sound. All I know is, last night I relished in the sound of Rachelle Ferrell Live in Montreux 91-97, playing through the CEC TL51-XR player, Sensation and the linear power supply... Early on, I thought the Virtue TWO.2 was my favorite. Today, the Sensation is my choice of sound. Congratulations, to get this kind of sound from this price point is remarkable. It has been a privilege to have these in my system."

Mariusz · « **Reply #10 on:** 22 Jun 2010, 07:52 pm »

Last night, I have listened to these speakers with One.2 Virtue (did not pass 12 o'clock mark):

Ascendo C5 87db

Davone Rithm 85db

and Volent CL-2 88db

OzarkTom · « **Reply #11 on:** 22 Jun 2010, 10:46 pm »

Those have to sound great, they look like a million dollars.

virtue · « **Reply #12 on:** 22 Jun 2010, 10:59 pm »

With all that bel-canto gear you might be close

hehe....

Mariusz · « **Reply #13 on:** 22 Jun 2010, 11:18 pm »

Quote from: OzarkTom on 22 Jun 2010, 10:46 pm

Those have to sound great, they look like a million dollars.

Sometimes looks can be deceiving.......... but in this case, they also did sound really good.
Their strongest points: size, looks, smooth bass, chocolaty, rich middle-range
Minuses: because of the emphasized reproduction of mids, bass and highs could use some extra energy, crispiness (for the lock of a better words) to compensate. But that is where Virtue amp could help in bringing the best in these speakers. FWIW - I like these a lot.

Volent monitors with HSU sub sounded very dynamic tho.
As with most speakers with ribbon tweeters, positioning and associated gear is crucial.
It wasn't my setup but if it was,
-I would dump the Benchmark pre/DAC (too brightish for this setup)
-Get rid of the Nordost wiring
-add at lease one component with tube(s) ...... DAC or buffer.........or Sensation with buffer.

justplainmike · « **Reply #14 on:** 15 Feb 2011, 04:53 am »

Hi All,.

Just posted in another thread but in case anyone out there is doing a search for "Virtue and Magnepan" I figured I'd throw in my 2 cents in this thread.

I got a pair of Magnepan MMG's delivered last Tuesday and have been tinkering with them ever since. I had been a bit worried that the Virtue One.2 w/the 130w PS wouldn't be able to power them effectively. I had read in a bunch of Planar/Magnepan forums that the speakers needed tons of power to sound good. I've heard anywhere from 200-400 watts even for the smaller panels.

I'm here to tell you that I've got everything I need in the One.2. I took this amp to Definitive Audio here in Seattle to try out on a pair of Mg 12's. It sounded great even driving that bigger panel and without a subwoofer in the system. So I took a chance and ordered the MMG's.

My Maggies are in my bedroom system with a Audio-Gd Dac/preamp, Virtue One.2 hooked up to the MMG's and a Mirage Omni S8. I'm running the One.2 full range and the sub high pass crossed over to ~60hz.

It sounds fantastic. Even with some work to do with speaker positioning and room treatments the sound I'm getting from this combo is far and away better than any I've heard. I had a pair of Axiom M3ti's that I thought were pretty great sounding but the MMG's trounce them. I'm even playing with the volume turned down because I'm getting all the sound I need without blasting the speakers. My axioms are 92db/8ohm efficient compared to 86db/4ohm on the Maggies but the amount of sound coming out of the MMG's is HUGE.

I can't say enough about this combination. I'm posting a copy of this in the Planar forums to help anyone on the fence about either the Virtue amps or MMG's. I wasn't able to find anyone in my online searches that had this combination and I hope it helps someone else out there looking. Kudos to Seth and Virtue and the folks at Magnepan for making me a very happy audiophile. Best bargains in all of Audio!!

Cheers!!

p.s. I love the fact that I could carry my amp to the audio store in one hand and hook it up to audition speakers...how many amp makers can boast that?

p.p.s. I'm wondering if the battery power or the Antec PSU would be a better match with the MMG's??

Sam-fi · « **Reply #15 on:** 15 Feb 2011, 04:58 am »

Wow! I would not have guessed! Just goes to show you that in audio - don't discount anything until you hook it up!

Sam

virtue · « **Reply #16 on:** 15 Feb 2011, 05:27 am »

Mike, thanks for the update! Super cool!

You'll get more current with the other supplies but how much more? Some...

Seth

justplainmike · « **Reply #17 on:** 15 Feb 2011, 06:17 am »

Hi Seth,

Thanks for the reply. Which PS has the most current?? I've read in some of the Planar forum postings that current is more important than watts to Maggies. It's why some people gush over relatively lower wattage tubes amps that have a beefy transformer. Of course others say that SS amps with pushing a 1000 watts is the way to go

I'm inclined to think that my maggies sound good because of the current on the PS I'm using rather than the 87wpc@ 4 ohms rating. Thoughts??

OzarkTom · « **Reply #18 on:** 15 Feb 2011, 01:26 pm »

The battery system will sound much netter. I never heard amy changes in overall drive-ability when I switched from the power supply to the bettery system. I actually play the battery system louder since I don't hear the electromic glare from my house current nearly as much. I would love tp try a RWA LiPo4 lithium battery set-up now. That will be the most current, IMO.

xr2 · « **Reply #19 on:** 15 Feb 2011, 01:49 pm »

I've actually been looking at a similar option. I have an original TWO with the upgraded power supply, but it's about time to shake things up with some new speakers. I'm glad to hear that this combo works out. Can't pull the trigger quiet yet, but I'm looking forward to hearing this for myself.