[brooklyn]

It seems like Brooklyn has some of the answers he's been looking for.  Sorry for the threadjack.

Yes, and then some.

[medium jim]

Audio Research amps have always been an excellent match for Maggies.   

Very true, in fact tubes and Maggie's in general work well together.  However, it will be hard to find a good tube amp for 2.5K which is the stated parameter, unless you go used.

Jim

[brooklyn]

I'm getting a little closer to buying an amp for my pans. I'm looking at a new McCormack DNA-250 which I understand to be a little warm sounding or a McCormack DNA-1 Deluxe which is for sale on this web site, both are 100 Ohms input impedance.

Does anyone have any experience with either of these amps with Maggies and a tube preamp?

[SteveFord]

AJZepp would be the guy to talk to about this, I believe.

[Davey]

A "warm" sounding amp may have more to do with speaker (load) impedance variations than some inherent "warm" quality to the amp.
MMG's have an impedance peak in the middle of the range so amplifiers with higher output impedance will result in a more skewed frequency response in conjunction with this peak, relative to others.

I believe you've been misinformed about the amplifiers input impedance.  100 ohms can't be correct.

(The McCormack website has very little technical specifications/information on their products.)

Cheers,

Dave.

[geowak]

My two cents worth..

I had the DNA-125 and I now have the A21 for a second system. I really, really like the Parasound over the McCormack for driving difficult speaker loads. Never had the DNA-250, but my 125 developed a transformer hum.

The upgrades for the McCormack, should one inquire about this later are very expensive. Too much for me. The Parasound and the McCormack are both designed by very talented engineers, but the cost and performance of the A21 was above what I had expected. See the Audiocritic.com review of the A21.

[brooklyn]

I believe you've been misinformed about the amplifiers input impedance.  100 ohms can't be correct.

There is a thread on the Agon forum website that stated they emailed Ed Deitemeier at Conrad Johnson to verify the 100 ohm impedance.   

[hayden]

I've had great luck powering my Maggies with the older Audiosource Amp7T Tripath amplifiers.  It seems to mesh well with my modified SMG's.

JP

[Emsquare]

There is a thread on the Agon forum website that stated they emailed Ed Deitemeier at Conrad Johnson to verify the 100 ohm impedance.

Are you sure that it wasn't 100kΩ? Davey is right to ask as that would be highly unlikely to see that for an amplifier input impedance. A'gon forums aren't necessarily the best source of information for this kind of thing. If you start checking the typical amp input impedance of various manufacturers you tend to see a range of about 50kΩ to 250kΩ or so.

[JohnR]

It would have to be 100k.

[brooklyn]

I believe you've been misinformed about the amplifiers input impedance.  100 ohms can't be correct.

I stand corrected.

Yes, it's 100k ohms. Sorry to sound like an ignoramus but what's the difference?

When it comes to anything electrical  it goes way over my head.

[JohnR]

100k ohm is 100,000 ohms.

[brooklyn]

Well, I bought an amp today but it didn't turn out to be the one(s) I wanted. After around a month or so of trying to figure out which amp to buy for the money I wanted to spend I decided on the McCormack DNA-250. I called the company that sells this model for Conrad Johnson and was told they only had one left in an open box and there wouldn't be anymore coming.

I decided to send an email to the audio shop I do most of my business with and picked up a used pair of Bel Canto Reference 500 Mono Power Amplifiers for just a little more then I wanted to spend..

The REF500s are rated at 500 watts into 4 ohms and 250 watts into 8 ohms. I wasn't in the market for a class D amp or two but at 15 pounds apiece and having a weak back, I thought, why not.. I'm having them shipped to my home in Kansas City (that's were my audio system is) and they should be there when I arrive the middle of next week.

I've read they should work well with Maggies and the input impedance is 100k ohms which should work well will my Prima Luna Prologue 3.. I'm happy but cautious never using or hearing a Class D Amp before or a Bel Canto for the matter.

I will post my finding's sometime next week.

[rw@cn]

Looking forward to hearing your impressions.

[brooklyn]

I will post my finding's sometime next week.

Well, my trip this week will be delayed one more week due to an invitation I got to
a good friends surprise 70th birthday party.

My trip back home will be around the 8th of August.. Can't wait to hear the new amps..

[brooklyn]

I got home earlier then expected yesterday which was great because the anticipation of trying the new amps in my system was killing me. I’m not an audio reviewer but I will do the best I can to convey what I heard so far.

I connected the Bel Canto REF500m amps to the Prima Luna and the MMG’s, turned on the system and listened for about an hour with cd’s just to make sure everything was working, the sound was a little thin as expected. Please keep in mind that I bought the Bel Canto’s used so they should be broken in, the Prima Luna is brand new so unfortunately I can’t say everything I heard was due only to the Bel Canto’s.

I let the system warm up for around three more hours before I did another evaluation,
The only comparisons I could make was between the Musical fidelity A5 integrated amp (which I sold) and the Bel Canto’s which are around the same power but the BC’s are Class D amplification.

The Bel Canto’s drove the MMG’s effortlessly even at loud levels, I only noticed a slightly higher position on the preamps volume knob when driving the MMG’s, if that means anything. The sound was warmer and more focused then with MF A5 but didn’t dull the top end at all, the bass was almost as tight as the A5 but sounded fuller. The sound stage was more wide then deep but sounded very good depending on the recordings, the dynamic range was excellent. The amp ran cool even after I played the music loud for a while. I put an ear to the amps when the music stopped playing and they were dead quiet. I can imagine things still need to settle down a bit but so far, I’m impress from what I’m hearing.

A couple of years ago I didn’t even know what a Class D was mush less think about buying one, I'm glad I did. The system has good synergy even with the wide range of music that I listened to so far. To think, I was going to buy a sixty pound behemoth, these amps are 15 pounds each, my back approves.

Associated equipment, VPI Scout with an Ortofon 2M Black cartridge and a Graham Slee ERA V phono preamp. Sony S7000 DVD player as a transport and a PS Audio DC III Dac. Listening room 12X15 feet

[brooklyn]

Okay, it’s four day’s since I hooked up the Bel Cantos to the Prima Luna, I have been listening to music for about five hours every night.

I read reviews where the writer mentioned they hear deeper unto the music, I’m getting that kind of effect now. It’s truly shaping up to be a great sounding system.

The bass is fuller then I remembered it with my A5 but that’s fine with me, I would rather not get a sub because when I had one (before the Maggie’s) no matter how hard I tried it never sounded right to me.

The highs don’t have that bright sound like I had before, there smother and more detailed but are still extended. I was listening to some acoustic guitar music the other night and the midrange sounded very natural, like the musicians were in the room.

The amps are holding their own, small yet powerful, I’ve read about Class D amplification but don’t understand it at all, how so much power can come out of two small boxes is way beyond my level of comprehension.

As thing’s progress I will try to update this thread. 

[SteveFord]

Just to satisfy my curiosity, would you have a SS preamp to hook up for a bit in place of the Prima Luna?  I'm wondering much your preamp brings to the party, so to speak.
It sounds like you've put together a winner.

[brooklyn]

Just to satisfy my curiosity, would you have a SS preamp to hook up for a bit in place of the Prima Luna?  I'm wondering much your preamp brings to the party, so to speak.
It sounds like you've put together a winner.

Sorry, no solid state preamp to speak of. I've actually been wanting to get back to my old roots which was tube pre and solid state amp.

I believe the amps are responsible for the clean sound, seemingly unlimited power and dynamic range with a wide sound stage.

I didn't have enough after market power cords so I'm still using the ones that came with the units, I understand Bel Canto recommends using a different cord. I guess that's my next move.

I would also like to purchase some room treatments, I never gave it to much thought but I think the time has come.

[brooklyn]

Update:

I’ve been listening to my new Bel Canto amps for the last 4 days, I think the system settled in very nicely. Having used an integrated amp for the last six years it’s great to be back into Solid State amp / Tube Pre amp electronics.

The Bel Canto’s continue to be very dynamic amps, they give the magnepan’s all the power they want at anytime they need it. They are fast, distortion free and still have a rich sound quality, just what I was looking for. My system on the whole sounds excellent and so far has exceeded my expectations and I haven’t done room treatment’s yet.

Albums that were previously hard to listen to because of brightness no longer sounds that way. The midrange is very smooth and natural and the bass is more extended. I find it hard to imagine the need for a subwoofer. The system is also more musical now,
I’m flabbergasted for lack of a better word.

The MMG’s are a testament to what can be achieved with good electronics and plenty of clean power. I think the Bel Canto’s are a great match for any of the Magnepan’s but for some reason I haven’t read any write ups on this combo.

I haven’t finished tweaking the system at this time.

Now comes the fun part......... POWER CABLES.........LOL

I have a feeling I will be starting a new post on the path of least resistance.