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Just purchased the Magnepan Mini System and need amp and dac opinions. The Wadia they recommend on the site seems a bit small but I welcome advise on that. I am looking to set these up in a small listening room configuration about 11x12.
You don't need a big amp for near field listening because you're sitting up close, but for use in a small room, I'd be inclined to throw *lots* of power at them. That's because they're quite inefficient. The large ones have a 1/R dispersion pattern but the minis are 1/R^2 like a dynamic, so you lose several dB between the speakers and your ears. And that means you need to use a bigger amp.While it's impossible to make a firm recommendation without knowing what levels you listen at, I'm thinking that transistors are the way to go in this case, because of amp size and their ability to double down on current into a 4 ohm load.
You need to first figure out how to set them up since they fall apart when you sit 4-5' or more from them. They also have to be setup at ear level in order to work. The little sub they come with is a bit small for your room. So unless you plan to use them at your desk or just in front of your recliner on pedestals you would be better off with MMGs.I would look to return the little minis and get MMGs instead if you plan to use them as a standard stereo setup.
Thanks Josh. I did start with a big amp in the Emotiva XPA-2 but I will be trying a migration to the Emotiva Mini-x and we'll see.
I'll be curious to know how it turns out. Magnepan went in the opposite direction at their CES show, using a 2500 watt Bryston that, according to people who were there, was running pretty hot.By the way, have you tried listening near field in your room? e.g., moving the stands (and woofer) a few feet in front of your listening seat so they're in about the same relative position they'd be if they were on a desk?I haven't seen any accounts of people doing this but nearfield listening is very common in recording studios and can produce excellent results that minimize the effects of room acoustics. This would also allow the Minis to work at the distance they were designed for. When I heard them, I tried backing off from the desk, and found that they went from stunning to excellent -- still quite listenable, but without the amazing "3.7 on your desk" effect.
I have them on pedestal stands in an 11 x 11.6 room. I also have MMG's and 2.7's and for my small room setup, the Mini System sounds the best.
When I heard them at The Listening Room in Towsend, MD they were using an inexpensive Cambridge Audio integrated at (I think) 60 WPC. There was no problem filling the room with sound but the small REL sub stuck in the far corner really helped A LOT. For full room listening you'll want a sub.I believe that Cambridge integrated has a DAC built in.I was planning on getting the Mini Maggies this year until things took an unexpected turn on me.The plan was to use a Dynaco tube amp from either Bob Latinohttp://bob01605.50webs.com/or Frank Van Alstinehttp://www.avahifi.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=250&Itemid=235with the preamp to be determined.There's lots of options with the tube amps/integrateds but I honestly don't think you'll need a boat load of power to get good results.The Dared probably won't cut it, though.
Since you have the other models to compare to as a reference, can you describe the geometry of your placement in the 11 square room?Surely many people would like to have a ribbon maggie in a small room and wonder how a proper setup of the mini system would have to be setup in order to work.
