wadiman Posted July 11, 2013 Posted July 11, 2013 Hi folks - After recently auditioning a few speakers including the Audio Physic lineup, B&W 805s, and Magneplanar 3.7 and 1.7 I am strongly considering a pair of 1.7s. They won out over the others due to their massive soundstage, lack of congestion and realism. The 3.7s were better but out of the question from a size perspective. One major consideration is whether my current amp - A Bryston 9B ST - which has 5 channels of 120w (my unit actually measured at 144w) at 8 ohms and 200w into 4 ohms - would be up for the task of driving the 1.7s well. Any thoughts? I'm keen to keep the 9B to drive a centre and surrounds but I could just use it for 3 channels and get a new, higher power 2-channel amp like the Sanders magtech for example which apparently runs planar and ESLs very well. It would be around $6k though!
Sir Triode Posted July 11, 2013 Posted July 11, 2013 I'd be more concerned about the synergy of the Bryston and Maggies. I am not so sure that they go well together. Best to try before you commit to another Bryston.
wadiman Posted July 11, 2013 Author Posted July 11, 2013 Thanks triode - i know that quite a few folk use the 4BSST (a newer design with a few more watts) with maggies to supposedly good effect. I'm not looking at another Bryston necessarily - was more thinking about the magtech or something else.
danq Posted July 11, 2013 Posted July 11, 2013 Since you are in NSW, I'd suggest you and your amp pay Bill McLeans in Gosford a visit. Listen yourself and decide
andyr Posted July 12, 2013 Posted July 12, 2013 Hi folks - After recently auditioning a few speakers including the Audio Physic lineup, B&W 805s, and Magneplanar 3.7 and 1.7 I am strongly considering a pair of 1.7s. One major consideration is whether my current amp - A Bryston 9B ST - which has 5 channels of 120w (my unit actually measured at 144w) at 8 ohms and 200w into 4 ohms - would be up for the task of driving the 1.7s well. Any thoughts? I'm keen to keep the 9B to drive a centre and surrounds but I could just use it for 3 channels and get a new, higher power 2-channel amp like the Sanders magtech for example which apparently runs planar and ESLs very well. It would be around $6k though! Yes, you could use the remaining 2 channels of your 9B ST to drive the 1.7s. A number of people on the Planar Asylum use Bryston amps on their Maggies. However, I suggest that would be like putting standard 91 octane petrol in a car that should have 98 octane - you just won't get the best out of them. A Magtech would about the best you could get for your 1.7s, IMO, but the Parasound A21 (which I heard at Bill's before he became a Sanders dealer) will drive your 1.7s very well. Good luck, Andy
aechmea Posted July 12, 2013 Posted July 12, 2013 (edited) Yeah Andy is right - go to Bill's. (But maybe you already have, since you have heard the 1.7s and 3.7s?) I have had MusicalFidelity A5cr (plus ME75 for bi-amp), Parasound A21 (x2 for bi-amp) and Magtech (x2 for bi-amp) driving 3.6R and Magtech (x2 bridged) driving 20.7. Each has a subtly different character. I prefer the Sanders which seems more 'at ease', presumably because of the design being for low impedance speakers. I think the MF used to clip a bit and fuzz the peaks and the Parasound was a bit 'fragile' and 'forward' sounding. Very small differences really. However, I am very happy with the Magtechs. These amps appear to be over-powered for normal listening levels even with low efficiency speakers, but I think that the grunt is needed for 'control' rather than SPL. I play mine at about 80dB at the chair with something like 30dB headroom available. Compare that to many peeps who play their system louder but without much or any headroom. It makes a big difference. Just my opinion of course. Sorry; don't know about Bryston. Edited July 12, 2013 by aechmea
Young Skywalker Posted July 12, 2013 Posted July 12, 2013 I'd be more concerned about the synergy of the Bryston and Maggies. I am not so sure that they go well together. Best to try before you commit to another Bryston. I do believe that Magnepan use Bryston amplifiers in their reference system. I have some 28B SST2 monoblocks for sale if any Maggie owners are interested in a stone cold bargain.
KeithL Posted July 12, 2013 Posted July 12, 2013 I drove my 1.7s with a Musical Fidelity A308 integrated (150w) and had no complaints about it's performance. Your current Bryston should have no issues with the Maggies. Just depends if you like the sound of the Bryston/Maggie combination. I actually had to use my cheap Yamaha avr to drive the 1.7s for awhile and at moderate volumes it performed quite well.
wadiman Posted July 12, 2013 Author Posted July 12, 2013 Many thanks for all the opinions folks! Yes - I have heard the 1.7s but not with my 9BST - from the consensus thus far it seems like it will do an ok job (and i will probably look to audition the 1.7s at Bills's with the 9B) but ultimately a replacement for 2-channel duty will be needed to extract the best out of the 1.7s. I like a smooth sound with a slight roll-off at the top and when I auditioned the 1.7s at Bill's he used a Magtech and they did sound smooth. So that's probably an ultimate goal. I also like the 'run-cool' aspect of the unit due to the location of my gear in a ventilated cupboard.
WhoRu? Posted July 12, 2013 Posted July 12, 2013 I have had my 1.7's for over 2 years now and run them with a bel canto evo4, pass labs aleph 2 and currently with a Nuforce 8.5 V3. Depending on your listening preferences and room size I think 200w/ch into 4ohms should be fine.
Grister Posted July 27, 2013 Posted July 27, 2013 (edited) Hi all I have had a pair of 1.7's for about a year now. Started off powering them with a Dussun V6i and then went to a Dussun V8i (500 w/ch into 4 ohms from memory). Both powered the Maggies in our large living room with ease and I was fairly happy with things. After reading about Richard McDonald's (Tagstrip's) integrated amps on this forum I got interested in his ideas about amp design. I contacted him and he suggested I listen to a earlier model of his 'Quasimodo' amp owned by someone who lived nearby. I was impressed and was able to borrow the amp to have a try on my own system. To be honest I was worried that at around 70w/ch into 4 ohms it might fall over on the 1.7's at any decent volume. So it was a very pleasant surprise to hear how great it sounded. Feeling like taking a bit of a risk I then asked Richard to build me a 25w/ch.(8ohm)/50w/ch.(4ohm) model. It's been a superb addition. My (necessarily subjective) impression is that the speakers sound wonderfully quick and alive with fabulous dynamics. I was worried about it sustaining volume levels in what is a large room but have had no problems so far. In fact I feel like I have hardly tapped how loud it can play - not that loudness is my main priority. What interested me was that I have often read that the more watts per channel the better (for Maggies) - with the caveat that these need to be 'good' watts. My knowledge of the technical sides of things is poor so I can only by my ears. And they are very happy! Edited July 27, 2013 by Grister
colinm1 Posted October 27, 2013 Posted October 27, 2013 I do believe that Magnepan use Bryston amplifiers in their reference system. I have some 28B SST2 monoblocks for sale if any Maggie owners are interested in a stone cold bargain. aS A MATTER OF INTEREST WHAY SORT OF $$$ ARE YOU LOOKING FOR ?
Young Skywalker Posted October 27, 2013 Posted October 27, 2013 aS A MATTER OF INTEREST WHAY SORT OF $$$ ARE YOU LOOKING FOR ? These sold very quickly for $11,000.
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