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RE: Magnepans and amplification.

Posted by Audiophilander (A) on September 30, 2019 at 11:36:42

In Reply to: RE: Magnepans and amplification. posted by HiOnFi on September 29, 2019 at 07:20:15:

I have Wyred4Sound SX-1000R Class D monoblock amps (i belive these use some variation of the ice module). Bought them to use with my Maggie 3.7i while I was awaiting the return of my Sanders Magtech which I'd sent back to the manufacturer for thermal transistor replacement (I'd assumed that this would take months, surprisingly, it only took about a week!).

Even though my Sanders amps came back quickly, I kept the W4S amps in place for several months to fully break them in and audition their capabilities. After learning all of their attributes, idiosyncrasies and faults I decided to keep them. After nearly two years, they remain as incredibly efficient, remarkably light weight back-up amps.

W4S monoblock amps were very analytical and transparent,pleasing on studio recordings because instrument placement in the music soundscape was pinpoint accurate. That said, on some recordings, live recordings sounded thin and uninvolving, just too two-dimensional and flat. These actually ruined the sound of some intense, otherwise powerful live recordings.

OTOH, the Magtech is as close to perfect a power amp as one can get for Maggies, Slightly less power than the Class D topology ...but not by much... the Magtech is unconstructed, with plenty of head-room and totally involving three dimensionality on a wide range of music. The Magtech (Class A/B) is analytical in it's precision, but not like a sanitary clean-room. It's also slightly warmer, but without coloration, and detailed, but not to the point of distraction. It's just musical. The one downside, ...it's a VERY heavy amplifier.

I'm sure that as Class D modules that have improved upon the W4S SX-1000R topology, but given the price, light weight, damping and punch (over1000 wpc), they're a bargain at under two bills ($2000), especially as back-up amps. One final thought, both of these amplifiers would probably be overkill for any Magneplanar speaker systems under the 3 series, but let me emphasize again, this depends a lot on the end user, preferred listening levels and overall size of the listening room.

Cheers,
AuPh

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