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RE: Thoughts on Sanders Magtech

The earlier amps employed with my Maggies are Wyred4Sound Class D mono-blocks that produce around 1100 wpc into a 4 Ohm load and a Quad 909 (A/B topology) that's around 250 wpc into 4 Ohm loads. Each amplifier had unique sound signatures, strengths and weaknesses. The Quad had a warm slightly soft and rolled off presentation, but also got quite warm with extended listening sessions. If I were describing the sound of the Quad over Maggies it would be lush but less focused on inner-detail. Average soundstage depth, not notably wide.

The Wyred4Sound amps are very clean sounding, almost too clean and analytical on some material. They sound great on well recorded studio albums with lots of inner detail and isolated instruments, but not so good on live material. Wyred4Sound Class D amps are very light in weight, but not prone to overheating. However, the sterility of their presentation proved to be less satisfying on a broad mix of recordings. Flatter, wider more forward soundstage presentation; not much front to back depth.

The only other amps I briefly used with my Maggies were a pair of Monarchy Audio SE 100 Deluxe mono-block amps. I'm not sure what the Deluxe is supposed to represent. These were just so-so in spite of the theoretically superior Class A topology. Based on recollection the Monarchy amps had less focused imaging and a constricted soundstage with limited front to back depth. Overall. a lackluster presentation. These were not a good match for Maggies, just average sounding amps.

The Sanders Magtech has a nice detailed presentation overall. It's neither overly analytical nor forward, but with good rock solid focus and sufficiently nuanced inner detail. Also, there's excellent front to back spatial depth and realistic soundstage width that stretches beyond the speakers. The Magtech's performance and solid construction provides a "there and done" level of confidence.

As mentioned below, some of the very early Magtech amps had unexpected Motorola heat transistor failures that allowed the amp to get a bit too warm if left on idle as Roger Sanders suggests. Performance was never compromised, but I opted for transistor replacement.. It was fixed and returned under warranty within a week. In fact, I'd purchased the Wyred4Sound monoblocks in the interim as a quick, inexpensive replacement thinking my Magtech might be in the shop a couple of months (my prior experience with Audible Illusion's Art Ferris had toughened me to anticipating long service waits).

Because my Magtech came back so quickly, I ended up storing it for a few more weeks to continue auditioning the Wyred4Sound amps. This gave a good baseline for assessing both amps capabilities and limitations. When I finally reconnected the Magtech and shelving the Wyred4Sound amps the differences couldn't have been clearer after playing familiar music over both. Note: I do keep the Wyred4Sound amps for backup, but I've never had another heat transistor issue or problem of any other kind with the Magtech.

Hopefully this information will prove useful in your deliberations.

Cheers,
AuPh


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  • RE: Thoughts on Sanders Magtech - Audiophilander 09/8/2013:17:10 09/8/20 (0)

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