[xing3ds]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChicagoPhil you won't need both an integrated amp and a receiver... it's one or the other (or was i being too obtuse in reading your post?)

sorry for my lack of knowledge in this area

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChicagoPhil an integrated will give more value in a 2 channel setup, but will be effectively wasted money when going to HT. so i would just get a good receiver to start with since you know that's where the system is headed.

That is a very good point.
Again, I need to discuss the bit of this (either integrated 2ch amp or 5.1 receiver) with my gf's dad.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChicagoPhil consider the NAD T743, retail $699. it is 5.1 only

I've looked on that one, it seems to be a good one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChicagoPhil i think you can find a decent source and cables for $350. without getting into a debate about the absoulte value of cables, as part of a system at this combined price point, the bang for the buck is clearly in the speakers and amplifier (receiver). parts express (website direct) sells a house brand series of cables, named Dayton, that have solid construction and are reasonably priced.

I will look on that cable's brand. and thanks for the inputs.
its really helpful

 

[xing3ds]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spektrograf xing3ds, I think focusing on a good 2-ch system is a good start. Thay way, if your gf's dad wants to expand later, he has a good foundation to start with.

yes, you are right.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spektrograf Now that you've settled on a config, I'd focus on getting a good amp before dumping money into a low-end subwoofer. As aseltzer144 mentioned, electrostatics (the kind of speaks maggie's are) present a difficult matching problem with subwoofers since they are so much faster than dynamic speakers (almost all subs are driven with dynamic drivers). That makes the sub quality all the more important. In fact, even more so than just matching with regular bookshelf speakers. The most common complaint that people make about mismatched systems is smeared or rather undefined bass as different parts of the bass freq. response gets to the listener's ears at different times depending on whether it's being generated by the sub or the maggie's (usually happens around the crossover point). A good, tight sub will run you easily over a grand. Around the $500-600 price point, you've got reasonable subs like the PSB 6i or a Sunfire True Subwoofer Junior. The Sunfire True Sub (the junior's bigger brother) is a very capable sub, but unfortunately, I have no experience with the PSB 6i or the True Sub Jr, just read lots of good things about the 6i, while it's just my wild guess that the Jr. can't be half-bad (so take that with more than a grain of salt). At your current budget, it may be better, again as aseltzer144 mentioned, to do without a sub, as you could be doing more damage to your resultant sq with a mismatch than just without. It may be fine without a sub anyway if the end user listens to material at moderate levels and doesn't crank the system to "feel" the explosions when watching a movie.

A very good point on the subwoofer matching part.

I have made a search on the net on both of the subwoofer u have mentioned above. the price of the sub combine the either NAD receiver or Rotel Int.Amp. and the MMG, it blows the $1,600 budget. So I Guess, I'll go without the subwoofer rather than a lousy subwoofer that will not pair-well with the MMG.

so the situation now (better than before)
- A pair of MMG
- either Rotel RA-1062 or NAD T743
- a source ???
- cables ???

so, I'll still need to find out the source and cables that could fit in well in $350 budget.

thanks for all the inputs.

EDIT: I just know from her dad, last night, that he have a active subwoofer (12inch) at home and not sure about the brand and havent been use for 2 years. this probably could fit in well into the MMG and I'll need to look at how well it performed together with the MMG, as what Spektrograf said.

 

[xing3ds]

I have look on the specs. for both Rotel and NAD, and I notices the different in the 'watts' it delivers on 4 ohm Rating.

MMG is impedance is 4 ohm

Rotel -> 90 watts/ch at 4ohm.
NAD -> 50 watts/ch at 4ohm.

is this how u match up the power thinggy? I know nothing about this thing. so, please corrent me, if I'm wrong.

will the 40 watts difference between Rotel and NAD will make a huge difference in how loud i can drive the speakers? the loud I'm talking is no more the average listening loudness.

sorry, if this is a stupid question. but i need to know this

 

[ChicagoPhil]

Quote:

Originally Posted by xing3ds I have look on the specs. for both Rotel and NAD, and I notices the different in the 'watts' it delivers on 4 ohm Rating. MMG is impedance is 4 ohm Rotel -> 90 watts/ch at 4ohm. NAD -> 50 watts/ch at 4ohm. is this how u match up the power thinggy? I know nothing about this thing. so, please corrent me, if I'm wrong. will the 40 watts difference between Rotel and NAD will make a huge difference in how loud i can drive the speakers? the loud I'm talking is no more the average listening loudness. sorry, if this is a stupid question. but i need to know this

here you're comparing an integrated amp with a receiver at a similar price point. not suprisingly, the 2 channel integrated gives more power for the money, because you are paying for 2 amps instead of 5, and no surround circuitry.

now, whether those watts matter... yes, objectively, 90 watts will allow for louder playback than 50. but, you have to remember the logrithmic nature of sound levels. that is, 10 db increase in sound is doubling, and 3db is generally considered a noticeable increase. 3db requires 2x the power, and 10db requires 10x the power.

so basically, a 100 watt amp can play 3db higher than a 50 watt amp.

if your GF's father intends to listen at only average listening levels, and the room isn't enormous, 50 watts should be sufficient. for really loud movie watching, it may not be enough.

cheers,
phil

 

[xing3ds]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChicagoPhil here you're comparing an integrated amp with a receiver at a similar price point. not suprisingly, the 2 channel integrated gives more power for the money, because you are paying for 2 amps instead of 5, and no surround circuitry. now, whether those watts matter... yes, objectively, 90 watts will allow for louder playback than 50. but, you have to remember the logrithmic nature of sound levels. that is, 10 db increase in sound is doubling, and 3db is generally considered a noticeable increase. 3db requires 2x the power, and 10db requires 10x the power. so basically, a 100 watt amp can play 3db higher than a 50 watt amp. if your GF's father intends to listen at only average listening levels, and the room isn't enormous, 50 watts should be sufficient. for really loud movie watching, it may not be enough. cheers, phil

thanks again Phil, thats very helpful.

so in this case, the Rotel amp can play nearly 3db higher than the NAD receiver.

yeah.. probably I go for NAD. (if the gf's dad planning for a 5.1 in the future)

can't wait to hear how MMG sound when everything is finished being setup.

btw, anyone know where the MMG dealers can be found near Indonesia Country?
I know that one local-audio store sell MMG in Singapore (Adelphi Mall).
Anyone know other place? Malaysia? Australia?

if its there is one in Australia, I can audition it before buying.

 

[videocrew]

you can only buy the MMG from magnepan. they don't sell them in stores

 

[SteveA]

Hi!

Man, I'll probably get flamed for this but here goes. If you want an amp to take your Maggies by the 'nads and make 'em sing, find someone willing to part with a SUMO Andromeda of any vintage. Planars are VERY hungry and you need something that can rule them without blinking.

I have Eminent Technology LFT-8s and the Andromeda (original vintage) drove them like no tomorrow with plenty of finesse. I had an opportunity to swap the Sumo and some other idle pieces I had for an Audio Research D125. Paired with the E-Ts, it is a little more subtle than the Sumo but has nowhere near the drive before running out of gas.

Very best regards,
Steve

 

[Spektrograf]

xing3ds, sounds like you're having fun learning all of this!

You'll have to let us know how it all turns out.

If the user listened to music with high dynamic range, e.g. some classical or jazz recordings, a higher power amp like the Rotel, or the Sumo that Steve indicated will be much more capable in presenting wide dynamic range source material with authority.

As far as your question on source, it depends on what the user's needs are... cd? sacd? dvd-a? dvd-v? mp3? radio tuner? It'll also depend on the HT vs. 2-ch answer. Let us know so we can give you a good rec.

At your budget, don't sweat the cables, just get some reasonable cables with whatever budget you have left over as it'll have the LEAST impact (by far) on the system sq when compared to the rest of your system choices. Practically speaking, just don't go smaller than 14 gauge cables for your speaker cables for your average living room runs.

 

[xing3ds]

Quote:

Originally Posted by videocrew you can only buy the MMG from magnepan. they don't sell them in stores

But Magnepan has a listing of the dealers in their website (http://www.magnepan.com/dealers.php). I'm assuming that the dealers are somehow is a local or specialize audio store. correct me, if i'm wrong.

its not just that, I went to Singapore 2 months ago and went to Adelphi Mall building saw one or two audio shops display the magnepan products.

 

[xing3ds]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveA Hi! Man, I'll probably get flamed for this but here goes. If you want an amp to take your Maggies by the 'nads and make 'em sing, find someone willing to part with a SUMO Andromeda of any vintage. Planars are VERY hungry and you need something that can rule them without blinking. I have Eminent Technology LFT-8s and the Andromeda (original vintage) drove them like no tomorrow with plenty of finesse. I had an opportunity to swap the Sumo and some other idle pieces I had for an Audio Research D125. Paired with the E-Ts, it is a little more subtle than the Sumo but has nowhere near the drive before running out of gas. Very best regards, Steve

thanks for the rec.

but, what is vintage?
parting with a SUMO Andromeda of any vintage?
noob here

 

[xing3ds]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spektrograf xing3ds, sounds like you're having fun learning all of this! You'll have to let us know how it all turns out.

sure. learning while having fun

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spektrograf If the user listened to music with high dynamic range, e.g. some classical or jazz recordings, a higher power amp like the Rotel, or the Sumo that Steve indicated will be much more capable in presenting wide dynamic range source material with authority. As far as your question on source, it depends on what the user's needs are... cd? sacd? dvd-a? dvd-v? mp3? radio tuner? It'll also depend on the HT vs. 2-ch answer. Let us know so we can give you a good rec. At your budget, don't sweat the cables, just get some reasonable cables with whatever budget you have left over as it'll have the LEAST impact (by far) on the system sq when compared to the rest of your system choices. Practically speaking, just don't go smaller than 14 gauge cables for your speaker cables for your average living room runs.

about the music type, the user is all-rounder music listener

for the source, must play cd, vcd, and dvd-v and preferably with sacd and hdcd. dvd-a and mp3 will be the last consideration. radio tuner is not required at all

pending on the HT vs. 2ch answer.

14 gauge cables? what is that? size or something else? noob again in this thing

 

[ChicagoPhil]

Quote:

Originally Posted by xing3ds But Magnepan has a listing of the dealers in their website (http://www.magnepan.com/dealers.php). I'm assuming that the dealers are somehow is a local or specialize audio store. correct me, if i'm wrong. its not just that, I went to Singapore 2 months ago and went to Adelphi Mall building saw one or two audio shops display the magnepan products.

the MMG is a factory direct only model intended to get people exposed to the magnepan sound at a low price. the MG12 is the "lowest" model sold through dealers, at $950 or $1k. i don't think it's worth 2x the MMG.

also, about 14 ga. wire, that is a measurement of wire diameter. but, somewhat non-intuitively, the lower the number, the thicker the wire. so 12 ga. is bigger than 18 ga. 14 is generally accepted as the minimum necessary for decent length runs.

cheers,
phil

 

[Spektrograf]

With the remainder of your budget (~$350), check out (for cheap) the Pioneer DV-578A-S Universal Player or step up to the Pioneer Elite DV-45A Universal Player. From what I understand, Pioneer's universal players are decent for the price.

If your gf's dad is willing to stretch his budget a little, a Marantz or Denon may be in the cards, but that's where I'd start at that price point. The only things this player misses is the ability to decode HDCD (not a prob since, in case you didn't know, HDCD is CD compatible). If you get an NAD receiver that has HDCD decoding on it, that's two birds with one stone! G'luck!

 

[canloader]

$2k used but still over budget. Just trying to help incase of future upgrade possibilities.


Quote:

Originally Posted by ChicagoPhil not sure a $5k amp fits his intended budget... and while the maggies do respond to better electronics, i think an upgrade to the 1.6 powered by say something by Bryston would be a better use of funds than a Jeff Rowland powering the MMGs.

 

[xing3ds]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChicagoPhil the MMG is a factory direct only model intended to get people exposed to the magnepan sound at a low price. the MG12 is the "lowest" model sold through dealers, at $950 or $1k. i don't think it's worth 2x the MMG. also, about 14 ga. wire, that is a measurement of wire diameter. but, somewhat non-intuitively, the lower the number, the thicker the wire. so 12 ga. is bigger than 18 ga. 14 is generally accepted as the minimum necessary for decent length runs. cheers, phil

damn... so the only way i get the MMG is through the factory. I can't imagine how much the cost of shipping will be...10kg for a pair... to indonesia...

thanks for the wire gauges info..