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New to Magnepan, a volume question

Hello, new to Audiogon and Magnepan both.  I just acquired a pair of used MMG's and I'm really enjoying them, especially on certain types of music; acoustic jazz, vocal, and small to mid scale classical.  My problem with them is that I run out of volume knob with my current set up.  It is:  Schitt Saga preamp and Adcom GFA-555 amp.  The Saga is basically a passive preamp, it doesn't add any gain to the signal, and though I love the sound, full volume with this pairing gets me to just below an average listening level, no where to go when I want to push the envelope.  Will I get to higher SPL's using the passive with more wattage as long as the amp is a high current design?  The amps I'm considering are McCormick DNA-500, Bryston 7B ST or SST, and Bel Canto REF600 or REF1000 if I can find them.  I'm looking to build a better power amp foundation for the system of the future, as I can see now I may very well be heading toward larger Magnepans or electrostatic speakers in time.  I have a other preamps that will add gain, but they don't sound as good as the Schitt, and do push the Adcom to flashing lights when I get closer to where I want to be volume-wise.  Looks to me like the Adcom, as much as I have loved it, doesn't cut the mustard with 4 ohm loads.  I have heard that Bryston is a natural match for Magnepans, and also the they sound somewhat dull or flat.  Good reviews from users for the McCormick, and yes and no about class D amps (the Bel Cantos) with Magnepans.  I admit, I'm all at sea...  Any advice appreciated.
dprincipato
randy-11
1,913 posts
 
Saga is an attenuator. You might try a high quality active pre-amp.  Do that before an amp upgrade.

of the amps, Bryston and Bel Canto are top notch; add Benchmark amp to your quest

McC is a super value...

a high quality Class D is just fine with Maggies

Congrats on getting them.  I love my 3.7i 
stereo5's avatar
stereo5
2,766 posts
 
Sounds like you need an active preamp.  Any of the amps you mentioned would be better than the Adcom.
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
4,966 posts
 
dprincipato


Specs taken from HiFi Classic test: "The GFA-555 required an input of 0.13 volt for a 1-watt!! reference output" (Very very low gain)

The old war horse 555 is very low gain at only 130mV for a 1volt output. Which is: with a 2v source and a passive at full level, the 555, can only reach 16v!!! to the speakers

You either need a very high gain preamp, or seeing the Adcom is very old now you may want to get another amp, which most will have much higher gain than this old 555 more like 1.5v for full output (not 1v) and your source and passive will be fine then.

Cheers George
johnnyb53
3,490 posts
 
How about throw a Hail Mary pass and get a Parasound Halo Integrated amp? 160 wpc into 8 ohms and 240 wpc into 4 ohms, which is Magnepan's native mode.

Plus, it's a Class A Stereophile-rated component. Its phono stage accepts both MM and MC cartridges, it has a built-in DAC, AND it has analog bass management. Add a subwoofer to your MMGs, use the bass management to route the high pass signal to the MMGs, and they will sound twice as big and dynamic.

True, $2495 is a bit of money, but it's by far the least expensive Class A component in Stereophile's list of recommended integrated amps. Plus, you will get much better sound and way more gain than you can get from your present setup. The Adcom 555 was a good value for its time, but this Parasound will redefine *your* sound, and your passive line stage is *literally* not helping.

Also, to save some money, get AA's sale-priced demo.
roberjerman
2,086 posts
 
Thumbs up johnnyb53! The Parasound Halo Integrated would be the best value choice!
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