comparation between Magnepan & KEF ref. series

Gmood1...One must be careful about subjective evaluations of loudness. It has been shown that music sounds "Loud" when distortion occurs. Clean audio sounds less loud than distorted audio even if a meter will prove the oposite.

This has been cited as the reason why women are always telling us guys to lower the volume. Supposedly their hearing is more sensitive to distortion. But then I wonder if this is just more feminist propaganda!

Yes I agree Eldartford..but I won't tell my wife that!!LOL
You ever went on a long trip playing the radio in your vehicle at a volume you thought was normal. Only to have a rude awakening the next morning when you turn the ignition only to be blasted by the radio!

Hello,
I only have experience with Maggie 3.3 and now 3.5. There is definitely a power issue here. With an ARC VT130 amp, rated at 110wpc, it was very evident the amp was clipping regularly. Fortunately this amp clipped rather gracefully. I then lived with the ARC Classic 150s, 150wpc triode, and here the amps' protection circuitry kicked in to shut the amps down at loud passages; this often was not bass related at all. I have since gone with a Counterpoint NPS400 and the clipping issue is gone. Now I have to be careful to not burn tweeter and midrange fuses.
So there most definitely is an issue of these Maggies needing lots of continuous power and a little headroom as well.
John

JaFox what was the slew rate of your previous amplifiers ?..compared to the Counterpoint NPS 400? Just curious. I had a Mcintosh SS that was spec at 300 wpc.The Monarchy 25 wpc walked the dog on it in controlling my speakers!
The Monarchy had a much higher slew rating.

Hmmm ... I do not understand. Those two are totally different from each other in term of soundstage and definition of a musical hearing. In brief:

1-Magnepan: soft and fragile detail and great for vocals (only) It's applicable for types like Opera, light blue and early 50's music.

2-Kef: very dynamic and tighten bass (still clean when volum is max) applicable for pop musics, general rock and light classical.