Magnepan 1.6 Q/Rs with Rotel Amps

[vsarathy]

Hello All:

I am planning on upgrading the front left/right speakers in my HT setup with Magnepan MG 1.6/QR speakers. Also as part of the upgrade, I will be getting the Rotel RSP-1098 processor and RMB-1095 or 1075 5-channel amplifier. I have two questions at this point:

(i) Is there anyone out there that uses the Maggies in conjunction with a Rotel amplifier. Is the RMB-1095 or RMB-1075 capable of driving the Magnepans without clipping at peak loads. Because, the Magnepans are a 4-ohm load and have the reputation of being very power hungry.

(ii) The second question is related more to loudspeaker matching. I am not planning on getting Magnepan's Center Speaker due to budget restrictions. I was wondering if I would be able to match up them with my existing Infinity Interlude Center. Often times, a lot is said about how the speakers in the HT system should all match up well together. But, I was wondering if, given all bass management that can be done from advanced processors like the 1098, it matters that much at all.

Thanks in advance for any insights.
Viji

[vsarathy]

Unfortunately, it looks like there are no Magnepan owners or fans in this forum. I have seldom seen that name mentioned in the messages that discuss about speaker recommendations either. I had posted the same message sometime ago in the Rotel forum and didn't get any replies either.

Viji

[Andrew Pratt]

No there are some maggie fans here just I guess we were busy

The 1075 should be able to power those 1.6's ok but if you can swing it the 1095 would be my recomendation...esp if you plan on using other maggies eventually for the centre and or rears. I used to run Maggie 1.4's on a lesser HK amp and it did ok but I often felt more juice would have helpped out.

As for the centre channel I doubt the infinity is going to match up all that well and depending on how many people you have watching the movie and how wide your front row is you might very well find that a phantom mode is a better choice.

[Burke Strickland]

Unfortunately, it looks like there are no Magnepan owners or fans in this forum. I have seldom seen that name mentioned in the messages that discuss about speaker recommendations either.

When I did a simple site search using “Magnepan” as the key word, I came up with FOUR PAGES of URLs for threads where Magnepan speakers were either the main focus or mentioned the context of other discussion. Just click on the key word "Search" (third from the right) on the menu bar near the top of the page, type "magnepan" in the box and click "Go". You'll find all kinds of opinions and advice about Magnepan speakers in the threads that are listed.

This was my reply in a fairly recent thread http://64.27.11.233/forum/showthread...light=magnepan
about Magnepan MG 3.6s and Rotel (same logic applies to MG 1.6s):

It is safe to start off with a moderately powered amplifier driving your Magnepan MG 3.6s as long as the amp can safely handle a stable 4 ohm load. Then, if and when your budget allows, you can step up to a more powerful and/or capable amp and not have to "upgrade" your speakers to receive a big boost in enjoyment, because you are already near the top of the music listening/HT "food chain" with the Maggie MG 3.6s.

When I got my Magnepan MG 3.6s, I used an Acurus 3x100 to drive them for over a year before I upgraded to a high end amp, and it did a creditable job with the Maggies even though I had been warned that the Acurus might not be up to the task. (I was also driving an 8 ohm center channel speaker with one of the three amp channels.) The Maggies are a more stable load than a lot of people realize and the Acurus is a lot more capable than many of those same folks seem willing to admit.

Bottom line: the Maggies will respond with great performance if you drive them with clean power. They will deliver even more of what makes them great if you feed them even more clean power.

And this thread was specifically about Maggies and Rotel from earlier in the year:

http://64.27.11.233/forum/showthread.php4?t=1978&highlight=magnepan

Hope you find the “right” amp and enjoy your Maggies!

Burke

PS -- I agree with Andrew that if you cannot swing a Maggie center for now, "phantom" center would most likely yield more acceptable results (better blending of sounds across the front) than trying to use a different brand and technology speaker.

[Cowanrg]

ive used 1.6's with rotel amplification, specifically the 1070's. i bi-amped with two of them. it worked like a charm. i now have bigger maggies, and they still work very well.

[Peter Nielsen]

Unfortunately, it looks like there are no Magnepan owners or fans in this forum. I have seldom seen that name mentioned in the messages that discuss about speaker recommendations either. I had posted the same message sometime ago in the Rotel forum and didn't get any replies either.

I'm a Maggie fan. I currently own a pair of 3.6, a pair of MC1, and CC3s. Soon I will be upgrading to the 20.1 reference Maggies :B

However, I'm using Parasound amps, so I can't comment about the Rotels...

Peter

[Chris D]

I'm a big Maggie fan, but don't have the $$$ to buy any with all the other stuff I've been doing. It will be years before I am able to do that.