magtech amps?

[CDMC]

Pardon my ignorance, but what does an input buffer do anyway? Does it add noise/distortion?

The input buffer has two functions. 1) It fixes any impedence mismatches between the preamp and amplifier module, and 2) provides gain as most consumer preamps do not put out voltage to directly drive the amplifier module. Someone more technical may correct my simplistic explanation.

 

[March Audio]

The input buffer has two functions. 1) It fixes any impedence mismatches between the preamp and amplifier module, and 2) provides gain as most consumer preamps do not put out voltage to directly drive the amplifier module. Someone more technical may correct my simplistic explanation.

You are correct.

The class d modules from Hypex and Purifi have a relative low input impedance and gain.

The input buffer isolates the source from this low input impedance and raises the signal voltage to a sufficiently high level to drive the modules to full output power. For example the Purifi module requires about 9.6 volts rms to achieve full output power into 4 ohms. A typical Dac might only output 2 volts rms.

 

[Sir Sanders Zingmore]

It is nice to see he supports his products so well. It is a premium priced products, where you would expect good service, but given how poorly I have seen some high end manufacturers deal with issues, it is refreshing to see.

His support, before and after sale, is amongst the best I have ever experienced

 

[muslhead]

His support, before and after sale, is amongst the best I have ever experienced

i second this.

 

[steve f]

I had a crossover failure with Sanders ESLs. He first tried an over the phone fix. I had his permission to open the unit. Wee determined that the power supply went bad. I received a replacement quickly.
I want to add that Roger is a nice guy, who wants to help out audiophiles. He’s a pleasure to talk to.

 

[arcamfan1989]

If the music sounds like it is stuck in a box, then something is either wrong with your setup or broken. I had a first generation Freya that I purchased and it was definitely defective, it sounded extremely veiled and I returned it. I subsequently purchased a Freya S which worked perfectly. If it were me, I would proceed as follows:

1) Confirm all your equipment is working properly. The Cenepro amps, while not audio jewelry, were well designed and should have plenty of power and sound good with your speaker.
2) Take a look at your room setup. Is your room heavily dampened. Do you have the speakers positioned well (have you tried moving them around?)?
3) Get a Umik and REW (less than $100) and measure your setup. That will tell if there is anything really wrong with your equipment and help identify potential room issues.
4) As far as the hiss, how loud? Is it only when you are up against the speakers with the volume turned up? Is it there when the preamp is unplugged from the amp? Louder or quieter when you disconnect the preamp?

Going back to your original question, there are no actual third party measurements I have ever seen of the Magtech amp. What I can tell you is that Roger Sanders claims that you need different types of amps for electrostatic and planar speakers and dynamic speakers have no basis in fact, as are his different $600 speaker cables. An amplifier puts out a set voltage in response to an input signal up to its maximum rated output. The amount of current the amplifier supplies to a speaker is the amount needed to maintain the voltage into the specific impedance plus any phase angle. If there isn't enough current, voltage will sag. That is Ohm's law, no ifs, ands or buts.

I would not suggest you spend $11,000 on a pair of Magetechs or even $5,500 on a stereo model. If you want to spend a lot on amps, buy the Benchmarks and run them mono. They will drive your Revels, another member here has a pair and spoke to Benchmark and they said they will comfortably drive them in mono. Alternatively, do what the other member here ended up doing, buy a pair of March Audio P701 amps (Hypex NC1200) for $2,700, 400 watt into 8 ohms, 700 into 4 and 1200 into 2 ohms. March Audio will also sell you cables, but his are about $125 a pair and don't come with $500 of bullc*ap claims.

Based on Magtech monos specs, it has a lower input impedance in their balanced input, that would NOT be sufficient for any tube preamps. Tube preamps or DACs required min 50kohms and above. Otherwise they will be distorted.

 

[DonH56]

Based on Magtech monos specs, it has a lower input impedance in their balanced input, that would NOT be sufficient for any tube preamps. Tube preamps or DACs required min 50kohms and above. Otherwise they will be distorted.

100k SE, 1k balanced, hmmm... Ping Roger, that sounds like a mistake.

Many tube preamps include a cathode follower that will tolerate to 10k-ohms or so; I think ARC rates their preamps down to 20 k-ohm inputs.

 

[arcamfan1989]

100k SE, 1k balanced, hmmm... Ping Roger, that sounds like a mistake.

Many tube preamps include a cathode follower that will tolerate to 10k-ohms or so; I think ARC rates their preamps down to 20 k-ohm inputs.

Yeah, I had similar issue with my Doge7 DAC when I used low input impedance Preamps. When I changed to higher balanced Input impedance and it worked fine. Just thought of sharing and take care

 

[e135800]

I have a Sanders Magtech that I ran with Magnepan 3.7i along with a Primluna Dialogue Premium. This amp has absolutely no issues with a tube preamp. Now I running that same pre and amp with Revel F328BE and it's still a perfect combo for me. Coda makes the amps for Sanders as well as for Legacy. Sanders only designed the linear voltage regulator, the rest of the amp is Coda. Coda also makes Sander's pre-amp also.

 

[Addicted to music]

100k SE, 1k balanced, hmmm... Ping Roger, that sounds like a mistake.

Many tube preamps include a cathode follower that will tolerate to 10k-ohms or so; I think ARC rates their preamps down to 20 k-ohm inputs.

no it’s not a mistake, XLR inputs connections are quite low. If the tube preamps support XLR then it should be able handle this in the XLR electronic/electrical protocol

 

[DonH56]

no it’s not a mistake, XLR inputs connections are quite low. If the tube preamps support XLR then it should be able handle this in the XLR electronic/electrical protocol

Do you have a spec for the "XLR electronic/electrical protocol"? There is a digital protocol for lighting etc. controllers (DMX512), and of course the AES3 spec (110 ohm balanced) for digital signals, but other than the old 600-ohm source spec I am not aware of a specific analog audio interface standard for XLRs. I do not recall another consumer unit with such low input impedance, though some pro equipment is in that range, but this is not my day job.

 

[ESLDude]

I had a crossover failure with Sanders ESLs. He first tried an over the phone fix. I had his permission to open the unit. Wee determined that the power supply went bad. I received a replacement quickly.
I want to add that Roger is a nice guy, who wants to help out audiophiles. He’s a pleasure to talk to.

I have had experiences with Roger for over 30 years. He helped me DIY build my first electrostatics based on his Publications in Audio Amateur magazine. These articles are available on his website which has a wealth of information. I have built 2 iterations of ESLs and they were great. They were retired for reasons other than performance and I currently have his 10es which are magnificent speakers. So to address a few questions related. Many question the reliability of electrostatics. For me this is a nonissue. I have 30 years of listening to ESL's I have never had a panel failure in spite of the first 2 iterations being home built. The panels for the 10's are a huge step up from my DIYs I think virtually unbreakable.
Steve indicated a power supply failure. I also recently experienced this. Having said this I have had far more failures with xovers in dynamic systems.
With the Sanders he sent me a replacement that I easily replaced and back to fantastic sound. No questions - who else offers a lifetime warranty on their products and actually stands behind it. A mind boggling warranty unmatched in the industry. The closest is Bryston with 20 years on nondigital components.
There were questions about the Magtech amps. Again Sanders hits it out of the ball park. Extremely powerful and stable into almost any load and probably outdo any amp in their price range. A relative bargain. Roger believes the differences in sonics with amps is underpowered amps cause clipping so that is the main difference. If this is true the most powerful and stable amp is best.The Magtechs certainly meet that criteria.

 

[steve f]

I have had experiences with Roger for over 30 years. He helped me DIY build my first electrostatics based on his Publications in Audio Amateur magazine. These articles are available on his website which has a wealth of information. I have built 2 iterations of ESLs and they were great. They were retired for reasons other than performance and I currently have his 10es which are magnificent speakers. So to address a few questions related. Many question the reliability of electrostatics. For me this is a nonissue. I have 30 years of listening to ESL's I have never had a panel failure in spite of the first 2 iterations being home built. The panels for the 10's are a huge step up from my DIYs I think virtually unbreakable.
Steve indicated a power supply failure. I also recently experienced this. Having said this I have had far more failures with xovers in dynamic systems.
With the Sanders he sent me a replacement that I easily replaced and back to fantastic sound. No questions - who else offers a lifetime warranty on their products and actually stands behind it. A mind boggling warranty unmatched in the industry. The closest is Bryston with 20 years on nondigital components.
There were questions about the Magtech amps. Again Sanders hits it out of the ball park. Extremely powerful and stable into almost any load and probably outdo any amp in their price range. A relative bargain. Roger believes the differences in sonics with amps is underpowered amps cause clipping so that is the main difference. If this is true the most powerful and stable amp is best.The Magtechs certainly meet that criteria.

I also enjoy ESLs, and my Sanders 10C speakers are excellent. The only ESLs I’ve had panel failures with were Quad 989s. They used an assembly adhesive that failed. I hope their current offerings are better.