Looking for a reciever/amplifier.

[RGA]

The 226 wpc high current adcom shut down in safe mode on a very dynamic passage. The speakers did fine and have fuses that blow to protect them. RGA, I am not arguing that 40wpc can't drive the Maggies but to get the most out of them, they seem to do better with more power and current, at least in my system. And I doubt that Magnepan currently recommends a 40wpc amp for their MG 20.7's and 3.7's. If you go to their web site they kind of hedge on power requirements. They say that they have a pair of maggies in their lobby driven by a 35wpc receiver. I have been to their factory a few times as I live 20 min away. The speakers are a pair MMG's driven by an old Proton receiver.

Magnepan also hints at using a high current power supply for their speakers. Something that can double the wpc at 4 ohm from 8 ohm's.

Funny the decades long Magnepan dealer in Victoria BC who carries the complete line and even has the MMG runs the AN Soro at a whopping 18 watts.

I certainly won't disagree with you on the fact that played VERY loud - a 250 watt Bryston would perform while the Soro would be hitting distortion hard (fortunately SETs don't have fuses because they don't need them). In a very real way SET amps are the most powerful amps on the market - they can drive ANY load at maximum volume 24/7 7 days a week. While an Adcom or Krell will catch fire (which is why they need the fuse.

But seriously - what about sound quality - the Soro sounds SO MUCH BETTER than the SS amps they had connected to the Magnepans.

At Maximum volume the human ear is less able to detect and evaluate "quality" - so if max volume and high impact is the goal why the hell would anyone buy a panel loudspeaker? The worst possible choice for this - the best choice for this bar none is a massive horn loudspeaker or other HE speaker - where 3 watts will crack plaster?

I just don't see why there is a need for 1000 watt amps - to drive hard to drive speakers but then why buy those kinds of speakers?

Entire movie theaters back in the day were driven on less than 30 watts.

[E-Stat]

...to drive hard to drive speakers but then why buy those kinds of speakers?

Do you want an answer other than the obvious?

Entire movie theaters back in the day were driven on less than 30 watts.

Yep, let's hear it for the wonderful neutrality and bandwidth of Altec A7s.

[Poultrygeist]

Two Altec 755 drivers can fetch several grand on ebay. They sound incredible in OB.

Many vintage juke boxes were open baffled, contained a huge full range driver and were often driven by a mono SET with only a couple of watts.

[E-Stat]

Many vintage juke boxes were open baffled, contained a huge full range driver and were often driven by a mono SET with only a couple of watts.

Which is a completely different arrangement from the Altec theatre systems to which I refer. The upper horn honked badly and the lower one offered no first octave bass. Coherence? Wazzat?

[Poultrygeist]

The Voice of The Theater A7's seem highly regarded.

Altec Lansing A7, Vintage Voice of the Theater Speakers (VOTT) | eBay

[RGA]

The The Voice of The Theater I heard in South Korea sounded better than any Panel I've ever auditioned. And I've heard some expensive panels from a lot of different makers. But the thing was UUUUUGLY.

[E-Stat]

The The Voice of The Theater I heard in South Korea sounded better than any Panel I've ever auditioned.

To each his own.

And I've heard some expensive panels from a lot of different makers. But the thing was UUUUUGLY.

A7s just look like PA horns to me. They were popular with high school rock bands back in my day.

Altec A7 ad

[RGA]

No

I've made an error - posted my comment before looking at the picture - The VOTT is not the right model - I will try and find it - I was a much much bigger Altec loudspeaker and seem to be partly modular similar the bigger one in Ajani's link but not quite that big. I wish I had taken pictures in Seoul.

Another edit - I think the Ajani picture is the wrong speaker - this is I am pretty sure what I heard Legend Reborn: Altec Lansing Reintroduces Legacy A7 ‘Voice Of The Theatre’ Speaker

However the speaker I heard was about 6 feet tall - they had it on low stands so it could have been the A2.

For me it doesn't matter - they're too big to make domestic sense - especially in Hong Kong. I also noticed that the seating arrangement for the Altec in Korea was considerably further back than normal - so while it sounded terrific there - I wonder what it would have been like in a more normal living room environment where I would have had to have listened 50% closer to them.

However when a drummer hits the cymbals you feel it - it shimmers. I have heard live drum sets not amplified and THAT is what a Horn does that nothing else quite does - Instruments with true visceral impact and just like a drum set is being whacked right in the room. And that may sound bright - it should sound bright - have someone bring a drum set over and start belting on the cymbals - but that isn't the speaker's fault - being true to a live instrument in the room is hardly a fault - even if it is a bit fatiguing long haul. That's just not what I get from other speakers.

[E-Stat]

The VOTT is not the right model - I will try and find it - I was a much much bigger Altec loudspeaker and seem to be partly modular similar the bigger one in Ajani's link but not quite that big.

Well, there was a whole range of models under the VOTT moniker. The larger ones rarely found themselves in theatres after the forties.

1980 VOTT Catalog

Click "up" and you can navigate about the Lansing heritage site where you'll find lots of pics. Look at the 1942 VOTT catalog.

[RGA]

Well, there was a whole range of models under the VOTT moniker. The larger ones rarely found themselves in theatres after the forties.

1980 VOTT Catalog

Click "up" and you can navigate about the Lansing heritage site where you'll find lots of pics. Look at the 1942 VOTT catalog.

It looked more like the A4 but with a much bigger horn tweeter - so perhaps someone modified them.