Next Logical Upgrade ???

[sldg]

Being a NEWBIE here goes

Using my profile as a guide to what I currently own, what piece of equipment is a practical upgrade?

Profile: amp phase linear 400
preamp sae mark IX
marantz cc65se
magnaplanar 1.5qr
rel storm III subwoofer
monster interconnects

Note current amp is about 30 years old which I purchased in 1973.
I really enjoy the Magnaplanars with the Rell subwoofer. I would like to possibly upgrade to 3.6r Magnaplanars but the age of the amp has me worried that if I commit that kind of $$$ to speaker upgrades and the amp fails I'm out of luck listening to anything.

Impact wise I think the speaker upgrade will give me the most bang for the buck or am I kidding myself? Anyone have any opinion on what kind of impact the amplifier change would have and if so, what amp in the $2500 range would you suggest?

[jbangelfish]

Keep it, it still works and even if it quits, you could probably have it repaired for alot less than a new amp. I'd say go for the speakers that you want. I don't guess anybody knows how long these old amps will last as many still use them. If I liked it, I'd have no problem using it til it quit. My son uses my old Crown DC300A which is two years newer than yours, I bought it new in 1975 and it's been repaired once at a cost of $125. It still sounds as good as the day I bought it and my son hopes it will last forever. Unlikely but who knows how long?
Bill

[spacedeckman]

since their age means many things have changed. 30 year old capacitors are not exactly what I would want to hang my hat on. You will also find that most of the newer/better electronics will sound much more open on the top end than the old stuff, you won't mind the upgrade. If you want to get in without a ton of cash, look into an integrated amp from a company like Arcam. Otherwise, the new Halo stuff from Parasound is amazing for the $$. More money, but, hey, it is very, very cool. Sounds as good as it looks. The big Arcam integrated is about $1500, and you could fill the $2500 tab with the Parasound, and probably still have some $$ left. If you do have some left, replace the Marantz CD with an Arcam. You will be happier...my buddy was.

Whatever you do, enjoy it.

[RGA]

Is it just the power amp you want to replace ot the preamp as well?

Magnepan, assuming they're as tough to drive as a typical Matin logan electrostat, would make me not want to use an integraed amp.

I would go with a slightly used Rotel..1-3 years old...simply because you'll save money on the hefty hit of depreciation but it is still quite new. Rotel is one of the best values for power amps as they're built like tanks and are very stable. Many like it better than the more costly Brystons for sound.

Preamps are many of course. I have considered the Sugden Headmaster as I'm also a big headphone listener and it is a world class headphone amp and a very solid preamp. Comes with a remote. Very small well built unit from the only audio company that was aound in the 1960s and is still around today and has never ever changed owners. Not a bad track record.

Still there are a number of tube preamps you could try as well.

If it's just a power amp and you really want to go all out with big power ...look at the big power amps from Krell, YBA, Classe etc. Rotel offers sane prices however...I doubt most could tell the difference.

[Geoffcin]

Being a NEWBIE here goes

Using my profile as a guide to what I currently own, what piece of equipment is a practical upgrade?

Profile: amp phase linear 400
preamp sae mark IX
marantz cc65se
magnaplanar 1.5qr
rel storm III subwoofer
monster interconnects

Note current amp is about 30 years old which I purchased in 1973.
I really enjoy the Magnaplanars with the Rell subwoofer. I would like to possibly upgrade to 3.6r Magnaplanars but the age of the amp has me worried that if I commit that kind of $$$ to speaker upgrades and the amp fails I'm out of luck listening to anything.

Impact wise I think the speaker upgrade will give me the most bang for the buck or am I kidding myself? Anyone have any opinion on what kind of impact the amplifier change would have and if so, what amp in the $2500 range would you suggest?


Hi, and YES, your going to get the biggest bang for your buck by upgrading to 3.6s. The 1.5's are a great speaker. I auditioned the 1.6qr's before I bought my maggies and was really impressed. To my ears there was no question that it bested all of the box speakers I compared it to. But I made the mistake of auditioning the 3.6's at the same time. It was one of the few times in my audio experiences that I was blown away. Once I heard them I had to have them!

If your amp has no issues, then it will have plenty of power for the 3.6's.
Those vintage Phase Linears are built like tanks, it wouldn't surprise me for them to reach 50 years or more without problems.

That being said, if you do get the 3.6's you will be able to easily hear the difference between amps, preamps, and other components.

If your amp does have some issues, and your worried about it's abilities, I do have a hands dowm reccomendation for you. The PS Audio HCA-2.

http://www.stereophile.com/images/archivesart/psahcapic1.jpg

This is one of the new wave of high fidelity digital amps. The ONLY reason I don't have this amp now is that PS Audio will soon be coming out with a new multichannel version of it.

[Geoffcin]

Is it just the power amp you want to replace ot the preamp as well?

Magnepan, assuming they're as tough to drive as a typical Matin logan electrostat, would make me not want to use an integraed amp.


A good quality intergrated amp would work fine. I've heard them with a Musical Fidelity intergrated, and it worked very well.

Surprisingly, maggies are not a very difficult load for most amps. They are a low impedance load @ 4 ohm, but it's a simple resistive load.

Electrostats can be very difficult for an amp to drive. Some of them are highly capacitive. Also, some elecrostats have resistance that bottoms out at near 1 ohm! The maggies are nearly 4 ohm across the whole frequancy range.

[sldg]

I know this question has been asked through the ages and there is no perfect answer but I also know if I listen to the 3.6's, which I can with my current amp I'll want to buy them. Besides if the old amp quits and is to costly to repair I still have two kidneys, I could always sell one right???

Thanks Again
sldg

[bturk667]

McCormack DNA 225
Retail @ $2800, but you'll be able to find it for @ $2400.

McCormack Audio, in my opinion, is one of the true great affordably price equipment manufacturers. The DNA 225 is one Hell of an amp, and would do a wonderful job driving your Magneplanars.

But, if your like so many people who think all things audio revolve around speakers, try the new Magnepan 1.6's. Their retail price, I believe, is @ $1725.

[jbangelfish]

Bturk and I are both amp and power nuts and this is a rare instance where I'd say the guy is fine with the amp that he has. The McCormack would likely be alittle better but I think the poster would find a bigger difference in going to the new speakers that he wants. The power ratings of the two amps are close enough that the sound difference should be fairly small.
Someone here also uses a PL400 (Feanor maybe?) and is very happy with it. Well made old equipment is fine with me as long as it still works. If we're talking about A/B, class A or tube components, many people still enjoy some pretty old equipment. A lot of the components that were made in the 70's will outperform a lot of components that are being made today. If you want a digital amp, that's a whole new ballgame and I'd wait for them to work the bugs out of something new before jumping into that arena. Prices will get more competitive and reasonable as more of them show up on the market also.
Bill

[jbangelfish]

An old motto but not a bad one.
Bill

[Feanor]

...
Someone here also uses a PL400 (Feanor maybe?) and is very happy with it. Well made old equipment is fine with me as long as it still works. ...

I've never had any problems with it, except the meter lamps burned out.

I recently had the power supply caps upgraded to uF22,000 from the original 5900 -- not that there was anything actually wrong with the old ones. The new caps are actually stored outboard the main unit in a purpose-built box!

Did it improve the sound? Not much, if at all. My unit was in the shop for 8 weeks so I couldn't remember the original sound accurately. I'd say it wasn't worth the $$.

[Feanor]

... For example, I would rather upgrade to the Magneplanar 3.6's keeping the PL 400, than the 1.6's with a new amp.

[mtrycraft]

Being a NEWBIE here goes

Using my profile as a guide to what I currently own, what piece of equipment is a practical upgrade?

Profile: amp phase linear 400
preamp sae mark IX
marantz cc65se
magnaplanar 1.5qr
rel storm III subwoofer
monster interconnects

Note current amp is about 30 years old which I purchased in 1973.
I really enjoy the Magnaplanars with the Rell subwoofer. I would like to possibly upgrade to 3.6r Magnaplanars but the age of the amp has me worried that if I commit that kind of $$$ to speaker upgrades and the amp fails I'm out of luck listening to anything.

Impact wise I think the speaker upgrade will give me the most bang for the buck or am I kidding myself? Anyone have any opinion on what kind of impact the amplifier change would have and if so, what amp in the $2500 range would you suggest?

Why do you think anything needs upgrading in the first place?

[Feanor]

...Magnepan, assuming they're as tough to drive as a typical Matin logan electrostat, would make me not want to use an integraed amp. ...

They are an relatively non-reactive load, just like the ordinary cone/dome drive. However they do dip to 4 ohms across most of the audio spectrum.

The Phase Linear 400 will supply 360 watts/channel into 4 ohms with complete stability -- it was one of the earlier high-current, high-power designs. It will drive any Magneplanar, or for that matter, any electrostatic.

An acquaintance of mine, years ago, drove the famous Dayton-Wright's with a PL 400 with great results.

[donald1959]

You have some nice old equipment, my primary concerns are the availability of parts should you ever require a repair. Phase Linear and SAE parts could be difficult, if not impossible to find since both companies have been out of business for many years.

Stereophile has had good things to say about the Sim Audio Moon/ Maggie combination and mentions the amplifier has tight control of the bass. Their is a new I-3 integrated at $1,800 list would have about 150-200 watts @ 4 ohms which is about what you need.

Another problem is the age of the speakers... if Magnepan could refurbish them they could sound like new again and at their age they have lost pace and impact. Whether or not you could get them refurbished for $700 including shipping I don't know. You may want to contact Magnepan, I think it would be worth a phone call...Donald

Original message:
Being a NEWBIE here goes

Using my profile as a guide to what I currently own, what piece of equipment is a practical upgrade?

Profile: amp phase linear 400
preamp sae mark IX
marantz cc65se
magnaplanar 1.5qr
rel storm III subwoofer
monster interconnects

Note current amp is about 30 years old which I purchased in 1973.
I really enjoy the Magnaplanars with the Rell subwoofer. I would like to possibly upgrade to 3.6r Magnaplanars but the age of the amp has me worried that if I commit that kind of $$$ to speaker upgrades and the amp fails I'm out of luck listening to anything.

Impact wise I think the speaker upgrade will give me the most bang for the buck or am I kidding myself? Anyone have any opinion on what kind of impact the amplifier change would have and if so, what amp in the $2500 range would you suggest?