Receiver for Magnepan MMGW

[Alang71]

I am looking for a receiver to run these speakers. I'm not sure of the power requirements. Will the Onkyo TX-SR502 be able to run these.

Alan

[jt1stcav]

Maggies are usually power hungry (my MGLR1s needed every bit of 350 watts @ 4 ohms to play at over 110dB). If the Onkyo is rated at 200 WPC @ 4 ohms, then I would say yes. I wouldn't buy any receiver/amp rated less than 200 watts (remember all Maggies have 4 ohm impedience, so look at the receiver's specs for 4 ohm loads).

Hope this helps...

[Alang71]

These are the specs on the Onkyo. My understanding is that the MMGW's require less power then the pair you have.

Alan

Power Output* (8 ohm, 20 Hz-20 kHz, FTC)

Front L/R 75 W/Ch

Center 75 W

Surround L/R 75 W/Ch

Surround Back 75 W

Power Output* (6 ohm, 1 kHz, FTC)

Front L/R

Center

Surround L/R

Surround Back

Dynamic Power** (front)

3 ohm 160 W

4 ohm 150 W

8 ohm 95 W

THD (Rated Power) 0.08 % (all channels)

Damping Factor (1 kHz, 8 ohm) 60

[NickWH]

The Onkyo is not going to be 4 ohm stable in surround mode at any decent volume level. Think smoke...

[RGA]

It's not the power in watts it's the quality of power supply. Magnepan from what i've read present ~4ohm load but it's pretty stable - any high quality amplifier stable to 3ohms should drive them with aplomb. That would rule out the receivers I have heard, owned, currently own, over the last 10 years or so. The Onkyo in question WILL drive that speaker - how well is another matter.

[Lord_Magnepan]

Buy the Cambridge Audio Azur 540R.
It drove my old MG 1.6 wonderfully. Go and listen to him, beats the AVC1 SE, Onkyo 939 etc....

[Feanor]

Maggies are usually power hungry (my MGLR1s needed every bit of 350 watts @ 4 ohms to play at over 110dB). If the Onkyo is rated at 200 WPC @ 4 ohms, then I would say yes. I wouldn't buy any receiver/amp rated less than 200 watts (remember all Maggies have 4 ohm impedience, so look at the receiver's specs for 4 ohm loads).

Hope this helps...

Magneplanars are power hungry but not to that extend. Smaller Maggies, such as my MMGs -- and that would apply to the MMGWs -- actually can't take advantage of 200+watt/ch. Small Maggys will absorb a lot of power without damage, but they reach a level where the dynamics become so limited that they are not longer enjoyable to listen to. I find this happens long, long before 110dB in my medium sized room. And long before my 200w/ch Bel Canto runs out of steam. Of course I personnally never listen above 90dB -- usually not more than 80 - 82dB.

[Alang71]

Magneplanars are power hungry but not to that extend. Smaller Maggies, such as my MMGs -- and that would apply to the MMGWs -- actually can't take advantage of 200+watt/ch. Small Maggys will absorb a lot of power without damage, but they reach a level where the dynamics become so limited that they are not longer enjoyable to listen to. I find this happens long, long before 110dB in my medium sized room. And long before my 200w/ch Bel Canto runs out of steam. Of course I personnally never listen above 90dB -- usually not more than 80 - 82dB.

Feanor:
I get the impression that dealers are telling me I need more power then I need based on their not being familiar with the lower priced Maggies.

I really wanted to try these speakers because of their (1) reputation and (2) low price (relative to other Maggies). That being said I did not plan on paying over $600 for a receiver.

Is there any receiver in the $3-400 price range that will work.

Also, my room is not that big.

Alan

[cone]

I would look into the 2-channel receivers from Harmon kardon...they have received favorable press...and are in your price range....

[Lord_Magnepan]

Cambridge Audio Azur 540R ......

[E-Stat]

Maggies are usually power hungry (my MGLR1s needed every bit of 350 watts @ 4 ohms to play at over 110dB).

Listening at such levels is a quick way to damage your hearing permanently. Specifically, OSHA says that anything over 4 minutes at that level will cause temporary damage. I'm with Feanor - using my RS meter, I rarely clock over 90 db even with Madonna cranked. Given your 350 watts = 110 db equation, then 75 watts would still be over 100 db. Completely adequate in my book.

rw

[Geoffcin]

I am looking for a receiver to run these speakers. I'm not sure of the power requirements. Will the Onkyo TX-SR502 be able to run these.

Alan

If the receiver is not rated for 4 ohm operation it may cut out on louder passages.
The problem comes when you ask the receiver to pump out a lot of current to all the speakers at once. I am not familiar with that Onkyo, but they have been know in the past for good amplification in their higher power receivers.

[Feanor]

...I really wanted to try these speakers because of their (1) reputation and (2) low price (relative to other Maggies). That being said I did not plan on paying over $600 for a receiver.

Is there any receiver in the $3-400 price range that will work.
...

Alang71,

First, forget about the MMGW's playing at 110db -- they won't regardless of how much power you put through them.

I agree fully with others that your receiver ought to be rated for 4 ohms -- many are not. Also it's worthwhile to look for "high current" in the specifications: this implies that the amplifier can dump more current which is what you want a 4 ohms. Harmon Kardon does advertize high-current as does Marantz and some others probably.

There is a lot of buzz about the Panasonic SA-XR50 digital amplifier: it's definitely within you budget. But be cautious! It seems a few people are using it with Maggies even though it's rated for 6 ohms only. However, note that they seem to be using it only in stereo mode, i.e. only two speakers, not multi-speaker surround. Used in stereo only the XR50 might be able to handle the extra current requirement well enough.

[RGA]

High current is a marketing tool and not necessarily useful in itself - for instance if the fine print has anything like high current instantaneous peak or some such thing that's a giveaway.

You can also generally go by the power supply - receivers use the worst possible power supplies they can possibly get away with. The only Marantz that has a half decent supply are the ones using a torioid transformer - I have the 4300 - it's a pathetic amplifier but luckily it serves the need I require some movies on my older speakers - and a good switching unit and has a headphone output which my Sugden doesn't have.

Bottom line is simply if you have X dollars and you absolutely must by a receiver - buy the one that has the best warranty or the one that has the feature set you require and hasn;t been listed as some sort of lemon. Yamaha, HK, Marantz, Denon, Onkyo, Pioneer Elite, are really all pretty much on par and it's been the case over most of the last 15 years. Now and then they have a few poor years and rebound and you might get the odd Sony, Kenwood or Panasonic that shows well.

You might want to try a NAD reciever or possibly Arcam depending how expensive.

[Feanor]

High current is a marketing tool and not necessarily useful in itself - ...You might want to try a NAD reciever or possibly Arcam depending how expensive.

Of course it's marketing largely, but it's also true that some designs can deliver more current than others of similar power rating.

Funny you should mention Panasonic. Probably one of the worst offenders for over-stating real-world power delivery. The digitals, XA-SRxx series, are inherently different though, so the claims in this case might be nearer the truth due to the nature of the digital technology.

[kexodusc]

Actually, some receivers have really beefed up their power supply units in recent years...Just not enough to drive 5 to 7 channels anywhere near what they claim.
When I opened up my RX-V1400 though, it was clear the PSU was about double the size of my old Rotel and Adcom 60 wpc amps.
4 or 5 years ago you wouldn't have seen that in a receiver under $1000. I'm hoping we'll see more of this trend in the future, PSU's upgrades aren't really all that expensive, and well worth it IMO.

If you're worried about the receiver driving your maggies, by an inexpensive a/v receiver with pre-outs and a couple of used power amps.

[Lord_Magnepan]

Look for a used Cambridge Audio Azur 540R !!!! I have had one, on my Magnepan MG 1.6 and he has absolutly enough power and current to drive the Maggies. Maggies do not care for a high WATT baby that doesnt have the balls to back that power up.

I tried the Onkyo Integra (THX Ultra) 939, the Denon AVC1, the HK AVR7000 and the Onkyo 838. And the best resault with Maggies is the Cambridge Audio Azur 540R.