Magnepan is giving general advice.

Planar Speaker Asylum

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Posted by Al Sekela (A) on January 22, 2011 at 14:02:05

In Reply to: RE: Actually, they do. Why?? posted by macmagman on January 20, 2011 at 17:02:49:

All Maggies are nominally 4 ohm impedance speakers. Many receivers are rated for 8 or 6 ohm loads, but not 4 ohm loads. The power supplies in such receivers are limited in how much current they can deliver without affecting performance or longevity. Using them to drive Maggies may result in poor performance or reduced receiver life. Amplifiers or receivers that are rated for 4 ohm loads, and that deliver twice the 8-ohm power rating into 4 ohms, are not likely to have power supply problems.

Your McIntosh amplifier uses autotransformers to couple the output devices to the load. Stability or life span are not issues. By using the 4-ohm taps on the autotransformers, you get optimum power delivery without strain on the power supplies. The power rating is the same as you would get with 8 ohm speakers using the 8-ohm taps because that, too, would be an optimum coupling. The power supplies and output devices see essentially the same loading.

The real question that I cannot answer for you is whether, even at optimum coupling, the McIntosh amplifier has sufficiently low output impedance to effectively damp the Maggies in your room. I've had three different amps driving the bass panels of my MG-20s: a Bryston 4B-ST, an InnerSound ESL-300, and Gilmore Raptor monoblocks. Even though these are all solid-state and have comparable power ratings, there has been a marked improvement in bass performance moving through the list.

Keep in mind that Maggie panels are large and weakly coupled to the magnet structures. They need the lowest practical amplifier output impedance to permit dynamic braking to contribute to room air damping.

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Follow Ups Full Thread

Topic - McIntosh MA 6200 with MMG's - bluesman1960 08:14:46 01/19/11 (16)

RE: McIntosh MA 6200 with MMG's - perry2010 15:03:43 01/20/11 (0)

RE: McIntosh MA 6200 with MMG's - russ69 13:16:57 01/20/11 (1)

RE: McIntosh MA 6200 with MMG's - grantv 13:26:08 01/20/11 (0)

don't worry about the double into half - BigguyinATL 19:04:32 01/19/11 (5)

RE: don't worry about the double into half - BigguyinATL 19:07:41 01/19/11 (4)

Actually, they do. - grantv 13:08:25 01/20/11 (3)

RE: Actually, they do. Why?? - macmagman 17:02:49 01/20/11 (2)

Magnepan is giving general advice. - Al Sekela 14:02:05 01/22/11 (0)

That's a question.... - grantv 08:39:42 01/21/11 (0)

RE: McIntosh MA 6200 with MMG's - russ69 17:43:36 01/19/11 (1)

RE: McIntosh MA 6200 with MMG's - bluesman60 17:55:28 01/19/11 (0)

It will work but won't be ideal. - Al Sekela 10:29:11 01/19/11 (4)

RE: It will work but won't be ideal. - bluesman1960 10:46:51 01/19/11 (3)

RE: It will work but won't be ideal. - dromney 21:20:20 01/19/11 (1)

RE: It will work but won't be ideal. - bluesman60 03:54:27 01/20/11 (0)

RE: It will work but won't be ideal. - macmagman 21:11:03 01/19/11 (0)

Follow Ups

Magnepan is giving general advice. - Al Sekela 14:02:05 01/22/11 (0)

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