So - recently I bought a P10 - and the question comes up a lot about ‘what if my power is good now?’… Well I think I can answer that…
My power without anything connected was @ 1% THD sometimes dipping to .9% THD… voltage is a fairly consistent 123… With the P10 - that of course goes to .1% THD & 119.9 or so voltage to my components.
Short story - system sounds the best it has ever sounded. I have the following hooked up - DS/Cary slp98p tube pre /martin logan descent sub/ sunfire signature amp / magnepan 20.7. The sunfire is a bit different in that it has a Bob Carver ‘tracking downconverter’ power supply… which supposedly tracks the signal and either boosts or decreases based on demand. It is Class AB but the power supply is a bit of an anomaly…
Here is what I noticed: Things sound a touch quieter/ a bit more real / bass seems better and at times before it seemed like I would notice a sub ‘thump’ every now and then during playback… Not any longer. I only have my sub boosting the frequencies 25hz and below and the Mags do pretty well… Soundstage definitely seems wider and everything just seems to have a more organic feel to it… Everything that audiophiles love. And to the stupid part - Is it bad that it just makes me feel good having everything connected to pure power? It just feels good…
Hi, Tim. Would love to hear about your experience with the 20.7s. I’m considering them, but can’t hear them locally, even though there is a Magnepan dealer (which doesn’t have them) and I’m driving distance from White Bear Lake (their listening room is a war zone right now). Anything you can share, especially in terms of comparison with 3.7i (which I have spent time with).
I too was stunned when I introduced the P-10 into my system. It was as if I improved all of the electronics in my system. The bottom end was mode defined and dynamic the overall sound became very lush! It was the biggest single improvement to enhance the sound that was not actually a component part. My power is not as clean as yours going in but of course is going out of the P-10. A must have for every true music lover.
oh my … I absolutely love the 20.7s… To me - they are in another league compared to the 3.7… I don’t really need a sub… I had the sub - and decided I would run it a very low volume - but the sub has a bass volume at 25hz which is what I use… The tonality of the bass and the lowness of the bass is all there without the sub…but My room is 30x17x8 … which works incredibly well as I have them off of the front wall 10’ … This isn’t definitely a must - but very nice. In every case I tried to knock the bass when I listened to them before purchase… and in every case came back very happy. To me - they give you everything the 3.7 has but with added mid-bass and lower bass weight… which really adds to musical enjoyment. The textures of the instruments really seem to come alive with this as well - and they are much more dynamic as compared to the 3.7… I actually listened to them in Evanston Ill @ Audio Consultants… Then had to buy them somewhere else!! (not my choice - theirs) …I had listened to Wilson Alexandria XLFs, Sonus Faber Strads, Macintosh Line Arrays, and B&W802D2s… All more expensive … but I like the 20.7… If you get them - you will love them… Let me know what you do…
just an fyi Christopher … if you go to audioaficiando - I wrote a fairly extensive review in a thread there under the magnepan category and a thread that may just be titled ’ ‘20.7s’ … It will be an older thread… but you should be able to find it - and opinions from other users there as well…
I’d love to hear those speakers, despite the fact that they’re outside of my budget, and too large for my room. Heading to a local dealer today to check out the 20.7’s and the 30.7’s.
Edit: No longer any Magnepan dealers in the Denver area. Bummer.
back to the P10 … So last night I sat down and put on Coltrane Ballads and the Coltrane/Johnny Hartman album… Is there any bourbon in the house??? Oh wait it is a work night… dang… I think the P10 does bring some serious JuJu to the mix… (Paul you can use that in a marketing campaign… ) .
Great review timm. I called Magnepan and they are trying to arrange for me to meet with one of their customers in the area who has a pair of 20.7’s. I’ve owner open baffle speakers in the past (Apogee Duetta signatures and Audio Artistry Dvorak’s) and love the open boxless sound they produce. Been contemplating some Spacial Audio open baffle dynamic driver speakers, which I heard at RMAF, but would love to check out the Maggies as well.
Thank you for the summary above. I think you have convinced me to make the leap to the 20.7’s. I have a couple of Rel Carbon Ltd subs that I will pair with them. I am assuming that the BHK 300’s are enough to drive the 20.7s.
The BHK 300s are a great pair with Maggie 20.7s - I worked closely with a guy who started out running the 3.7i’s with the BHK 300s and he went for the upgrade to the 20.7s. Seemed to be a great upgrade for him
I have no doubt that they are. I am using a sunfire signature amp which is 425@8ohm / 850@4ohm. I have heard nothing but stellar reviews of the 300s. If I had the moolah I would highly consider them. Saying that - the sunfire sounds great.
Minnesotafats ……… how do you like your Rel Carbon Ltd subs?
Have you had them long?
Have you owned other Rel subs / other brand subs to compare them against?
Interested on an owner’s opinion.
Thanks.
They are the first high end sub I have owned. I have a pair of them in a 28ft x 18ft x 8 ft room that opens to another room. They are currently sitting right on the inside of my Monitor Audio pl 300 II floorstanding full range speakers. The Monitor Audios are great speakers that go down to around 35 hz and are stereophile class A restricted extreme LF. Even though I am a novice to subs I wish I would have purchased Rels 5 or 10 years ago. I did not realize what I was missing with regards to the soundstage definition created by the subs. I tell people it is not so much the added bass (which is realistic and clear) but the added space that a good set of subs provide. Ironically the REL subs have me now on a journey to Magnepan 20.7s. The Monitor Audios are for sale and the Magnepan are ordered.
By the way everybody since this thread was originally about P10 added to a system I thought I would add the following. I have a PS 15 that’s currently powering the following: 2 BHK 300; 2 Rel Carbon Subs, BHK Preamp, PS Direct Stream Dac, Prodigy Server. I mention this because the P15 isn’t even breaking a sweat with the most dynamic music. The highest the power reading has been at 290 watts. I am so glad I discovered PS Audio and the community online. I have learned so much and have greatly improved my sonic experiences over the past year.
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