Burmester and Magico

[willgall]

Does anyone have experience using Burmester electronics with Magico speakers, specifically the Q5s? It would seem to be potentially a good match, but I have not seen anything on any of the online forums or magazines discussing this combination.

 

[LL21]

Having heard magico's with D'Agostino Momentums, ARC tubed amps, Devialets...i am going to make a guess here that high quality, high power with the characteristics described on Burmester sound is probably a good match. All personal taste in the end, but i strongly suspect Burmester should be the kind of high current, high power amp with a touch of sweetness that a Magico will enjoy feeding on.

 

[willgall]

I raised the question because I heard the Q5s a few weeks ago with the D'Agostino monoblocks, and it seemed like they ran out of headroom on the macrodynamic side of large scale orchestral works. The room was about 25' x 18' and moderately treated. I would not have expected that dynamic limitation from those amplifiers. My concern is that my room is somewhat larger than that, and, although it would be hard to claim that 300 watts into 8 ohms would be underpowered, it would seem to be, in this case. I talked to Irv at Magico, and he had no direct experience with the Magico/ Burmester combination. Robb at Burmester told me that he knew of only one of his customers with Burmester electronics and Magico speakers. So I am looking far and wide on WBF for other experiences.

 

[LL21]

interesting...we did not push the D'Agostinos particularly hard when playing the Q5s with the D'Agostinos in room about the same size. So cannot say if Momentums run out of steam...i agree with you...that is not something i would have expected. Then again, Magicos can be a tough load. If you do hear Burmster with Magico, pls post.

 

[caesar]

It's no coincidence that primarily Wilson dealers carry the D'Agostino amps, as the amps were voiced with Wilson.

Have you tried Balabo or VTL's with your Q5's?

 

[Thf99]

I'd heard the burmester 808 + 911 (monos) driving the Q3s with the Davinci Unison TT. It's easily one of the best I've heard. The Q3s, however, are a much easier load than the Q5s.

 

[willgall]

I have no access to BALabo. The higher power VTL's are space heaters, have a lot of tubes, and do not have the greatest track record for reliability, so I would not likely consider them. I was an early adopter of VTL 300 's back in 1988, and even then, their reliability was not great.

Is there a published spec for the 911 mono's as far as current output? I do not seem to see one published anywhere.

 

[wizard]

Some specs

Output power - 1% thd - 8 ohm 165 watt, 4 ohm 290 watt

S/N A-weighted -88,7dB

Gain 34dB

Freq response -3dB 10watt/4 ohm - >185kHz

 

[Roysen]

The Burmester amplifiers sound great but don't like low impedance loads. Magico Q-series is a pretty tough load except the Q7. I would definetly try before purchasing.

 

[Espen L]

Hey
I have Magico Q3 with Burmester and is sounding fantastic :b

 

[Elberoth]

Q3 is an easy load. The Q5 on the other hand, requires a nuclear reactor.

 

[willgall]

Thought I would give some follow-up. I opted for a pair of VAC Statement 450's for my Q5s. They have plenty of dynamic headroom and never sound under siege even at pretty loud levels. They do generate some heat, but nothing that will be a problem in the Seattle climate.