Power Amp for Magico Q3

teeshot59

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Hello I am a first time poster after years of reading the forums.

I acquired in January a perfect pair of used Q3's which replaced TAD Evolution Ones. The Magicos sound great in my room and I currently use a Krell Evo 302e (I am a used equipment buyer and lag SOTA by five to seven years or so). I assembled a system for a friend's new vacation home which includes a Luxman 590AXii (Class A, 30 w/ch) which I hooked up in my system to test it out. What I heard surprised me...vocals were extremely lifelike (Eleanor McEvoy and Billy Joel on LP) and the bass was tight and punchy despite the 30 watts of Class A power. Admittedly, the image size was smaller than usual and it did not extend beyond the speakers. Sounds like KeithR's amp search, a thread I have been following.

What the Luxman showed me was that perhaps in the interest of transparency I had pushed the tonal balance too far toward brightness. I am thinking I should get a Class A amplifier or a Luxman with its house sound. If I have $10,000 to spend, I can acquire Pass 100.8 amps or a Luxman M900u for example. Because I am a used equipment buyer, I will not have the opportunity to try the amp(s) out in my system.

Interested in any opinions or suggestions you may have.
 

asiufy

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See if you can score a darTZeel NHB-108 (the original), it goes for slightly more than the $10k in the used market, but it was (then) the best amp on the Q3, when I owned that speaker.
 

BlueFox

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For $10,000 you should be able to get a pair of Pass 600.5 amps, and they work great with my Magico speakers.
 

microstrip

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What is the preamplfier you want to use in this system?
 

sbnx

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There is a M900u on audiogon now for $10K. Hard to go wrong with that amp.

Luxman M600A also top contender.

Another amp to consider if you can find it is the class A Esoteric A-03.

here’s one nobody talks about: clayton audio. Look them up. I think just what you are looking for and you could buy new for 10k

how about the MSB M200. One on audiogon now.

Dartzeel has that nice mid you are looking for as well

lots of great options.
 

Al M.

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Hello I am a first time poster after years of reading the forums.

I acquired in January a perfect pair of used Q3's which replaced TAD Evolution Ones. The Magicos sound great in my room and I currently use a Krell Evo 302e.

Welcome to the forum!

May I ask what you like more about the Magico Q3 over the TAD Evolution Ones? Just curious, I am intimately familiar with the Q3, which are indeed excellent, but have never heard the TAD speakers.
 
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knghifi

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I acquired in January a perfect pair of used Q3's which replaced TAD Evolution Ones.
Demoed Q3 several times at Goodwin's in Waltham, MA before purchasing TAD E1s, my favorite amp was Constellation Centaur. You can probably pick up stereo version used under $10k
 

Ron Resnick

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Welcome teeshot59!
 

Mike Lavigne

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i have a used series 1 darTZeel NHB-108 stereo amp sitting here (that would be hard to beat for your purpose) i borrowed when i was waiting for my 468's. it's had the SNCP upgrade and is in excellent condition. i can tell you it sounded outstanding in my system.

it's owned by my darTZeel dealer/distributor and it is for sale. not sure the price.....but it's likely in that around just over $10k plus shipping price range somewhere.
 
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byrdparis

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i have the Q3 for just about 2 years now.

i had the LUXMAN 900U for a long period of time with it, and its a perfect match! i also heard it with a lot of different Luxman amps, the 509 and the 590 in particular.
i am now amping it with two custom made top of the line parts; 4 X KT120 a side mono blocks with a tube pre amp... and im in heaven!
Magicos LOVE tubes (with some power of course) especially the "old ones"... Q3 era.
 

teeshot59

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Thanks for all the good replies.

My preamp is the Merrill Audio Christine. It sounds fine with my current amp, but Merrill does not publish its output impedance so that I can cross that off the list of concerns. I did test it out with an ARC 75SE and Simaudio 870A before I bought it and it sounded fine with both.

Al, the reason I switched from the TAD's to the Q3's is that I really like the bass better in the Q3's and I felt that the Magico's played better loud on the few occasions I listen that way. BTW, I think the TAD midrange and tweeter units are still some of the best I have heard. But the Q3's were always what I really wanted so I bided my time for the right moment; when a pair came up locally and the owner was both anxious to sell and willing to deliver them and set them up for me-- I decided to bite. No regrets.

Peter, I have not compared the Pass XA and X series, so a 350.8 would have to fit the bill if I went .8 series, otherwise I would have to go 100.8 or 160.5 as you have. Ant thoughts on that choice? If given a choice I would prefer a stereo amp instead of monos given my current set up.

Mike,I will research the Dartzeel. I have never heard a system with its equipment in it and I am unfamiliar with the upgrade to which you refer.

Knghifi, I have really enjoyed Constellation gear at Axpona shows. I particularly remember a Constellation system with big Kharma DBS speakers I kept coming back to. My concern there is that if I am looking for a bit of warmth, a Centaur might not fulfill that criteria...but I could easily be wrong.
 

PeterA

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Dec 6, 2011
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Al, the reason I switched from the TAD's to the Q3's is that I really like the bass better in the Q3's and I felt that the Magico's played better loud on the few occasions I listen that way. BTW, I think the TAD midrange and tweeter units are still some of the best I have heard. But the Q3's were always what I really wanted so I bided my time for the right moment; when a pair came up locally and the owner was both anxious to sell and willing to deliver them and set them up for me-- I decided to bite. No regrets.

Peter, I have not compared the Pass XA and X series, so a 350.8 would have to fit the bill if I went .8 series, otherwise I would have to go 100.8 or 160.5 as you have. Ant thoughts on that choice? If given a choice I would prefer a stereo amp instead of monos given my current set up.

Teeshot, that sounds about how I got my Q3s. I always wanted them after having heard them at the local dealer, but I had to wait for a good pair of used ones to come up. So a local friend was selling his and they were being inspected at the factory, so Magico sent them directly to me. I auditioned them in my system for about three weeks before buying them from my friend.

I have only heard the Q3s with large Boulder mono blocks and my XA160.5s. It is hard to say how they would sound with the X.5 or X.8 series, or even the XA.8. They need power especially in a larger room. I find them extremely transparent to upstream gear, so you will be hearing the amp's influence on the sound. The bass performance is excellent given the three drivers and sealed design.

My suggestion is to contact the guys at Pass. Kent English responds to emails very well. He will share his opinion about the differences between the various amp options. Mark Sammut at Reno will do the same. I have found that amps, preamps, cables, they all matter with these very revealing speakers. So does speaker position and room acoustics. I suppose that can be said about any speaker, but I find Magicos to be pretty transparent. Others think they have a strong sonic character, so I guess YMMV, as they say.

One more thing, do you have the SPOD speaker footers? I found them to be a worthwhile upgrade, though they are rather expensive, as all things Magico usually are.
 

Imperial

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Mar 6, 2012
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I would like to mention an amplifier that you most likely just won't find...
Yba Passion 1000 Stereo.
It's getting old, it silly heavy. It's got no circuit boards what so ever.
Yba hand soldered into a 100lbs arc welder.
And I bet it's slightly cooler sounding that the target here.

But the thing is a legend. And I bet it's more resolved than anything else for ten grand out there.

But, you just won't find one, and that's a shame. I bet you would never sell it, if you ever got one.

So.

Pass labs is most likely what I also would go for

Imperial
 

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teeshot59

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Peter-- I do not have the s-Pods. I have read about them.

Imperial-- I saw the YBA at a store some years ago with a matching preamp. It was at a major discount...oh well.
 

Mike Lavigne

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Mike,I will research the Dartzeel. I have never heard a system with its equipment in it and I am unfamiliar with the upgrade to which you refer.

in 2011-2012 the original NHB-108 had a circuit upgrade (SNCP) which improved the dynamics and speaker load ability of the amp. it became a better amp for tougher loads. quite significant as it now matched well with most speakers whereas prior it had to be carefully matched. most 108's did get this upgrade which cost around $2000 at that time.

the NHB-108 is my second favorite all time amplifier. it's low noise and pure sounding enough to work well with horns. very minimalist circuit, zero global feedback. impeccably swiss built like a Rolex.
 
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Elberoth

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I have owned several magicos and quite consistently, all the amps that sounded the best with them were on the warmer side of neutral. It can be a powerful tube amp or class-A solid state, but they have to be on the warmer side of neutral to make them sound right.

Of all amps I have tried, I liked most Vitus SM011 monos, Dagostino Momentum Stereo and my MSB M202 monos.

I bet the big Luxman should sound good with them too.

If you want to stay on the budget, I don't think you can do better than the MSB Technology S201 stereo power amp that is currently listed on AudiogoN @ $4900 (I'm not associated with the seller). For ~$7k you can get the M202 monos.

Contrary to what what other feel about darTZeel 108, I'm not a fan of the Magico darTZeel combination (I have owned 108 three times). Not enough meat on the bones with Magicos to my ears.
 

Imperial

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You know...
There is a new contender in the XXxX it must be tubes because it has SOUL and Spine breaking bass and dynamics like krells of yore....
And it has midrange and high end like what ever into the stratosphere

audio-analogue-donizetti-anniversary.png

Audio Analogue Donizetti Aniversary.

Specs...Dynamic Music Signal...

8 ohms = 350w
4 ohms = 690w
2 ohms = 1350w
1 ohms = 2400w.

Amps instantaneous = 49A.

47k ohms input z..

92.5Lbs heavy

And an extremely well regulated psu design.
Insanely quiet.

Gain 26db. (2,3v full rail)

About $10000 ish price

So what is this.

Worthy Alternative to YBA Passion 1000 or the like.
X350.8 Pass alternative also.

Link to manufacturer:
Link to Amp.

A worthy mention

Imperial
 
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Don Reid

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Welcome to the forum teeshot.

Another vote for Pass. I own Magico Q3s and Pass XA160.5. Other options: X350.5 or X350.8, X600, XA100.8. Reno HiFi will let you do a home trial.

Congratulations on the new speakers.
I unfortunately have no experience Magico Q3s, but I have found Nelson Pass amps to be very good with horns. My tri-amplified fully horn loaded DIY speakers use Pass Labs X150s for the bass horns and a pair of First Watt F3 stereo amps for the midrange and super tweeter horns. The combination is very pleasing. The First WATT F3s replaced Cary Audio 2a3 SET mono blocks I had used for years. They sound better.
 

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