Budget amp that will give Magnepan 3.6Rs better depth of soundstage

[dlaloum]

I see you are a Quad owner from down under. Did you see my report of a recent service call to a Quad system.

I own 10 Quad 909 amps. My AV room is powered by seven Quad 909s and two Quad 405-2 power amps. The later power the ceiling speakers.
Three Quad 909s power the right and left mains, and one powers the center. One powers the surrounds and two power the rear backs.

The family room system has 1 Quad 909 and a Quad 405-2. The great room system is powered by two Quad 909s.
The Quad 909 is one of the finest amps to ever see the light of day.

Bank of Quads.

Powering this.

In the turntable case are Quad 22 preamp, Quad 44 preamp and Quad 34 preamp. There is also a Quad FM 4 in the rig and a Quad 33 preamp.

Family room system with Quad 909, Quad 405-2, Quad FM 4 and Quad 34 preamp.

Two Quad 909s powering the in wall great room system.

Quad: - "For the Closest Approach to the Original Sound."

If you don't have Ken Kessler's biography of Peter Walker, "The Closest Approach", then you should.

yes I saw your service call on a Quad setup article...

Sadly I no longer have Quad speakers (I see a notable absence of those on your photos too!)... mostly a WAF issue.

Luckily, after several years of resistance, I heard the Gallo speakers - which strongly reminded me of the Quads I had lived with since the mid 80's .... so the Quad ESL63/989 both left the premises and the Gallo's moved in. (about 12 years ago now)

I kept the 606 and 707... although currently unused, as I am using the Crown XLS.

In due course I expect the Crowns will be retired, as they are effectively non maintainable... and the Quads will move back in.

 

[TLS Guy]

yes I saw your service call on a Quad setup article...

Sadly I no longer have Quad speakers (I see a notable absence of those on your photos too!)... mostly a WAF issue.

Luckily, after several years of resistance, I heard the Gallo speakers - which strongly reminded me of the Quads I had lived with since the mid 80's .... so the Quad ESL63/989 both left the premises and the Gallo's moved in. (about 12 years ago now)

I kept the 606 and 707... although currently unused, as I am using the Crown XLS.

In due course I expect the Crowns will be retired, as they are effectively non maintainable... and the Quads will move back in.

The reason I don't have Quad speakers is because I design and build my own. The Quad ESLs are incredibly accurate speakers, but they are not high powered speakers. I like to be able to listen to wide dynamic range material at concert hall levels. However, the Quad ESLs are a yardstick of tonal accuracy and so I design for minimal coloration especially in the bass. That is why the speakers are aperiodically damped transmission lines. The AV room is powered by around 3000 watts. So the Quads can not produce that level of spl. Others have stacked multiple ESL 63s. Alastair Robertson-Aikman had four a side stacked in a rigid frame of his design and fabrication at the SME plant in Steyning. He was the founder of SME tone arm manufacturer.

 

[dlaloum]

The reason I don't have Quad speakers is because I design and build my own. The Quad ESLs are incredibly accurate speakers, but they are not high powered speakers. I like to be able to listen to wide dynamic range material at concert hall levels. However, the Quad ESLs are a yardstick of tonal accuracy and so I design for minimal coloration especially in the bass. That is why the speakers are aperiodically damped transmission lines. The AV room is powered by around 3000 watts. So the Quads can not produce that level of spl. Others have stacked multiple ESL 63s. Alastair Robertson-Aikman had four a side stacked in a rigid frame of his design and fabrication at the SME plant in Steyning. He was the founder of SME tone arm manufacturer.

I've always kept an eye out for Transmission line designs... one of the few types that provided deep bass while matching the mids and highs on ESL's.... but they are a rare genre, and the Gallo's I ended up with are an Acoustic Suspension design ... and a relatively small "footprint".... the compromises we make.

But we are meandering off topic!