Is there an affordable reciever that can drive maggies?

budget minded New member Username: Cheapskate Post Number: 1 Registered: Mar-04	Posted on Monday, March 22, 2004 - 09:08 GMT i have considered buying a pair of magnepan MMGs to start a "new and improved" home theater system as i really like the sound of the maggies i auditioned. the problem is that FEW (if any) sub $1000 recievers will work with maggies 4 ohm load! to buy a pair of $550 speakers, one needs to spend another $1500 on amplification. my 55 w/ch onkyo sure won't do it. my owners manual forbids 4 ohm loads. denon and marantz don't list 4 ohm stats for their cheapest recievers and from what i can tell, NAD is out of business. i know they support 4 ohm loads as my old 2 channel nad has a 4/8 ohm switch. are there any DECENT entry level recievers (not sony, jvc etc.) that will drive maggies without self destructing? i'll live more or less happily with my subbed superzeros (which image better than maggies) before i spend more than i paid for my entire system on a new reciever NOT including another thou in speakers. magnepan should split their speakers in half and wire them in series to create USEABLE 8 ohm loads.
Gregory Stern Silver Member Username: Gman Mt. Pleasant, SC Post Number: 314 Registered: Dec-03	Posted on Monday, March 22, 2004 - 15:29 GMT NAD T743 should do a fine job, as should a T753 (if it is in your budget). You can usually find the T753 at between $750-$800 and the T743 at between $500-$550. Obviously there is a difference in features and the T753 has 6 amplified channels at 70 watts min. and the T743 has 5 amplified channels at 50 watts min. They both perform much more powerful than their listed wattages, particularly on 4 ohm speakers. You can get the NAD's at various online places: Kief's is a good one as is the SoundSeller in Marinette, Wisconcin.
Johnny Silver Member Username: Johnny Missouri Post Number: 195 Registered: Dec-03	Posted on Monday, March 22, 2004 - 15:31 GMT budget, What exactly do you mean that NAD is out of business? I can certainly verify that NAD is indeed still going strong and in no danger of going out of business. As to your question, see this thread: https://www.ecoustics.com/electronics/forum/home-audio/14866.html It discusses another brand, but still 4 ohms. Basically, under $1000 you are extremely limited with the 4 ohms. As Hawk states, NAD is really your only option. By the way, I have never heard the NAD/Maggie combo in person, but I have heard that it is simply amazing.
Sarah Anderson New member Username: Quesarah Saint paul, MN United States Post Number: 1 Registered: Mar-04	Posted on Monday, March 22, 2004 - 17:01 GMT I have maggies - the really old MG-2's, remylared at the factory in '92. I love them - I think I'd have to get at least the new mg12's to surpass the sound. I recently bought a NAD t752 (refurb. from yawa online) for a real deal - $550. I suspect the refurb mainly consissted of a firmware upgrade to 1.20 and checkout. In spite of complaints on this board about out-of-the-box problems, so far so good! I'm using stereo only, so can't comment on the AV features. The sound is amazing. Power for the bass, yes, but what I didn't expect was the clearer high-end. The sensation is well described by "a dark soundstage" - somehow it sounds more detailed. I also indulged in a hsu sub, which is the finishing touch. If the NAD holds up (knock on wood) I think I'm good for another 15 years. --Sarah
budget minded New member Username: Cheapskate Post Number: 5 Registered: Mar-04	Posted on Wednesday, March 24, 2004 - 10:01 GMT just yesterday i tried searching for NAD at epinions and nextag and ALL sites that had them were gone. NAD used to show up on those comparison sites. there were lists for 4 NAD surround recievers, but NO vendors came up for any of them. then i tried to find NAD on search engines, and there too came up with nothing. if they still are in business, they sure are alot harder to find than they used to be. i'm not that big a fan of NAD after i found that my onkyo stomped the crap out of my NAD soundwise. the onkyo has better trble extension and imaging despite being a 5 channel vs. dedicated stereo NAD with similar 50 watt ratings, but i'm sure that maggies would make ALOT more difference than amplification. NAD has always been conservative with it's power ratings and used to give 3db of headroom (double rated power) for it's amps. a 50w/ch amp that could drive maggies would be more than enough for my needs. i'm currently driving inefficient superzeros with 55w/ch (no headroom) without coming close to my amps limits. 100 real world watts per channel should be more than i'd realistically need for my small apartment. thanks for the heads up on NAD everyone. i'm glad to hear that they're still the only cheap 4 ohm capable game in town. it's too bad that onkyo can't handle 4 ohms. i really like it's treble clarity over NAD's softer sound. magnepan's total midrange clarity and coherency really is seductive even if they aren't as image precise as my superzeros. maggy's abilty to sound more like real vocals and instruments outweighs their blurrier images. i love their lightning quick bass too. it would be nice to give my subwoofer a vacation. $1200 for a pair of maggies AND a surround reciever is more to my liking
budget minded New member Username: Cheapskate Post Number: 7 Registered: Mar-04	Posted on Wednesday, March 24, 2004 - 11:00 GMT apparently NAD has crushed the idea of mail order and price comparisons ala b&w as there are virtually NO dealers to be found online. i tried again using "nad t743" as a keyword at several search engines and came up with about 4 dealers in all of america. nad just isn't net friendly these days. if they squash those last 4 dealers on the net i won't be able to buy nad as it isn't sold in my small city anymore. i won't buy refurbished. i'm not that cheap.
Johnny Silver Member Username: Johnny Missouri Post Number: 196 Registered: Dec-03	Posted on Wednesday, March 24, 2004 - 15:01 GMT NAD's website is www.nadelectronics.com Under the "dealers" section, you can find a listing of authorized dealers in your area. Below are some dealers I have had personal dealings with and will ship mail order. Both have excellent customer service and are authorized NAD dealers. While they do ship mail order, they DO NOT take internet orders, so you have to call. If you call Saturday Audio, ask for Andy (the owner), and if you call Kiefs, ask for Ed or Wes. www.saturdayaudio.com ~~www.kiefs.com~~
Gregory Stern Silver Member Username: Gman Mt. Pleasant, SC Post Number: 330 Registered: Dec-03	Posted on Wednesday, March 24, 2004 - 16:32 GMT Normally you can find dealers that discount NAD about 20%--sometimes a little less or more. Google on Plaza Audio and you will find many NAD products at least 20% off.
Rick Barnes Bronze Member Username: Rick_b New york Usa Post Number: 48 Registered: Dec-03	Posted on Wednesday, March 24, 2004 - 19:55 GMT budget, I find your comment on Maggies imaging inaccurate. I have a pair of 1.6s, and find amazing imaging. May I suggest you tinker with your placement. This is CRITICAL with Maggies, more so than box speakers. Once you get them dialed in, you will have a huge soundstage and pinpoint imaging. As far as NAD is concerned, Johnny is right on the money. NAD frowns on internet sales, so call an authorized dealer and do the deal mail order. Good luck.
Hawk Silver Member Username: Hawk Highlands Ranch, CO USA Post Number: 441 Registered: Dec-03	Posted on Thursday, March 25, 2004 - 08:22 GMT budget: You can't do any better than Maggies, IMO. And the jump from SuperZeros to MMGs is like looking up at the top of the Sears Tower from the ground. NAD is easy to find and seems to be in better shape than ever since Lenbrook Group bought them. You are just not getting good results from your search engine (must be the MSN search engine!). Johnny has already suggested Kief's and Saturday Audio, both of whom are excellent dealer sources. Here are a few more I have had recommended to me: ~~http://www.spearitsound.com/home.htm~~ ~~http://www.hipposaudiovideo.com/index.htm~~ ~~http://www.yawaonline.com/~~ Now, I haven't dealt with any of them, but I have heard good things about all three from people I know and trust. I have purchased from both Kief's and Saturday Audio and I have nothing but good things to say about both of them, so that gives you five great dealers for NAD products. Don't look at their posted prices--you have to call and ask for their price on the NAD product you want. They can give you a discount price over the phone (NAD, like most audio companies, frowns upon discounted posted prices as harming other dealers, so you have to ask). Finally, don't overlook DMC Electronics (www.dmc-electronics.com), which sells a lot of factory refurb'ed NAD units. I have never purchased from DMC, but I have several friends who have and all of them are extremely pleased with their purchases. I know you say you aren't that cheap, but the return rate on refurbs is 1/20th that of new units. After all, it has been QC'ed twice. Good luck!
budget minded New member Username: Cheapskate Post Number: 9 Registered: Mar-04	Posted on Friday, March 26, 2004 - 03:28 GMT actually, i had tried several search engines including altavista, overture and maybe even my hotbot/google link. i don't use msn. i did find yawaonline and hippo, but that was just about it. a year or two ago, i remember that NAD was everywhere on the net and it was easy to comparison shop for deals. just at "tiny" epinions, there were probably 1/2 a dozen NAD dealers listed where now there are none. i imagine i could always pick an old issue of stereophile to find dealer listings. i haven't contacted any of the manufacturers listed here as i'm not ready to upgrade just yet, but the ones that i did find still online didn't have the '43 for anything less than $570 unlike the 500-550 prices some say they've seen. i'll just copy and paste all of these links for later use when i want to upgrade. if you haven't heard superzeros, then you don't know just how good they sound. they image like crazy and have virtually no box resonances. i tried mission m71s after all of the favorable reviews i read, but they are VERY fatiguing in the midrange and overly bright. i'll give the missions a nod for treble speed and clarity over the zeros, but in comparison, zeros are very easy to listen to. i actually like their sound better than the 6 1/2" $1000 B&Ws i auditioned with much better hardware than my system as the B&Ws weren't as image precise as my zeros and their bass was too bloated for my tastes. my zeros can't touch maggies midrange clarity or transient speed though. listening to the more expensive 1.2s, i think that my zeros actually have more treble extension. (not speed) i had expected that the mags would have the lack of treble rolloff that B&Ws have, but they are a little polite in the last octave. B&Ws are really good with metallic percussion. nothing i've EVER heard sounds as real with vocals as maggies though. i'd imagine their more expensive models that have higher frequency ratings than the 1.2s would sound a little brighter. imaging and bass tightness were always my highest priorities which is why i went with small acoustic suspension speakers, but after hearing maggies, my priorities are now speed and coherency as maggies really disappear sonically. they barely sound like speakers.

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