How Great is the Sanders Magtech?

[kiwi_1282001]

[...] What exactly is the opinion on the break in for the M-tech?

[...] Maybe M-tech owners can chime in or Roger or his very nice wife are following this thread.

I have had it in the system for the last 3 hours and it is much better than the Innersound I tried years back but still would like more info.

Best,
Bob

Chiming in... I've had a Magtech in my system for a little under one year. I also own Sanders latest ESL MKII stereo power amplifier which I use to drive my Kingsound ESL's.

I can't say that I noticed much sonic difference during break in. I do leave the amplifiers on (which I'd recommend to all owners) because the amplifier is a relatively massive device and it therefore takes several hours for the heat produced by the bias current in the output transistors to completely soak through the entire unit to eventually stabilize the amplifier's chassis, heat-sink and internal temperatures and this is mandatory (IME) to obtaining the best sound.

 

[BobF]

We wait with baited breath Bob! (though my breath almost always smells like bait... whaddyagonna do )

Hi Todd,
Well it's Necrodad's birthday this weekend so Necroson will be coming over with his very nice Thor pre and we will have a neat shoot out.
My cousin will be over and he has Maggie 1.6's with my old Plinius 100 MK-3 and a Aranov pre and an Italian CDP which i forget the name but very well regarded.

My other friend will be over and he has a great ear(God forbid designs cables also)

Funny, My grandson who lives with us and is 15 and also is learning drums from his Necro-uncle said to me the other day " what did you do to your speakers as they sound so much better than before), didn't know the M-Tech was playing.

We will see this weekend

Best,
Bob

 

[tsv_1]

Hi Todd,
Well it's Necrodad's birthday this weekend so Necroson will be coming over with his very nice Thor pre and we will have a neat shoot out.
My cousin will be over and he has Maggie 1.6's with my old Plinius 100 MK-3 and a Aranov pre and an Italian CDP which i forget the name but very well regarded.

My other friend will be over and he has a great ear(God forbid designs cables also)

Funny, My grandson who lives with us and is 15 and also is learning drums from his Necro-uncle said to me the other day " what did you do to your speakers as they sound so much better than before), didn't know the M-Tech was playing.

We will see this weekend

Best,
Bob

Well happy early Bday Bob! Despite all the country's (and world's) problems, isn't this a wondrous time to be alive? I hope you have a great weekend and we'd all love to hear/see whatever you might want to share from the shoot-out at necro corral!

And thanks for sharing that tidbit about your grandson's audio-observation

 

[Necrosuit]

Hey guys! Oi! Why do I have this feeling that the Magtech will end up staying at Necro-pops and never return home? I’ll tell you what pops, you find me a sober driver for Saturday and I’ll bring the Carvers too! we'll have a full day of audio fun. Oh I'll bring some ASI and Morrow cables also. I’m looking forward to this! I’ve got some new tubes showing up tomorrow....should be interesting. Todd, I agree! It’s a good time to enjoy life despite all the surroundings, fortunately we can say that. How’s your Magtechs coming along?

 

[User211]

So everything above 12-14KHz is obviously OK with the Mags in place

Solid.

 

[tsv_1]

So everything above 12-14KHz is obviously OK with the Mags in place

Solid.

Good point... the audio range where 15 year-old hearing reigns supreme that's clearly what necro-tot was experiencing with the Magtechs.

 

[tsv_1]

Hi Pete,

Well, TBH, I've not been listening much to the Magtechs because I've been preampless. However, that all changes tomorrow when the W4S STP-SE arrives on angel's wings (or gets tossed over the fence by UPS). So I'll be with you in audio-ether spirit this weekend as I spend time setting up and evaluating the latest 2-channel incarnation here at Chez-Todd.

 

[Necrosuit]

Nice! If it does get thrown over the fence I do hope you have video of this! then we can hammer youtube and get free gear! Or make the Sunday news. Thats awesome you got a pre comin. What made you decide on this one?

 

[User211]

Hi Pete,

Well, TBH, I've not been listening much to the Magtechs because I've been preampless. However, that all changes tomorrow when the W4S STP-SE arrives on angel's wings (or gets tossed over the fence by UPS). So I'll be with you in audio-ether spirit this weekend as I spend time setting up and evaluating the latest 2-channel incarnation here at Chez-Todd.

I just read this (got insomnia):

"When we say passive, we mean as in no gain. We all know that all passive preamps have many issues regarding input and output impedances. These issues are massive because of the lack of drive current the preamp is able to produce. The result is a loose, floppy bottom end, and a constricted, dry top end. To solve this, we inserted our Ultra-transparent discrete buffer stages to address this issue, which proved to give us remarkable results."

TBH this, at least in my case with the Air Tight passive, is completely untrue. I also get really curious when people state passive pres lack dynamics. Again, in my system with my amps, completely untrue. Tis a funny old world.

Anyway, be sure to post impressions - but then I'm sure you don't need prompting. Wish I could lend you the EAR, just to see what you think of it. And vice versa.

Distance, customs and taxes.:devil:

 

[tsv_1]

What made you decide on this one?

I've decided to kick the W4S tires for these reasons...

1) It has all the features I want and none that I don't
2) I'm still extremely impressed with the W4S DAC2 so it follows that there *should* be similarly good performance given the designer's talent and execution record
3) It has one of the highest value propositions out there (bang for buck)
4) I'm intrigued by it's true-passive nature at volume setting <64 - as well as unique overall volume control implementation
5) It sports extremely low output noise (aligns with my mission to eliminate all system noise - physical, electrical, and otherwise)
6) It comes in black (thank goodness, since to my eyes, it's one ugly sombitch )
7) It draws very little idle power so I can leave it on 24/7
8) It has reviewed well
9) Over-designed power supply
10) I'm running out of reasons - I'll stop here - for now - and follow-up once she's in-system

 

[tsv_1]

I just read this (got insomnia):

"When we say passive, we mean as in no gain. We all know that all passive preamps have many issues regarding input and output impedances. These issues are massive because of the lack of drive current the preamp is able to produce. The result is a loose, floppy bottom end, and a constricted, dry top end. To solve this, we inserted our Ultra-transparent discrete buffer stages to address this issue, which proved to give us remarkable results."

TBH this, at least in my case with the Air Tight passive, is completely untrue. I also get really curious when people state passive pres lack dynamics. Again, in my system with my amps, completely untrue. Tis a funny old world.

Anyway, be sure to post impressions - but then I'm sure you don't need prompting. Wish I could lend you the EAR, just to see what you think of it. And vice versa.

Distance, customs and taxes.:devil:

Well it's a bit of a conflicting message from W4S since the STP-SE apparently switches to true-passive mode for low-ish volume settings. All very curious - further underscoring my evaluation anticipation.

And yes, I would love to directly compare the beauty with the beast (I'm talking pre-amps, just to be clear).

 

[User211]

Well had some fun today - the EAR in front of the Parasound A21 worked a treat, effortlessly dumping current into the Apogees, and taking Metallica's LuLu album to unprecedented volume levels.

I have to confess that dumping large amounts of current into the Apogees really does allow massive volume with total control - at least for a planar design. I really felt the Parasound needed the EAR up front to stop it sounding a bit flat and undimensional. With a Resonessence Invicta DAC feeding the Parasound using its preamp, the results were far from what the Apogees need to work well. The soundstage collapsed to mainly behind the loudspeakers - with a real feeling of it all being a bit shut in.

Also played with some large acoustic panels and a mains regen. More thoughts and pics later.

 

[User211]

A few pics:

 

[tsv_1]

Can't let you have all the fun Justin old chap. The new W4S pre has arrived - neither presented with fanfare upon a satin pillow nor drop-kicked from the curb - but in fact unceremoniously left to it's own defenses just inside the garage. Good thing I got to it before my freshly licensed 16 yr old made another attempt at garage docking. (and yes, "attempt" is italicized for a reason - I have the side-mirror pieces to prove it).

Anywho - first impressions are very good (I'll spare the hyperbole - for now). Listening to the Wailin' Jennys (40 Days). Crisp sound and nicely balanced. Neither bright nor veiled. Of course this is a studio engineered album so "depth of stage" and all that other three-dimensional accuracy blather is not entirely applicable. I'll play some live recordings later that should help illustrate things like air, space, depth, separation, etc etc.

The only two minor nits are:

1) Because the volume control is implemented as a series of precision resistors and sealed relays, there's some minor noise during volume adjustment. Not really annoying (yet), just noticeable.

2) This pre uses an identical remote to my DAC2. And of course both units respond - D'oh! The stop-gap solution has been to tastefully cover the IR sensor on the DAC2 (since i have no reason to adjust it's functionality in normal use).

That's it for now. Horrid iPhone 4 snaps attached.

Cheers

 

[churchill]

Todd, are you running balanced or unbalanced cables?

 

[tsv_1]

Todd, are you running balanced or unbalanced cables?

This preamp is truly balanced input to output... so I'm running balanced (solid silver) from the DAC2 to the pre, and same from the pre to the monos. Running SE from the SACD player to the pre as the Oppo93 only offers unbalanced outputs. In fact, looking around for a better SACD player (pref with true balanced outputs).

 

[User211]

Congrats on the pre Todd - really hope it comes up to expectations, though the R/C issue seems barmy!

 

[tsv_1]

Congrats on the pre Todd - really hope it comes up to expectations, though the R/C issue seems barmy!

Thanks! And yes - on the R/C, I figure a quick call to W4S would likely produce a more elegant solution than my "eyepatch" approach... but it's working fine now so no hurry on that.

I was just playing some exceedingly well recorded classical (Corrette) and wow does this system shine! As I stated somewhere else, I've made a number of changes lately so I couldn't really say how much of that shine is due to the STP-SE, but on-the-whole, it's sounding pretty damned compelling. I'm sure the Magtechs are contributing heartily and I must say I'm very impressed with the RSA Dmitri conditioner as well. The system is now inaudible (noise-wise) and crystal clear (music wise). Yay!

 

[Necrosuit]

Wow! this thread is wesome! great pics guys. Todd I noticed your Mags have blue lights where the Sanders logo is, Mine doesnt light up? hmmmm.

 

[tsv_1]

Todd I noticed your Mags have blue lights where the Sanders logo is, Mine doesnt light up? hmmmm.

Pretty sure the stereo mag should sport the ubiquitous blue light too (but maybe not? - perhaps a quick email to Roger). You have more trouble with LED indication lights