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February 14, 2012 - 6:16pm
#1
Time to Upgrade, Need Some Help
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CD player and Ortofon OM10 to at least a more modern 2M Red...
which have a better sound than the 2Ms as far as I'm concerned. For that $99 I'd look at replacing the stylus with an LP Gear improved replacement stylus for the OM20. The table and arm are good ones that should last a lifetime.
The CD player certainly can be improved upon and depending on the age of those Magnepans, they could be checked for delamination and repaired if needed. Magnepan 1.7s should really be fed with more than 80 wpc into 4 Ohms, but in a small room would probably be OK.
Are your Magnepans MG-II, MG-IIa, MG-IIb, or MG-IIc? If they are in good shape you might consider having them "Gunned". So modified they just might put the 1.7s to shame. http://www.indiespinzone.com/magnestand.html
Thanks for the response.
The Magnepans are MGII.
If I were to get them Gunned or go with the 1.7s what components do you suggest I look at to drive them, within my budget of 5K or less.
Amp & preamp – Does the amp need to be replaced?
What CD players to you recommend?
Any other speakers I should look at…. Martin Logan’s etc.
It’s been awhile since I was up on Stereo components. It’s a bit overwhelming all of the choices available.
Thank you for taking the time with your suggestions.
as upgraded should still be very servicable. A more powerful solid state power amp would help any Magnepan open up and bloom. There are quite a few possibilities, but a Bryston 4B SST2, Parasound Halo A21, Musical Fidelity M6PRX, Cambridge Audio 840W, Vincent SP-331MK or a pair of Emotiva XPA-1 monoblocks might work.
Is $5,000 your total budget for all upgrades or do you have limits for CD player, power amp, and speakers?
5K would be for my total upgrade.
Speakers, amp, preamp, cd player,phono cartridge.
Thanks again for the recomendations. I'll start doing my research on the suggested equipment.
You can also consider keeping the CD player and using it as a transport into something like a Simaudio Moon 100D Dac for much better digital sound. With $5K to play with, consider a big jump in cartridge quality and a Ortofon 2M Black (about $699). Folk are trying to steer you into a more powerful amp, but 80 watts into those speakers is a lot of power unless you listen a painful levels. That siad, the amps recommended are all first rate. I just think you would be better off spending the money on the sources and speakers.