i actually know mark- he's an insane human, but one of the best salesmen you are ever likely to hear. the M150s were built by what used to be called Audio Prism, a company that mark bought. their main designer/engineer now works at apple. other little know trivia- there is no longer any connection between the company Mark Levinson and the man. Mark's original company folded back in the 70s, and the assets, including the right to use his name as a trademark, were sold to Harman. mark later founded another company, Cello, that built even more ridiculously expensive gear, ad then Red Rose. both companies also went out of business. so lousy business man, but he did apparently give kim cattrall her first orgasm!
sources: Linn axis turntable 500 gig external hd > mac mini > hagusb pre/pro: Creekphono pre amp Nuforce avp-16 amps: pair of Nuforce ref 9 monoblocks speakers: pair of Epos M5’s on stands SVS 20-39 Pc-Plus subwoofer line conditioner: modded Monster Power Center HTS 3500 MKII
You can home audition the MMG's for 60 days by ordering direct from Magnepan's website. If you don't like them, you are only out for the shipping costs (usually less than 20 bucks). Not a bad deal.
Wow, I never knew that Harman now owns the Levinson name. I remember hearing the No. 33 one time at a friend's house. I've always wanted to own one, but way out the wife approval range for me. BTW, I looked at the M150 specs, and did not see a 4 ohm rating. Is it Class A or Class AB?
AB, the published specs are a little low- real output is more like 75 into 8 ohms. i can ask the designed about their ability to drive a four ohm load. they're comparatively rare- IIRC, only about 60 pair were made.
That is a good deal, I've known about that deal ever since I gotten interested in Magnepans, but I already decided if I was to buy some Maggies it would be the 3.6 pair since they have the true ribbons in them. I guess space constraints and the price was also holding me back. But I was also interested in some Martin Logans, then I kinda lost the itch for the hifi/home theater stuff. On a side note, anybody ever had their HDTV ISF-calibrated or used one of those DVD calibration test discs?
I used a friend's copy of Video Essentials. Pretty good calibration. BTW, thegary, how's the SVS sub treating you? I totally plan on getting a powered SVS sub soon. (I'm going to upgrade my pre-pro first, though.)
That's the same sub I use for my family room "home theater". I love this thing, but I've heard people say the 25-31 may be better for music (well, heck, SVS even says that, I guess). But it's all subjective if you ask me. I honestly thought I'd have trouble pressurizing my family room which is something like 19x19 and opens into my kitchen for a pretty big space with one sub. I don't worry about that anymore - after getting the 20-39, I often wonder if my house will hold up... lol.
one other question: IIRC the mac mini has a toslink digital out. have you compared that to using the hagUSB?
this sub makes your balls feel like they're dragging the floor. yeah, this sub is their compromise, it's great for movies and music. i do watch tv and have digital cable running through my system. in fact, my whole system is a compromise i made to suit my needs in the simplest way. i may add a center channel speaker and another monoblock but i won't be going surround sound, EVAH. i am firmly convinced that this is a scam. the stereo image i get out of two channels is profound, i'm scared to mess with that, why? i guess for movies it's okay but i just don't see the need. basso, the avp-16 is great. surely it's not the most refined preamp an the planet but it is probably still overkill considering i listen to digital files 99% of the time. when you run the coaxial into the cd in, it bypasses all digital processing sans the onboard DAC, which is fantastic. the real coup, my pride and joy, are the monoblocks. they will peel your skin off, and you'll like it.
If you buy them, be sure to bi-wire them. It takes about 2 minutes and they sound much better bi-wired. Just do a google search for " how to bi-wire speakers" .
Thanks....it's my precious. Although I really should get a good case. It's like a Viper in a Pinto's body.
well, you know i endorse torture. i've heard some interesting opinions of the amps, some folks think they're a bit bright, while others seem to like their slam. like you, most of my listening is now digital files, ripped using apple's lossless codec. saw an interesting study today that said most folks have trouble hearing the difference between lossless and 320k VBR mp3, which i guess i believe, but i have no trouble hearing the difference between my lossless files and the original CDs. as good as the computer rig is, CD is still better, and they're using the same DAC. by better, i mean greater sense of depth and space, in a word, more relaxed.
audio is such a subjective thing. now i wouldn't use the word bright to describe the ref 9s. transparent and detailed are better words. but forgetting all this stupid audiophile jargon, to me they sound invisible and effortless. the speakers are there but the sound seems to be occupying my living room rather than coming from one place. i was running a linn amp for years and these amps blow the linn away in every imaginable way, and yes they have slam. some people like warm tubes, some want transistor stomp. right now i feel like rocking out, and my system is great for that. as far as mp3 versus lossless etc, i couldn't care less. i've got 1600 + "cds" of various formats and the convenience of having a server FAR,FAR,FAR outweighs whtever quality i could be losing.
I have these exact Fluance speakers for my fronts in my media room but do not have them bi-wired. My Yamaha is capable of supporting it but did you try them with and without bi-wiring? If so, did you truly hear a dramatic difference?
did you rip the "cds" yourself, and if so, what format do you use? curious also what player you use for playback? i've been very curious about the amps, and i'm a big believer in mono-blocks in general. and i like that your hi-rez source is analog!
