Magico with Nap250dr?

Below is what was written about the V2 in The Absolute Sound. Hope this helps. The quick answer would be a resounding No!

Note also that if there is something amiss with the chain of electronics upstream, the V2 will be happy to let you know. Suddenly that special amp that you once had so much faith in can’t keep up with the broader demands and athleticism of the V2. It has a palette for highly refined power, and even a hundred high-resolution watts will barely elicit a wink from the V2. At around two-hundred it finally grumbles to life. Give it 250 or, better yet, 300Wpc, and the V2 jumps off the launch pad like its name implies it should. (A quick call out to the Sumiko Palo Santos Presentation cartridge—review to come—and Plinius Hiato integrated [Issue 201]. Their performance with the V2 contributed to the finest resolution I’ve yet attained in my listening room.)

From the sources I'm seeing on the web/reviews, the 250DR is a long way short (power/refinement - sorry on the last bit) of being able to properly power these speakers. To put in to context, I had a pair of Dynaudios which, on spec, could be and were driven by my 72/140 set up. It was only when I went to a 250 did I realise the shortfall in bass control, and just how power hungry the Dyns were.

Matching a 250DR amp with a speaker >£13k (?) isn't, intuitively, the right balance.

They sound just about right with NAP 500

A pre-amp is also important part of such a set up...

Thanks, everybody!

though I'm not quit getting it: I mainly listen at moderate volume levels, a couple of watts perhaps. Would e.g. a 300w capable Krell amp do something substantially different then, compared to the Nap 250DR? E.g., do transients even at moderate volume sometimes require huge power, which the 250 lacks? Just curious, really...

cheers,

stefan

What I think you are missing is the pairing of a 20,000 thousand dollar speaker with a 5000 dollar amp is somewhat of a mullet system, in other words the speakers deserve better to perform at the level they are capable of.

If you must use or want the 250, I would be looking at like valued speakers.

Stefan, my experience is that lightly damped amplifiers like Naim's sound good with highly damped loudspeakers. I apologise if this is too simplistic.

So, again IMO, i tmight be an idea to find out how damped the V2s are. For instance, how spikey is the impedance curve over their frequency range. Again this will no doubt be too simplistic for some for which I fully expect to  be shot down in flames but, short of actually hearing a pair with your 250, is the best I can suggest. Er, to the haters, I'm trying to help.

My response prompted by an online review where the Magicos were deemed to magnificent with a Plinius amplifier. My understanding is that they are highly damped.

Good luck.

Chris

Thanks, Badlands and Christopher. I think the impedance curve of the V2 is benign (it's a sealed box design). Well so far only Adam has come forward and said the V2s seem to need a nap500 (and your profile doesn't show a V2). Perhaps naimies tend stay away from Magicos?

Stefan Vogt posted:

Thanks, Badlands and Christopher. I think the impedance curve of the V2 is benign (it's a sealed box design). Well so far only Adam has come forward and said the V2s seem to need a nap500 (and your profile doesn't show a V2). Perhaps naimies tend stay away from Magicos?

A friend of mine runs a 500-series system with Magico. Front end is provided by the NDS.
Given how low the Magicos go, you really need the power (current) of a large amp to run them properly. 

But than again... if you like them and can get them cheaply - go for it. Fantastic speakers.
Also if you are thinking of changing your amp at some point in time to 300 or 500 than this might also be a "mitigating circumstance"

I found the attached link of a review that shows the Magico's do have a flat impedance curve, the bass resonance peak looks to be around 8ohms,  this is remarkably low indicating they are indeed highly damped.

http://www.magico.net/images/R...9_Magico_V296dpi.pdf

Hi Stefan, I hesitate to weigh in here when other contributors clearly have considerably more technical knowledge and sophistication than I do. Clearly on paper the Magico V2 is not supposed to work well with a NAP 250DR. However, I have noticed that there are a number of contributions in various threads where people have found what to them are satisfying results with systems which "shouldn't" work on paper, or which fly in the face of received wisdom about "source first" philosophy or 'balanced' systems. There is an interesting underlying theme about technical specs. versus ears here....

Anyway, it would be good to hear from someone who has actually heard the 250 - Magico combination. The nearest so far is Adam's helpful comments; but now I am curious about whether the 250 could work in your circumstances of not-too-large room and low to moderate volume level listening.

cheers,

Rob

Goodwin's Hi End in the Boston area has had the Naim amp set up with a Rockport speaker which I was taken with but the Magico sounded so much better.  Sorry I was not looking closely at the Naim model but the smaller floor standing Magico knocked the smaller floor standing Rockport off my list.   When I am ready to upgrade my current ProAcs, the Magico will get a hard listen.  

One caution:  In my experience, Naim has a lean sound and so does the Magico.   You should be sure it works together well at your house.   The Magico is a serious investment.