Pioneer 1010 and Maggies, no problem, right?

[Brandon J.]

I've been looking for a pair of good speakers, and the Magnepan MMG's sound like they may be just about perfect for me and what I listen to (Classical, Jazz and Light rock). And their the right size for my room and the right price for my pocket. My biggest concern is a lot of people say they need gobs of power, and of course they run at 4 ohms. The SX-1010 has 100 very powerful watts, so I think thats enough, but I'm just checking to be sure.

Thanks
Brandon

 

[bully]

I would think it should be OK. I think the SX-1010 was also spec'd into 4 ohms, but I don't really remember.

 

[EchoWars]

It all depends on how hard you want to run it. For most normal listening, a 1010 should be fine, but if you want to crank it on a regular basis, I'd either find something a little more powerful, or rig a muffin fan or two to sit over the vents of the 1010 to pull some air through it...

Try it and see. If the 1010 seems like its getting hot then you should consider some fans or a more powerful receiver.

 

[Brandon J.]

classicaudio.com says "Power Output: 110 watts per channel RMS into 8 ohms, 110 watts into 4 ohms." for the 1010, but shouldn't it output more into a 4 ohm load?

 

[EchoWars]

My service manual says 100W into 8, 110W into 4.

I'm sure its much higher than that in actuality.

 

[B3Nut]

Years ago, the family system was a pair of SMG's (the MMG's forebear) driven by the 20wpc SX-535, well down the line from the SX-1010. Concert-hall volume was out of the question but for normal listening, especially with jazz, the 535 and SMG's sounded *magical*. With a good record on the ol' PL-518, the smoothness and liquidity were breathtaking.

I think you'd do quite well running MMG's off the 1010, especially for the music you'll be listening to. Won't hurt to try it at any rate.

Todd in Beerbratistan

 

[Charivari]

Just to reinforce the point, I ran a pair of 12" Watkins woofers in my Infinity Quantum 2s (tremendously difficult to drive 4 ohm beasts) as subwoofers for a pair of magnepans with a SX-838 for several months before happening upon a bigger amp. That Pioneer was able to power them for all but the most severe bass passages. So, if the little brother of the 1010 can power such a load, the relatively benign (nearly constant impedance) MMG just fine, if your volume expectations are reasonable.

- JP

 

[harhau]

I think it should work too. But pay attention to EchoWars's caution: The voltage regulator board sitting on the underside of the SX-1010 gets almost too warm under normal circumstances and may not like the amp constantly being driven near its maximum. A quiet fan may be a prudent measure.

- Harald

 

[Brandon J.]

Thanks for the reminder Harhau, I know the power board can get real hot, having just finished replacing 11 caps, 10-15 resistors and 3 transistors on my 1010 I got off ebay . I posted this because I didn't want to have to do that again. I haven't decided what I'm going to do for speakers for sure yet, but If I do end up with the the MMG's I'll be very careful not to over work the 1010.

 

[Jupiter1610]

110 WPC should be plenty of power, the small maggies are not nearly as inefficient the large. I have heard a pair MG12 (the slightly larger, big brother to the MMGs), with a 38 WPC Rega Brio integrated amp, and they sang nicely.
It is the large maggies such as the 1.6, 3.6, and 20 that are really inefficient. I would love to hear a pair of small maggies with a nice, big, vintage SS amp.