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Magneplan in Sweden?

 

Drazen
Posted on   
Well, after reading the reviews and Hawk's recommendations about the MMG's I thought that i had to listen to them before buying the B&W DM601 S3. I live in southern Sweden, is there anywhere I can get them around here?
Getting them shipped from USA or GB doesn't seem like a good idea.
My main goal is to get the singer and instruments as "real" as possible, clear and life-like. The MMG's seem to be made for my needs.
If you have a comment about my speaker choice or where I can get the MMG's please tell me.
BTW. Will be using C320bee/T532, seems to be a good combination with b&w/magnepan.
 

Drazen
Posted on   
Gah, confusing names. It's supposed to be Magnepan or Magneplanars. Damn :)
 

John A.
Posted on   
Drazen,

The six Magnepan dealers in Sweden are listed here:-
http://www.audionord.se/html/retailers.html

That is from a previous post:-

https://www.ecoustics.com/electronics/forum/home-audio/4123.html

I can recommend The Rock for all HT:-

http://www.therock.se

They have informed and intelligent staff, and high-end stuff, mostly right out of my price range. They recommend home auditioning, the best policy. Given a lot of money and my existing prejudices, I would get the TV (?) and speakers there (KEF plus REL sub) and then pop round to HiFi Klubben for an NAD receiver and DVD player. I suspect The Rock would like to carry NAD, but Hifi Klubben has the franchise, and The Rock is a smaller outfit on their turf.

I wrote you a post recommending you try Gale for sheer value from HFK. I think I can find it, and will come back if you are still thinking of that dealer.
 

John A.
Posted on   
It looks like the nearest Magnepan dealer is in Fredriksberg, I don't know what that does to the price.
 

Drazen
Posted on   
Thanks for the quick and excellent answer!
It's a shame that I have to skip Magnepan because of the lack of local dealers.
Will probably check out The Rock.
I can afford B&W so Gale isn't that interesting.
Looking for some used stuff at www.hifimagasinet.com , do you know any other sites?
 

John A.
Posted on   
Local dealer
http://www.ktradio.dk/
My comment about price was because it is central Copenhagen. From posts here, people seem buy and audition audio across the US-Canadian border with no problem.
 

Drazen
Posted on   
I can't find Magnepan anywhere on the www.ktradio.dk site.
I thought that if I buy everything at Hifiklubben for like 13 000 kr i might get a discount, can I count on that and in that case, how much approximately?
 

John A.
Posted on   
Well, KT Radio is listed as a Magnepan dealer by the Scandinavian Distributor mentioned above. From the recommendation of Hawk and others, and, if KT confirm by phone, it could be worth a trip over the bridge. I would be interested to know how Magnepan prices compare with N America. Denmark seems to have a high density of serious audiophiles, and makes some great stuff, including components of things assembled elsewhere (including the drivers in REL subs, I think).

Both B&W and NAD discourage deals, and there is not so much retail competition where you live. But you could try. Keep knowledge of the forthcoming NAD T7x3 range as the ace in your hand. If you are close enough, I once had some good interactions with The Rock, particularly a guy called Markus, I am sure he will remember. They were very professional, no pressure, good advice, home demos. It is a scruffy semi-basement but full of very impressive gear (even Tag Maclaren), and some of their part-ex and ex-demo stuff is worth considering. They currently list Thule, Vincent, and US-import Pioneer Elites. Finding a good dealer is half the battle.
 

John A.
Posted on   
Drazen,

13 kkr is not a high ceiling for a complete system. I have found the file I made about Gale, it is the next paragraph. I write because I am interested myself to know if they are any good. I have the 3080 sub and it is magical.

I would be the last person to deflect you from B&W, but Gale seem like extraordinary value if you look at their specification and price. The 3040 three-way floor-stander could make an excellent pair of main speakers, and in fact four of those would give you near full-range speakers all round, very desirable if you have the space, and for approx $500 (plus centre plus sub; I am hazy on exchange rates). They are "4-8 Ohm" and should go well with an NAD receiver. The question is how do they really sound. I would certainly want to try that.

The T532 will set you back approx $300, well worth it. If, however, you want to get "real" DVD-A the Cambridge Audio DV-57 player would be worth considering, and is cheaper.

You then have $500 left for the amp/receiver. Even if your main requirement is music, you would be most unlikely to regret getting the NAD T742 AV receiver. I too took some time to be convinced I need all those channels, but I am, now, and inside any NAD AV receiver you also have a top-quality integrated stereo amp, complete with both pre-amp output and input for all 5.1 channels. However, you would have to try the T742 with that speaker combination, NAD say at a least 8 Ohms. If you could reach to the T752 ($250 more) then you would not have to worry about that, and it has some extra features and more power.

You still don't have a centre speaker (essential) or a sub (with the 3040 mains you may not need one). You could moderate my ambitious idea about 3040s for surrounds, and recoup the cost that way. But if you get into serious music on DTS and DVD-Audio, speakers "All large" is good.

I am translating $1 = 10 kr but that is a ball park estimate. I try never to look up exchange rates, it causes pain.

Those are the sorts of ideas I would take along to HFK. They are OK there, but will bull***t just a bit, especially if you get them on the subject of cables.

I am a stereo purist myself, but I do think it makes no sense to restrict yourself today to CDs; 5.1 channel DVD-Audio (the 532 will do the job brilliantly in DTS mode) is coming and is really something.
 

Drazen
Posted on   
John A.

Only the bridge is 500< kr, then I have to find the place and probably waste alot of time, won't go for the magnepans for now but most likely sometime in the future.

Do B&W really discourage deals? I think I've read somewhere that they indeed encourage deals. Anyway it's worth a try. If they don't give me a good deal at Hifiklubben I will definitely look for other options, The Rock is first on the list.

First of all I don't have room or interest for a home theater and Gale can probably play louder for the same price as B&W but sound quality is in first hand, where B&W wins.

Do you have any idea if the Monitor Audio b2 or Acoustic Energy Evo One goes well with the NAD stuff? Those are an option if they don't give me a good deal att HFK. Another option is Harman Kardon 670 amp. with the 21/25 DVD, but then I have no idea which speakers goes well with that.

Another thing I've been thinking about are the stands for the speakers, I have to pay 1500kr only for them. Should i consider adding that money to get some floorstanders instead? The B&W 602.5 has got worse reviews than 601, strange but true.

Thank you again for your help, the Gale/NAD receiver idea was great but I prefer stereo for now.
 

John A.
Posted on   
Drazen,

A comparable range to the B&W 600 series is the KEF Coda, I think, and you can get those from The Rock. I personally prefer KEF; KEF and B&W have been rivals for years and address the same sort of market. In either case I personally would go for floor-standing speakers. If not, small speakers should always go on stands, it really makes a difference to have the tweeter at ear level and they radiate the sound better with free air around.
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