Best vintage amp?

[DanW]

Howdy All!

I have owned several BC 7700s over the years, and loved the amps. They have powered a pair of magnepan first generation speakers.

I’ve been eyeing a BM 4400. How would you rate its amp, say over a 7700?

 

I’ve also wondered about the circuitry in the 4400, it’s filters and passes, ambio sound, etc.

does anyone have experience with those options with high end speakers

[Mark-sf]

If by first generation, you mean MG-1’s then they are 4-ohm speakers and you will find significantly better dynamics from the 4400 as it has a more powerful and capable amp section – 75w vs 30w in 7700. I never had the MG-1 but dit have the MG-2 and they definitely needed the power for good bass response.

[DanW]

Hey Mark

 

Thanks for answering. Yes I own MG ones.

The 7700 series have been giving good sound for 4 decades.

Some of the old timers on this site used to say many moons ago the amps in that series were among the best. That, for instance, it changed in the eight and 9000s.

We all know that more power doesn’t mean necessarily mean better quality, even among the B&O amps.

Is it just the increased power that your suggestion is based on? Do you know anything about the circuitry? The pass, the filters etc.?

By the way, I was just looking at a pair of MG twos are up for sale.  What did you power yours with?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mark-sf]

I can’t comfortably comment on how sonically different they were even though I worked for a dealer while both were in production. Obviously, the 4400 was their top of the line at its time a was replaced by the 5000 series during the 7700’s time. Both had similar discrete Class AB amps. If you want to read about the design I can suggest no better resource than it Owners Manual: https://beomanuals.com/manuals/Beomaster/Beomaster%204400/Bang-Olufsen-Beomaster_4400-Owners-Manual.pdf.  While you obviously don’t push your Maggies that hard, sometimes you don’t know what you are missing till you hear them with a more authoritative amp. In my case I was using Sony’s venerable TAN-5550 VFET amp which was a great match as it was conservatively rated and I beefed up its power supply.

[DanW]

Isn’t that the question that nags at every one on a limited budget who appreciates their audio system? Do they have the right setup?

Thank you for the continuing answer.

A long time ago my best bud (rip) also was an employee of a high end dealer and we matched up the 7700 and Maggie‘s after listening to a half dozen medium priced receivers.

I’ve listened to another three or four amps in the years since, and feel satisfied with what I bought and what I can spend, although I’ve often wondered what tubes would sound like, as I prefer a warm sound versus an overly crisp sound.

The specs can only go so far, but I will review them again.

Again, my thanks

Dan

 

Ps I’ve long dreamed of buying a matching pair of Maggies and perhaps parallel or bi-amp them to see what it does to that envelope I wrap myself in, as used Timpani’s are rare in my neighborhood. Don’t know if it work, just a bucket wish.

 

[Mark-sf]

Doubling up speakers that were not designed to be is tricky as it can create interference effects which will result in uneven response and dispersion. If I were to attempt it I would place them so that each sides’ tweeters are in the center as close to each other as possible (pairing opposing channels). This will result in a narrower listening window but will double your dynamics.

[DanW]

Hey Mark

i’ve been thinking about your latest response. I’m wondering where the tweeters are in the Mg ones, but I haven’t looked. I know it’s a different gauge wire but I don’t know how you could put them close together? I’ll look. Your thoughts got me thinking about other arrangements of the four speakers.

Again, my thanks

[Mark-sf]

The tweeter section is on one side of the woofer section, so you ca place a stereo pair with them on the inside or outside as they are mirrored. If doubling up I would have each channel in a WTTW configuration and angled at the listener as you’d want to stay on axis.

[Author]

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