John
Not a review (yet) but a heads up. One of the more interesting reader-suggested amplifiers for the Magnepan MMG is a 10 year old, no-frills integrated from little-known Portal Audio.
The Panache is a dual mono Class A/B design that seemingly inherited its looks from a Russian army tank. A bespoke 425VA toroidal runs the centre of the Panache’s engine room whilst the output stage is built around eight bipolar transistors per 100 watt channel (into 8 ohms). MMG fans note: the Panache serves up 200wpc into 4 ohms.
The Panache comes with no remote control but it does sport a headphone output. The jack is buffered from the main speaker output path for the super low output impedance needed by tougher cans.
“Oops – I forgot to tell you, I owned this amp for a while before I sold it in search of my nirvana. A friend brought over his B&W stand mounts to my house. We ROCKED the house down here – sent my Poodles running for cover! My shirt was bouncing off my skin with the bass from this thing!”, is how reader Don C. retells his experience with the Panache. Nice one, Don.
Price? US$1795 direct from the manufacturer. US residents can take advantage of a 60 day home trial.
Further information: Portal Audio
