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Maggie LRS so ridiculously good

I ordered a set of the LRS just to be able to say I have lived with Maggies at least once.  I've had a lot of speakers and some big dog expensive ones like Kef Blade and Revel Salon 2 to name a couple.  These 650 dollar LRS bring as much enjoyment as anything I've ever heard in so many ways.  They don't love hard driving music for sure but for quiet listening or mellow type music they will give you transcendent moments.  I swear they are breaking in or something and becoming a little more dynamic than when brand new.  These have to be one of the greatest hifi bargains of all time.  My 30 watt Pass 30.8 drives them well.  I had 3.6 maggies many years ago and I snubbed them, thought they were so compressed sounding but maybe I was wrong or not using the right amp.  These are just wow and so impressive what you can get for the money.  I have a feeling a killer amp is a big part of the equation with these but even with a Naim Uniti Atom in a smaller space these are still awesome.  This has to be the ultimate apartment speaker for someone who can't turn it up very loud and likes to listen late and night, you can really enjoy these at very low levels.  Anyway I just wanted to put my enthusiasm on public record, if you are thinking of pulling the trigger do it and also give them some time don't write them off to quickly.  I wish I had a separate space so I could always have a set of maggies ready to listen to when the mood and music was just right.  
128x128ejlif

Showing 2 responses by mijostyn

mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,226 posts
 
ejlif, you are only going to get so far with bigger amps and subwoofers on Maggies. You should try the 3.7i's. I think they are the sweet spot in their range but,  if it is loud rock and roll you want to listen to you should probably look elsewhere. If you like the dipole planar sound then you need to get a pair of Sound Labs ESLs. With subwoofers they are thunderous. Once you have a pair you will be done for the duration. Very few on the used market.

Tweak1, those drivers belong in a table radio.
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,226 posts
 
They are not the most accurate loudspeakers but the do beat out most dynamic enclosure speakers. The LRS is a good sounding speaker. It is a bit limited in range and volume. The 3.7i will go louder and if it is jazz, country and classical you listen to they are probably enough. They get a little louder with subwoofers and their distortion lowers but not as much as a full range ESL where the addition of subwoofer produces extraordinary results. I like the concept of Emerald Physics speaker. Limiting dispersion is a very important concept as if done right it will decrease room interaction but if you limit it too much you get a very selfish system like the Acoustat 2+2's I once owned or the Sanders Model 10. But, that one listener gets an incredible experience. 
If Magnepan had made the 20.7 7 feet 10 inches tall they would have had the best speaker they have ever made. That was the intension but the marketing department cut it short. Very sad about that.
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