When I bought my LRS direct from Magnepan, Magnepan told me that for my small room ( 12x11), the LRS would actually sound better...but that in my slightly larger room that the .7 would be better..
Maggie LRS vs .7
I just did some searching here but surprisingly didn't find much on this topic. Maybe I'm not asking the right way? Anybody have direct experience comparing these two? I ask because there is a local used pair of .7 that I am watching. I currently have the LRS being driven by Hegel h360 integrated.
Thanks
I actually preferred the .7's to the 1.7's even. There's something very coherent about them... doesn't go as deep, but the bass they produce is more detailed and textured, the midrange is really where the magic is with the .7's.
Compared to the LRS, no contest, the .7's are by far superior in my room as well as in my buddies room (two very different setups, mine being quite a bit larger and his being quite small and near field). |
I have extensive experience with Magnepan speakers. Although I no longer own a pair, I’ve heard or owned several pair, including the models mentioned (except the 2.7i). Personally, I prefer the .7 over the LRS+, the 1.7i over the .7, the 2.7i over the 1.7i, and the 3.7i over the 2.7i. The larger the speakers, the better the overall sound. In order to get the absolute best out of any of the Magnegan models, it is absolutely critical that a particular model be place in an appropriately sized room. Just that simple. If I had had a larger room, I would have most certainly had opted for the magnificent 20.7. |
I had the .7’s for 2 years… At 1st loved them, then I noticed I missed the attack and slam of a regular speaker. I tried it all, added 2 REL subs, Airborne Magna Risers, various jumpers, found I was only listening to what sounded good on the Maggi’s. Took a while to get them sold. Check out US Audio Mart and here on Audiogone, Lots of sets for sale that I’m sure from users who’ve felt the same way. I’ve been told that anything above the 1.7’s is the way to go with Maggi’s, but at that price point you’ll have so many other great options. Just trying to save you the hassle of trying to unload them at some point in the future. |
I have extensive experience with Magnepans dating all the way back to 1976. Yes, they are incredible and incredibly sensitive to their room. If you have a Maggie-friendly room there's nothing that can touch them even remotely close to the price. The best Maggie setup I ever had was a pair of MMGs (predecessor to the LRS) run in a perfect Maggie room off of a circa 1980 NAD 7125 receiver. That system wouldn't play headbanger loud, but at normal listening levels it was superbly balanced, threw a huge soundstage, and was just fun to listen to. If your room isn't so friendly, nothing you can do will make them work. If you can't get at least 3 feet on each side and 2 feet to the back wall (those are minimums, not optimums), then forget about Magnepans. I have my current .7s for sale, simply because I lack a suitable room. That said, If you simply want 'more' Magnepan, then the .7s will provide that, and the 1.7s even more. You don't mention subwoofers, but I would also consider the REL t/7 or t/9, the SVS Micro 3000, and KEF KC92. Small fast, tight subs that blend well with Maggies. Finally, I would put them on risers, at least 6" to 9" to clean up any thickness in the lower vocal range and to raise up the soundstage. |
Happy LRS owner. A couple of thoughts for you. - In order to get LRS to have magic. High pass the input to the amp feeding them and integrate with a sealed sub.I use a 50 HZ high pass filter before my main amp and a Rythmic 15 in sealed sub set at 50 Hz. Little maggies have a difficult time dealing with low frequency input. I think this applies to the .7s as well. My sound is full range in a larger than you would expect room for LRS. Mine are 4 ft from the front wall and 3 feet from the sides. - Have a nice set of dynamic speakers to swap into your set up. I have a set of old ProAc monitors that provide some variety in my system presentation. |
Have experience (still own) both LRS and .7 with (still own both) H390 and 590. I think the .7s had all the great sound of the LRS and more. Still fast, just a larger sound. Both were great choices. I’d be interested in trying 1.7s, but have gone the opposite direction (decware with Harbeth SHL5), and need to sell some stuff before I buy anything else. |
Hello pkatsuleasz! Grab those Maggie .7s! Put the modified crossovers from GRS labs in and you'll be delighted. I you don't care about cosmetics, you can cut the fabric on the backside over the factory crossovers - cheap parts. Worried about placement? Hang a rug or tapestry behind them and quit worrying. I have both the LRS and the LRS+, both modified (yes, the LRS+ is plus indeed), both running with subwoofers. (I prefer them to the sound of the Linkwitz 521-4 which is the best cone sopeaker system I've heard. I built it from the Madisound kits.) The biggest Plus is that the sound from the maggies is coming from a larger radiating surface - it's bigger and provides all the detail on the recording. Happy listening. |
If you have a small room, then a Magnepan Mini maybe better than the LRS+. The Mini has better detail and a better top end to my ears. I bought a used Mini for $1k so it was comparable to the new LRS+ I had. I went from a larger room to a smaller and changed the LRS+ to the Mini. I am currently listening to the Mini with the CODA #16 amp and the Schitt Yggi+ OG DAC. I have never heard a Maggie sound as good as this. I am also using 10AWG speaker wire from Blue Jean Cable. I wrote elsewhere that the cheaper 10AWG wire was as good as my 20x more costly Audience FrontRow on the Maggies (not with other speakers) |
Thank you all for the thoughtful feedback. I’m in a large basement room app 15ft x 40ft x 7ft high. So, lots of room to fill but not very high. I have a REL t/9x sub and would like to add another in the near future. Have the LRS set up app. 4ft from the front wall and 3ft from the sides. First reflection points covered except for front wall. Thanks again |
I found my Maggies are not bad when it comes to placement. Yes, you need some space from the front wall but you can keep the speaker close to the side walls since the first reflections are not as bad as cone speakers. My understanding is that they are also OK with shorter ceilings, though I could not test that. My Mini sounds better (smother, more detailed, and not as bright) compared to the LRS+. Magnepan says that the Mini is a shrunken 3.7. I sold my Sanders Magtech amp to TMRAudio and bought the Schitt Wotan amp to drive the Mini. The Sanders is a great amp for Maggies. I needed an amp that I could put on STANDBY manually not automatically like the Magtech. I am using a CODA #16 amp at the moment while I wait for the Wotan. The Mini really scales with quality amplification and DAC. This is the best I have heard the LRS+ or the MIni. BTW - I am planning on getting an Open Baffle later this year. I posted some info on the Open Baffle thread. |
Same experience here. The .7s are the best value in the Magnepan lineup, arguably the best speaker they make IMO.
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I had both. Started with the LRS and then moved to the .7s. I thought they were similar but .7s go a bit lower. I had a bigger space they were in so the .7s were more appropriate. Ultimately, I went open baffle to get the transparency of the Maggies plus dynamics that the Maggies lacked. As to the OP, I think the decision to upgrade depends a lot on the size of your listening space. |
I have the LRS+ (AGD Tempo amp, KEF KC92 sub, MagnaRiser stands) in a 25 x 25 x 8 room and it is simply superb. Definitely use very heavy gauge speaker wires. I have large diffusers 4 feet behind each speaker. Side reflections are not an issue with Maggie’s. I recently ordered a pair of Orchard Audio LPS mono-blocks (500>4ohms) to see what if anything they bring to the party. This sub integrates beautifully with the Maggie’s. All FYI, hope it helps. |