Magnepan 1.6

hi nealhood:

did you have any problem with the bass response, both in terms of quality and quantity ? what about the continuity between cone and planar drivers ?

i think most hybrids ultimately are not satisfying because they sound like two different speakers.

i own magnepan 1.6s . currently, i am looking for another speaker. i am looking for less upper midrange treble emphasis and more bass. i will not buy a cone. i am looking for another panel speaker.

the vandersteen 2--whatever version is current is worth listening to, as well as the eminent technology lft 8. the magnepan is probably more coherent than the et, but it is worth listening to the et. i think a pair of used quad 63s, at around $1600-1800 is definitely a better choice. i owned the uads for several years until i had repair problems,at which time i bought the magnepans, about 1 year + ago.

hi doug:

my comments about the tweeter came from bruce thigpen himself. if you lived near me, i would propose an experiment comparing the 8a and the 8b. i would bet that i would say the 8a is softer in the treble than the 8b .

another problem with the et 8, a or b is the poor integration between the woofer and the planar elements. i have heard the speaker many times. it sounds like two speakers.

and one more thing, regarding the 1.6s, a solid state amp will make the tweeter problem worse. a euphonic tube amp, like the mv 125 solves the problem.

i guess we will have to agree to disagree.

hi doug:

i was told by the designer that the original lft 8 was softer sounding. that is, the treble was less prominent. did you compare the two ?

the problem with magnepan's is definitely not the amplifier used to drive it. the speaker has problems regardless of what amplifier you use. its bass response is lacking and it has too much treble energy. if you use a powerful amplifier, you might find the presentation fatiguing.

speaker design is the issue not power. this is true of other speakers as well.

i have heard my magnepan's driven with mike sanders 300 watt solid state amp. it did not solve the magnepan's problem. it exacerbated them. the only amp that has tamed magnepans that i am aware of is the conrad johnson mv 125.