Planar speaker characteristics


I’m thinkIng of the possible advantages of going planar.  Here’s my situation:
I currently have Triangle Stratos Volante 260 speakers, and I love their sound. The issue with these are that they have poly switches in the crossovers that limit the volume they can achieve.  Rectification of this issue is a long story, I’ll spare everyone the details. Before I acquired these speakers, I briefly owned a pair of Magnepan MMG’s, and was quite impressed with them. Unfortunately, also at the time I didn’t have the amplifier power to drive them to potential, and after all, they are the smallest end of the Magnepan line.  After acquiring the Triangles, I also got a pair of Parasound JC 1’s.  As of right now, I really do love the sound of my system. But the memory of those Magnepan’s kind of haunts me, now that I have the power to drive a pair of the larger models. I’m thinking in the 3 something range. Can someone with Magnepan experience tell me what characteristics they love about their Maggie’s, and also what they don’t. What I love about the Triangles:  midrange detail and musicality, not clinical, but not too warm. The “jump factor” as a reviewer put it in a review of the Signature Deltas.  What I don’t like are the aforementioned volume issues, and that they are fairly lean in bass extension. High quality bass, but not as deep as I’d like. However, and this is an important however, the addition of a subwoofer has effectively solved that issue. What makes The Magnepan sound appealing, and also not?  Not interested in electrostats. Also, please try to stick to the question.  Not really looking for commentary on the Parasound’s. I love them, even as my greener sensibilities and my electric bill don’t. 
Much thanks in advance,

Dave
dprincipato

Showing 3 responses by mijostyn

Jaytor, wonderful that you built your own speakers. It is certainly the way to get much more for the money. Frequently you can do things better than a commercial entity because the labor is free.  
dpincipato, The 3.7i has a oneness or wholeness to it's sound that hides the fact that it has a crossover. It is close to sounding like a one way loudspeaker. The transient response is right up there with electrostatics the sound is crisp. Snare drums snap like they should. Then there is the imaging. Because they are dipoles and line sources down to about 300 Hz they do not radiate sound to the sides, up or down limiting room interaction. Thus, you get more of a holographic image which is very endearing. Add a subwoofer system like the one I have on my system page and you will be very close to SOTA. IMHO linear array dipoles produce the most realistic sound. Magnepan has evolved it's products beautifully. I had Tympanies 35 years ago and they had the magic but unfortunately colored bass. They have solved that problem with their current lineup. The 3.7i is handily the best value in a panel speaker. Next in line would be the Sound Labs 545 which I believe is twice the cost. 
dprincipato, get a pair of 3.7I's and you will be in heaven for sure. I have set 2 pair up and I own JC 1's. You won't get the lowest bass but everything else will be first class. It is not the best speaker for playing over 100dB. You risk blowing a tweeter. Magnepan has a great tweeter replacement program. They send you a new tweeter and when they get the blown one back they credit you. They rebuild the blown one and repackage it. The frame and magnets are by far the most expensive part.
In spite of being a little fragile it remains one of the very finest tweeters on the market. Because of the controlled dispersion of a dipole panel imaging is more accurate and the sound attains a reality that can not be matched by enclosed dynamic drivers. 
If you have to have the lowest bass then put subs under them down the line. In the case of the 3.7i's subwoofers do not clean them up much and they do not add headroom because the speaker is limited by the tweeter.