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Puzzled about reasons why there seems to be no shortage of used planner speakers

All the over the top reviews of the Magnepan LRS has awakened the old puzzlement of how good are my DIY speakers and is it worth it to make a change?

I am very satisfied with my current system as far as my analog sources go.  I have a Denon direct drive turntable in a custom plinth, a Jelco tone arm  and a Transfiguration Temper Supreme cartridge. The phono pre is the octal version of the Hagerman Coronet with Lundahl step up transformers. I'm using a Toshiba HD DVD player for playing CD's. I'm using a Rotel RSP-1098 in analogue bypass for all sources. My amp is a VTL 50/50 tube amp.

My speakers are transmission line and utilizing parts from North Creek including hand wound coils and Harmony capacitors. Any one who has heard them has been impressed with them and with one being brought to tears of joy having never heard his favorite song played through a system such as mine.

That leaves me with a dilemma. If I go with the LRS, I will have to sell the VTL amp to get a used amp that can power the LRS. 

What is troubling me is seeing so many used planar speakers for sale on Ebay and Audiogon. Is that because they grow tired of them, or feel a need to try something new? Or are they upgrading to another planar speaker, or all of these reasons?
 
I'd like to hear from those that sold or are selling their planar speakers. 

I've only ever heard one planar speaker in my life and that was for about 5 minutes when I was taking my daughter through one of Seattle's high end stores to let her hear the differences between between differing levels of quality speakers as she was planning to get a her own system in the near future.  I've never heard a Maggie.

I don't want to get in the position of having sold my VTL to make this change and winding up with probably an amplifier that really doesn't come up to the same level quality and would most likely be a SS amp.

My goal here is to try get the best information I can from those that felt the need make similar decisions. I am retired now and living on a fixed income in a town in New Mexico (Las Cruses) that has no real Hi-end stores.

Any offers from anyone locally to let me hear their system would be most appreciated.  
rogue_angel

Showing 3 responses by bdp24

bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,466 posts
 

@lwrobertson, terrific post! The Tympani T-I’s were also my first planars, but mine were the original 1972 version, no A, B, C, or D. I also moved on to the Fulton Model J, but soon missed what a big planar does that NO box speaker I have heard can, regardless of size or price.

I later got into the original Quad (both single, and stacked pairs), and recently back into Tympani’s, with the T-IVa’s I now own. I once heard some big Sound Labs (driven by big Atma-Sphere amps) at a hi-fi show in SoCal, but something was seriously wrong---there was some what sounded like amp clipping going on. I have also heard the Sanders, which I thought were excellent. And now Roger Modjeski (Music Reference) is making an ESL, and offering it with a direct-drive tube amp. I’m planning on hearing it on my next trip down to California.

With the new Magnepan LRS being available for $650, there is no reason for an audiophilic music lover to resign him or herself to a box loudspeaker!

bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,466 posts
 
Hey Don, nice to see you here at Audiogon! (Don and I are familiar names to each other from the Rythmik AVS Forum. We both use Rythmik subs with our Maggies)---Eric.
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,466 posts
 

Not all planars delaminate, in fact most don't. Delaminate means the glue with which the conductive wire is secured to the Mylar that is the driver dries up and looses it's grip, the wire therefore separating from the Mylar (almost always at the end loops of the wire), causing buzzing. The only planar drivers constructed that way (conductive wire glued onto Mylar) are the magnetic-planar drivers in Magnepans (not all their drivers are m-p). No ESL's are, nor ribbons, nor the Eminent Technology magnetic-planar LFT drivers.

Magnepan cured this problem years ago by switching brands of glue; it hasn't been a problem with new models since. Older Magnepans suffering delamination can be repaired by cleaning off the old glue and regluing the wire onto the Mylar. Magnepan will do it for you, or you can do it yourself without much trouble. Removing the staples which secure the grill cloth to the speaker frame is the hardest part!

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