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Review: Magnepan MG-12qr Speaker

Category: Speakers

I listen to everything from Beethoven to John Coltrane to Tom Waits and all sorts in between. And when I heard these speakers a little over two years ago I was blown away. The soundstage and seperation I heard on just three recordings made me pick these speakers over half a dozen others I listened to.

I was amazed at how Holst's Jupiter from the Planets came to life and held my interest throughout the entire movement. I was further blown away by the seperation on various cuts off of Los Lobos's KIKO and the clincher was how Billie Holiday's voice meshed with the orchestrations on her Decca Recordings. I also realized that with these speakers and my integrated amplifier that my 17 year old cd player could wait to be replaced, it was like I was listening to a brand new cd player.

I found no weakness in these speakers, some people complain of lack of bass but I prefer a subdued baseline, although Charlie Hadens lines are still right there on Beyond the Missouri Sky with Pat Metheny.

I love just sitting down and listening to various selections for an hour or so when done with the days work and these speakers have never dissappointed me. If I had the space and the budget I would definetly see about obtaining 3.6's but for the money these speakers are hard to beat.

Associated gear
musical fidelity a3 integrated amplifier
denon dcd 1500

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bianchi27
4 responses Add your response
plato
1,543 posts
 
The 12QRs let the music flow. By comparison, similarly priced speakers tend to sound crude, almost "mechanical". I replaced a set of B&W CDM 9NT speakers with the MG12s plus a subwoofer, and though the B&Ws were very good speakers in their own right, I have no regrets.

I have other highly regarded speakers at 6 times the price of the MG12s that sound as musical, and provide more detail and better bass. With the more expensive system I find myself amazed at all the detail as I try to take it all in. With the Maggies I just listen and let the music take me in. I could (and do) live happily with both systems, though lately I've begun to wonder whether my complicated high-priced rig is worth the added expense and effort. My point is that the little Maggies are good enough to make one wonder about such things...
alcides
44 posts
 
Plato,
Funny you should mention that. I have 12QR's running in my living room off of a Linn Classik as a secondary system, this little rig sounds so good, I've started to neglect my main ( much more expensive) system in it's dedicated room.
ejvl612-2f30
1 posts
 
Something I would like to know about the 1.2's please...My Audio Refinement Integrated puts out 50 watts at 8 ohms...is this enough to drive them? I have heard them and they are amazing.
cuehead
7 posts
 
I am not specifically sure about the power requirements for the MG-12QR but I have owned several pairs of Maggies over a ten year period and they all benefited from more power than 60 watts. I would say that the comfortable minimum would be 100watts into 8ohms or 150-200 watts into 4 ohms. A lot of amps put out a good "watt" number but the real issue is current. Maggies like to be controlled more than persuaded. A less refined high powered amp like an old adcom is a better choice for Maggies than I lower wattage amp with more refinement. Feed them power first, then sweeten the sound with tweeks, cables and system balancing. Otherwise you are wasting your time. Just my two cents.
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