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Thinking of Magnepan ... finally!

Until recently, most of my amps have been tube-based with the exception of a few great SS integrateds thrown into the mix for fun. That's probably the main reason I have stayed away from Magnepans (or other speakers of its ilk) thus far. Now that I have an Aavik U-280 integrated amp that can do 300 watts @ 8 ohms and doubles to 600 @ 4, I would love to scratch that itch finally. Keep in mind that I do not intend to get rid of my other speakers (Joseph Audio Perspective2 Graphene, Harbeth SHL5+, Fritz Carrera BE) since I love them all for different reasons. The Magnepans will be rotated in the main listening room with Joseph Audio Perspectives. One thing I like about Maggies is that they are relatively lightweight so I can move them to the closet without breaking my back when not in rotation.

Since I've never owned Magnepans before, I have a ton of questions and doubts. So here we go ...

Bass (or the lack thereof) -- I've been told that the Magnepans are very light on bass and definitely require at least on subwoofer. Is this true in all cases? Anyone using them without subs and happy with the performance? TBH, I really would prefer that I don't use subs but not set in stone for sure.

Breathing Room -- my room is 20' x 15' with 12 foot ceilings. The speakers will be placed along the short wall (15'). I can pull them out by about 4.5 feet from the front wall and 3 feet from the side walls. Seating distance will be approximately 8 - 9 feet. Is this good enough or do you think more distance, especially from the front wall, is required to truly enjoy the speakers?

Mods -- I've also heard that the stock components (crossovers, fuses, etc.) and stands are suboptimal. Is this true? If so, what are the minimum requirements to bring the speaker to a higher standard and at what cost? 

Value -- For someone who is just starting out with Maggies, which model is a good entry point? I know that LRS+ is a good value, but my other speakers are very very good, so I want to do justice to the Maggies as well. But at the same time I don't want to spend more than I need to. Where do you think the sweet spot lies, i.e. which model(s)? I will be looking for used only since I've already spent way too much on other speakers.

Imaging -- I've also been told that imaging on Maggies is not that great. I have never heard Maggies before so I have no idea if this assertion is true or not. Your thoughts?

And finally, I want to hear from folks who love their Maggies. What is that you love most about the speakers? What qualities do they bring to the table that no other speaker does? Are there magnetic planar speakers from other brands that I should also be considering? Keep in mind they have to be readily available in the used market. So please don't suggest something that doesn't meet this requirement.

However, to bring some balance to the feedback, I would also love to hear from those who tried Magnepans and moved on to something else. Why? What was it that you didn't like about them? What did you move on to?

Thanks in advance and a sincere request: Please keep it civil ... no need for haters of Magnepan to use this as an opportunity to diss the brand.

128x128arafiq
terry9
2,333 posts
 

I first heard Magepan in 1973, the Tympani 1A's. I was hooked and blew 70% of the budget on them. Since then I have had SMG's,  IIIA's, and now I use 6 x MMGW plus two DWM's and a Quad 2905 (centre) in the HT. Also I use two DWM's to complement my four modern Quad ESL's in the analogue room, all Magnepan powered by Bryston.

You may infer that I like planars. IMO Magnepan are the most cost effective, and compete with anything - they just sound like MUSIC. Resolving, not fatiguing. 

For heaven's sake don't spend money on cabling. Spend it on a better Magnepan. I've tried a lot in the last 50 years, but Quad ESL's for analogue and Magnepan for digital can't be beat. IMO.

As to bass, Magnepan sells small-fish bass panels to augment the bass, which is usable down to 35Hz in my room. Yes, I miss a two or three notes on every 20th record, but the rest is sublime. I would try used Magnepan 20.7's, if you can find them - your room is big enough to profit.

Good luck!

terry9
2,333 posts
 

You could upgrade the crossovers, but that's just icing on the cake. IMO.

scabarth's avatar
scabarth
5 posts
 

I own the 3.6 , 1.7 Mgmc1 and the LRS+ . They are all very similar but the LRS+ with the magnariser stands are an amazing value and the one that I recommend for you in that size room. 

jjss49's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
jjss49
6,612 posts
 

$.02 maggies a virtually always presented at shows with tube gear powering them

this is incorrect (at least for the last 15-20 years)

maybe maggies have tube amps driving them in some room demo’s, but those would not be in the proper room that wendell demos his maggies as the principal exhibitor

maggie/wendell used to use bryston amps, then more recently switched to pass labs... neither are tube amps

in most recent shows where wendell is showing the little ’secret weapon’ dipole bass thingies....  he is using a schiit vidar to prove his point with a very cost effective amp... but once again, solid state

boomerbillone
355 posts
 

Hello arafiq!  I have owned 3 sets of Maggies and love them dearly. Properly set up, Maggies have bass, but a subwoofer is always a good idea. Cross it over around 80 Hz.  If you think of your walls as mirrorr, you will get the idea: angle the maggies toward the listener, the space between them 8 feet apart in your room.  Try to angle the speakers 30 - 45 degrees to the back wall and about 2 - 3 feet out.  The idea is to bounce the back wave off the back wall and onto the side wall, where it bounces again, lengthening the path of the back wave before it gets to the listener. Also the inevitable cancellation that wil occur around the sides of the speaker is upset by the differing distance from the speaker edges to the back wall, and minimized (due to the angleing of the speaker to the back wal).  I recommend the 1.7i as your first pair.  As a test, I pulled the plug on the subwoofer, and on most music (not pipe organs) there was very little loss of bass, and it was tighter. Use heavy gauge speaker cables as the Maggies love current. Happy Listening!

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