Thinking of Magnepan ... finally!

@ketchup  Sounds interesting.    Any chance of getting a photo so I understand your placement?
 

@tomrk I just added some pics to my system.

I setup the LRS+ this morning in my office, 12 x 11 x 9 with 4 additional feet in the closet where my desk is stuffed. The room is treated, and I think it is sonically in very good shape.

I learned over the weekend that my Benchmark LA4 preamp has an issue with the RCA outs and maybe the mono summed XLR outputs for a sub. I was blaming the KEF KC62 sub all this time for my sub issues, it was the RCA and mono summed on the LA4. The LA4 was sent back to Benchmark this morning for repairs.

I only have my modded PeachTree GAN1 available now with 'preamp' capability and I cannot use my KC62 sub with it (at least the way I want to do it). 

I have connected the LRS+ to the GAN1 and put them 3 feet out and 60 inches between the speakers. I am 84 inches away, so 70% space between the speakers and my distance from them. I sit with my back to the speakers and have 4 feet extra space in front of me.

My initial reaction. This thing kicks arse. Have 200-300 hours more to hear the full deal.

I decided to use the GAN1 as my RAAL CA-1a headphone amp. I got a 25-foot headphone adapter cable from RAAL on Sunday and that is amazing, so I now have headphones in 2 rooms with 1 system. That also means I need to buy a second preamp, a Benchmark LA4 or a Rotel Mitchi P5 for my office and Livingroom. Thus, the KC62 sub will soon be setup with the LRS+ and the 2nd preamp. A CODA #16 will be the amp for the LRS+.

BTW - If you only want to stream, the modded GAN1 at $1500 is a screaming deal for the LRS+. I have tuners and DACs to add into my office system so the GAN1 will not work there.

On second thought, I am going to wait on the LA4 coming back from repairs. I want to test out the modded GAN1 with the Yamaha NS5000 speaker I have coming in the next 2 weeks.

If the NS5000 sounds as good as the LRS+ on the GAN1, I should dump the 2nd preamp and just get a second GAN1.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bBabp2a7LM

@yyzsantabarbara How are the LRS+ doing after you've probably put few more hours on them? How would you compare them to more traditional/box speakers?

@arafiq Unfortunately, I have not been able to hear the LRS+ at its best. I think I need a sub and I cannot use a sub easily without my Benchmark LA4 preamp. I sent the preamp in for repairs, and it was found to be working fine. So, when the unit returns today, I will be interested to see if the sub will work.

I have been using the LRS+ with my modded Peachtree GAN1 and it sounds great. The sound is clear, large, and COHERENT. I think this coherence thing is the most important to me. I say this because my RAAL SR1a and CA1a phones are incredibly coherent and the best things I have ever heard, until today.

I got delivery of my Yamaha NS5000 speakers yesterday. The 3 drivers are made out of the same material, and I believe that aids in the coherency of the sound. Listening to the not even broken in NS5000 with my Peachtree GAN1 was mind-blowing. That was goosebump level sound.

The LRS+ has a similar quality above the low bass region to the NS5000. In my small room the speaker is the best I have had in this space. The others include, LS50, LS50 Meta, Audience 1+1, and Thiel CS3.7. The LRS+ is better than all of these. The LS50 Meta + KC62 sub is maybe equivalent. I preface this by saying in my small room.

In an hour or so, when my preamp returns, I will hook up the LRS+ with my CODA #16 and the KC62 sub. If you are not familiar with the #16, it is in my opinion one of the best amps at any price.

The LRS+ is my long-term keeper now, even before I hear it with the sub. It is that good. It lacks a bit of the dynamics of the LS50 Meta and the KC62 sub, but I have the LS50 Meta available to switch it around if needed. However, now that I got the NS5000 I have a feeling the LS50 Meta will not go back into rotation.

The NS5000 is substantially better than the LRS+ and maybe anything else I have heard except the KEF Blade. Though the driver on the LRS+ and the NS5000 are likely better than the Blades.

BTW - over 125 hours on the LRS+.

I was going to buy this one but got an incredible trade in offer for my Lumin X1 DAC. Bonus points for the NS5000 being the most attractive speaker I have seen. The photos do not do it justice. The LRS+ not so much.

Yamaha NS-5000 3-Way Bookshelf Speakers with Stands Customer Return (P — Safe and Sound HQ

I lucked out and managed to grab my Benchmark LA4 preamp before the CVS drugstore where it was dropped off closed. A total mess-up on UPS delivery.

I now have the CODA #16 | LRS+ | KC62 sub setup and the bottom-end is now present. It is a nice combo, and I am glad I bought back the KC62 after I just sold it. I got it just for the LRS+ thinking I would like the LRS+. A good move. I need to setup the sub better, but I have a winning combo now (a little too much bass at present).

BTW - my wife came into the office and said I have new speakers. The LRS+ has been there for 2 weeks. She said that it looks great though I am not that impressed by the looks. She also said it is a much better-looking speaker than the 2 penises I had before, the Thiel CS3.7.

arafiq OP

1,468 posts

05-20-2023 at 02:17pm

@yyzsantabarbara How are the LRS+ doing after you’ve probably put few more hours on them? How would you compare them to more traditional/box speakers?

Incredibly well. I’ve put a few hundred hours on them. My Forte 1’s and Heresy II’s have a thicker sound which is typically the case with box speakers but the LRS Plus produce a wall of intricate, 3 dimensional detail. I just got the new REL T Zero MkIII two days ago and it’s a stunning match! I’m working on a part 2 LRS Plus review which will have sound demos with and without the T zero. I also have DAC shootout coming out.

@arafiq I am now somewhere around 300-400 hours on the LRS+. I listen to it from 9AM to about 9PM, later headphones, I am busy with work so a lot of music these days.

I have noticed that the speakers have really opened up and sound very clean. It has more bass than expected. However, I finally got my KEF KC62 sub positioned properly with longer Benchmark RCA interconnects.  I crossed over at 50Hz on the sub. Wow, that made the system go up several notches. The KEF sub is very fast as is the LRS+.

I was using the PeachTree GAN400 amp with the LRS+ and Holo Serene preamp. It was OK for the longest time, and I was considering returning the GAN400 because I wanted great. However, adding the sub and maybe more hours on the LRS+ just blew those plans out of the water. The GAN400 is staying. It is a fast-sounding amp and I think mates well with the fast LRS+ and KC62 sub. A lot of toe-tapping listening.

I have a better speaker in the Yamaha NS5000 downstairs but listening to the LRS+ does not make me feel I am losing out. It is a different presentation from the NS5000. The LRS+ has a more wall-of-sound presentation in my small room and I like that. The NS5000 has a more traditional cone speaker presentation but those drivers are incredible.

The LRS+ sounds a lot like the RAAL SR1a phones with my VM-1a tube amp. The RAAL sounds a bit better but maybe moving up the Magenpan lineup evens things out.

I like the NS5000 setup a bit more than the RAAL setup.

I've gone to my local dealer in SoCal a couple times now to listen to the Magnepan 1.7i speakers. I've heard them with both the Hegel integrated amplifier as well as the Rogue Pharoah. While the sound is nice, I'm not sure I see what the hype is about. Even in a controlled setting with optimally placed speakers and listener, they didn't draw me in. Maybe I need an even more powerful amplifier to draw out their magic? I don't know. For now I'm sticking with my box speakers. 

@yyzsantabarbara Thanks for sharing your impressions of LRS+. Looks like you're really enjoying the speakers. I almost bought 1.7s from a local seller but we're building an outdoor kitchen so all my audio funds were diverted towards it :(

I heard so much about the LRS+ punching way above their price bracket, provided you supply ample power to them, and perhaps a pair of subs. Your impressions are in line with what I've been reading.

How do you compare the NS5000 to your Thiels btw?

I am back to listening to the LRS+ with the modded PeachTree GAN1, which is a heck of an amp. It would be perfect if I did not listen to FM over the airwaves. FM is a big part of my day, so I need to use an amp | preamp | tuner and so cannot just use the GAN1.

I returned the PeachTree GAN400 which is pretty good but not as amazing as the modded GAN1. The GAN1 has shown me that 200 watts is good enough for the LRS+ in my small room. I am thinking of getting a Benchmark AHB2 again to rotate the CODA #16 and the AHB2 with both speakers. The 100 watts on the AHB2 and almost 200 watts at 4 Ohm could be good enough.

The NS5000 is sounding great. I moved things around in the Livingroom/son’s playroom and I have a good placement now. Essentially nothing of consequence in-between the speakers. The sound of the NS5000 takes me away into the music, it is even better than the RAAL SR1a phones and VM-1a tube amp. I never thought would say that.

I think the Zylon drivers on the NS5000 are more advanced than the almost 15-year-old Thiel CS3.7 drivers. The soundstage on the Thiel CS3.7 may have been a bit bigger. Though the NS5000 is good at that too. Looking at the old fashioned NS5000 you would not think it sounds as good as it does, but Yamaha seems to know what they are doing. It is a very beautiful speaker. My wife was happy that I sold the 2 pen_s’s, which she called the CS3.7.

A shame I am not really able to listen too much. That will happen on Jan 1, 2024.

aamiransari

11 posts

06-17-2023 at 01:11pm 

I've gone to my local dealer in SoCal a couple times now to listen to the Magnepan 1.7i speakers. I've heard them with both the Hegel integrated amplifier as well as the Rogue Pharoah. While the sound is nice, I'm not sure I see what the hype is about. Even in a controlled setting with optimally placed speakers and listener, they didn't draw me in. Maybe I need an even more powerful amplifier to draw out their magic? I don't know. For now I'm sticking with my box speakers. 

Yea I got that impression with the 1.7i as well. They seemed sort of dull on the top end. Had 20k worth of amps running them too. 

I had the 1.7 and 1.7i with a Parasound HINT and they sounded amazing, plenty of top end, it makes me wonder if the resistors or connectors were inserted properly on the speakers you heard or maybe just a lack of synergy with the amps.

when a product/brand has sooo much market presence and success, such legions of owners across generations who love the performance, there are bound to be some that don’t get it

nature of the beast --- unanimity of opinion and preference is simply unachievable in this field

we all hear differently, we value different sonic traits, expectations can affect what we perceive as well (i have been to so many highly touted gourmet restaurants with expectations so heightened it become impossible to be ’pleasantly surprised’ ... or maybe the demo(s) are/were simply faulty in some significant respect

@aamiransari 

I listened to 3.7i’s at a dealer in Woodland Hills and was unimpressed.  They actually sounded harsh and edgy.  Maybe it was the electronics, I don’t know .  I had previously purchased 1.7i’s from them.  The 3.7i’s did not audition well in store,  in purchased a used pair online with mye stands as I got the bug to hear their ribbon tweeter.  They are phenomenal in my home.  I thought it odd that they did not have them set up well.

I only heard a used pair of affordable maggies in a little 10x10' room at a local dealer, but for the $600 he was asking I was impressed! The kind of magic those speakers were making is generally reserved for the $10k and up club. 

I have a pair of original LRS and I must say,  never heard Magnepan before, but all the rave reviews and the low cost, I was curious and ordered a set from the factory. I was truly blown away for the price, never hearing Magnepans before was a real ear opener for me.  I drive them with a Peachtree Gan 400 without any problems.  I also high pass them at 80 hz and run a sub.  Some people claim they don’t image well but I disagree.  They throw such a large soundstage that the speakers just disappear.  The depth to the sound stage is amazing and on recordings with multiple voices for example I can pinpoint different voices within inches of each other.  I find I get the best imaging with the tweeters on the inside and the speakers toed in to cross just in front of my seating position.  After my experience with Magnepans I would have a hard time justifying spending 10s of thousands of dollars on box speakers when you can have such amazing sound at a very modest price range in the Magnepan lineup. 

I'm going to pull mine out. They've been packed away for 6 months or so. It will be nice to hear them again.

anzaanimalclinic, I’ve had 4 sets of various Maggie’s over the past 25yrs and none sounded great “out of the box”. It takes a while for them to reach their full potential. Could be the ones you heard in the store weren’t broken in yet. Myestands are a great addition to an already fantastic speaker.

Well after hemming and hawing for over a year, I ‘finally’ pulled the trigger on Magnepan 1.7i. Getting the white sock color since it’ll be easier to digest by wife compared to black. Will probably have to use gloves when handling them due to the color. Will let you guys know when I receive them and set them up. In the mean time any setup tips and do’s/dont’s are appreciated. 

Congratulations, should be an interesting experience. Your Vitus is definately up to the task :-)

arafiq, give them a long break-in period. They will open up over time. In my room, I get the best imaging with the tweeters on the inside and I have the right speaker pointing to my left shoulder and the left speaker pointing to the right shoulder. They are about 4' from the front wall and the rear of the speakers actually face the front corners. I have them on Myestands which was a noticeable improvement in overall focus and pinpoint imaging. I have my room treated but found that absorption behind the speakers made them sound dull and lifeless. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have.

Thanks, @lalitk This is an itch I just had to scratch. Let's see how it goes. I feel if I'm going to have two sets of speakers (including my Harbeth 40.2s), the other one has to be a completely different kettle of fish, so to speak. 

@campoly The speakers I'm buying are pre-owned so hopefully sone break-in has already taken place. If I like what I'm hearing, I might spring for Myestands in the future. I was thinking of pulling them out between 4-5 feet from the front wall. I will probably start with tweeters facing inwards but might experiment the other way around later on,

Questions: How far should they be from the sidewalls? What is the optimal distance between listening position and speakers? Also, any guidance on how far apart the speakers should be from each other?

In all my years with Maggie’s, I’ve never found sidewall position to be a problem whether they be closer or farther away. I sit about 9’ away with about 6’ behind me to the back wall. My speakers are 5.7’ apart. This is what works for MY room and MY ears. I get a fantastic 3D sound stage. I think my room treatments play a big part in this.

I think part of the fun of Maggies is experimenting with positioning. I move them close together and then gradually move them apart until it feels/sounds like there is a hole in the middle of the sound stage (laterally) and that is my starting point for micro adjustments. Trust your ears where positioning is concerned.

Hello hello everyone....having a pair of Manepan LRS+ speakers it had me hooked. Like a nice new sports car I wanted something even sexier and decided after much debate to go with the new Magnepan 20.7X series. Been trying to find forums or places to go and find out who may actually have the "X"s and love to hear their experiences. I am nervously awaiting the arrival probably in about 10-12 weeks from now and hopefully I will not have buyer's remorse or be dissapointed but hey, I had a very brief demo recently at a dealer with the standard 20.7s and loved what they can do and as a long time panel electrostatic/panel guy I cannot see myself without a silly long grin on my face of sheer listening pleasure. Equipment wise I am all set with a pair of hefty mono blocks and also using a pair of REL 32 subs. That should adequately feed all the current they desire. Of course I will not know until they are placed in their new home which is a room of approx 30'x15' and 14' ceilings with decent sound treatment. My second backup choice of speakers were going to be the Legacy Audio Aeris or Focus SE. So please send along whatever tips/advice you can recommend with great appreciation. Happy listening.

The LRS+ I had were relatively close to the side wall. The most interesting aspect was that the acoustic panels on the LEFT and RIGHT for the first reflection point were NOT needed. They were needed for all other cone speaker and the Audience 1+1 V3 speaker that I tried in the small office. With the LRS+ removing the side panel improved the soundstage and did not cause any negative side effects.

The LRS+ was the easiest speaker I had for placement in my small office. I sold the LRS+ since I no longer have this room. I did use acoustic panels behind the speaker and behind my seating position.

BTW - The Sanders Magtech amp is made for Maggies (my sales plug). The KEF KC62 sub is what I used with the LRS+ set at 50hz.

@arafiq 

just caught this thread- how you gettin on with these? The Cardas setup for dipoles is a good starting point, George has had the 3 series for many years. 

Try the Limage setup and see if you like that:

https://www.audioasylum.com/messages/MUG/217738/hk-limage-explained-sadie-is-our-in-house-expert-on-this-set-up

I tried it many months ago and I fell in love with the huge cavernous soundstage, and haven't gone back to the "conventional" setup, which for me was tweeters out, slightly toed in, triangular setup. 

There are very few subwoofer make/models that integrate to a higher standard with Mags.

Other than that, it is a great value w.r.t price vs fidelity levels obtained......for dudes who don’t have to deal with 3 dogs and 5 cats (Mag abusers) running around the house.

P.S. Don't forget to put your head in a vise as well (for sweet spot optimization).

I see the op has gone back to Harbeths :) 

@mclinnguy I've been busy with work and travel, didn't get a chance to login to audiogon. Just to bring everyone up to speed, I acquired a pair of 1.7s which I really enjoyed. I'm not aware of too many speakers around the $3K mark that can better what the 1.7's provide. No doubt it's a phenomenal value, provided you feed it with good quality high current amplification. Contrary to what I read online, I found imaging to be quite good. Maybe not super precise like other speaker types, but I found it to be surprisingly more life-like, i.e. how you it sounds like when you attend a real event, e.g. at a jazz club. 

On the negative side, they (obviously) lack the punch and greater dynamics you would get from cone speakers. I also missed the beautiful midrange of my Harbeths. While the 1.7's have decent depth, they don't compete favorably with my Harbeths when it comes to layering.

Anyways, fast forward to today, I ended up upgrading to a brand-new pair of 3.7i's. They arrived a couple of days ago, I'm still breaking them in, but I suspect I have to be patient and wait for at least 100 hours before I form any concrete opinions. Right out of the gate, they sound much bigger, fuller, and with substantially better bass than the 1.7i's. The pure ribbon tweeter is a double-edged sword though. Phenomenal clarity and detail retrieval but can sound a bit harsh at times. I'm hoping this gets alleviated as I rack up more hours. But having said that, the life-size and life-like attributes of the 3.7i's are an aural feast that few speakers can match at this price point. The soundstage is wide, deep, and tall. The way it does instruments, especially acoustic instruments, is breath taking. 

According to Magnepan, I need to be patient and wait at least 200 hours before I make any judgements. Let's see :)

So you have both the Harbeths and now the 3.7i’s?

It has been 15 years since I broke my 3.6’s in, I don’t recall what the tweeter did during break in, but I recall the bass was quite tight and lean until they did, then it got fuller and deeper as the panels loosened up. The old trick if you wanted to speed up the break in process was to put both speaker’s close together facing each other, and wire one out of phase, and play something like rap (god forbid).

I have upgraded everything else over the years, and keep upgrading everything else and the music keeps sounding better and better; I haven’t reached the limits of these speakers yet or my desire to change them to something else. And yeah, I enjoy Dream Theater through these planars too. If anything I will start to build a second system before I ever get rid of them.

I might add earlier this year I talked to a highly regarded US speaker manufacturer, and he uses a set of 3.6’s to voice his own "box" speakers- says from 200 Hz and up they are "perfect".

@mclinnguy: At the moment, I have both Harbeth and 3.7i’s. However, it will be financially irresponsible to keep both. I have to decide which one to keep.

I followed the link you sent me regarding the HK / LImage setup for the 3.7i’s. Not only does it look totally ridiculous, but it also goes against the Magnepan user manual which specifically asks to have some toe-in. I figured I had nothing to lose and decided to give it a shot anyways not expecting much. I pulled out the speakers about six and a half feet from the front wall (i.e. the wall behind the speakers), and exactly 14 inches from the side walls. And as instructed, I have zero toe in.

Let me tell you, the results are totally mind-bending. My room feels like it doubled in size. I don’t think I have ever had wider and deeper soundstage in this room. You often read about how you can walk into the soundstage and around the musicians. Well, that’s exactly what I’m experiencing. It is truly a spread out, three-dimensional soundstage with extraordinary imaging. Music emanates from the center to the far right and far left. I’m getting a much deeper soundstage with more than decent layering. More importantly, the harshness is gone, and bass is much deeper and satisfying. As a side benefit, the sweet spot has also widened where I don’t have to site smack in the center to get good imaging. Overall, I feel like I’m attending a live jazz concert in a decent-sized hall where the musicians are spread 20-30 feet across and 10-15 feet deep.

Over the years, I have owned several speakers ranging from $1000 all the way to $30,000. No other speaker has put a bigger grin on my face! This is ridiculously good! So yeah, the Harbeths will be gone soon.

Thank you for sharing the link. I would have never in a million years thought about trying that ’bonkers’ configuration :)

My pleasure. Glad you are enjoying the bonkers setup.

For others wondering wtf, essentially it is a theory of coupling the speakers back wave to the room itself using the front wall, and what results is a wall of sound, a cathedral effect, and yeah, it can be quite an experience in soundstage. Diffusion like the quadratic diffuser I have on the front wall makes the imaging even more precise.

If you want more bass, push the speakers closer to the side walls, (same distance to the front wall). Less bass further away from the sidewalls.

My 3.7i also sounded harsh on the top end until I had over 200 hrs on them. I also went from a Parasound Hint to a Pass 250.8 more power and current will always sound better. I experimented with different resistors and ended up with .57 I found out that anything over 1 seemed to suck the life out of them.

Enjoy happy listening

After selling the LRS+ a few weeks ago I turned around and got a used Magnepan Mini for my new smaller office space.

A question for you Maggies owners out there? I was using the Audience FrontRow speaker cables with my LRS+, but I need more speaker cabling for the Mini since it has 3 panels.

I read a single post online from someone that seemed to know their stuff. That person stated that Maggies are not that dependent on speaker cables. The person also said to use 10 AWG or 12 AWG speaker cables. Is this something that others have noticed with their Maggies? What cables are you using?

I plan to do a shootout with the Schitt Aegir v1 monoblocks (70 @ 8) vs the Sanders Magtech (500 @ 8 | 900 @4). I have both in the house. I am hoping that for the Mini’s the Aegir will be good enough and I can sell the Magtech to raise cash. Anyone using Aegir monos with the Maggies?

@arafiq You should have a listen to the Diptyque panel speakers.

Shop New Diptyque - The Music Room (too bad they raised the prices)

before you get deep into the Maggies. There is an interesting YouTube video where one of the Maggi principles hears one of the Diptyque at an audio show. He was impressed.

@yyzsantabarbara, for what it's worth, I went from moderately expensive Ohno speaker cables (no idea what gauge but light and thin) to some inexpensive 10 AWG Blue Jeans cables--and the improvement in sound was considerable. The Ohnos sounded great with other speakers but were easily bested by the Blue Jeans cables. (Magtech > 1.7i) So my experience jibes with the post you read.

@northman Thanks, I just ordered the 10 AWG Blue Jean cable. I need 2 sets for the Mini and it cost $200 for all of it. I will put my Audience FrontRow with 1 set of the Blue Jean and compare it with the 2 sets of the Blue Jean. 

Unfortunately, my second set of Audience FrontRow is spade-2-spade and that will not work with the Mini. That would have been an apple-2-apples comparison.

The FrontRow has been significantly better than all other speaker cables I used with my prior speakers and also my current Yamaha NS5000.    I used it with the sold LRS+ (my current spare cable) and it was better than my WyWIre speaker cables, so that is interesting.

Bass (or the lack thereof) -- I've had 1.7's and now have 3.7's and they are OK in the Bass but adding a pair of subs is worth it and the effect is not just bass, somehow it smooths out the highs.  I have REL S510's on the longbow wireless system and upgraded XLR cables, it makes placement much easier without wires.  Per REL it is best to run them directly off the amp (s).  As the Maggies are a very fast speaker the subs need to be fast to keep up and sound proper.

The one weakness is lack of slam but that is a strength when reproducing acoustic's and vocals, lots of layering and texture revealed.  Blues guitars are amazing;  Allman brothers, Stevie Ray Vaughn etc.

Breathing Room -- If you want imaging and air get them away from the rear walls.  I have mine about 5 feet.

Mods --I haven't done much except MYE stands, Jumpers and Fuses, and yes it is worth it.  I lack the courage and dedication to mess with the crossover but hear it really helps.  https://gr-research.com/product/magnepan-3-7i-upgrade-kit-pair/

Value -- If you can swing it, nothing less than 3.7's for silky highs and sighs.  The true Ribbon panel is in another world compared to the 1.7 and below.

Imaging I don't have much to compare to but I am getting a very Holographic 3D sound stage with precise instrument location.  

Bottom line they are unforgivingly revealing of your gear, if your preamp does not image well or if your amps or DAC doesn't have clear concise bass you will hear that.  If your system has digital noise or electrical noise you will hear that also and I think that is why many feel Maggies can be biting in the upper registers.  But if you give them a great signal they should sound silky.   

I recently got a deal on 3.7 with Mye Stands. They are magnificent. So I guess the 1.6 will be sold and the Goldenears are back to tv duty.

@yyzsantabarbara Looks like you can't stay away from Maggies for too long :)

On the topic of cables, I have talked to several people and the consensus is that Maggies are sensitive to cable changes. Not surprising given that they are extremely transparent and somewhat unforgiving to mediocre recordings. I am currently using SwissCables Reference speaker cables which work quite well. However, I'm gradually upgrading all my cables to Audioquest Mythical Creatures line of cables (Firebird or Dragon). I've already replaced my RCA and XLR cables with AQ Firebird. The plan is to get Dragon power cords and eventually speaker cables to go full loom.

Before finalizing Magnepan 3.7i, I had a chance to listen to Diptyque 115 at a dealer near Austin. They are quite good but not as great a value as Magnepan. For example, to get the same level of performance as 3.7i, you have to move up to Diptyque DP140 which retails for close to $17K. I don't think their 115 model. which is priced higher than 3.7i, comes close to the 3.7i performance. Secondly, yes they have 'more' bass but I felt something was missing. Most likely the bass doesn't integrate with the rest of the drivers as well. I felt it was a bit disjointed. I also found them to be a little on the bright side. Maybe that's a French thing (Focal?), or perhaps it was the dealer's room acoustics. On the positive side, Diptyque looks slightly better and refined, especially in black.

@mclinnguy I love the way you have treated the front wall (i.e., behind the speakers) in your listening room. I'm also thinking about getting some quadratic diffusers from GIK later this year. According to one Maggie owner, the front wall area directly behind the speakers is the most important.

I have yet to update my virtual system page (hopefully will do it this weekend), but do you mind taking a look at my system and tell me what type of diffusion (front wall) I should go with? You can see there's a painting in the center of the wall which I quite like. I was thinking of putting some foam behind the painting instead of replacing it with quadratic diffusers. Alternatively, I can get some 2-3 inch absorbers and put them behind the painting. Let me know what you think. Thanks.

@arafiq I know GIK wanted to sell me the polyfusor’s behind them, but that was before they came out with the slatfusor’s or their own Q7 diffusor . I am curious to know what they would recommend now, but me being in Canada the cost of shipping was the same amount as the cost of the products, so I decided to make my own. I found some excellent acoustics resources I could share with you if you are interested, based on those I decided to go with a quadratic residue style. I wish I could give you the listening impressions of my N11 diffuser compared to an N13 or other, but that is the only one I have heard. So no idea if diffusion from 500 hz to 4200 hz is better than 680 hz to 5300 hz (going off the top of my head :) I chose the N11 because of the size. It was a fun project and yes, it does work, very well. I just have been thinking of adding more above them to the ceiling- because the speaker exceeds them in height they should diffuse in that area as well. (in theory)

If you have the budget for Dragon cables, If it were me, I would definitely get this diffusor: RD Acoustic I think it looks awesome, I may have one in the future. Does it sound better or worse then mine? No idea :)

My philosophy is diffusion on the front wall, absorption on the back wall. I do have some extras on the side walls, but I don't think they do much- maybe reduce a bit of slap echo. I don’t think a wee bit of foam on the front wall (behind the paining) will do anything to improve soundstage, but it may tame a little of the high frequencies if one feels that is necessary. 

The common approach suggested in the planar forum was a few fig trees, I did that years ago also, and they did work for the highest frequencies to improve imaging, and the price was right, but these N11 quadratic diffusors work better. 

Yeah, that painting is quite big, the problem is it is a large flat surface you can’t get the scattering or diffusion with it and the sound will always be compromised. I don’t know if somebody else has a say in the matter but the best sound will be a produced from a proper irregular surface, based on mathematical theory:

Look at some of this eye candy - when the visual and the practical are combined and the result is beneficial and beautiful. 

The Mini was really the only option I have for my current space. It will not be on a desk, and there will be an unobstructed path from the speakers to my ears.

I was not really particularly about getting a Maggie, but I already have a great amp for Maggies and I have the KEF KC62 sub with all the cabling to make it work. It was the easiest path.

Here is a discussion on speaker cable for Maggies.

What are the best Speaker Cables for Magneplanars? - General Forum - Audiophile Style

I will find out if this is true starting today. My Mini Maggies arrive in a few hours, and I have the 10 AWG Blue Jean speaker cables already in the house. I will try the Audience FrontRow on the bass module of the Mini and also the satellites. Not a perfect comparison with the pure Blue Jean cable setup but it should have some value.

Mini Maggie System – magneplanar

@yyzsantabarbara yeah, I have read plenty from really knowledgeable bloggers, some who have forgotten more about speaker and crossover design than I will ever know, and some who have designed and engineered world class amplifiers, who still state that speaker cables don't matter. My ears tell me otherwise. I currently have 2 sets of Silversmith Fidelium's connected to my Cardas binding posts on the back of my 3.6R's, I prefer them to the previous Acoustic Zen Absolute's, and I suspect they will be on there for a while. 

@mclinnguy I am not making a general statement that speaker cables do not matter. I have been using the Audience FrontRow speaker cable on my now sold LRS+ (office) and my Livingroom systems. This cable can compete with any cable at any price. It was easy to hear the difference on my Livingroom system when I did a speaker cable shootout last year.

What I am trying to determine is if I did not need to use the FrontRow on the LRS+ in the first place. Today I have setup the Magnepan Mini system with my KEF KC62 sub. The only difference between the LRS+ system I had, and the Mini system today are the following:

• different room
• 2 sets pf Blue Jean 10 AWG speaker cables for the Mini vs 1 set of FrontRow speaker cable for the LRS+. The Blue Jean are brand new and were just setup on the Mini.

The similar parts are the following:

• Sanders Magtech amp
• Benchmark HPA4 preamp
• Schitt Yggi+ Less Is More DAC
• KEF KC62 sub
• Sonore OpticalRendu fibre streaming

Even on this still breaking in speaker cables it seems like the Mini is smoother sounding and a bit more detailed than the LRS+. I will be giving this about 2 weeks of heavy play and then putting in the spare FrontRow to the bass panel of the Mini (from the amp) to see what happens.

Given how good the Blue Jean is already sounding I would not be surprised if I sell my spare FrontRow cables to recoup some costs.

I have over 12 hours on my Blue Jean speaker cable and the Mini was bought used so it is broken in. At this early point I can easily say the Mini setup is sounding better than the LRS+ system. The top end is a bit better and there is more clarity in the Mini. This is a massive home run for me. What a great speaker and it cost $1000 used. The best speaker I have used in my office.

The 3.7 must be a very nice speaker given how the Mini is said to be a miniaturized 3.7.

BTW - I was thinking of selling the Sanders Magtech before I got the Mini. Now that I have heard it on the Mini there is no chance. I thought the Sanders maybe a little bright on the LRS+, but it is not on the Mini. It was the LRS+ that was slightly bright.

The Sanders is 500 @ 8 and 900 @ 4. Roger Sanders told me it was made specifically for the Maggies (by CODA). I did not think it was amazing on my Yamaha NS5000 speaker, but on the Maggies, it is an exceptional amp.

@arafiq 

I recently just sold my Maggi .7’s. I found Maggi’s at times knocked my socks off and many times I found myself cringing. With lots of stuff Transparency was spot on but other times like female vocals tended to sound unfocused. My musical tastes are basically everything but Country & Opera. Most listening consists of Jazz, Blues, Big Band, Classic Rock. One thing that got me was the lack of Attack, The Lack of Slam… Keep in mind I was running them with (2) REL T5-X Subs and like I mentioned sounded great … At Times.

Odyssey Kismet Extreme Monoblocks & Candela Preamp, so power was not the issue.

Many friends and fellow audiophiles who stopped by and hung out and listened were blown away and thought I was nuts for getting rid of them, that’s because I knew what to demo them with… But when it came time where I was doing my serious listening I was about 70% happy. Had them on Magna Risers too.
I probably would have kept them if I had the ability to swap out with cone speakers when my listening required. But totally agree, every audiophile should at least have Maggi’s at least once in their listening life.