What is the best 2-way Magnepan ever made ?

MG 1.6 (until they come out with a new one).

I really loved the original MG3 speaker when they came out, unfortunate they were just so hard to place in my living space at the time. I ran them with I believe an Audio Reseach D79b amp and during quiet times late at night with Harry Belafonte sings the blues man you felt like he was right in the room. If I ever get the room I will be looking out for a pair MG3A.

I love my 2.6r. They sound so good, still looking good and produce good solid bass in my room.

Probably any of the 2-way Maggies could be nominated for this. I would likely vote for the MG 1.6 also but, frankly the MG 12 is a superb sounding speaker too. There is a good reason the Absolute Sound considers the Magnepan 2-way speakers probably the best bargains in audio, ever. It would be difficult to argue with them on this topic.

If you have the money, I would recommend the 1.6. If you're going after home theater only, then the MG 12's with a sub.

thx so far guys

I like the MG-10QR with small fast sub for smaller room like mine 14x17. just relax and enjoy the music.

Have any of you Magnepan experts heard the Tympani 1D or the Tympani 3A? These were fantastic speakers from the '70's and '80's which always impressed me back then. I was wondering how they would compare to the sound of the newer ones.

I like the newer Maggies. The older ones are fine sounding speakers but, the newer ones sound more coherent and, seem on average to be more even balanced. These are generalized comments though, as I have not compared them side by side.

i owned tympani 1 bs, my friend had tympany 1ds and has mg3s. i have heard 3.6s and 20.1s .

personally, i prefer the tympany 1ds over all other magnepan speakers. they were listenable for hours without fatigue. the newer magnepans are a bit top heavy.

i have owned the 1.6s for over 1 year. they are ok, but there is too much treble. i use 4 ohm resistors and tubes and there still is too much treble.

Mrtennis...Magnepan claims that the MG1.6 is flat on the high end, and my measurements confirm their claims (at both high and low frequencies). However, they suggest that many recordings have boosted high end so as to compensate for speakers that are not flat, and they furnish a one ohm resistor to replace the tweeter jumper so as to roll off the high end. I myself settled on 1.5 ohms. However, your 4 ohms does seem a bit extreme. Maybe you need to soup up the woofer. I did this by replacing the crossover inductor with a #10 (heavy) gauge air coil (which needs to be externally mounted because of its size). This mod was worth the expense and effort.

For experiencing a wall of orchestral sound the tympani 1d speakers would be my choice. Otherwise, I love my 1.6 speakers and will upgrade the crossover when I have the time. I don't find the top end too harsh and am happy with a ss amp and tube preamp combo.