What speakers can make a convert of Maggie lovers?


After living with Magneplanars for many years (1.6qr's at present,) I'm wondering what other speakers Magneplanar owners have fallen for. I'm sure this topic must have covered before, but this site's search engine leaves a lot to be desired. There are many things that I like about Maggies, the expansive soundstage, well integrated drivers, and value for the money among their many virtues. Ideally, I'd like speakers that would have better low level detail and palpability, be less picky about amplification, and have better percusive/ dynamic qualities. The need for augmentation with a subwoofer would ok. My listening room is about 15x20' with a 12' ceiling height. I don't favor any one type of music, my tastes are musically omnivorous. Price of contenders would have to be no more than $5-6,000 new. Of course, something less expensive like the Gallos would be fine too, it's good to have money left over to buy more music. I know everyone says "go listen at your dealers." I've done that, but I find dealer's rooms sound so cruddy compared to my acoustically treated room that I can't make really meaningful comparisons.
photon46

Showing 1 response by johnnyb53

Well, here's another thought. This thread started and had seemingly died over nine years ago. It was only resurrected three days ago.

The original post is sort of irrelevant now because it predates the current *.7 and *.7i Magnepans, whose improvements minimize the negative dogma that accompanied Maggies for so long.

I've had 1.7s for two years now. They are dynamic, they play well at lower levels than the .6s before them. Their volume sweet range kicks in at a lower SPL than before. You can get really good sound out of them with a current production 150wpc NAD amp. I'm using a 30-yr-old Perreaux PMF1150B that I picked up for under $500. It's a good match. So they aren't as amp-picky as before either.

You still need 40-50 inches behind them. I'm sure the DWMs help flesh out the bottom, but I already had twin Mirage MM8s. The modern high powered sealed box subwoofer can integrate very well, despite what many people say.

So in 9 years, dynamic speakers have improved to where their speed, dispersion, and lower box resonances challenge panel speakers. But the panel speakers haven't stood still in that nine years either. Jim Winey's son has taken over design and product launch. It appears that Maggie models will be upgraded and improved far more often than they were before.

In very little time the 1.7 and 3.7 have become the 1.7i and 3.7i respectively.