Magnepan .7 Alternatives

I have been at this for over fifty years. I was absolutely transfixed by a set of Acoustat 2 + 2 in about 1980 (electrostatic… one form of planar, like Maggie’s). I owned planar for the following 30 years. Putting more and more money into the electronics to get them to sound right. I have heard Maggie’s over and over again since the 1970’s. I did hear a set of Maggie’s 20.x that sounded really great… with $40K of electronics behind them… about 20 years ago. But, note, I never bought any.

Let me say, for the money, and your price range… I am not sure you are going to hear anything better. but my experience has been you have to keep putting more money into the electronics driving them… and… well, until you have a fortune invested… they just don’t quite get there. My experience.

About 15 years ago I started rethinking my approach to audio. I started listening to live acoustic music, and trying to understand the shortcomings of my system. One of my thoughts was: “why are most speaker designs dynamic” (cone), and I am chasing these oddball designs? Also, I had heard a few years earlier a small tower speaker that had such a really organic sound… even after years, it stuck in my head. The small towers were Sonus Faber… not completely sure which model.

So, I found a used pair of Sonus Faber Cremona a few hundred miles away. One Sunday morning I drove up to Seattle and bought them. This was the most pivotal moment in my audiophile history. While these older speakers were really warm… their coherence of sound from top to bottom were simply stunning. My infatuation with planar was gone.

I talked to my local dealer who carried Sonus Faber… about 2010. The first shipment of SF Olympica 3 were on water. I ordered a pair. These newer speakers added detail and were not as overtly warm as earlier SF speakers. But they were absolutely mesmerizing, with top to bottom coherency and incredible punch. I finally understood why most speakers are dynamic.

Since then I upgraded again, to Amati Traditional… and completely upgraded all of my electronics a couple times to all tubed Audio Research.

Maggie’s, are probably the most cost effective speaker in their class. But, they have some shortcomings. It is hard to come up with an alternative in less that $3K. Probably $5K… a dynamic speaker… maybe Sonus Faber… or other… depending on your taste. Your experience with real acoustic music may impact this.

@flasd  You didn't mention what kind of music you listen to. If it's heavy rock forget Maggies or Sonus Faber for that matter. If you don't play rock I can only think the speakers are emphasising poorly recorded material or as has been mentioned you need a better DAC. Electrstatics/ Planar speakers are hard to beat for highs and mid range but can be disappointing if you really relish deep bass. Vandies could do it for you. 

Try auditioning a pair if Totem Arro or Sky Towers. They work well in a small room and can be placed fairly close to a rear wall for a rear ported design. Very transparent and surprisingly good bass for a two-way. Reasonably efficient. They will fill your room and image well. I own the Sky Tower fed by an NAD C658 pre-amp/streamer/DAC and a Rogue Super 100 tube power amp. I sit about 6 feet from speakers that are about 6 feet apart. The sound is room filling and lifelike. On good recordings I feel like the performers are in my room, particularly with small jazz groups and vocalists. Good luck!

Thank you for the responses and recommendations…keep ‘em coming.

I listen to Jazz, Blues, Classic Rock (Not Head Banging Stuff), Reggae, etc.

I did look into the LFT’s prior to my purchase of the Maggi’s over a year ago, but what scared me away was his website was not up to date, the site’s info was several years old as if he was no longer in business. I was extremely interested but was not comfortable based upon very little info on the line was available at the time.

I listen to a lot of vinyl, all very well cared for and have just begun streaming Amazon Prime Unlimited using the Blusound Node and like the idea of a better DAC. I recently had a NAD C658 that was so buggy with issues, besides having no sub output level controls and on top of having to do 3 factory resets in less than one week of ownership to unfreeze the unit that I had to return it. Way too much under the hood for one power supply and non responsive app, can’t believe NAD put something like that out… Used to think NAD was the pinnacle of all the “Mass Market Brands”, seems they’ve become another “Me Too” product.

Think I’ll research some DAC’s …Any suggestions on an inexpensive DAC that will make what comes out of the Blusound Node sound better ?

The bigger the panels, the more they can reproduce well. I still have a pair of Acoustat Model X speakers and are still the best sounding for voice and most instruments. They will never move the air like a cone speaker, but a couple of smaller subs go a long way.