Magnepan LRS

@m3apx 

I would recommend don't upgrade your Amp for the LRS unless you are able to hear them first.  IF you first listen to the LRS and love them, then go for it.

per a long and thorough review by Audio Excellence Canada on Youtube, the LRS is NOT an audiophile speaker.  it has good soundstage but does NOT have good imaging.  they say "what it does well is beautiful" but i am not sure what that is yet.  These guys are SALESMEN for the LRS - they would not talk bad about them, so when they explain some of the good points and bad points i tend to believe them.

From my own experience, they do have a nice sound stage that is not as boxy, but the sound image is kind of nebulous - less precise detail.  And they certainly can not handle loud rock music as well as more traditional box speakers.  Who knows, maybe i don't have them spaced out correctly.

Good luck to you!

I just auditioned a pair of LRS’s today. The dealer powered them with a Moon Audio amplifier. I didn’t like them and I mentioned that the amp might be the reason for the underwhelming sound but the dealer assured me that it was the Maggie’s.

The impetus for me driving up to my local dealer to hear them is that I’ve been finding myself without a speaker due to a regular need for electrostatic panel replacements. So I’m looking for a backup pair of speakers or a hifi pair of headphones.

The dealer told me that the 0.7’s is where the Magnepan magic starts to happen. I’ll take his word on it but I’m convinced at this point that Magnepan’s are not for me.

i have to admit that i PLOPPED them down where i thought they should go and have not moved them much.  Everyone says they are finicky about where they are, what amp is attached, etc,etc,...   i am being critical, but i would also enjoy praising them too, if i can find what they deserved to be praised for.  let me offer one example: Playing the song "Chocolate Chip Trip" by Tool (thank you Cheapaudioman) shows that the LRS present a very interesting sound stage, especially the Width of it..  The tones are dancing from left to right and back again like i have rarely heard.  If someone wants to offer a test for the LRS that he knows the LRS can pass with flying colors, i would enjoy trying to replicate said test.

Cheers

I did purchase the LRS.  Took about 6 months from order date to delivery. It was worth the wait. They are very “musical”.  Image and soundstage is much different than a box speaker. And, if it’s a bad recording, don’t even bother……Speaker placement is critical. I’m using a Dynaco Stereo 70, which works well. Pre amp is a Dynaco PAS 3x. Took awhile for the speakers to break in - didn’t sound great for the first 100 hours or so, especially at higher volumes (80 db). But they have broken in nicely and can now play at 85 db (but do sound a little “stressed” occasionally). But we’ll worth the purchase, especially at the $650 price.