Think of buying a Magnepan Surround Setup


Hi Everyone-- I've auditioned a lot of speakers over the last couple months (PSB, Viena, B&W, KEF, and Maggies) and really feel no one comes close to the Mag 1.6s w/with c2 center and mgc's1 in the rear. However I'm worried about feeding these babies anough power without breaking the bank. I have a great deal on a Denon4802 (1500)-- what are your opinions about this combination? Another option in the price range is the Outlaw 950/770 combo for about another 1000 (2500). First, what are other folks experiences with specific AV/receivers w/ built in amp (perhaps denon). Second, for under 2500 what controllers/amp combos should be on my short list.

thanks!
petrieme
It's all good, indeed...
It is funny however. I've sold maggie 1.6's for years, and the last thing that would ever likely come to my mind for ANY serious home theater speaker would be MAGGIES!!! I've yet to hear a Magnapan HT system I thought sounded impressive or dynamic enough...even at low volumes! While they are indeed capable of transparent(although not dynamically transparent) sound, they aren't exactly what any professional audio reviewers are using in their systems for HT dubties! This would give me pause if I were trying to build an effective HT system from scratch! I do think dynamic loudspeakers do a better job in this regard mostly. The Maggies really don't handle heavy dynamic stuff so well, and are more of a delicate music speaker in my experience. Infact, I'd say limited application is about right for those.
I suppose you could build a "pretty sounding" system with those. But then dynamic involvement and authority would suffer as well, especially if you listen at even moderate levels rather than soft volume levels. They tend to be low efficiency/sensitivity speakers also, which doesn't help dynamic agility one bit either!
I just came from seeing X-Men 2 at the local I-Max theater. And the dynamics and power these movies carry are indeed awesome!..they surely give sound systems a testing dynamically! If I remember right, I've known of more than a few occassions that we've blown ribbon drivers out of the Maggie's by simply moving them to quickly into possition!!! We've also played em a bit too hard with some rock at times and caused some failures there as well. I do notice that heavy dynamic stuff really ain't there strong suit.
If I absolutely had to use the Maggie's for HT dubties, I strongly recommend playing them as "small", with lots of high current amplification! Receivers need not apply for "Maggie-dubty!!!"...Simply not enough current there, let alone refinement. They'll need all the help they can get. Still, I have my doubts about what they can do for HT.
My recommendations to people who like these speakers for music at least, is that they consider using a SEPARATE system for their movies! small SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED HT satalite speakers mounted on the walls would be a much more effective speaker for what movie mixes have to offer I think. I'd keep the Maggie's in place for 2 channel, and maybe run the other speakers around the room for HT..just keeping the 2 systems separate.
IF you do end up with the Magnapans, just remember that music is their strong suit, and certainly not Techo, rap, hard rock, heavy percussion, and especially HT! So, if none of that's a priority for you, you'll be the better for it. But then again I'm a big action movie buff...maybe lots of poeple here in this forum are into more "Sleepless in Seattle" movie watching by-enlarge...in which case I could see Delicate Maggie's doing better here.
Good luck
Maggies are a poor choice for hometheater, they may be one of the best sounding music speakers, but that does not make them a good choice for a state of the art hometheater setup. On the other hand, if all you are looking for is good, then go for it. Lots of people only watch movies now and then and listen to much more music so what the heck.
I used 5 MMG's for my HT for a couple of years. At first I was thrilled, but soon grew tired of them for HT use. I used to use my room for dual purpose, music and HT. In the last few months I built a dedicated listening room. As soon as I started the listening room project, I dumped the MMG's and have not looked back. Everything always seemed to melt together when the going got tough with the maggies. Now the Thiels just blow through the tough passages.
I was gifted a set of 1.6s with the mc1 surrounds and a cc3 center. I am also curious on powering these. I purchased a used Denon AVR3600 DTS for $50 on craigslist just to see if it all works. It sounds good for now. I have a PrimaLuna EVO 300 Integrated which really makes the 1.6 sing! I wonder if there is a way to do a hybrid set up using the PrimaLuna for the 1.6s and the denon for the center and surrounds. Curious.