Thinking of Magnepan ... finally!
Until recently, most of my amps have been tube-based with the exception of a few great SS integrateds thrown into the mix for fun. That's probably the main reason I have stayed away from Magnepans (or other speakers of its ilk) thus far. Now that I have an Aavik U-280 integrated amp that can do 300 watts @ 8 ohms and doubles to 600 @ 4, I would love to scratch that itch finally. Keep in mind that I do not intend to get rid of my other speakers (Joseph Audio Perspective2 Graphene, Harbeth SHL5+, Fritz Carrera BE) since I love them all for different reasons. The Magnepans will be rotated in the main listening room with Joseph Audio Perspectives. One thing I like about Maggies is that they are relatively lightweight so I can move them to the closet without breaking my back when not in rotation.
Since I've never owned Magnepans before, I have a ton of questions and doubts. So here we go ...
Bass (or the lack thereof) -- I've been told that the Magnepans are very light on bass and definitely require at least on subwoofer. Is this true in all cases? Anyone using them without subs and happy with the performance? TBH, I really would prefer that I don't use subs but not set in stone for sure.
Breathing Room -- my room is 20' x 15' with 12 foot ceilings. The speakers will be placed along the short wall (15'). I can pull them out by about 4.5 feet from the front wall and 3 feet from the side walls. Seating distance will be approximately 8 - 9 feet. Is this good enough or do you think more distance, especially from the front wall, is required to truly enjoy the speakers?
Mods -- I've also heard that the stock components (crossovers, fuses, etc.) and stands are suboptimal. Is this true? If so, what are the minimum requirements to bring the speaker to a higher standard and at what cost?
Value -- For someone who is just starting out with Maggies, which model is a good entry point? I know that LRS+ is a good value, but my other speakers are very very good, so I want to do justice to the Maggies as well. But at the same time I don't want to spend more than I need to. Where do you think the sweet spot lies, i.e. which model(s)? I will be looking for used only since I've already spent way too much on other speakers.
Imaging -- I've also been told that imaging on Maggies is not that great. I have never heard Maggies before so I have no idea if this assertion is true or not. Your thoughts?
And finally, I want to hear from folks who love their Maggies. What is that you love most about the speakers? What qualities do they bring to the table that no other speaker does? Are there magnetic planar speakers from other brands that I should also be considering? Keep in mind they have to be readily available in the used market. So please don't suggest something that doesn't meet this requirement.
However, to bring some balance to the feedback, I would also love to hear from those who tried Magnepans and moved on to something else. Why? What was it that you didn't like about them? What did you move on to?
Thanks in advance and a sincere request: Please keep it civil ... no need for haters of Magnepan to use this as an opportunity to diss the brand.
@jjss49 I'm in Texas (Dallas). I saw only one listed but it's the original LRS version (not LRS+). Maybe the other ones sold already? |
If you don't put a high pass filter in front of the Maggie's amp, how can the Maggies be relieved of producing bass and play louder with less strain and distortion? Do you mean only if you use a sub's built in high pass filter? |
Good point @ketchup, highlighting a mistake I hadn’t realized I made. Yes, a high pass filter must be used if one wants to relieve any loudspeaker the duty of reproducing low frequencies. That filter may be installed in between a power amp and the loudspeaker it is driving (in the speakers internal cross-over, aka high-level), but if it is instead installed in front of the power amp (aka low-level), the amp will ALSO be relieved of that duty (the point I was focused on). Doing so benefits both the amp and the speaker, a win-win. A simple 1st order filter (just a single capacitor) may be soldered onto the input jacks of the power amp (on the amp’s interior), but a higher-order filter (which will create a steeper roll-off) containing more parts will require an outboard, active crossover. Some powered subs contain a high-pass output on their control panel, but that filtering is always (to the best of my knowledge) accomplished with an opamp or integrated circuit, not discrete parts. A great budget-priced ($1500) 2-way crossover was for a while offered by First Watt---the B4, but is now available only as a DIY kit. It provides 1st/2nd/3rd/4th-order filters (6dB/12dB/18dB/24dB per octave), for frequencies ranging from 25Hz up to 6375Hz. And does so using discrete parts. The B4 has two pair of outputs---low-out and high-out, and each filter may be configured independent of the other; the high-out may be 1st-order and the low-out 2nd, or visa versa. Very flexible, and the B4 a great cross-over for those wanting to bi--amp MG.6 and earlier Magnepan models. They have parallel crossovers, while the .7’s are series. Of course if used for subwoofer applications, that doesn't matter. |
