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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.

128x128arafiq
jjss49's avatar
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jjss49
6,612 posts
 

i would say that in my experience, once you get to 1.7i and above, alot of the sound quality depends on how the speaker loads the room (and how loud one wants to listen)... i still have both the 1.7i and 3.7i and the size of the panels load my room very differently (17x22 well treated dedicated room) and i would imagine going to even bigger panels of the 20.7 and 30.7 would definitely be too much of a good thing... in fact i feel the 3.7i in my room can already overload the room in the midbass if i am not careful and i need to get the placement just right (and employ dsp control) to make them sound just right

there are those who have said that 3.7i has the true ribbon tweeter over the 1.7i quasi ribbon unit... i think both have absolutely outstanding treble, with the 3.7i having more treble energy - but i do not think the 3.7i resolves noticeably better than 1.7i

krelldreams
128 posts
 

@jjss49 : I agree completely! My room is almost the same size as yours (15x21), and I’ve had both the 1.7i & the 3.7 set up with the same electronics, in the same environment, and I found the 1.7i to be an overachiever at the size and price. I ultimately chose to keep the 3.7, because it was, imo, “better” overall, but I would be happy with the 1.7i. As you described… the larger model loads the room slightly differently, and the high frequency energy is a bit more bold & airy, but the broad midrange frequency presentation is very much the same… and that’s to say, Very nice!

arafiq's avatar
arafiq OP
1,679 posts
 

@jjss49 and @krelldreams Thank you for a real-world perspective of how these speakers behave in normal-sized rooms. My room is around 20x15 with 12 foot ceilings and fairly well treated. Based on what I'm able to glean from your experiences, I think 1.7i is definitely the right Maggie to get my feet wet. Is there a difference in bass response between the two, i.e. do you think the bass out on 3.7 is more compared to 1.7?

krelldreams
128 posts
 

@arafiq : I was pretty satisfied with the low frequency response of my 1.7i, but I wanted “more of a good thing”, so I bought a pair of DWM bass panels. They added a bit of meat to the sound, but they were tricky to set up to blend with the mains, and they added too much, visually, to my room. I sold them, and frankly, don’t miss them. I loved the sound of my system with the 1.7i, but ultimately decided to buy a pair of 3.7 to “try out”, expecting “more bass” and “better highs”. Honestly, there was only a small increase in bass response, but the “overall presentation” of sound was better with the 3.7. Without hearing them side by side, I’m not sure the differences would be so apparent. As @jjss49 wrote; they load the room differently, and I preferred the sound. I’ve appreciated the sound of every Magnepan speaker I’ve owned, but these are clearly the best. 

mesch
3,491 posts
 

Yes, If I had a larger room I would love to try the 1.7i.  In my room I am truly enjoying my LSR+s. 

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