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.
There are very few subwoofer make/models that integrate to a higher standard with Mags. Other than that, it is a great value w.r.t price vs fidelity levels obtained......for dudes who don’t have to deal with 3 dogs and 5 cats (Mag abusers) running around the house. P.S. Don't forget to put your head in a vise as well (for sweet spot optimization). |
@mclinnguy I've been busy with work and travel, didn't get a chance to login to audiogon. Just to bring everyone up to speed, I acquired a pair of 1.7s which I really enjoyed. I'm not aware of too many speakers around the $3K mark that can better what the 1.7's provide. No doubt it's a phenomenal value, provided you feed it with good quality high current amplification. Contrary to what I read online, I found imaging to be quite good. Maybe not super precise like other speaker types, but I found it to be surprisingly more life-like, i.e. how you it sounds like when you attend a real event, e.g. at a jazz club. On the negative side, they (obviously) lack the punch and greater dynamics you would get from cone speakers. I also missed the beautiful midrange of my Harbeths. While the 1.7's have decent depth, they don't compete favorably with my Harbeths when it comes to layering. Anyways, fast forward to today, I ended up upgrading to a brand-new pair of 3.7i's. They arrived a couple of days ago, I'm still breaking them in, but I suspect I have to be patient and wait for at least 100 hours before I form any concrete opinions. Right out of the gate, they sound much bigger, fuller, and with substantially better bass than the 1.7i's. The pure ribbon tweeter is a double-edged sword though. Phenomenal clarity and detail retrieval but can sound a bit harsh at times. I'm hoping this gets alleviated as I rack up more hours. But having said that, the life-size and life-like attributes of the 3.7i's are an aural feast that few speakers can match at this price point. The soundstage is wide, deep, and tall. The way it does instruments, especially acoustic instruments, is breath taking. According to Magnepan, I need to be patient and wait at least 200 hours before I make any judgements. Let's see :) |
So you have both the Harbeths and now the 3.7i’s? It has been 15 years since I broke my 3.6’s in, I don’t recall what the tweeter did during break in, but I recall the bass was quite tight and lean until they did, then it got fuller and deeper as the panels loosened up. The old trick if you wanted to speed up the break in process was to put both speaker’s close together facing each other, and wire one out of phase, and play something like rap (god forbid). I have upgraded everything else over the years, and keep upgrading everything else and the music keeps sounding better and better; I haven’t reached the limits of these speakers yet or my desire to change them to something else. And yeah, I enjoy Dream Theater through these planars too. I might add earlier this year I talked to a highly regarded US speaker manufacturer, and he uses a set of 3.6’s to voice his own "box" speakers- says from 200 Hz and up they are "perfect".
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@mclinnguy: At the moment, I have both Harbeth and 3.7i’s. However, it will be financially irresponsible to keep both. I have to decide which one to keep. I followed the link you sent me regarding the HK / LImage setup for the 3.7i’s. Not only does it look totally ridiculous, but it also goes against the Magnepan user manual which specifically asks to have some toe-in. I figured I had nothing to lose and decided to give it a shot anyways not expecting much. I pulled out the speakers about six and a half feet from the front wall (i.e. the wall behind the speakers), and exactly 14 inches from the side walls. And as instructed, I have zero toe in. Let me tell you, the results are totally mind-bending. My room feels like it doubled in size. I don’t think I have ever had wider and deeper soundstage in this room. You often read about how you can walk into the soundstage and around the musicians. Well, that’s exactly what I’m experiencing. It is truly a spread out, three-dimensional soundstage with extraordinary imaging. Music emanates from the center to the far right and far left. I’m getting a much deeper soundstage with more than decent layering. More importantly, the harshness is gone, and bass is much deeper and satisfying. As a side benefit, the sweet spot has also widened where I don’t have to site smack in the center to get good imaging. Overall, I feel like I’m attending a live jazz concert in a decent-sized hall where the musicians are spread 20-30 feet across and 10-15 feet deep. Over the years, I have owned several speakers ranging from $1000 all the way to $30,000. No other speaker has put a bigger grin on my face! This is ridiculously good! So yeah, the Harbeths will be gone soon. Thank you for sharing the link. I would have never in a million years thought about trying that ’bonkers’ configuration :) |
If anything I will start to build a second system before I ever get rid of them.