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Subwoofer options for Magnepan with crossover betwen pre and amp?

I'd like to offload the bass below 50hz to a subwoofer through a crossover placed between pre amp and amp; believe this will (a) help with stabilizing the Prima Luna amp by eliminating low bass clipping (b) remedy the lack of weight in the low bass with Magnepan 1.7's. Has anyone found a combination they liked for around $2k? I've seen Vandersteen 2WQ's mentioned, I suppose separate amp/crossover TBD with Magnepan DWM panels are another path. My main concern is a clean merge of the subwoofer with the SQ of the Magnepans
davide256
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
10,274 posts
 

Here’s a post Paul McGowan made on the PS Audio website, in one of his blogs:

"There are many great subwoofers available today. Perhaps my favorite is REL out of England. But even as good as REL subs are, they don’t quite live up to the Nth degree afforded by a properly designed servo version. That’s always been a mystery to me, why servo subs aren’t more prevalent".

Having owned the Infinity RS-Ib (six 8" servo-feedback controlled woofers per channel), and now owning a pair of Rythmik F15HP sealed subs and a pair of GR Research/Rythmik OB/Dipole Subs (both of which include the Rythmik Direct Servo-Feedback circuit), it is to me as well.

martykl
3,578 posts
 
I use Rhythmik subs with MMGs (rotated with Ohm 100 omnis). I’m 100% pleased with the pairing. However, I use an Audyssey equipped pre-pro as a preamp. I know that some will reject this idea on principle, but IMO it’s the easy, sure fire way to get seamless integration between planar/omni speakers and subs.
randy-11
1,913 posts
 
Magneplanar has their own bass panels that might be a good thing to listen to.  IIRC, tho they are reinforcements to bass not extensions lower to the next octave down.
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
10,274 posts
 
If you have the room, and are patient, another option is the bass panels of the old Magneplanar Tympani bass panels. Both the T-I and T-IV models consisted of three 16" wide x 6’ tall panels, two of which were for bass only, and they make great subs for modern Maggies! I say patient because they have become pretty desirable, more people looking for them than are selling them.
melbguy1
1,438 posts
 
Just to throw another option into the mix, have you considered infrasonic generators? The Maggies are fast, so you want fast sub-bass which can keep up. Aside from possibly the Magico QSub 15, the Wilson Benesch Torus Infrasonic generator is the best ’subwoofer’ i’ve seen. My friend has a pair in his $500k system with a pair of Magico S7’s and they blend in seamlessly & work a treat, which is impressive considering the big price disparity to the Magico QSub 15. The Torus also comes with an outboard crossover/amplifier.
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