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The Magnificent Magnepan 30.7 speakers....wait, I don’t like planars!

Wendell Diller from Magnepan has been a very busy gentleman recently. Touring throughout the US, he has visited, or will visit, numerous locations to demo the new Magnepan 30.7 speakers. It takes a lot of determination and commitment to drive through the country and then to set up in the small towns and large metropolises, a speaker the size of the new 30.7.
Last night I had the very good fortune of hearing the 30.7’s for the first time...at a local high end store demo. Also, I had the pleasure of talking to Wendell and his wife about his voyage...and why he does it.
But first, the Magnepan 30.7’s are...IMHO, at the very top of a long list of planar speakers that have been brought to my attention. Having owned Maggie’s in the past along with Quads and Acoustat’s, my interest level in this type of speaker was not in any way high. Yet, here’s the thing, these new Maggie’s are not your father’s Maggie’s. Instead, we have a speaker that given the right size room ( and unfortunately this is the real determining factor...and crucial to make these work) is very near to the top of the chain in current SOTA speakers. Easily able to compete with competitors at the $100k level or above! Yet these guys are priced at $30k....which makes them by far the best $30k speakers on the planet, imho.
Anyone looking to replace a speaker with a max budget of $50k...and with the room to accommodate this speaker, needs to hear this speaker..
Unlike planars of the past, and most if not all others that are current, this model does one thing that Planars have never done before, at least that I have heard. That thing is Dynamics...and in spades. Bass control and power is on a par with some of the best large dynamic speakers on the market...along with NO discontinuity between the drivers. ( as was prevalent in the past with Maggie’s).
So, how many times have we gone into a demo with preconceived impressions based on past experience and been proven wrong....this time for me was one of those times...and for you, I suspect it will be the same thing.
If and when Wendell brings his van and his speakers to your neck of the woods, don’t miss out on a great opportunity to hear one of the worlds best speakers...at a price that will put most others to shame.

128x128daveyf
dlcockrum's avatar
dlcockrum
2,190 posts
 
I honestly regret being the contrarian here but a good buddy and I attended the demo here in Houston yesterday and we both felt there was something seriously amiss with the sound. Not sure what the culprit was (all gear seemed to be very high caliber to the tune of about around $150k retail), but we were both really disappointed in what we heard.

The first major hint of trouble for me was hearing Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances where the tympani on the normally awe-inspiring crescendos completely lacked any slam. Throughout listening to several varied types of music, the same overly polite and reticent sound signature permeated each cut.

I was ready to accept what I heard as simply being much different than my preference until one guy dropped a 45 rpm QRP reissue of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Couldn’t Stand the Weather” LP on the Linn table and Tin Pan Alley (one of the highest energy performances ever IMO) sounded like Al Di Meola was playing an acoustic cover of the track in a jazz club.

I normally love the sound of planars (happily owned various Apogees for many years) but not this time. To each his own but I feel sure that these speakers are capable of much more.

Mike Heusi, and his father, co-owners of the new Timbre store were most gracious hosts and I am genuinely excited to once again have a real hi-end store in Houston, so it is doubly regrettable that the sound fell short of expectation, at least for us. I am glad to read that others enjoyed the demo.

Dave

daveyf's avatar
daveyf OP
2,929 posts
 
@dlcockrum 

What you describe would lead me to believe that the speakers were interacting with the room in a detrimental way. This would seem to be an ongoing problem with the larger Maggies. Really don't think you can just plop these speakers down and expect to get anywhere near what they are capable of. OTOH, even with care, a less than maximum set up is easily accomplished. At the demo I attended, the SQ originally was good..yet several members of the club knew that the speakers could sound even better. With a little experimentation in positioning and care, along with some judicially placed room treatments, the speakers did shake off their last vestiges of tonal awkwardness and opened up brilliantly. I would think the same might apply at your meet.

dlcockrum's avatar
dlcockrum
2,190 posts
 
Very well could be the case, daveyf. I would estimate the room was 20’ x 25’ x 10’, with the speakers positioned on the short wall about 5 feet out. There was a large opening in the wall opposite the speakers. Acoustical treatment was minimal, just a couple of absorptive/reflective panels on the side walls at the midpoint between the speakers and the listening position.

These speakers probably need a lot of room to breathe. Makes me wonder just how large a room is needed to get them to open up...

Dave
hughp3's avatar
hughp3
75 posts
 
Odd i have 20.7 in what should be too small a room. 11.5w 18L and they sound amazing. yes took some placement work, room correction, and tilting downward a hair but the imaging and bass are very good. of course there is a sweet spot but much wider than box speakers i had before ( wilson wp7, krell resolution 1) . hardware is Mac mc601 monos, AR Ref5, cullen mod ps audio dac. but no way i could fit 30.7 in there....
fgm4275's avatar
fgm4275
9 posts
 
I heard these speakers last Friday driven by a pair of D-Sonic mono amps (M3a-1500M). The music selections, including Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances, sounded divine. In all respects, the speaker / amplifier pairing was amazing. I have never heard such authoritative bass on a planar speaker. 
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