I suspect you lacked enough headroom for the Maggies. However, they will never have massive bass punch. It is all about component synergy. Enjoy your joirney!
Demo'd a few sets of speakers over the past 2 weeks...
Today I heard the Magnapan 1.7s at my local Hi-Fi. I was interested in hearing the new Maggie LRS, but this is the closest they had. It was good but didn't wow me. Big sound stage, but didn't have the punch and dynamics and bass extension I want. Don't think I will pursue the Maggies any further...
I also heard the KEF LS50s. I think they sounded more Dynamic than the Maggies, big sound stage and good imaging for such a small speaker. Great speaker for what it is, but again, didn't wow me.
These speakers were connected to an anthem tube amp and a rogue audio tube pre-amp with built in phono stage (same electronics as with the Maggies). I think this could be a nice pair for a computer desk for near field listening, but just a tad bright for me. Again fantastic for what they are.
Last week demo'd the Golden Ear Reference Towers (about 10K for the pair) and McIntosh electronics in the neighborhood of 15k total. I found it to be musical, but something seemed off tonally couldn't put my finger on it. I was left wanting more.
Lastly, I demo'd the Klipch RP600M as those had been getting rave reviews (folks saying the brightness had been tamed in this model). I still found the treble too bright and fatiguing so I will not be pursuing these any further either. Too bad, as I was hyping these up in my head.
I'll keep looking, but the current set in my living room are still my favorites (Vandersteen 2Cs from 1989). These speakers can still wow me, but want to see if I can do better for not a high cost.
Next, I would like to hear a pair of 3A sigs and Tekton DI. The later my be extremely hard to get a demo without buying them and doing an in-home trial.
I also heard the KEF LS50s. I think they sounded more Dynamic than the Maggies, big sound stage and good imaging for such a small speaker. Great speaker for what it is, but again, didn't wow me.
These speakers were connected to an anthem tube amp and a rogue audio tube pre-amp with built in phono stage (same electronics as with the Maggies). I think this could be a nice pair for a computer desk for near field listening, but just a tad bright for me. Again fantastic for what they are.
Last week demo'd the Golden Ear Reference Towers (about 10K for the pair) and McIntosh electronics in the neighborhood of 15k total. I found it to be musical, but something seemed off tonally couldn't put my finger on it. I was left wanting more.
Lastly, I demo'd the Klipch RP600M as those had been getting rave reviews (folks saying the brightness had been tamed in this model). I still found the treble too bright and fatiguing so I will not be pursuing these any further either. Too bad, as I was hyping these up in my head.
I'll keep looking, but the current set in my living room are still my favorites (Vandersteen 2Cs from 1989). These speakers can still wow me, but want to see if I can do better for not a high cost.
Next, I would like to hear a pair of 3A sigs and Tekton DI. The later my be extremely hard to get a demo without buying them and doing an in-home trial.
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- 50 posts total
I have the KEF LS50 Wireless, and at first they were bright... having only put about 30 hours on them, they have definitely grown on me. Matched with a warm tube preamp, and they sound great with my vinyl collection. To be honest, with my vinyl preference for classic rock, heavy guitar and instrumentals (Hendrix, Alt-J, White Stripes, etc), a small pair of Audioengine HD6s sounded fantastic for the price. I decided to jump into the high fidelity ocean and keep the LS50Ws. Now if I can just trade my Cambridge Audio Alva TT for a Rega P3, I’d be happy! |
LS50s are very cool speakers. I want a pair bad! Just not for my my main system. I’ve discovered about myself that I need to have full low end bass with room filling sound without strain. So that means a good size floor stander. Been wanting to hear the VLR CT, but that’s another bookshelf. I have heard the Treo CT and that is the best I’ve ever heard, but too expensive as they are 9K now. The RP600Ms were not being driven by anything too powerful (I think was a small ELAC deal) but I could tell right away that it wasn’t for me no matter what electronics I threw at it. I can see why people love it though. It also surprised me how much of a holographic soundstage it threw out. The Maggie’s we’re driven by an anthem tube amp. Didn’t catch the model, but after researching it looks like the it may have been the Amp 1 (I knew was a used amp). If so it’s only 40 watts per channel and that’s not nearly enough for those Maggie’s. May have to give them another chance. Now to find someone around here who has some DIs... |
Maybe you should stick with Vandersteen. I've heard most of the popular contenders in this price range and just bought the latest 2CE Sig IIs. I couldn't keep ignoring that I was missing the realistic note decay that I only ever experienced with Vandersteen speakers (the cheapest ones at that - 1Ci). The Maggie 1.7s are capable of faster bass transients but that's the only advantage they had over the cheaper 1Cis IME. |
You seem to really like the Vandy sound, so why not just go up the line with something like the 5a available here now? https://www.audiogon.com/listings/full-range-vandersteen-5a-coveted-revered-2014-01-11-speakers-9170... |
- 50 posts total