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Planar speaker characteristics

I’m thinkIng of the possible advantages of going planar.  Here’s my situation:
I currently have Triangle Stratos Volante 260 speakers, and I love their sound. The issue with these are that they have poly switches in the crossovers that limit the volume they can achieve.  Rectification of this issue is a long story, I’ll spare everyone the details. Before I acquired these speakers, I briefly owned a pair of Magnepan MMG’s, and was quite impressed with them. Unfortunately, also at the time I didn’t have the amplifier power to drive them to potential, and after all, they are the smallest end of the Magnepan line.  After acquiring the Triangles, I also got a pair of Parasound JC 1’s.  As of right now, I really do love the sound of my system. But the memory of those Magnepan’s kind of haunts me, now that I have the power to drive a pair of the larger models. I’m thinking in the 3 something range. Can someone with Magnepan experience tell me what characteristics they love about their Maggie’s, and also what they don’t. What I love about the Triangles:  midrange detail and musicality, not clinical, but not too warm. The “jump factor” as a reviewer put it in a review of the Signature Deltas.  What I don’t like are the aforementioned volume issues, and that they are fairly lean in bass extension. High quality bass, but not as deep as I’d like. However, and this is an important however, the addition of a subwoofer has effectively solved that issue. What makes The Magnepan sound appealing, and also not?  Not interested in electrostats. Also, please try to stick to the question.  Not really looking for commentary on the Parasound’s. I love them, even as my greener sensibilities and my electric bill don’t. 
Much thanks in advance,

Dave
dprincipato
russ69's avatar
russ69
3,501 posts
 
This one is right up my alley. I have owned Triangle Celius and currently own a new pair of Antals. I have extensive experience with Magnepan MMGs, 1.6s, 3.6s and have a new set of .7s on order. I also have a Parasound A21, and have experience with the JC1s. My Triangle Celius 202s with tube amps were magical with a beautiful sound stage and bounce but they had the same limitations you describe, lack of powerful bass and a limit on volume. However, when matched with a pair of proper subs I was satisfied with what I was hearing, perhaps my best system to date. You should be happy with your system.
Magnepans offer a bigger and deeper soundstage but can be difficult to set up and get everything out of them. You should only consider the model 3.6/3.7 system or better. The true ribbon tweeter is perhaps the best in the world but it will have to be to compete with the Triangle tweeter. If you can get them set-up right (the right room with the right placement) the Maggies can be very good, set up wrong and you’ll be hating life. The big panel sound is hard to resist and that is where I have found the most joy but it may take some hard work to get the Maggies to the level of your current Triangle system.
helomech
1,677 posts
 
Get a pair of .7s — more balanced tonally and not as fragile. The downside to maggies is a lack of midbass punch/slam, however, the .7s suffer this much less than the other models for whatever reason, probably because they don’t have any crossover separating the bass and midrange. 
dprincipato OP
53 posts
 
Russ69, thanks for the response, the question did indeed seem to be right up your alley!  Just the kind of info/opinion I was looking for. 
Helomech, thanks also, I would ever so miss the mid bass punch and slam the Triangle’s I have now give me.

Dave
mlsstl
1,436 posts
 
I had a pair of 1.6QRs and really enjoyed them. However, the one pair of caveats with Maggies is the room and the placement of the speakers in it. Maggies are bipolar and put out as much sound volume to the rear as to the front -- this makes them interact differently with the room than a conventional box speaker.

My original room was a large living room, about 25' X 14' and the speakers were able to be out several feet from the wall. Then I moved and ended up with a 14' X 13' room with the speakers only able to be out about 18" from the wall. That just didn't work so I sold the speakers and moved on.

If you don't have a good room and/or can't get the placement right, you are going to have problems. In the right room and properly placed, they sound fantastic.
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 
dpincipato, The 3.7i has a oneness or wholeness to it's sound that hides the fact that it has a crossover. It is close to sounding like a one way loudspeaker. The transient response is right up there with electrostatics the sound is crisp. Snare drums snap like they should. Then there is the imaging. Because they are dipoles and line sources down to about 300 Hz they do not radiate sound to the sides, up or down limiting room interaction. Thus, you get more of a holographic image which is very endearing. Add a subwoofer system like the one I have on my system page and you will be very close to SOTA. IMHO linear array dipoles produce the most realistic sound. Magnepan has evolved it's products beautifully. I had Tympanies 35 years ago and they had the magic but unfortunately colored bass. They have solved that problem with their current lineup. The 3.7i is handily the best value in a panel speaker. Next in line would be the Sound Labs 545 which I believe is twice the cost. 
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