Maggie speakers and bi-amping

Many users have that same feeling, so it seems odd to me that Magnepan choose to disable that option in the "7" series.

I think Magnepan looked at the problem in a different way that many owners of the x.6 generation are looking at it. I think they said, "How do we build the best speaker at $xxxx price point?" Their answer to that question utilizes a series crossover, which as I understand it is inherently not biampable (is that a real word?).
As a long time owner of 1.6QR's and someone who was open to buying a demo pair of 3.6's, I think Magnepan made the right decision. It may not be the right decision for someone who is willing to invest in an active crossover, but for those who just want to use the stock speaker without by-passing or modifying the crossover, I think the stock 3.7R is a much better speaker than the 3.6R unless you use an active crossover with the 3.6's. I have not heard the 3.6's or 20.1's with active crossovers, but there are a lot of golden-eared Maggie owners that swear by the active crossovers. In my opinion, based on my long time ownership of the 1.6's and audition of the 3.6's, the stock crossovers left a lot to be desired.
My Cary 500 mb monoblocks drive the 3.7's just fine. I see no particular need for biamping when using the Cary's. No thanks on the arc welder. And only having to buy one set of cables enabled me to spend more (a lot more) than I would have if I bought two sets.
I would encourage people to judge the 3.7's and 3.6's based on careful auditioning. The question should be more one of how well is the design executed, not so much one of which design is inherently superior.

I purchased a pair of Sanders stereo magtechs to bi amplify my old Maggies and I assumed that the new Maggie 20.7's would also be bi ampable.
When I found out the new Maggies would not take bi amping, Sanders simply swapped them out for the Magtech monoblocks.
If more manufacturers were this accomodating I don't think we would feel frustration.

Can your amps be bridged?
Previous to my recent purchase of 3.7s, I was bi-amping a Pair of MGIIIAs with a pair of Audio Research D 400 mk2s so my only experience in bi-amping Maggie's is with a very dated model. Used a Marchand XO. The bi-amping made a bid difference.

I started out breaking in the 3.7s with a single D400 and it drove them fine but the amps allow bridging and finally got around to setting my system up that way and have to say, having what is now virtually unlimited current/ power For the 3.7s makes almost as much of a difference as bi-amping the MGIIIAs. The crossover does not seem to be an issue but tht could come from other improvements.

I had auditioned 3.6 s and even 20.1s but kept my old speakers until I heard the 3.7s. They are the most cohesive Maggie's I have ever heard and I now need to audition the 20.7 s. Have always hated over inflated reviews with every slight change magnified 100x but I do think the ".7" series are a real improvement in integrating the drivers into a more seamless blend. As the bass panel is losening up the blend with my velodyne subs is very smooth too.

If you like Maggies/panels and haven't heard the new models, do yourself a favor and audition. More "musical" than ever IMO, and yes everything above is just one mans opinion. :-)

Enjoy
Mike

One can purchase bi-ampable 3.6's for just about the same or a little over new 1.7s ... which would be better?