Why don't you like Mageplanar speakers?

Doug, as you say, all speakers have shortcomings. I think JV summed up very well what I and many others have always loved about Maggies. But I don't think anyone would suggest that dynamics can't go deeper, that horns don't have better dynamics, or that stats don't have better midrange clarity.

My point was that judging by the comments, some people aren't familiar with what large planars, fully powered and properly set up, can do, e.g., the Tympanis or the big Apogees. A friend measures SPL's of over 120 dB in his listening seat with his Tympani IV's, which are good down to 30 Hz (he has 2500 watts on the bass panels). These are planars that really can rock out, and have bass extension that would be the envy of all but the very largest dynamics.

Also, most of the people I know who have the smaller single panel Maggies use subs, as you would with a smaller dynamic.

Charles1dad, I completely agree with your comment about J. Valin's opinion having no bearing on your own experiences. Reviewers' opinions do not impress me that much; they have their own tastes in sound, and their systems are different than yours. However, a review may spark my interest in product if I have similar taste as the reviewer.

That being said, I don't like Maggies with true ribbon tweeters (3 and 20 series) because of the discontinuity between the ribbon and planar magnetic drivers, even the new 3.7s. Otherwise, I think the big Maggies are great provided you have a big powerful amp, preferably tube.

Dracule, please note what I said about the Valin comment -- "I think most people would second that, while agreeing with some of your other objections." I wasn't commiting a fallacy of authority; I quoted JV merely because he had said, elegantly and concisely, what I and many others I've spoken to have said over the years (and I'd just seen the quote in the latest TAS).

Since this is almost the main strength of Maggies, one that impresses everyone I've ever played them for, I was puzzled by Charles1dad's statement that dynamics offer more realism and transparency, when I think most would agree that very few do. In my experience, people who make these comments often haven't heard Maggies set up properly. That's why I asked.

Whereas other criticisms I've seen here -- limited slam, bass, low WAF, disontinuity between the ribbon and other drivers -- all make sense to me. Or if he'd said that stats are more transparent.

In any case, it wasn't about Valin's authority as a reviewer, although I've read enough of his loudspeaker reviews to know that he hears the same things I do -- which, to me, is the hallmark of a reviewer whose ears I can trust (since I think it highly unlikely that we would notice the same things purely by chance). This isn't the same thing as a value judgment, just the ability to hear and describe fairly subtle sonic characteristics, such as the "snare drum" self noise someone mentioned.

for me, the maggies are kinda like a a porsche--great performance, but not necessarily practical or a good choice for your everyday commuter. personally, it think the 3.6/3.7/20.1 sound fantastic, even transcendent. however, many people can't deal with the low waf and the limited sweet spot. plus, when you're done adding the megawatt amp and the necessary sub or two, they don't seem like quite the bargain they appear.

It seems to me that all of your ducks need to be in a row if you are to like Maggies. Meaning, issues that come into play are: amplification, location, aesthetics, etc. I only heard one pair of Maggies in my life and it was an awful experience, but more on that later. Amplification: Maybe many people don't pair them with the appropriate amps? I don't know why, with the plethora of information here and other sites, how can you go wrong? Location: Being dipoles, I understand they need to be out far from the front wall with some acoustic treatments behind them. Aesthetics: Let's face it, if the monoliths are not in a dedicated listening room, they look ridiculous. Sorry to all of the Maggie owners who are trying to convince themselves otherwise but let's be real, the marriage to a pleasing aesthetic simply doesn't work here.

So maybe all of these things are factors to someone's overall negative opinion of these "supposedly" great speakers. Oh yeah, the one time I did hear Maggies was a disaster. In an Audio store in NYC. New Maggie 20.7's driven by Mcintosh monoblocks, Mcintosh preamp, and source was top of the line DCS stack. I wanted to beg the salesman to scratch his fingernails on a chalkboard to save what was left of my hearing.

In their defense, the speakers were close to the back wall but, that said, given the reputation of the speakers and the cost of the overall system, that simply was no excuse for one of the worst systems I've ever heard.