One of the long time respected local hi end dealers that I have been a customer with for years has been pairing Class D amps with power hungry Maggie’s for years. It should not be an issue, in fact a most effective way to go. Otherwise he mostly sold tube amps.
Thinking of Magnepan ... finally!
Until recently, most of my amps have been tube-based with the exception of a few great SS integrateds thrown into the mix for fun. That's probably the main reason I have stayed away from Magnepans (or other speakers of its ilk) thus far. Now that I have an Aavik U-280 integrated amp that can do 300 watts @ 8 ohms and doubles to 600 @ 4, I would love to scratch that itch finally. Keep in mind that I do not intend to get rid of my other speakers (Joseph Audio Perspective2 Graphene, Harbeth SHL5+, Fritz Carrera BE) since I love them all for different reasons. The Magnepans will be rotated in the main listening room with Joseph Audio Perspectives. One thing I like about Maggies is that they are relatively lightweight so I can move them to the closet without breaking my back when not in rotation.
Since I've never owned Magnepans before, I have a ton of questions and doubts. So here we go ...
Bass (or the lack thereof) -- I've been told that the Magnepans are very light on bass and definitely require at least on subwoofer. Is this true in all cases? Anyone using them without subs and happy with the performance? TBH, I really would prefer that I don't use subs but not set in stone for sure.
Breathing Room -- my room is 20' x 15' with 12 foot ceilings. The speakers will be placed along the short wall (15'). I can pull them out by about 4.5 feet from the front wall and 3 feet from the side walls. Seating distance will be approximately 8 - 9 feet. Is this good enough or do you think more distance, especially from the front wall, is required to truly enjoy the speakers?
Mods -- I've also heard that the stock components (crossovers, fuses, etc.) and stands are suboptimal. Is this true? If so, what are the minimum requirements to bring the speaker to a higher standard and at what cost?
Value -- For someone who is just starting out with Maggies, which model is a good entry point? I know that LRS+ is a good value, but my other speakers are very very good, so I want to do justice to the Maggies as well. But at the same time I don't want to spend more than I need to. Where do you think the sweet spot lies, i.e. which model(s)? I will be looking for used only since I've already spent way too much on other speakers.
Imaging -- I've also been told that imaging on Maggies is not that great. I have never heard Maggies before so I have no idea if this assertion is true or not. Your thoughts?
And finally, I want to hear from folks who love their Maggies. What is that you love most about the speakers? What qualities do they bring to the table that no other speaker does? Are there magnetic planar speakers from other brands that I should also be considering? Keep in mind they have to be readily available in the used market. So please don't suggest something that doesn't meet this requirement.
However, to bring some balance to the feedback, I would also love to hear from those who tried Magnepans and moved on to something else. Why? What was it that you didn't like about them? What did you move on to?
Thanks in advance and a sincere request: Please keep it civil ... no need for haters of Magnepan to use this as an opportunity to diss the brand.
- ...
- 223 posts total
I have the Magnepans 7's with fuse/jumper upgrade and Magnarisers stands and use two different amps with them: VAC PA 100 100 tube amp and Spectron musical MK lll class D amp The VAC sounds musical on the 4 ohm taps, the Spectron puts out 500watts@8ohm 650@4ohms and 1,200 watts@1ohm plus 65 amps for 500 milliseconds The beast weighs 54lbs and was designed by John Ulrich I typically listen to music around 75db with peaks in the low 80's What I like about the Spectron with all that watts/current Is the astounding inner detail, dynamics and huge sound stage I should also mention I use two SVS Ultra 13 subs with their DSP app My brother was considering buying the 1.7's (bigger room than mine) and was asking for amp advice So I created two You Tube vids one with my VAC the other with the Spectron with the same song and db level " Magnepan doing their thing " My brother said it really helped him decide
|
did i stumble into a class d amp thread? 😁🤣 we should take statements wendell/magnepan make at face value, even if somewhat dated - they don’t have time to listen to everything - class d used to sound bad, now they are better...so if you wanna try, go for it... - but their reference has been and continues to be top flight, strong class ab... hard to argue with this, this is a highly successful enduring company with legions of happy customers, thus there is a rich and relevant experience base to draw upon happiness comes in many flavors, some people like to try new stuff, hear new gear at the bleeding edge, others prefer stuff that they know will work well, be done, know they have the right stuff |
Reading what @jjss49 posted would give me pause, regardless. |
- 223 posts total