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.

128x128arafiq

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 

did i stumble into a class d amp thread?

Well, I did mention in the OP that I will be driving the Maggies with a class D amp, so I think that part of the discussion is relevant and not off topic :)

I understand that Magnepan employees cannot possibly test every amplifier under the sun, but it will be beneficial to the audiophile community if they perhaps broaden their horizons a bit more and revisit their stance vis-a-vis class D amps. As we can see on this thread alone, there are several folks who have successfully paired class D with Maggies and are quite happy. Maybe they can pick some top shelf amps from the likes of Atmasphere, AGD, Jeff Rowland, or Aavik for that matter and see what the new (and improved) technology has to offer.

Anyways, regardless of their official stance, I intend to find out how the speakers perform with my class D amp. Hopefully I can find a nice used pair locally. Not much available right now though.

@arafiq

if your class d amp sounds good with other speakers you have owned and liked, chances are that they will do just fine with maggies

as you know i have a set of agd audions, after trying many other class d amps i did not enjoy, and the agd’s do very well with my 1.7i’s as well as 3.7i’s...

My class D experience using plenty of power from monoblocks was a bust with the 1.7s. They lacked the capacitance to handle abrupt movments/changes and the amps would bail. When I listened to mellow jazz and accoustic they were lovely. 4B3 doesn’t even know they are there. This argument has been debated here for about a decade and my opinion and my experience is that Maggies benefit from substantial capacitance.