Magnepan LRS+ resistors on the tweeters… which?


I have a pair of LRS+ and after playing with the set-up positioning for a while I have finally found the spot where everything aspect of the sound is right apart from the treble: it is simply too high, and is tiresome after a couple of records.

But Magnepan knows it and fit a pair of sockets to allow the user to play with 10W resistors, ranged from 1 to 2 Ohm.

The resistors that come with the speakers are not the best and some users refer that they affect the sound too much.

So I wonder, what are the best resistors to fit in the LRS+ ?

audiofilo123

@markmuse I had some issues with the clarity of the LRS+. I loved the speaker, but I found it lacked the utmost in clarity. Not a deal breaker since it did so many other things well. I recently sold the LRS+ since I lost the room that was able to support the LRS+. In a smaller office space now.

When I added the Risers + the Riser jumper I found an immediate improvement in the sound. The clarity of the sound was improved, and the sound stage seemed better. Now I am not sure what was more important, the feet or the jumper. I put both on at the same time and was immediately impressed at the improvement in clarity and the soundstage.

The jumper was not something that I expected to be part of the Riser order. It came as a "bonus". 

 

 

@audiofilo123 I get your point on the treble of the LRS+. It is a little hot. I tamed that with 2 approaches. I used the Schitt Yggi+ Less is More DAC, which is a bit rolled off on top but a very enjoyable DAC. I am converting the LIM to the Yggi+ MIB since I no longer have the LRS+. 

An amp will also help solve this treble issue. My CODA #16 was very impressive with the LRS+. The amp is a bit warm and the bass on the LRS+ was the strongest of all the amps I used with the LRS+. 

Another amp (which I am selling) that is great with the LRS+ and seemed to control the treble was the Sanders Magtech. That has 500 watts at 8 and 900 watts at 4. It was made specifically for the Maggies (according to Roger Sanders).

I used the Sanders Magtech with the LRS+ and the CODA #16 with my Yamaha NS5000 speakers since that was the best pairings.

How long have you had the speakers? Is it possible that they are not fully broken in?

@yyzsantabarbara those two amps must be great with the LRS+. In a natural and logic way I am trying to work with the 5 amps that I have available before any thoughts on anything else. The Coda and Sanders are not only very interesting but also expensive and unavailable in Europe.


I bought the LRS+ sure that the Vincent SV-237MK (that drives everything) would pair well with them… and it is ok but there is that treble level issue. 

My second choice was the Rogue Sphinx, referred by some as a good match… but there was that treble again, irritating high.

It was not about treble quality (I saw that could obviously improve with burn-in) but it was the high level, something that I perceived to be within the speakers character.

At that point (with more or less 100 hours) I could:

1 - try the resistors, although not the stock ones, spending 50 euros.

2 - buy another amp, spending at least 750 euros on a used power amp.

The first choice was an easy one :)

Now, after about 250 hours, with the 1,5 Ohm Mundorf resistors that did reduced effectively the treble level and didn’t affect the sound quality, is natural that my questions are about the resistors, to learn from other’s experiences and to see if I can get even better results.

@gbmcleod my LRS+ have about 250 hours on them.
Regarding the treble high level, in my experience, like I have mentioned in the previous post, that kind of thing is more a characteristic of the design and not something that can be fix with break in. The quality yes, the high level I don’t think so.

Of course, there are some (many?) users that don’t share my experience about the speaker’s balance / treble high level. Perhaps they are less sensitive, perhaps they already had a suitable high current/ power amp, perhaps a bigger room, etc. 

But what is clear to me is that if that tuning of the treble is included in the design, then it must be a real thing, addressed in the design process.