Thinking of Magnepan ... finally!

@audioisnobiggie I don't think I understand your post. What is the point you're trying to make?

So it has been a few weeks since I received the new Magnepan 3.7i’s. I thought I’d share my findings -- good and bad, thus far ...

First, break in is important for most speakers but probably even more important for the Maggies. Initially, they sounded muffled, restricted, with very little bass. Imaging was substandard as well. I almost thought of returning them.

Fast forward to today, and most of these issues have been resolved by way of putting more hours, positioning, and adding subs. Both bass and midrange have improved considerably. Imaging, while not pinpoint accurate, sounds fantastic now. In fact, everyone who has listened to my system says that they sound more life-like, as in how it sounds in live events. Instrument separation is great, in fact better than most box speakers I’ve owned. I don’t find anything mushy or diffused about the image or soundstage at all. I suspect most folks who complain about that are not using adequate power, or current to be more precise. These big boys like current ... like a lot!

Bass response also improved quite a bit but I came to the conclusion that panel speakers will simply not give me that deep thumping bass no matter how you slice it. I auditioned several subs in my system, including REL S510, S812, and Rhythmik/GR Research open baffle. RELs, as good as they are, simply couldn’t keep up with the speed of Maggies. Don’t get me wrong, they were quite good but I could always hear them somehow. We spent several hours positioning and repositioning them but they didn’t quite disappear the way I wanted to. Rhythmik/GR open baffles were somewhat of a let down. I had such high expectations, but they simply don’t have the same level of refinement as REL.

In the end, the only one that ticked all the boxes for me was a pair of Wilson Benesch Torus subs. Each sub is driven by a dedicated external amplifier also supplied by WB. These subs are FAST!!! No matter what I throw at them, they never lose composure and provides me with deep tight bass without calling attention to themself. They disappear better than any other sub I’ve ever owned. The biggest revelation for me was to realize how much more nuance and texture is present in the bass region. REL does it quite well, but the WBs take it one step further. Rhythmik/GR didn’t get close to this level of performance, but they also cost a lot less so maybe it shouldn’t be surprising. But yeah, giant killers they’re not :)

At this point, I’m getting the most amazing, wide and deep soundstage, excellent imaging (though can be improved further) and midrange. The bass is deep and tight. In short, these babies are staying in my system.

Next steps: I ordered new stands from Mye Sound -- the new aluminum V-base stands. From what I’ve been reading, they should further improve imaging and bass. I’ve also ordered 4 quadratic diffusers (Q7) to go on the wall behind speakers.

@arafiq 

Great update! I am not at all surprised with your findings. I have been fortunate to hear WB sub system few times and always came away impressed. They were of course in a system well north of $200K (courtesy AAudio Imports). Keep us updated…we all are living vicariously through your amazing journey. 

Well there is the post I have been waiting for- good stuff @arafiq Wilson Benesch huh? I thought for sure they might have been some style of open baffle.

edit: Ok, just looked up the Wilson Benesch "infrasonic generators"- wow! you must be getting some "real" bass now! 

I don’t find anything mushy or diffused about the image or soundstage at all. I suspect most folks who complain about that are not using adequate power, or current to be more precise. These big boys like current ... like a lot!

Or they don’t take the time to live with them for enough time, and quickly loose the patience necessary to set them up properly.

Bass response also improved quite a bit but I came to the conclusion that panel speakers will simply not give me that deep thumping bass no matter how you slice it.

Yeah, they don’t do that. Again that argument of "what I like vs. what is realistic". What do people define bass to be: Is it what an acoustic bass, live, un-amplified sounds like? Or does bass mean an amplified kick drum played back in a rock concert, where I can remember being on the floor in front of stacks of 15-18 inch woofers and your hair and pants move several inches on each note. I might argue one is realistic and the other not, but I might also argue both are correct, and fine- choose your poison. Maggies do the first part as well as anything I have heard, but the second part, yeah, not so much- rules of physics apply here.

If you can allow me to hijack your thread a bit- I admit after 15 years of 3.6r’s I am enjoying a little "thump" with the Eufrodites. Of course there are songs/albums where I have missed the low frequency growl, areas below 40hz where the 3.6’s start to tail off quickly, but the kick drum always sounded natural to me, and it is not so much the "thump", or even a more impactful "whack" on tom toms. To be honest, I find it grabs my attention and detracts from the drum’s mid-notes resonance, but with more listening I may change my mind. Where I find I am enjoying the "impact" is on leading edges of notes- like bass guitars- you know, the electric amplified ones. I get a little "punch" from the midrange driver that was not so noticeable with the planars. Maybe that isn’t so much a conventional woofer cone vs. planar magnetic difference, maybe that is the difference between my particular speakers? I am not so experienced with various characteristics of speakers.

There are many other differences I won’t list here, but also many similarities- voices are so similar- I enjoy the presentation of both- but then again some perspective: I am used to and comparing maggies with speakers that retailed for over 4x this. Speaks volumes for the quality of sound one can get from Magneplanar for the money- that is what I was told 20 years ago and I suppose it still applies today. Maybe the differences will become more apparent when I get an amplifier that suits the Horning’s better than the one I am using that benefits the lower efficiency Maggies.

: I ordered new stands from Mye Sound

Also, I did find Isoacoustics Gaia II footers under my Mye’s cleaned up the presentation as they have been reported to do on virtually everyone else’s speakers who have tried them- sound became less muddy, less smearing, or also interpreted as better separation of instruments, and bass tightened up. Had thoughts of trying more expensive footers/platforms such as Live Vibe’s, Townshends or Stack Audio’s but I have spent that money on a second set of speakers instead (ha ha). It sure was nice that discover that the Gaia simply unscrewed from the Mye stands and into the bottoms of the Eufrodites using different threaded screws already supplied in the box the Gaia’s came in. And yes, they are providing the same sonic benefits in the Eufrodites as I noticed with the Maggies.

Thanks for follow-up! Let us know how those diffusors affect the soundstage.

Enjoy

Thanks, @lalitk .. your input has always been appreciated and honestly has played a huge role in how my system has evolved over the years.