Anyone have Magnepans?

[Rickster71]

Anyone have Magnepans?
Markw was kind enough to lend me his Maggie 1.6's for a few months. (Thanks Mark)
These are the first electrostatics I've ever heard, so I'm grateful for the opportunity. EDIT: (gmichael has kindly informed me to them being planner speakers...my bad)

The first thing I noticed was the wide sound stage and how evenly dispersed the sound was vertically, regardless to listener ear height. I could stand up
and go for a beer with little change the sweet spot.
It's also amazing how much the sq changes as I slid them around the floor, trying to find the best location for them.
It's hard to believe they're priced under $2,000.

With WAF and the bass rolling off below 50HZ being only minor concerns; since a sub woof and a divorce would fix the few issues these Maggies have.

If anyone else has Maggies, what do think of them?

 

[gmichael]

I do not own Maggie’s, but have heard them a few times. I love their sound. They excel at stringed instruments and piano (I know, more strings). The imaging is incredible IMO. A good amp will bring out their best. And a sealed sub is the way to go with them.
Just one small point. They are not electrostatic speakers, although they are similar. They are planner speakers. They have a film made of metal instead of mylar. This means that they do not need an electrostatic charge to work. No need to plug them in. They pretty much sound the same to me though.

Nice of Mark to let you “borrow” them. He’s a great guy. Why do I get the feeling that he may never get them back?

 

[Rickster71]

I do not own Maggie’s, but have heard them a few times. I love their sound. They excel at stringed instruments and piano (I know, more strings). The imaging is incredible IMO. A good amp will bring out their best. And a sealed sub is the way to go with them.
Just one small point. They are not electrostatic speakers, although they are similar. They are planner speakers. They have a film made of metal instead of mylar. This means that they do not need an electrostatic charge to work. No need to plug them in. They pretty much sound the same to me though.

Nice of Mark to let you “borrow” them. He’s a great guy. Why do I get the feeling that he may never get them back?

My wife thinks I bought them from Mark, so next time I see Mark I'll have him play along.
Thanks for the Electrostatic vs Planner info.

 

[gmichael]

My wife thinks I bought them from Mark, so next time I see Mark I'll have him play along.
Thanks for the Electrostatic vs Planner info.

Poor wifey. She doesn't know what's coming.

 

[manlystanley]

I had Magnepan 1.6's for about 3 months. Great speaker, I have nothing but good things to say about it: Except it is SO BIG. But after a long evaluation I decided to move on my Jamo's C809's.

However, other audiophiles that I really respect love their 1.6/1.7's.

Best Regards,
Stan

 

[STRONGBADF1]

If I ever get a dedicated room I am very interested in them. (or omni-polar)

How's harder rock on them?

 

[manlystanley]

If I ever get a dedicated room I am very interested in them. (or omni-polar)

How's harder rock on them?

You'll need a good sub with them. Low bass is not there strong suit. However, dynamics, transparency, imaging, etc, etc is there strong suit.

Best Regards,
Stan

 

[walter duque]

Rick
I know you have a few systems, but do you have a sub?

 

[Rickster71]

If I ever get a dedicated room I am very interested in them. (or omni-polar)

How's harder rock on them?

+1
I couldn't say it better than manlystanley.

 

[Rickster71]

Rick
I know you have a few systems, but do you have a sub?

Hi Walter,
yes, I've got this in one room : http://www.paradigm.com/en/reference/subwoofer_only-specification-9-4-5-15.paradigm

and this in my main HT setup: http://www.epiksubwoofers.com/empire.html

 

[walter duque]

Hi Walter,
yes, I've got this in one room : http://www.paradigm.com/en/reference/subwoofer_only-specification-9-4-5-15.paradigm

and this in my main HT setup: http://www.epiksubwoofers.com/empire.html

You got subs allright, that's for sure.

 

[griffinconst]

Anyone heard the MMG's. They"re supposed to sound almost as good and are much smaller, and cheap. Last I looked they were $600 with a free return policy.

 

[manlystanley]

Anyone heard the MMG's. They"re supposed to sound almost as good and are much smaller, and cheap. Last I looked they were $600 with a free return policy.

I have not heard the MMG's, but I have multiple aquaintances that own them. In general, from what they say: Great speaker. But has a real need for a sub as the lower freq response is not good as the 1.6 / 1.7.

Best Regards,
Stan

 

[just listening]

I owned the 1.6's for several years during the latter 90's. I'd still have them if the house we moved to would have matched up to the the 1.6's. Now Iwish I had them as with the crossover mods available I'm betting that the synergy would mesh.

The best recommendation I can give anybody about buying Maggies is to make sure you pair them up with serious power. I melted one amp, no life in a second before settling on an Adcom GFA-555. Even then, I always wished I had paired them up with some mono-blocks.

 

[manlystanley]

I owned the 1.6's for several years during the latter 90's. I'd still have them if the house we moved to would have matched up to the the 1.6's. Now Iwish I had them as with the crossover mods available I'm betting that the synergy would mesh.

The best recommendation I can give anybody about buying Maggies is to make sure you pair them up with serious power. I melted one amp, no life in a second before settling on an Adcom GFA-555. Even then, I always wished I had paired them up with some mono-blocks.

I fully agree. My Emotiva XPA-2 (250 W into 8 ohms; 400 W into 4 ohms) never ran so hot as when it drove my maggies......

Best Regards,
Stan

 

[strindl]

I'm a long time Magnepan owner...I bought my first pair, Tympani 1d's, in 1978. I currently own a pair of 1.6's that I use in my bedroom system, and a pair of 1.7's in my living room. I also have a CC3 center chanel speaker there along with a pair of MMG's for surround duty.

The sound that a properly set up Magnepan system offers is really special for any music lover. What they do reproducing the human voice is their strongest asset. I've never heard another speaker reproduce a well recorded vocalist as well as Magnepans do.

I've owned many pairs over the years, including a pair of MG IIIa's with the true ribbon tweeter. They all gave me years of musical enjoyment. As others have mentioned, to sound their best they do need a good quality high current power amp, but there are many of those available today to choose from.

I've had many power amps over the years including a Phase Linear 400, GAS Ampzilla, Citation, Audio Research, plus a variety of the Nelson Pass era Threshold amps. I still have an Adcom GFA 555 II that is surplus at the moment, plus 4 of the classic Threshold offerings including a pure class A SA/4e. In the last year and a half I have discovered the Emotiva line of power amps which I am very impressed with. I have an XPA-2, a pair of XPA-1 mono blocks and an XPA-5...all of them work very well with Magnepan speakers.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I guess the closest thing for me was the MartinLogan Vantage.

And I liked the way they sounded a lot.

I think I prefer the sound of dipole/bipole speakers over monopole speakers in GENERAL.

Like the DAWG says, I believe my bipole speakers have "ruined" my hearing.

 

[ratso]

i wish maggy's could be driven a little harder. (maybe the REALLY big ones can). i cannot see myself living with a speaker that i couldn't occasionally crank it up. good for jazz guys, i guess.

 

[gmichael]

i wish maggy's could be driven a little harder. (maybe the REALLY big ones can). i cannot see myself living with a speaker that i couldn't occasionally crank it up. good for jazz guys, i guess.

I have heard the 3.6's cranked up a bit. The 20.1's should be able to play plenty loud, but look at that cost. And you won't be driving either of these with a normal receiver.

 

[Pyrrho]

Anyone heard the MMG's. They"re supposed to sound almost as good and are much smaller, and cheap. Last I looked they were $600 with a free return policy.

My brother owns a pair. (For the record, he drives them with a receiver, which is fine, contrary to some of the ill-informed opinions out there. But one should have a unit that is decently high powered and is fine with 4 ohm speakers.) For the money, I think they are fantastic. They sound almost as good as the higher models. They are more limited in maximum output and in bass. Being shorter, you might be too much above them while standing, depending on how far you are from them.

If I had $600 for a pair of speakers, and if I were going to buy new, and if they would fit in the space I had, and if the amplifier I had could adequately drive them, there is no other speaker I would even consider. With them, you get a glimpse of the high end at a very reasonable price.