Magnepan Sound

[cornelius]

Did you hang them on the wall? I always understood this model was designed to be close to a wall to sound their best. All of the floorstanders have to be far from the back wall - you might want to try the MMGs. I've only heard the 1.6 and a larger model above the 1.6 - and they were pretty impressive sounding. You need a really big room, and the sweet spot is rather small - so I passed. But during my audition, I went into the (more expensive) cone 'n dome room and everything sounded lifeless, coming from a sad little box...

 

[emorphien]

I had a subwoofer going when I hook these up as I knew they cut out at 100 Hz and they had plenty of space to breath. Like a good audiophile, I compare speakers without a sub and I definitely didn't like what I heard when compared to closed speakers. Sorry Maggie fans, I tried to like these but they didn't win me over

Well you may not like the planar sound, it is entirely possible, however you chose the wrong maggies to try for the kind of listening you're doing. If I were in your shoes I might be disappointed but I would know I had made a mistake.

 

[mtrycrafts]

It's a little hard for me to turn back the hands of time so I could test my speakers when they were new vs now. But I do have more than one system. When I first got these speakers I could easily tell that one system had much more high end than the other. This is no longer the case. Measured or not, it's not my imagination. You can chose not to believe, but I urge anyone else reading this to at least consider that I might know that what I'm saying is true.
?

You have no idea what it sounded exactly when it was new and today. Your memory is not that accurate on such small changes. By the way, tweeters and small midrange is not the issue as they change even less than the 10", 12" or bigger drivers. AH measure them with barely a tick of differences on those big drivers.
So, no one knows for sure if it is your imagination or not as the two conditions were not compared properly. My money is on no audible change.

 

[gmichael]

You have no idea what it sounded exactly when it was new and today. Your memory is not that accurate on such small changes. By the way, tweeters and small midrange is not the issue as they change even less than the 10", 12" or bigger drivers. AH measure them with barely a tick of differences on those big drivers.
So, no one knows for sure if it is your imagination or not as the two conditions were not compared properly. My money is on no audible change.

Sinse I was there, and can still walk from one room to the other, I'll put my money on, yes, there was an audible change.

 

[gmichael]

I had a subwoofer going when I hook these up as I knew they cut out at 100 Hz and they had plenty of space to breath. Like a good audiophile, I compare speakers without a sub and I definitely didn't like what I heard when compared to closed speakers. Sorry Maggie fans, I tried to like these but they didn't win me over

So much for the Maggies. What's next on your list to try? I heard Totems the same day I heard my first Maggie (3.6's). A totally different sound, but very nice IMO. The ones in the same $300 range as the Maggies you have would need a sub as well, but went much lower than 100 htz.

Happy listening.

 

[The13thGryphon]

I had a subwoofer going when I hook these up as I knew they cut out at 100 Hz and they had plenty of space to breath. Like a good audiophile, I compare speakers without a sub and I definitely didn't like what I heard when compared to closed speakers. Sorry Maggie fans, I tried to like these but they didn't win me over

Don't feel bad rnatalli... I had a similar reaction to the MC1, which is also primarily a surround speaker and goes down to 80 Hz. I need to point out that I absolutely LOVE the Magnepan MG 1.6QR and MG 3.6R speakers. I have been a fan of electrostatic and planar speakers for years, and finally decided to bite the bullet and get a Maggie theater/music system.

I decided to get a pair of the MC1 speakers and try them out in my den along with my Onyx Rocket UFW-10 sub to see if they would also make a decent 'sat-sub' system that way. I figured that since I liked the Maggie sound, a system of this nature might be just what the doctor ordered for my 2-channel den system. Besides, the owner of Definitive Audio-Video in Seattle says he has just such a system and loves it.

Anyway, I also got a temporary mounting kit so I could move them around and try different locations. My wife and I spent weeks trying them on the front wall (closer together, farther apart, closer and farther from the corner, etc.) as well as on the side wall (again, closer to the corner and farther out into the room), and in all locations we pushed them back flatter to the wall and pulled them out so there was more of an angle created... all with very disapointing results.

The clarity was fantastic, and vocals could be dialed in fairly well depending on the speaker location and angle to the side or back wall. However, no matter where we tried them or how we adjusted or located the sub to mate with them there was always a glaring 'suck-out' in the upper bass/lower mids. Male vocalists just plain lost something. We just couldn't get them to sound right no matter what we tried. And without the sub they were tinny and had no bass. I'm not even sure I'd say they went down to their claimed 80 Hz. I have a pair of Baby Advent II's that we still use in the wifes craft room, and they don't go much below 80 Hz. (if any), and they sounded significantly better in the bass. Both lower and more pronounced (again, no sub in use).

Frankly, I'm now wondering whether a Maggie surround system is really a good idea? Like I said, I love the bigger Magnepan speakers on their own. For 2-channel I don't think there's a better speaker (for my tastes anyway)... but after this experience I'm left disapointed and confused.

 

[dem beats]

13thgryph

You came across the same issue I did. I could not justify the cost vs return. I think for accoustic music the maggies are flat out the best when it comes to imaging/clarity/stage... But the price in dollars is high as anything other than the big boys just can't handle what needs to be there. Take that into account and the fact that they are so particular about placement... I just can't justify them for much at my current price point. Also the power they need(i'm havign the same issue with my energy but for quite A BIT less in the original $$ investment). I would love to have them in a single room for accoustic music to be played... I didnt' think they handled heavier rock music, and even some classical at louder levels was leaving a bit out somewhere... But voices came through sooooo well. I would love to see a planar/ribon tweet/cone mid/sub system sometime... I think it could be a winning combo... but i'm sure would cost 5k a pair =/

 

[The13thGryphon]

13thgryph

I would love to see a planar/ribon tweet/cone mid/sub system sometime... I think it could be a winning combo... but i'm sure would cost 5k a pair.

Actually, there is a planar tweeter/mid, cone mid-bass, powered bass system that is generating lots of discussion on the forums, as well as having received some pretty favorable press and reviews... the Strata Mini.

http://http://www.av123.com/products_category_brand.php?section=speakers&brand=54

And it's only 40% of the price you indicated - $2,000.

I have an Onyx Rocket UFW-10 sub from AV123, so I know their build quality and trust the company. However, I do want to hear the Strata Mini's before I order them. There are two guys in Seattle who own the Mini's and would probably allow me to visit to hear them... so I'm going to see if I can set something up next time I'm on that side of the state.

 

[rnatalli]

I decided to stick with the Mordaunt-Short Premiere system. I'm going to pick up a pair of MS908's for mains next month as well. There are some really good deals out there right now for Mordaunts and they're great speakers. Slightly forward but not overly bright or harsh and very detailed. They also look good so pretty high on WAF.

 

[dorokusai]

LOVE Magnepan I miss my 3.5R's very much but will get around to another pair eventually. Anything lower than a Magnepan that's taller than you is just a tease, period. However, the MMG is a great way to figure out if you even like the speaker in the first place.

I demo'd a Magnepan On-Wall 5.1 setup at a local hifi shop and liked it alot. He ran a newer REL T series subwoofer I believe. Will it replace what I have now? No, but is was a great demo.

I read all kinds of comments, mainly from non-Magnepan owners, about placement issues and bass issues. I've NEVER had an issue getting them setup so I have no idea what these folks are experiencing. I've owned about 6 pairs of varying height and age. In response to the bass, sure, it's not a rap speaker or kettle drum monitor but they are solid on alot of material found in most libraries. You have to realize its a different kind of bass. I augmented my Magnepans for the lower octave with an SVS cylinder and it worked fantastic. I've had some Carver Amazings for awhile with 8 12" woofers and the bass response in them was just right. Again, a different kind of bass.

Anyways, sorry to ramble. I'm off to look at my dangling speaker wires since I have had no speakers for a few months. I might be going thru withdrawl.

Mark
Polk Audio CS

 

[jaxvon]

I would have to say that the Maggies would be pretty poor for home theater, for one reason: dispersion. Magnepan speakers have very poor off axis response (as WmAx mentioned earlier), and thus do not lend themselves well to HT use. In an HT, you need to create a good sounding zone, something that requires speakers of at least decent off axis performance. This is something the Maggies just don't have. They can sound great in the sweet spot, but that's it. Everywhere else just isn't gonna cut it.