Bad Thoughts about getting Magnepan

[russ69]

I'm not sure why I'm posting this but here goes. I'm thinking about a pair of Maggies for my main system (not Klipsch). Sometimes you just need a change. My main system is perfect right now but the big stage panel sound is always enticing. The down side is that they can sound really awful and lean if the recording isn't perfect. The up side is the extreme imaging that nothing but big panels can reproduce. How about you guys, ever switch back and forth?

Thanx, Russ

[Cut-Throat]

I'm not interested as they needs lots of power and I am addicted to SET amps. So I only go after very high efficient speakers.

[jacksonbart]

This hobby is about the music. You're not married to your speakers, so go head and try something new.

[Oblio]

This hobby is about the music. You're not married to your speakers, so go head and try something new.

I thought this hobby was about the horns ... []

[Bill H.]

Go ahead...........if you can afford them..........Enjoy.

There are lots of Closet , Non Klipsch speaker people here..............(We just don't want the flack)..............

Old Donna Mills movie with Clint Eastwood................" Try it , you'll like it............"[]

[Coytee]

You mean all these spousal confessions I've been making have fallen on deaf ears?

[:|]

Well crap.

Ok, I may as well also admit... I've had my LaScalas since 1979 as my main speakers and have never strayed...up until getting my (now gone) Khorns and replacing those with the Jubilees.

I like the sound that panels can put out but I love my dynamics more. [8]

[Dale A B]

I had been thinking about getting a pair of the entry level Maggies for a change in my system also. I've been a little leery about having speakers stick out more in the room, so i've not moved in that direction yet.

But yeah, if you have a lot of Klipsch to choose from, they tend to sound similar after awhile. Might need to start listening outside the box.

SAHB

[artto]

First, let me say that I too have thought about the same

thing over the years. On the other hand, I’m afraid I also strongly disagree

with your assessment of Maggies.

“The up side is the extreme imaging that nothing but big

panels can reproduce”

Wrong. You have not heard a properly setup Klipschorn system

in a proper room. Maggies cannot hold a candle to them. I see you have Heresy’s.

I’ve many times seen people fooled in dealer showrooms by Heresy sitting on top

of Khorns and the people thought they “couldn’t afford those” thinking they

were listening to the Khorns. And we all know most dealer showrooms suck as far

as acoustics go. I have never heard any Maggies, the ARC versions or otherwise,

match what I and others hear from the Khorns in my room.

“The down side is that they can sound really awful and lean

if the recording isn't perfect.”

This is true of any fine speaker system. And after nearly 40

years of this I’ve absolutely never ever heard a Maggie to be more revealing of,

and sensitive to the quality of the recording, than say, a Khorn. In fact, I’d

say quite the opposite is true. I think they mask and cover up much of the problems

with many recordings. Nothing is more excruciating than a bad recording played

back on Khorns in a lousy room!

That being said, I also know of a several people who owned

Maggies before they owned Klipsch. The Maggies literally fell apart on them after

about 10 years. The Mylar comes loose from the frames and the voice coil wire (yep,

those wires on the Mylar are the “unwound” voice coil) separates from the

Mylar.

But, like I’ve always said, “to each his own”. I wouldn’t

mind having a pair myself, or some Quad electrostatics, particularly the

Levinson HQD system, or even old Ohm A or F (if I could still get them repaired

~ Ohm no longer supports the products ~ there’s a guy out there who says he can

fix them if you can trust that). But none of these would be a replacement or “a

(temporary) change” from what I already have. And I would need another room for

these as any additional unused speakers in the room adds coloration to the room

and sound, acting as passive radiators.

[ZAKO]

Maggies do not stand up to the test of time,, And at some time need to be sent back to factory,,, They do not image any better than horn systems,,I dont know where you got that idea,,,Not to mention being very inefficient,,,I can whizz louder than any planer.

[djk]

Maggies can make male singers sound like they only have one ********.

After a few years the glue gets brittle and they start to rattle, the aluminum wire starts to break.

The factory will not repair older models.

I sold Klipsch and Magnepan, I could make a pair of Forte sound more musical.

[russ69]

Artto,

All your points are very well taken. It's obvious you have a vast amount of experience in this hobby, as have I. My early background in the hobby was listening to some of the bigger panel or ribbon systems, Maggie Tympani (and now the newer systems), Infinity Servo Static IIAs, Infinity Quantum line source, Infinity Reference Standard 2.5s, various electrostatics (Quad, Accustat etc.), OHM F's and quite a few other lesser systems. So most of my experience with the top systems have been with panels.

My Heresys are in my second system, my current main system has early model Triangle Celius (rated class A by Stereophile if that means anything?) and that was a downsize from my previous loudspeaker system. The Heresys are staying where they are (love them but they are not close to my Triangles). I have to admit that I have not heard Khorns or Jubs in any kind of decent demo so I can't add to the discussion on the merits of those vs the Maggies. There is no argument that horns can be very special I just don't have as much experience/desire for horns as I do for large panels.

Thanx for the additional insight.

[Bill H.]

...

[edwinr]

Try the Maggie MG1.6/QR. It's a great panel speaker and goes quite loud. It's not that hard to drive. Go for the MG1.6 rather than the earlier MG1.5. The 1.6 has a larger quasi-ribbon and sounds better. I agree with artto about the longevity of panel speakers in their various guises as compared with cone/box speakers. From personal experience, panels are not as robust as other designs...

[Coytee]

I’ve many times seen people fooled in dealer showrooms by Heresy sitting on top of Khorns and the people thought they “couldn’t afford those” thinking they were listening to the Khorns

I'll admit that I fell for this very trick at my dealer in Ohio when I was 18 and heard my first Klipsch. In my case, it was the LaScala that the Heresy was sitting atop.

The salesmans face (Jeff) was beet red with laughter with his 'gotcha' on me.

[russ69]

edwinr,

My best buddy has 1.6s, in a perfect room, run with a Musical Fidelity amp and a nice Cambridge CD player, a very nice set-up. His room really makes the little Maggies shine.

My brother has new 3.6s tri-amped with JC-1 Parasound mono blocks, Audio Research pre, Infinity IRS servo sub towers and big bucks cabling. His dedicated room is also quite perfect. This is an impressive system. I'm sure even the Jubilee guys would appreciate this system. Thanx for the advice.

Thanx, Russ

[Don Richard]

I recently heard a demo of new Maggies driven by very $$$$ Audio Research 300 W monoblocks. They sounded pretty good, no bass like I'm used to though. For what this system costs I would expect more.

The set of little Spendor monitors in the same shop blew the Maggies away in terms of imaging and clarity. These barely-bigger-than-a-shoebox Spendors even had deeper bass! Go figure.

[JBryan]

My 1st listening experience with a nice audio system was a friend's Tympanies and I was quite impressed. I had a pr of Maggie 3.6r a while back hooked up to 150w monoblocks and they sounded very nice but once I heard a horn/SET combo, I set about my new course without hesitation. I was working up to a pr of Quads in my system before I changed direction but from what I had listened to, I'd have needed a decent sub and I've never heard nor incorporated a sub in any 2 channel setup that was satisfying (read: coherent). I did setup a Maggie HT system in my wife's brother-in-law's basement using the smaller panels and he's very happy though he prefers the Klipsch HT setup I put together for him upstairs - Epic CF-3 (front); CF-2 (rear); KV-4 (center); Janis W-1 subs (x2)

Having said all that, there's no way of knowing which speakers will sound best to you and the only way you'll know for sure is to put them in your system and go for it. That's what this hobby is all about - do the research, make a choice and follow it through until you find bliss or disenchantment - all the while enjoying the journey and most of all, the music. Have fun

[Deang]

I ran MG1.5QR's for almost 10 years with a 200wpc Luxman. I drove them pretty hard over that period of time and never had a problem with them. I almost went to the 1.6QR but decided to go Klipsch after hearing some RB-5's on a good system. Ribbons sound great and throw a nice expansive soundstage. I think they would sound great pushed with an Emotiva XPA-2.

[kaiser SET say]

I probably lean more to the variety is the spice of life camp like Artto[]

My main rig does not even have (dare I say) Klipsch in it but it does not mean that I don't like my fully horn loaded Las[]

But I like being able to switch out speakers now and again and one day my secondary systems are going to my son's anyway but before we get to that point I like being able to swap out speakers on all systems. I have Las, B&W 804's, Vandersteen 2CE's and have plans of picking up a new pair of Maggie MMG's ($500.00) which can be drivien by all my amps.

Pretty neat listening to your various gears on a Direct radiating, fully horn loaded, staggered array direct and panels[<)] This one change makes any of my systems sound like 4 different setups and by virtue of 4 types of speakers they are.

I have no bad thoughts for Magnapan, have had them in the past and they do what they were designed to do! We could talk who images better but why waste time with subjectivity when you could be listening[Y]

[Islander]

I'm only familiar with La Scalas and JubScalas as main speakers, but they seem to lack nothing in imaging. When I mentioned to friends that I could tell which way a piano player on a recording was facing, they laughed, until they realized they could tell as well. Bass keys on the left and treble on the right, the player has his back to you. Treble notes coming from left of the centre and bass from the right, the player is facing you. Neither I nor my friends ever experienced that with any other speakers.

With the LS and JS, I also can tell when a drummer is using two bass drums, and just where they're placed. That's something I never experienced before, either.