[sjt78]

I used to have a pair of Magnepan MMG's a few years back when I was in grad school. At the time, I loved them but had to sell due to having a small apt. I've always drooled over the larger Maggies and was blown away when I heard the 1.6's set up in someone's home. Just for kicks, I searched on Audiogon for Magnepans and there is someone in my area selling a pair of 1.6's. I just bought a house so my audio funds are limited, so if I decide to buy these speakers I'll need to sell some of my headphone equipment to raise the money. My wife is firm on that, and I can't say I don't agree.

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone here has Magnepans in their speaker system? People always say that they are hard speakers to drive and that you need an amp with gobs of power. I don't have the funds to buy a powerhouse amp, so I'm hoping my Sim Audio I-5 integrated amp has enough to drive them to reasonable sound levels. I have a large living room/great room that I think would be perfect for these large speakers. I would be able to let them breather a bit and be about 2-3' from the front wall. Any comments and/or advice on Magnepans would be great. I thought the MMG's were great at the time, but lacked low-end punch. I've heard the 1.6's do not disappoint.
-Steve

 

[tyrion]

I had the MMG's in the past and loved them but they were too big for my listening area. I drove them with a Sunfire Symphonic Reference Amp with a lot of power. I think a lot may depend on how loud you listen to music. Your integrated is rated at 110 watts into 4 ohms (I believe the Maggies are 4 ohms). If so, then I don't see any problem with you integrated driving them. I don't know if the 1.6's require any more power than the MMG's. Hopefully, someone with a bit more knowledge than me will post.

 

[zowie]

I have the 1.6qr 's. Driving them with a McIntosh MA6500 which should be plentiful power, and this combo is used by others. They have some great qualities, but they're just not working for me in my oddly dimensioned room. If I'm not in certain listening positions, the bass goes away. If you feel like driving Downstate to get them you can buy mine.

 

[tennisets]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zowie If I'm not in certain listening positions, the bass goes away. If you feel like driving Downstate to get them you can buy mine.

That's a problem with virtually any speaker in any listening room. It has nothing to do with the Maggies. If you have an oddly dimensioned room, that's the problem. It's still going to be a problem no matter what speakers you bring in there. But the bass going away is normal. That's why people only listen in the "sweet spot" (among other reasons).

 

[Sleestack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tennisets That's a problem with virtually any speaker in any listening room. It has nothing to do with the Maggies. If you have an oddly dimensioned room, that's the problem. It's still going to be a problem no matter what speakers you bring in there. But the bass going away is normal. That's why people only listen in the "sweet spot" (among other reasons).

Dynamic room correction... it works wonders in virtually any room.

 

[zowie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tennisets That's a problem with virtually any speaker in any listening room. It has nothing to do with the Maggies. If you have an oddly dimensioned room, that's the problem. It's still going to be a problem no matter what speakers you bring in there. But the bass going away is normal. That's why people only listen in the "sweet spot" (among other reasons).

Room dimensions are an issue with virtually any speaker, but not necessarily a problem. Radiation pattern is a huge factor in how a speaker reacts with a room. Box speakers and dipole panels are completely differently animals in this regard.

 

[Todd R]

Used to have 1.6's. Loved them, but the Wife didn't

Pair them up with a REL sub and you'll be in heaven.

 

[tennisets]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sleestack Dynamic room correction... it works wonders in virtually any room.

I had forgotten about that option. Almost everyone who tries the TacT units seems to think they're great. I'd love to hear one of their products, unfortunately the store I work at doesn't deal them and on further investigation there are no dealers anywhere near me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by zowie Room dimensions are an issue with virtually any speaker, but not necessarily a problem. Radiation pattern is a huge factor in how a speaker reacts with a room. Box speakers and dipole panels are completely differently animals in this regard.

That's also a good point that I failed to consider. As you can see, I didn't put as much thought into the above post as I probably could have.

However, in my experience, in general, dipoles tend to be harder to get sounding good in a room than traditional box speakers. The soundstage can be really off if the rear radiating sound of the speaker reflects in a strange way. Since you get less direct radiated sound with a dipole than with a monopole, it's easier for a room to screw up the soundstage (and tonal balance). At least that's my explanation of what I've heard, I don't know if it's correct or not. But I am sure that usually traditional speakers (and usually smaller speakers) are easier to set up in a weird room.

 

[zowie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tennisets However, in my experience, in general, dipoles tend to be harder to get sounding good in a room than traditional box speakers. [. . .] But I am sure that usually traditional speakers (and usually smaller speakers) are easier to set up in a weird room.

Exactly.

 

[foo_me]

I have a pair of old 2.7s in the closet because I have no room unfortunately....but yeah, position and amp are important.

They do provide a heavenly sound when you get it right though.

Drove mine with a Bryston 4B amp...they provide lots of nice power

 

[Sleestack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tennisets I had forgotten about that option. Almost everyone who tries the TacT units seems to think they're great. I'd love to hear one of their products, unfortunately the store I work at doesn't deal them and on further investigation there are no dealers anywhere near me.

Very difficult to get an in-person demo of TACT gear. I find that the few people who don't like TACT gear are the ones who can't over come the learning curve required to use the gear properly. Over the past few months I had a Classe Omega MKIII, EAR 864 and Parasound C-1. As great as all those pieces where I easily gave them up in favor of the TACT RCS2.2.XP and TCS MKII pre/pros. I really don't see ever going back to traditional pre/pros.

I also use the TACT/BOZ digital amps. They allow me to stay digital from source to binding posts and do external computer crossovers for true bi-amping. That being said, the TACT pre/pros sound great with traditional solid state amps as well.

 

[sjt78]

I decided to buy the Magnepan 1.6's. I think it is a good decision as both my wife and I can enjoy them compared to my headphone gear (she could care less about headphone listening). She doesn't like how big and flat they are, but we're going to work around it. I'd like to keep them in the living room, but I might need to make a dedicated listening room out of our basement which is still OK. Thanks for all of the comments so far. I'm looking forward to having Magnepans again.
-Steve

 

[Samgotit]

MMGs driven by an Adcom GFA 5400. I'm still astonished by them. I love to demonstrate imaging to friends. In fact, I did not know what imaging was until I bought them.

Anyone pair there Maggies with sub besides Todd R?

Sam

 

[Gross]

I started out with a pair of SMGa's back in the day. I am currently running a pair of 2.5R's, which for those that don't know, have a true ribbon tweeter. I have the CC1 for the center, which is quasi-ribbon, and in the rear is a pair of the MC-1's. My Sub is a DIY 12" which has an F3 of 17hz. Every thing is powered by Crown Amplifiers, just the CE series, but still plenty of pretty clean power(rated at 660w@4ohms per channel)

One thing that is really amazing about the speakers is that they have a very flat responce, and a pretty flat impedance curve. I work for a pro-sound installation company, so I have the toys, ahem, I mean tools to measure all that stuff.

I love my maggies, I am one of those who have been converted, and I don't know if I could ever be happy with a box speaker again.

The sound you can get out of a properly placed pair of maggies is amazing. With thier dipole design, they fill the entire room, and you would swear there were speakers placed all over the place.

 

[thewebgal]

I have had Mag MGIIb speakers, and now have a pair of (rebuilt) MGIIcMagnepans - love them to death.
The Cs def have more bass and treble than the Bs did - running them with a Jolida 502C tube amp 60+ watts/ch and does good for most music -
tho I do own some music that was recorded at low volume where I would like a little more power ...