I just heard Magnepans for the first time today. On a tip from my brother, I headed to Stereo Unlimited in Walnut Creek, CA, and the first thing I hear when I walk in the door is the sound of a jazz quartet playing in an adjacent room. Not the sound of speakers playing a recording of a jazz quartet, but the sensation that there was an actual jazz quartet playing in the next room. So I tell the owner (Dan, a bit eccentric but a cool guy nonetheless) that I'd like to listen to some Maggies, and he brings me into the adjacent room, where I find the source of the jazz quartet to be a pair of 3.6R's - modified with a special tweeter built specifically for the maggies, an external crossover box and totally redone wiring throughout (Dan apparently does his own metallurgy work or has it contracted specifically for the Maggies). They were each bi-amped by 4 VTL MB-750 reference monoblocks (that's $80,000 right there!), feeding off a Viva Linea 45 preamp (~$5900), and the cdp was an AMC CD-8b ($220???). He also had a Martin Logan Descent (~$2800) sub filling in the low register.
I have to say the sound was simply incredible. Spacious, clear, transparent, natural...you name it, this system had it in spades. Paired with the ML sub, it handled every single type of music I threw at it with absolute authority and the most natural sound I've ever heard out of speakers. I've never heard a piano rendered more realistically, nor a cello given the appropriate weight and resonance as one you hear in real life. Glenn Gould was playing in the same room, the Cleveland Quartet was giving me a personal Beethoven Recital, Sting was standing in front of me. Imaging, resolution and separation of layers...all of it is absolutely fantastic. Of course, the associated equipment alone cost roughly $90,000, so one would hope throwing any hi-end speaker into the setup would yield good results, but man....those maggies just disappear!
Dan also had an interesting setup in the front room. A pair of Maggie 1.6's set up facing each other, parallel to the side walls. The sound may have lost some focus, but the spaciousness and effortlessness with which it filled the room was very cool and Dan feels more authentic to the live experience, where the sound envelops you rather than hits you from a point source. I'd have to say I agree, and man o man, once I get a place big enough to make a good listening space, I'm definitely putting the maggies into heavy consideration.
*Note to those bay area headfiers who want to check out Stereo Unlimited: if you listen to the Maggies and Dan asks you what you think - do NOT talk about soundstage or imaging or treble extension or any other common speaker terminology. I made the innocent mistake of commenting on the soundstage and it sent him off on a tirade about how audiophiles are wasting their money on artificial sound when they should be looking for something that gives them the feeling of live sound, independent of sweet spot or all that. He didn't even give me the chance to finish my sentence. I was going to say "the soundstage is incredible...it's like the speakers aren't even there and I'm listening to it live." What I got in was "the soundstage is..." before he interrupted with his lecture.
If you can,take some pics and post them.I would love to see what that place looks like.
