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#1 ·
This thread is for discussion of Magnepan speakers. I think there are a lot of owners on the forum but I haven't seen a thread for them. Below are some useful links for owners or those considering Mags.

Owner's Manuals

Maggie User Group

Planar forum at the Asylum

Reviews

Mye stands


Magnepan also offers a cheap and easy way to test drive some Mags. You can buy MMG's straight from Magnepan and try them out for 60 days in your home risk free. Or, if you want, you can upgrade within one year and get full credit for your MMG purchase. Details here .


I'm currently using some Magnepan 1.6QR's. Previously I had some 3.6R's and before that some 1b's 3a's and a pair of 2 somethings.


Hopefully, forum members curious about these speakers can come here and learn and any owners can ask questions. One thing I've found with my maggie experiences is to feed them lots of power. I drove the 3.6R's with a Musical Fidelity Trivista 300 and felt no need for a sub with two channel sources. The sound was divine.


Feel free to PM me with anything else you think should be in the first page and I'll add it.
 
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#5,258 ·
Any of you Maggie owners have experience with electrostatic speakers? I'm currently considering the Maggie 1.7i vs. Martin Logan Electromotion ESL and would appreciate any comments on the differences in how they sound.
 
#5,259 ·
Need a big honkin' can o' worms emoti here...

Not recently. Much but in the past; my last recent experience (few years ago) was various ML models to 1.6's and 3.6's plus my venerable old MG-IIIa's. Take the below as my opinions.

In general Maggies are a little more directional since they do not have the curved membrane of the ML models (except for the Maggie center). Plus or minus... Maggies interact less with the sidewalls, so may image better, but may not sound as "spacious" due to the reduced sidewall reflections.

By and large Magnepans sound a bit more seamless to me because so many ML ESL models cross to a woofer at a fairly high frequency. You get some image and sound shift as the frequency moves from the panel to the conventional woofer. This was a much bigger issue in the past (say ten years ago) IME/IMO and is much better today but I'd still give the nod to Magnepan. Maggies, but moreso the ribbon models (3.x, 20.x), have better treble integration and to my ears a better top end.

ESLs dip pretty low in impedance at HF; Maggies less so, though the ribbon tweeter is fairly low (3 ohms or less). Maggies (and other planer dynamic panels) tend to be a "nicer" load in that it has no large excursions and is almost purely resistive. Some Maggies can play louder than some ESLs (and vice-versa).

Either is pretty insensitive in terms of dB/W/m so require a goodly amplifier (depending upon your room and listening preferences, natch. ESL techniology has advanced so playing them loudly is not really an issue for most of us (arcing and rattling at high volume used to be fairly common with ESLs).

A lot of folk think ESLs sound "faster" or "cleaner" and generally I have found their measurements to reflect that. But they are very close, and in fact most good speakers measure pretty durn good these days.

Both are dipoles with all the pros and cons that goes along with that. Expect to fiddle with placement and you may need room treatment behind them to stabilize the image over frequency.

Don't forget you do need to plug the ESLs into a wall AC outlet; even if they do not have an integrated amplifier for the woofers, you need to power the ESL panels.

I went back and forth many times over the years over choosing ESLs or Magnepans, had both in and out of my system (the ESLs were always demos on loan from the store, never owned a pair long-term) and never seemed to quite tilt to the ESLs despite their advantages. I always thought ESLs sounded a little better in the midrange, but the lower and very high frequencies were better on my Maggies (with the ribbon tweeter), and the Maggies had a more cohesive sound compared to the hybrid panel+conventional woofer systems (again, that seems to be less an issue now, based on limited listening).

HTH -- but probably not, you'll just have to listen -- Don
 
#5,269 ·
I believe they break up resonance nodes inherent to the large diaphragm design. If you notice the "buttons" are placed in slightly different locations on the L/R pair. I am sure someone will correct me if I am off base.

Just darken your room, close your eyes, and enjoy the music!!!
 
#5,270 ·
Yes, @stustan is correct (of course), they are to break up panel modes. I've lost track of where Magnepan puts them these days... Over the years they have been different places on different models, and sometimes are different on right and left speakers. They are normal, no worries.
 
#5,273 ·
I have used a lot of Crowns over the years in other applications but the only one that I recall actually driving my Maggies was a DC-300 (so a while ago). It did fine, FWIWFM. :)

Pro amplifiers with high power ratings do sometimes have a couple of issues for consumer use:

1. They target sound reinforcement and pro installations that typically have higher voltage levels from the sound board and so may be difficult for some consumer gear to drive to full output power.

2. Because of the high power they have high'ish gain and so noise can be an issue. Super-high SNR is not always a priority for a live venue, and compounded with the voltage level mismatch can lead to hiss in a home. This is rarely an issue for Maggies since they are pretty low-sensitivity speakers anyway. Horns can be problematic with some amps.

Those big panels, in addition to needing some power, also benefit from the lower output impedance (higher damping factor) of a big amplifier. Panel modes, resonances in the panels themselves, are better controlled from a low-impedance source and bigger amplifiers usually have lower output impedance. That leads to tighter bass. Maggies, especially the ribbon tweeter models, do dip pretty low in impedance (
 
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#5,275 ·
Welp,
I had put an add up on USaudiomart for anyone local to me (Detroit area) selling a pair of 3.7i...and....This Wednesday I'm going to take a look/listen. And then...while looking on U.S.A. I saw a older Bryston 4Bst for sale...and...a few emails later...bought...should be up and running (hopefully) by this weekend. I also have a Crown XLS 2502 (newest version) that I may try out.
 
#5,276 ·
I guess this is mostly for Don. For my 3.6/GR Research W/Frame OB system, I'm adding a stereo streaming system to my Oppo 205 theater system and I will have RCA swithers to choose A or B.

The stereo setup is a PS Audio DirectStream DAC w/bridgeII. I will start with a Y splitter off the RCA outs of the DirectStream. The L & R side of the Y will have a high pass filter like this: https://www.parts-express.com/harri...0-hz-high-pass-rca--266-270#lblProductQ&A.and go to the 3.6 amp which has an Input impedance of 22K ohms. I think the harrison-lab filter mentioned 11K.

How woud that affect the actual crossover? Maybe they have a way of keeping 50hz. The other side of the Y will go to the OB subs. This will make up the A side of the switch box. The B side of the switch will include XLR L & R out with high pass filters. The Stereo outs go to the OB subs.
 
#5,277 ·
Assuming the output impedance of each source is low (reasonable) it should have minimal impact on the crossover frequency. I could not find any detail on the Harrison Labs site about the design but presumably it is a simple passive second-order (LC) filter. That means it will be sensitive to source and load impedance but in your case should be OK. Their site states +/-1% accuracy into a 22 k-ohm load. You could email their tech support with your components and they should be able to confirm they will work in your application.

Caveats are that I do not know what the switch box is doing to convert RCA to XLR or what what the load impedance of the XLR side will be. If it is just connecting the wires internally to drive the XLR single-ended it is probably OK. It would be good to know the input impedance of the XLR load and if the switcher does more than just connect the wires to the jacks (e.g. has a transformer inside). Some XLR inputs are fairly low impedance for use in pro systems.

HTH - Don
 
#5,278 ·
DonH50; Caveats are that I do not know what the switch box is doing to convert RCA to XLR or what what the load impedance of the XLR side will be. If it is just connecting the wires internally to drive the XLR single-ended it is probably OK. It would be good to know the input impedance of the XLR load and if the switcher does more than just connect the wires to the jacks (e.g. has a transformer inside). Some XLR inputs are fairly low impedance for use in pro systems. HTH - Don[/QUOTE said:
The XLR cable ends as an RCA cable. The .1uf cap is in line. I'm going to try putting the LC filter on the end of it.
 
#5,279 ·
Just discovered - for non-critical listening times: Ambient sounds.

Have been away from the forum for awhile, so apologies if this has been posted before (I went back several pages & didn't see anything before writing this).... I read a recent article on the web that mentioned how people today enjoy listening to recordings of nature sounds. Intrigued, I downloaded a few mp3's myself. Initially, playing them while working at my computer, so a nearfield experience. That didn't work for me. BUT, playing the same looped mp3's on my MMG's while at my desk - now THAT works. Now there's a babbling brook, or seashore or thunderstorm in the living room while I'm working at my desk. Possibly ups the WAF too (no W here so can't say for sure).
 
#5,285 ·
Have been away from the forum for awhile, so apologies if this has been posted before (I went back several pages & didn't see anything before writing this).... I read a recent article on the web that mentioned how people today enjoy listening to recordings of nature sounds. Intrigued, I downloaded a few mp3's myself. Initially, playing them while working at my computer, so a nearfield experience. That didn't work for me. BUT, playing the same looped mp3's on my MMG's while at my desk - now THAT works. Now there's a babbling brook, or seashore or thunderstorm in the living room while I'm working at my desk. Possibly ups the WAF too (no W here so can't say for sure).
I have a couple CD's of that type. I know one is a forest in a thunderstorm and another is just forest sounds. They do sound eerily realistic when played on Magnepans.
 
#5,280 ·
I have a question for the maggie users here that have tried mixing different types of surround speakers with Magnepan fronts. I am wondering if it is doable or if I should forget about it. My room is somewhat small (13 x 18) and has a door located right where I would ideally hang my magnepan surrounds. I have them located now on the ceiling angled down in the back of the room and have often wondered if I am missing a more immersive surround experience.

If I had a pair of the new Emotiva E2 surrounds, I could mount them much more flexibly and set them to bipole or dipole. Any thoughts?
 

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#5,281 ·
From many past comments, the dipoles do not blend with box speakers, but experimenting with your situation may get you to where you are satisfied with the results. My center CC3 speaker wires came loose and I temporarily replaced it with a Mackie nearfield monitor HR824. It is doing a great job of filling in for center dialog. I have 3.6's in the front bordering a 65" OLED with two OB Gr Research W-Frame subs on each side. The 3.6's roll off at 50Hz and the subs take over below. Both pairs receive full range front signals from Oppo 205 XLR/RCA outs. My surrounds are 1.7's and the rears are MC1's. My paint color happens to blend with the surround speakers. The pic behind the sub is of Owens Corning 503 insulation panels covered in Magnepan speaker fabric. My room is larger and you may need to blend other speakers. Experiment.
 

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#5,286 ·
great amps for big Maggies

I recently got a PS Audio DirectStream DAC w/Bridge II for unfolding Tidal MQA music. Mconnect Control installed on an ipad for streaming. Then, I added two PS Audio M700 mono amps (700W into 4 ohms) and what a difference! The 3.6 speakers move effortlessly to produce details that were missing. Even at low vol the quality is still there. I got the amps from HighPerformanceStereo for a great price. I highly recommend these amps for big Maggies. They are new and some of the major reviews will come out around Feb, but owner reviews are plentiful. The amps keep getting better with more playing time.
 
#5,287 ·
Advice from those with 1.7i's:

I've been listening to my Maggie 1.7is bought brand new last March.

I wanted to own a pair of Maggies for about 20+ years since first hearing them in the early 90's. I REALLY wanted to buy a pair of new 3.7is to get the real ribbon tweeter (not the quasi in the 1.7is) but alas they were just not in my budget.

I've been running the 1.7is with an Aragon Stage One PRE in pure direct mode (supposed to be electronic equivalent to the famed Aragon Aurum preamp when run in Pure Direct) powered by an Aragon 8008x3 (400w into 4 ohms) and fed via optical out on a Sonus Connect (using internal DAC on the Sonus) streaming Spotify. I am running the 1.7i's Full-Range and have them paired with a REL R-328 sub with the included Neutrik cable.

I am beyond happy with the sound that this little system is putting out but I'm wondering if there are any budget friendly upgrades I could try out to improve the already stellar sound? Maybe try out a good used Tube Amplifier, or a Tube Preamp?

Advice/Suggestions greatly appreciated
 

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#5,289 ·
+1. I would not run those full range.

Note using the optical output on the Sonos:Connect does not use its internal DAC but rather converts the incoming WiFi stream to a standard TOSLINK stream. This is the best way to do it; the Connect's internal DAC has been shown to roll off the bass.

I would not change electronics at this time (or ever, most likely -- those are good components IME/IMO). I have run Maggies with all sorts of amplification over the years and a big SS amp works best for me. Tube amps provide a gorgeous midrange but generally the bass is not as deep and "tight". A tube preamp may sound better or not, something you'd just have to try. At the moment my system is all SS and sounds OK to me. I ran a bi-amped (active, with a line-level crossover) system with a tube mid/treble amp (ARC D-79) and hybrid bass amp (Counterpoint SA-220) for many years. It sounded pretty durn good, but the bass was not as good as with a regular old SS amp. After being in storage for a while I did not trust my old tube gear and went SS and have not looked back. I just like the cleaner sound even though tubes have their appeal.

I would play with speaker positioning including (increasing) distance from the rear wall and toe-in if you haven't already. It is critical with dipoles. You might want to consider some panels behind the speakers; that will improve imaging at the cost of some of the "spaciousness".

HTH - Don
 
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#5,294 ·
Wow thanks for the awesome advice on my 1.7i system guys. Much appreciated...

I'm thinking the first thing to try is changing the crossover since it might be a free mod. So even though REL has suggested to use their sub with the mains seeing "full range" I have some questions for how to apply the crossover.

So right now as I mentioned the 1.7is are seeing the full signal from my Stage One. The neutrik cable is hooked up to the Aragon Amp inputs so it is also seeing the full range signal. I have the crossover on the sub set to 50hz so in essence there is a 10hz overlap (again 10hz shared was suggested by REL to integrate with the main speakers) since the 1.7i's go down to about 40 hz.

I see those RCA inline filters that "oneartist" provided a link to but I'm wondering if I can just use the crossover in the Stage One in Pure Direct mode? If I can what should I set the crossover to knowing the bottom limit of the 1.7's are 40hz?
 
#5,296 ·
If the Stage One has a subwoofer output use that to drive the sub. I would set the crossover at 80 Hz. You may have to play with delay/phase on the sub to get them to integrate; look at the REL or Aragon threads here for that. It has been ages since I have heard Aragon and do not own a Stage One so am not sure what it takes to integrate a sub.

Manufacturers vary in what processing is applied in "pure direct"; I do not know if your Stage One still does bass management in that mode (may not). If not, try the "stereo" mode or equivalent.

Panels in general (ESL, planar dynamic, or ribbon) exhibit very high distortion when driven with large bass signals. I try to cross over an octave or at least half an octave over the speaker's -3 dB point. You should find the whole spectrum is cleaner with the sub properly integrated and mains rolled off. Adding a sub to my first pair of Maggies back in - nevermind - was a revelation in how much better they could sound.
 
#5,297 · (Edited)
Thanks Don.

So I made a mistake. I'm currently using the "analog" (rca) outputs on the Sonos into the Stage One. The Stage One manual says that bass management can be used in Pure Direct so I can set the mains to "small" and set crossover to about 70hz.

But aren't I using the internal DACs on the Sonos in this configuration which results in rolled off bass?

SIDENOTE: I don't have a spare RCA cable (need at least 6.5 ft from Preamp to Sub) on hand. Any suggestions for an affordable subwoofer RCA cable?
 
#5,299 · (Edited)
I would try 60, 70, and 80 Hz to see if you can hear the sub as a separate source. Set it as high as possible but below where you can localize it. THX uses 80 Hz and is an octave above the 1.7's -3 dB point so that is why I suggested 80 Hz. I ran my MG-IIIa's at 70 Hz but they measured down to 35 Hz or just a little below in my room. I could not tell much if any difference using 80 Hz and a L-R 24 dB/octave crossover (my initial trials, decades ago, used a much lower crossover slope and led me to design a third-order crossover instead of going with Magnepan's slower rolloff recommendation). I have run them full-range and they just do not sound as clean to me with large bass signals applied. Measured distortion is also very high (like 10's of percent below 100 Hz or so for 90-100 dB SPL about 8' away).

Can't remember exactly where I read it but it was a couple of places that said the SONOS:Connect analog outputs rolled off low bass. Note it is the COnnect and nothing to do with any particular speaker. OTOH I do not recall seeing actual measurements so maybe it was a myth, or the rolloff is low enough it doesn't matter. I seem to recall a tweak fix on one site but was unwilling to rip open my then-new Connect. I did try both ways in my system, and am not sure I heard a difference, but it was not an exhaustive test since I had the optical cables for digital anyway. I did not measure it (should have, duh). Chances are you are fine.

Monoprice, Amazon, Blue Jeans Cable, etc. have cables. I have been using Mediabridge from Amazon recently but anything should work. I have some very cheap Walmart cables I do not use because the connectors are lousy.

HTH - Don

Edit: This CNET review has no measurements but says it is "lean in bass" on the second page.
https://www.cnet.com/products/sonos-zoneplayer-zp90/review/
 
#5,303 ·
Second the idea of Tidal. Tidal's uncompressed 44.1 sounds better than Spotify's compression and MQA is subtly better than 44.1.

Also agree that probably the biggest improvement you can make is to get the Maggies away from the front wall and fine tweak their placement in general -- width, toe-in, etc. At least 5-1/2 feet but really, as much as you can. If they have to be closer to the front wall, get or make a couple of QRD diffusors and mount them on the wall behind the speakers where you see the midrange in a mirror on the wall from our listening seat. That will make the sound more spacious as it would be in a larger room by taming the first reflection.

Another improvement can be had by trying the resistors on the tweeter. Most people don't use them because they think you only need them if something is wrong, but according to Magnepan, this isn't correct -- think of them as a tweeter level control, most people wouldn't leave that set to maximum, but that's what people are doing when they run them without the resistors.

You don't generally need much by way of absorption with planars since you don't have to worry about sidewall and ceiling bounce but if your room is too bright or lively they can tame the highs and make imaging more precise.



Finally, if you like DIY, look for a used pair of true ribbon Maggies. The older ones made before they improved the adhesive maybe 15 years ago are often suffering from delamination but they sell an inexpensive kit that you can use to rewire them over a weekend. Usually that would mean the 3.x models like the 3.6, though I scored a pair of Tympani IVA's for $1600 and I've heard of better deals than that, one guy got a pair of IVA's for $300 from Craigslist! (But the Tympanis have to be used in a big or dedicated room, they aren't practical for most.)
 
#5,304 · (Edited)
Help Don!

Good News: I finally received my Mediabridge cables.

Bad News: I cannot for the life of me get my subwoofer to work with the new cable and settings

I first disconnected the REL Neutrik cable from the amplifier inputs AND thew REL Sub. The sub is active in Stereo Direct mode on the STAGE ONE. I then set the front mains to "small" and selected 80hz as the crossover.

I then connected one end of the mediabridge cable to the "sub" output on the back of the STAGE ONE, and the other end to the low/high level coax input on the back of the REL.

Lastly I set the REL's crossover frequency to max position (to allow the STAGE ONE to set crossover freq) or all the way up.

Powered everything up and all I hear are the Maggies, no sub output at all! I adjusted the High/Low volume and turned it all the way up... not a peep from the sub. Went through STAGE ONE's setup menus about 10 times. I even tried resetting the processor 3 times and went through "setup" each time. Still no change. No matter what I did it's like I just have stereo with no sub connections and no crossover set at all. I verified that there are left and right mains (set to small) and subwoofer set to "yes" in the "setup" menu. Lastly I tried using the .1 (LFE) input to the same result: no matter where I set the volume on the .1 input the sub remained quiet.

After an hour and a half frustrated as HE**, I gave up for the night.

Any help or suggestions appreciated :(
 
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