transparency, dynamics, soundstage

binding posts; severely backordered

In deciding to purchase Magneplaner 1.6QRs, I auditioned many other speakers over a several month period. Typically, I auditioned these with the following CDs, among others:

Patricia Barber: Café Blue (especially: "Too rich for my blood")
Diana Krall: Love Scenes
Sara K: Hobo
Dadawa: Sister Drum

These provided a good test of the speakers’ abilities. Other speakers auditioned—all with different components and in different listening environments, some better than others (in relative order of preference on a 5 point scale, 5 being best):

Joseph Audio RM22si (4.5)
Dynaudio Contour 1.3mkII (4.5)

B & W Nautilus 805 (4.0)
Platinum Audio Duos (4.0)
Cabasse Farella (4.0)
Dunlavy I and II (4.0)

Hales Design Group Revelation Three (3.5)
Lynn AV 5140 (3.5)
Paradigm Reference Studio 80 (3.5)

PSB Stratus Gold I (3.0)
Mirage OM6 (3.0)
Thiel CS1.5 (3.0)
Martin Logan Arerius (3.0)

I was particularly interested in speakers that could fill a relatively large room (W 20’ x L 35’) with a high, vaulted ceiling (15’ at apex). I wanted the speakers to be accurate, detailed, and capable of producing a profound soundstage. The Maggies did this, and did it well; and they did it for considerably less than any of the speakers mentioned above, all of which I would have been willing to purchase if I had liked them as much as the Maggies. Other individuals, with different tastes in music, different listening environments, and different musical demands might very well rank the above speakers quite differently. For example, if I had had a small listening room, the Joseph Audios or Dynaudios would have been a great choice. If I preferred heavy rock, then maybe the Platinums or Paradigms would have been better.

I have now had the Maggies for approximately two weeks, and have been listening regularly to all types of recordings (both digital and vinyl). Although they are certainly not "broken in" yet, they sound better in my listening environment than in the two show rooms where I auditioned them. The room is carpeted. They are about 3’ from the back wall, 3’ from the side walls, and 6.5’ apart; my listening seat is about 12’ away. They are toed in slightly. I also have them bi-wired. [It is also very interesting to sit directly between them—gives one the impression of being part of the band!]

They disappear into a very large and engaging soundstage. I can safely say that I will never go back to box/dynamic speakers again. The published reviews of these speakers (July 1998 Fi; Jan. 1999 Stereophile) are quite accurate. In terms of dynamics, accuracy, and coherence, they are nearly perfect. I do not find the supposed lack of bass slam to be a problem—the bass is tight and accurate. I feel no need for a subwoofer. Nor did I find setting them up, and positioning them to be very difficult. I may play with this in the future, but am quite happy after only spending a few minutes positioning them.

The only potential issues I see with these speakers is their long waiting list (I had to wait 3.5 months for mine)—but I think that reflects the audio bargain that these speakers represent. The binding posts are not the easiest to use, but work well once set up. If a user plans to switch speaker cables regularly, this could be a bit of a pain.

These are revealing speakers, however, and may not be appropriate for some (especially "pop") recordings. But isn’t this the irony of high-end audio? The better the equipment, the more you limit yourself in terms of what you can listen too! Nevertheless, it is enjoyable to listen again to old records and CDs, discovering nuances in the music that simply weren’t revealed with my former system.

Most importantly, the Maggies are spectacularly engaging and musical—they make it enjoyable to close one’s eyes, forget about equipment, and simply listen! It is wonderful to let the music envelope you! And that is the bottom line, I think. I heartily recommend that anyone looking for speakers in the $1,000 to $3,000 range audition the 1.6QRs (realizing, of course, that high quality amplification is important).

Associated equipment:

Amplifier: Bryston 4B-ST (a very good match with these speakers)
Preamp: Bryston B-60R (a great sounding integrated in itself!)
CD: Adcom GDC 700 (next component to upgrade)
Turntable: Micro Seiki BL-111 with Fidelity research tonearm
Interconnects: Synergistic research alpha sterling (with active shielding)
Speaker cables: Audioquest type 4

Similar Products Used:

see review

Webmaster: I fail to see how Richard Lee's comments or methods belong on this page. Voiding warranties, re-engineering equipment and claiming that you've somehow "improved" the sound is BS.

I have owned Maggie SMGc’s for about four or five years and felt it was time to change them out. I went on a listening spree and found that I just did not like anything I heard. The closest thing to what I was looking for were various models in the Martin-Logan line, but something did not feel quite right about them. They seemed to have an artificial electronic edge in their presintation that I did not like, but they were closest to the soundstageing I was looking for. Then I took a drive to Alabama where my closet Magnepan dealer was. I spent the better part of four or five hours listening to the Maggie 1.6’s driven by an all Naimm system. This is with out question the best music system I have ever heard and I bought it. Very highly recommend. The speakers have been built and should arrive this week with the Naimm gear to follow shortly. In the interim, I will have to live with my Sonic Frontiers/Transparent setup which is also a very musical system. I will never be able to listen to box type speakers again. Not even good ones, they just don’t have the right feel.

I have one significant comment on the maggie 1.6's . Take some piano ( E.L.P. to Glen gould) music and listen . there is almost nothing out there that can touch the magnepans for playing the full measure of the Piano !!!!!!!!!!!!!

I upgraded from the MMGs to 1.6s 2 months ago (tip: you might want to prepare your family for the appearance of the speakers. I think they're stunning in cherry-white fabric with cherry trim, but there was an awkward moment when I brought them home and set them up). The speakers are placed as kind of a partition between a 10x10 ft dining area and a 12x15 ft living room area, with the long dimension of the living area perpendicular to the dining room-living room axis, forming an el. They're toed in, and slightly assymetrically placed. They sound good in a large area of the room (i.e., the sweet spot is not small).
The 1.6s have a bigger, smoother sound than the MMGs, which were already breathtaking. The bass is extraordinary - deep, strong and realistic. Small ensembles (classical, folk, jazz) sound as if you're at a live performance. Large orchestras have a detailed, exciting sound, but it's a little too exciting for me. Same thing for the high, loud notes of classical sopranos. I would much prefer classical music to sound like what it sounds like in the concert hall, even if it means correcting the signals laid down by misguided (or mismanaged) recording engineers.

I'm using an NAD C340 integrated amp (conservatively rated 50W), NAD 514 CD player, XLO Pro 150 interconnects, XLO Pro 600 speaker cable. Volume can get up to levels that, while not physically painful, are certainly too annoying to listen to for long. Bass notes at full volume can make your stomach vibrate but not as much as you would feel at a dance club.

I intend to upgrade to a tube amp (Transcendent Super Compact 150 or Conrad-Johnson MV-55) to get closer to the sweet, warm, luscious yet detailed sound of live classical music. I've read that power requirements for speakers, including these, are greatly overstated so I think the CJ would be OK. Although Transcendent's 150 tube watts for $2000 are hard to turn down. There's also an Audio Research VT60 that looks like a possibility. Comments (e-mail) welcome.

This is a superb speaker. Soundstage is huge, including vertical height. Midrange and highs are accurate tonally and have palpable presence. Bass is medium full, very tight and tuneful down to the lowest octave. You need a sub if you want to get down to 20 Hz, but you won't miss anything on 98% of music. As everyone knows about Maggies, they must be placed at least two feet from the rear wall and they need power. (I'm using a Sunfire amp with an Audible Illusions 3A tubed preamp.) They don't open up until you start to crank them. This is not a speaker for lowest level listening. At those levels, you are just compelled to turn them up a notch, then another, then another. They sound great on every kind of music, but really shine and become stunningly real with female voice, well-recorded cymbals, vibes, etc. For me, these speakers replace my classic Dahlquist DQ20's. I've auditioned many other speakers in my room including the Martin Logan Requests, Near 50M and two other higher priced Maggies (3.3 and 2.7). None of these could match the clarity of the Dahlquists without creating listener fatigue in my medium sized room (18 x 25). The Near was too laid back. The M-L's were edgy and had an unbearable peak in the mid-bass. The 3.3 and 2.7 were good, but both seemed to want more space to image properly. These 1.6 QR's make beautiful music in my room. I haven't heard everything in the price range, but they seem like a bargain in the $3500 or less category. A steal at $1500.

The usual for Planar Speakers

Anaemic Bass, Sterile Reproduction of Music, Size, Lack Punch and Dynamics, Uninvolving, Unexciting.. Un...

I demoed these setup with VTL Tube gear using Chesky's Ultimate Demonstration Disk.

I really can't understand what all this buzz is about.. these are fairly OK speakers at best. Nothing stands out as being the best in twice as expensive price categories at all.. in fact with cost efficient speakers like Paradigm and PSB I'd be amazed if these can compete with the cheaper Studio 40's.

The speakers seriously lack bass extension.. one would expect them to be at least clean down to low bass but they are in desperate need of a good sub to come to the rescue.

Female vocals sound sterile. There is no excitement even at sufficiently loud volumes. Soundstage is limited and once again one wonders why the huge size? these should be able to fill up large rooms but they struggles to maintain accurate placement of instruments during playback.

I'm seriously considering dropping down to the MMG's and getting a good sub like Hsu or SVS to do the low end. Planars really suck at low bass.. Otherwise I think i'm still gonna buy them.. the 'Looks' factor can't be beat.

Next stop.. Vandys.

Similar Products Used:

Martin Logan

Imaging, Transparency, Soundstaging, Musicality,Transient Response, space between instruments, Realism

Size and overall physical vulnerability

I have only had my speakers for about 2 weeks, but I felt compelled to review them in light of the previous review. I would have to say that something was definitely amiss with the listening experience the previous reviewer had. Lets just say that it could have been alot of things. VTL makes fine equipment, but alot of the things the previous reviewer desribed suggest that maybe he wasn't in the sweet spot and/or the speakers were not positioned well or room, equipment, and/or source material had something wrong with it. So far I am thrilled with my purchase of this fine musical instruments. I did find them to have a sweet spot and be dependent on experimentation with postioning of speakers and listener. My living room is about 18 by 30 feet and I have my speakers about 5 feet from the back wall and the left speaker about 4 feet from the left wall with the right speaker about 6 feet from the right wall. They are about 8 feet apart and 10 feet away from the listening chair. I have wall to wall carpet and a few acoustic wall panels mid wall behind speakers.

The performance of this speakers is nothing short of astonishing. I was prepared to spend more, auditioning speakers costing $8000. These speakers reproduce music not just sound. For live events they reproduce the event not just the song. People in the audience have developed personalities, not just the musicians. If you don't like the sound these speakers are making than it is probably the recording not the speakers. I joke with people at the office. I tell them that Earth Wind and Fire are playing live at.... My living room. So is Dave Matthews, Coltrane, Miles, Williams to name just a few. These speaker are simply the very best you can get for any where close to the price. Period. They are more like musical instruments than speakers. The box they come in are even labeled "musical instruments" not speakers. I am not even going to desribe the sound characteristics because by doing so I would be decribe the the source material not what these are capable of. Well just one... involving. Get the Maggie 3.6 if you want one of the very best sounding speakers in the world at any price and the 1.6 if you want something close but much more affordable.

The downside of these speakers is that to fully appreciate what they are capable of you must be in a relatively small sweet spot. There seems to be a focused array of sound, similar to what you would find with electrostatics but not as distinct. From this spot the bass is alarming enough to make me jump out of my seat so not to piss off my neighbors, just to leave the "zone and have a noticable difference in the sound level. I love this feature because, to my neighbors they are not as loud as box speakers would be. Furthermore for someone who loves to swing the golfclub in the living room, I have had some very close calls. And last but not least, I would be afraid to have a cat with these things.
In conclusion, just buy a pair!!

System:
Rotel cd945ax
Musical Fidelity A3cr amp and preamp
Maggie 1.6 qr
Audioquest type 4 speaker cable
Straight Wire Chorus interconnects

Will be adding a good turntable and SACD or DAC to above system

Similar Products Used:

Other planer speakers including the maggie 3.6 and electrostatics hybrids and many many box speakers.

Great midrange, vocals, and detail

Little detail at low volume; lower frequencies are not there; picky placement; may want to own another set of speakers for rock; a subwoffer is a must; material could be better quality; small sweet-spot.

I hooked up the Mags and noticed the sound stage always had a left bias--was very irritating. I returned them to the store and after testing the Mags it was discoverd the left speaker put out 5 db more than the right--perhaps a bad cross-over? I called Magnepan and got little feedback. (Magnepan is doesn't even pay the shipping when the store has to send defective speakers back--seems like bad PR to me.) Other than this problem these speakers sound great for vocals and all midrange, it's to bad they don't have a nice punch with lower end frequencies, then we'd have the perfect speaker. I purchased a Velodyne sub which works well, but for the best sound one should use a left and right sub. But now your getting into the $3600 range for speakers. I purchased these speakers at Stereo Design, they are very good and a great store to work with.
Is there anyone from San Diego with these speakers? If so give me an e-mail and some feedback--I'm still working on placement.

Similar Products Used:

Rotel and Transparent cables

Great midrange, vocals, and detail

Little detail at low volume; lower frequencies are not there; picky placement; may want to own another set of speakers for rock; a subwoffer is a must; material could be better quality; small sweet-spot.

I hooked up the Mags and noticed the sound stage always had a left bias--was very irritating. I returned them to the store and after testing the Mags it was discoverd the left speaker put out 5 db more than the right--perhaps a bad cross-over? I called Magnepan and got little feedback. (Magnepan is doesn't even pay the shipping when the store has to send defective speakers back--seems like bad PR to me.) Other than this problem these speakers sound great for vocals and all midrange, it's to bad they don't have a nice punch with lower end frequencies, then we'd have the perfect speaker. I purchased a Velodyne sub which works well, but for the best sound one should use a left and right sub. But now your getting into the $3600 range for speakers. I purchased these speakers at Stereo Design, they are very good and a great store to work with.
Is there anyone from San Diego with these speakers? If so give me an e-mail and some feedback--I'm still working on placement.

Similar Products Used:

Rotel and Transparent cables