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

design, visual impact, clarity, both sides of the speaker radiates sound

low end

l have owned this brand for 6 years. any novice thats heard them has been very positive in response. anytime a speaker reveals the limitations of a cd you feel good about your purchase. how could a single dome tweeter compete with a four foot ribbon. anyone that spends more than 2000 grand on a box is buying hype. even a bi polar box cant measure up as the magna is audible from both sides

Cohesive single-driver sound. Incredible detail and lifelike presentation of acoustic intruments in a real space.

May not be "the last word" in bass extension.

Although I've owned the 1.6/QR's for more than a year now (and have loved them from the start) I feel as though I have just heard them for the first time. I initially paired the maggies with an Acurus DIA150 Integrated amp at 250 watts/channel into the maggies 4 ohms. The sound was accurate and delicate and the maggies sounded like excellent speakers. Recently, though, I replaced the Acurus with a VTL tubed preamp and a Proceed power amp that pumps an ominous 500 watts/channel into 4 ohms. Suddenly I wasn't listening to speakers at all. I was in the concert hall. The soundstage exploded beyond the boundaries of the speakers--wide and deep! I also experienced something rarely associated with Magnepans--viceral impact. I heard and felt the impact of drum solos and accoustic guitar solos like never before. Read the reviews listed here and you'll know that the 1.6/QR's are the single best value in any high-end product available, but wait until you feel them the kind of clean, fast power that a real quality power amp can deliver through them. You'll NEVER go back to dynamic-driver box speakers again (I promise)!
System:
Linn Genki HDCD CD Player
VTL Maximal Tubed Preamplifier
Proceed HPA2 Dual Monaural Power Amp
Magnepan 1.6/QR (bi-wired)
Monster Cable MI series interconnects/speaker cable

Similar Products Used:

Martin Logan Aeries III

deeeep soundstage; layered imaging; excellent fast bass; realistic dimensions of soundstage and players; transparency; palpability

room divider look; took 2 months of waiting to actually get 'em

After years of searching for the perfect speakers (and system) for a "real-world" price, it all came down to 2 finalists for my tastes and budget: Audio Physic Spark III's and the Maggies. I want it "all" in terms of audiophile grade sound; in short, I want as close a representation of the actual music event in my room as is possible--with music ranging from classic R&B to classical to jazz. So I auditioned the above-named speakers in my home to make a final decision (my review of the Sparks is also on this site).

Let's start with the biggest misconception on this site--the bass. The bass on these things OUT OF THE BOX was staggeringly good (and after a month, it's still breaking in). Note that I also own the fabulous Rel Storm III subwoofer...so this is coming from a real bass freak. I have the Maggies 5 feet out from the wall and 6 feet away from any side walls. So why do you see people on this site complaining about the bass? Folks, true audiophile-grade speakers demand a properly-matched system and set-up (i.e., garbage in, garbage out). My amp is the mighty and truly magnificent Enlightened Audio Designs PowerMaster 1000 (a freakin' steal by the way). With 2 channel music, this sucker is sending horrific gobs of high-current, wondrously musical, startlingly transparent and delicate power to the Maggies to the tune of 800 glorious WATTS. So I did indeed list the gloriously fast, detailed and weighty bass as one of the strengths of this speaker. No, it doesn't take that much power to make them sound great--I auditioned them with a lowly Bryston 3B with great bass results--but the Maggie line is well known to like power and (especially!) high current. Buy Bela Fleck and the Flecktone's Greatest Hits CD to get a great low bass workout disc. The Maggies absoulutely nailed the insanely fast and deeeeep bass on this disc (that's withOUT the Rel turned on). In my 19'x18'x8' room, I could feel the bass, but NOT like the sock-in-the-chest bass you might get with big cone speakers. However, in real life, it's the Maggies that recreate what REAL low bass in a REAL recording venue sounds like, outside of a rock or rap concert where the JBL amplified speakers are designed to thump your chest (and destroy your hearing). A system that thumps your chest on every cut and every kind of music is NOT realistic...even if it may be fun.

OK, to cut this short, the Maggies excel in the midrange and highs with delicacy and nuance where called for and with dynamics, power and weight where called for. The key to the magic of these speakers for me lay in two truly spectacular areas above and beyond the fact that they do everything well across the board. First is the fact that they portray a MUCH more realistic soundstage SIZE than other speakers. For example, in my auditions I enjoyed Thiel and Proac speakers but found they portrayed an orchestra or ensemble of Liliputian-sized performers and venues. The Maggies show a life-sized Ricki Lee Jones...and a life-sized bassist and guitarist in "My One and Only Love". On Mercury Living Presence's "1812 Overture", the full power, bombast and majesty of a full orchestra with live cannon is recreated in my living room. For my money, you just can't suspend disbelief with the music if you're not perceiving a realistic size of the soundstage and images arrayed on it. Secondly, the Maggies produce what I can only describe as the palpability factor in spades. I frequently find the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end as I can almost "see" the drummer, singer, etc. This is a combination of perfect pitch, tone and transparency that combines to recreate the original event with stunning realism.

Folks, these speakers only cost $1,675! These things are nothing short of a @#!*&! steal. There ARE giant-killers out there in audiophile land. It took me years to uncover them, but these are definitely the real deal (as are the rest of my system listed below--all of them are steals for the money and, more importantly, combine into a truly Class A music system at a fraction of the price other audiophiles pay for a similar musical experience). Also note that the first 2 times I heard these speakers at dealers they sounded horrible! So please audition these at home with quality components before making up your mind. If the form factor is a problem, I highly recommend the Audio Physic line (Spark III's are the biggest price/performance bargain). Happy listening.

My system:
Adcom GFP 750 preamp
Bel Canto DAC 1
Denon DVM-3700 DVD/CD changer
Denon 4800 receiver (surround sound only)
EAD PowerMaster 1000 5-ch amp
Rel Storm III subwoofer (crossed over at 38 hz)
Goertz Alpha Core/Analysis Plus wire
Monster 2500 power conditioner
Toshiba TW-40X81 tv

Similar Products Used:

Audio Physic Spark III was closest comp; auditioned too many to list over a 2-year period

Transparency, Huge soundstage

Size

Great speakers. Used to be $1475 list price but they went up a month ago(that's what my dealer told me). The new price I paid for is $1675 plus tax.

Similar Products Used:

Martin Logan

Clear highs, large sweet spot.

Fairly large size, weak bass

The Magnepan 1.6QR are fantastic speakers and I can see now why people rave about them. I didn't expect them to be that much better then my MMGs, but they are. You really have to audition them. The sweet spot is much larger then on MMGs and the female vocals (esp. Cesaria Evora) sound amazing.

I auditioned many other box speakers, but after listening to Maggies, I couldn't stand the box sound. The 1.6R are definitely better then MMGs (and I'm now using MMGs as surround speakers). The sound is fabulous (especially when using a subwoofer to help define the bass).

I am using a Yamaha RXV-995 A/V receiver (100W/channel) and it's plenty powerful to drive these Maggies.

Similar Products Used:

Magnepan's MMG, Snell Acoustics K2

Hi,
I have owned Definitive Tech for the longest time. I finally moved
from rock music to Jazz and realized the pitfalls in the Def Techs
and decided to upgrade my speakers. On the search for an upgrade
I checked out Sonus Fabers, Thiel's and Proac. I came very close
to buying the Thiels (I lost the deal as I made an international trip
right then). I got back heard the Maggies... and bought them...
They just blew away the Thiels and the Sonus away. Maybe the Sonus' had
slightly more airy highs but no one can compete with the realism
and soundstage of the Maggies. Being used to the bipolsr sound of the
Deftechs...the maggies were next step up in dipolar sound. They are
just great for home-theatre. Thelenious Monk, John Coltrane and
Stang Getz sound amazing...an 'in the Jazz bar experience'....
Monks piano is there!!!

I have measured them go as low as 40 Hz....I have a Sunfire sub too.
In fact there is a preemphasis of bass from 80 - 55 Hz. They need to be
run with a powerful amp to come alive. I recently moved from
MIT750 cable to the Goeratz Alpha Core and that gave them more air.
Just a shade bass shy though....maybe there is some burn-in time
here though.

My system:

Audible Illusions L1 (Seimens NOS)
Cal/Monarchy Audio Digital ( + Kimber TGDL)
Sunfire Amp
MIT 350 interconnects
Goertz MI2 biwire speaker cables

The Maggies are highly reccomended....the need space behind them
though...I had to move my couch out and bring in Bean Bags!!!

Five stars all the way!!!

Price. Sound. So detailed. Open and natural sound reproduction of instruments; especially strings and vocals. Excellent presentation of soundstage; wide and deep.

hmmmmm...I feel as if I have jumped aboard a bandwagon and now I am somehow a trendy yuppy type 24yr old kid with the best speakers under $4000

I have now had these wonders for close to 5 months now. There was definately a break in period...about three weeks for me. I love them. They are my favorite speakers that I have used thus far in terms of overall value and performance ratio. lets do a little comparison here:

KEFQ90 has good bass extension and great dynamic ability ...the 1.6's have all these qualities sans the low bass extension but outperforms the KEF's in detail, quickness and sheer midrange fullness.

Infiniti IL10 are bookshelf speakers so we will not speak of the low end. They need a sub. they are quick and responsive with very nice highs. Missing the midrange, soundstage of the 1.6's and the upper bass difinition.

B&Wnautilus803's are great speakers. Iloved them. Just too expensive for my wallet. They dont quite have the high end extension of my maggies but they are very dynamic. they have great bass but the maggies just have that detail and resounding defitnition that just sets them apart. the B&W's for me were close to being in my living room. I think your taste in music might come into play here also. I found the B&W's to be very good with Rock, kick drums were pounded out with force...the Maggies excelled in every other musical genere(except rap and trance of course).build quality exceptional on the 803's.

MartinLoganScenarios: these are very nice speakers..they have a deep soundstage and wide...between the ribbons and the electrostactics I eased more into the full midrange of the maggies and their quick upper bass with cellos and the like...the logans had very good highs but I did not like the integrated woofer...it did not quite blend as well as I had imagined...it was a little sore thumb but other than that and the pricetag..the logans are good speakers.again build quality exceptional.

Okay now that i have done a review/comparison of all the other speakers i have used; now for the pros/cons of the maggies.

-great high end extension
-midrange to die for...great for vocals- strings- jazz- piano- classical music and anything "unplugged" or accoustic
-easy to drive speakers even though some may dispute this claim; I am running them off a single Monarchyaudio SM-70pro which produces about 40watts into 4ohms and it gets very loud...
-soundstage is wide and deep.
-build quality is okay but not up to par with the B&W's or the MartinLogans but that is reflected in the price.
-o yeah the price is great especially if you are able to get a pair used for around a thousand...I bought mine new just as the price increased...
-what else can I say about them...I love to listen to jazz classical accoustic and pretty much everything on these babies. When you start to bring in marginal returns and all that economic jazz, the 1.6's just make sense and are so wonderful to listen to.


love em..just plain love 'em I do!!!

Similar Products Used:

KEF Q90, Infiniti IL10,B&W nautilus 803, Martin Logan Scenario and the formidable little MMG's

Price. Sound. So detailed. Open and natural sound reproduction of instruments; especially strings and vocals. Excellent presentation of soundstage; wide and deep.

hmmmmm...I feel as if I have jumped aboard a bandwagon and now I am somehow a trendy yuppy type 24yr old kid with the best speakers under $4000

I have now had these wonders for close to 5 months now. There was definately a break in period...about three weeks for me. I love them. They are my favorite speakers that I have used thus far in terms of overall value and performance ratio. lets do a little comparison here:

KEFQ90 has good bass extension and great dynamic ability ...the 1.6's have all these qualities sans the low bass extension but outperforms the KEF's in detail, quickness and sheer midrange fullness.

Infiniti IL10 are bookshelf speakers so we will not speak of the low end. They need a sub. they are quick and responsive with very nice highs. Missing the midrange, soundstage of the 1.6's and the upper bass difinition.

B&Wnautilus803's are great speakers. Iloved them. Just too expensive for my wallet. They dont quite have the high end extension of my maggies but they are very dynamic. they have great bass but the maggies just have that detail and resounding defitnition that just sets them apart. the B&W's for me were close to being in my living room. I think your taste in music might come into play here also. I found the B&W's to be very good with Rock, kick drums were pounded out with force...the Maggies excelled in every other musical genere(except rap and trance of course).build quality exceptional on the 803's.

MartinLoganScenarios: these are very nice speakers..they have a deep soundstage and wide...between the ribbons and the electrostactics I eased more into the full midrange of the maggies and their quick upper bass with cellos and the like...the logans had very good highs but I did not like the integrated woofer...it did not quite blend as well as I had imagined...it was a little sore thumb but other than that and the pricetag..the logans are good speakers.again build quality exceptional.

Okay now that i have done a review/comparison of all the other speakers i have used; now for the pros/cons of the maggies.

-great high end extension
-midrange to die for...great for vocals- strings- jazz- piano- classical music and anything "unplugged" or accoustic
-easy to drive speakers even though some may dispute this claim; I am running them off a single Monarchyaudio SM-70pro which produces about 40watts into 4ohms and it gets very loud...
-soundstage is wide and deep.
-build quality is okay but not up to par with the B&W's or the MartinLogans but that is reflected in the price.
-o yeah the price is great especially if you are able to get a pair used for around a thousand...I bought mine new just as the price increased...
-what else can I say about them...I love to listen to jazz classical accoustic and pretty much everything on these babies. When you start to bring in marginal returns and all that economic jazz, the 1.6's just make sense and are so wonderful to listen to.


love em..just plain love 'em I do!!!

Similar Products Used:

KEF Q90, Infiniti IL10,B&W nautilus 803, Martin Logan Scenario and the formidable little MMG's