Very alive deep big soundstage.Upper area is top class.Neutral.I use with Maggie Audio Aero Se Prestige sacd,four Bel Canto ref 1000 monos,active crossover,Velodyne 1812 sub,Transparent cables work best with maggie.I am own many top class speaker my best list is Wilson Maxx,Dunlavy 6,Audio Physic Kronos,Burmester b 100, Acapella Campanile and now Maggie 20.1

Bass is sometimes little slow,not so dynamic what is best but Maggie is much cheaper.I hope Magneplanat done future bigger model"tympani5",one narrow middle upper area panel and one bass panel and little taller,if that happen i buy first

Maggie 20.1 is "best buy"this price gategory.

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Wilson maxx,Dunlavy 6,Infinity Beta,Apogee,Sonus Faber Extrema,Cello,Martin Logan Monolith,Oracle Helicon,Ensemble,Duntech Soveregein,Audio Physic Kronos,Usher D2 etc etc and listening many many more

Very airy,deep big soundstage,fast,upper area is top class,bass area is good,very neutral,cheap what it give,i think it is "best buy",i dont know better speaker this price

bass is little sometimes slow but still good,i use active crossover this help with velodyne 1812 sub, bladelius 5 channel amp,audio aero prestige sacd,transparent ref cables and powerisolator,transparent is simply best with magnepan and many more

Best speaker this price gategory

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wilson maxx 2,best what i have own,acapella campanile,second best,audio physic kronos third,,usher d2,dunlavy 6,duntech soveregein,wilson watt puppy,martin logan monolith,infinity beta,apogee scintilla,b-w 801,808,oracle helicon,ensemble primadonna,sonus faber extrema,etc etc

They make you forget about the electronics and listen to the music(see above).

They need room to really open up.

I'll admit upfront that Magnepans are my favorite speakers. My love affair started when I went to the Gifted Listener in Virginia to listen to the Thiel 3.6 speakers. They had just received the Magnepan 3.6 speakers and I had the opportunity to listen to them driven by a Levinson 335 amp and an Ayre V1 amp. I thought they were the most natural sounding speakers I'd heard so despite the 3 month waiting period I ordered them the same day. I owned them for 6 years and I went through many other brands during that time. I had an opportunity to purchase a pair of B&W Nautilus 800 Signatures which retailed for $20K and reluctantly sold the Magnepan 3.6's. After a year with the B&W's I decided to order the Magnepan 20.1's. I've been using them for a couple of months now and all I can say is they are the best speakers I've had the opportunity to own or listen to. I've owned many speakers over the years and I can say that the 20.1's are simply the most enjoyable speakers I've listened to. They are the most natural sounding speakers and the soundstage is simply superb. The only caveat is they will not shine in a small room. They need space to really open up. I would also recommend a fairly high powered amp. I've used a Mark Levinson 336 and currently I'm using a Musical Fidelity kW500 integrated amp(a truly excellent piece in my opinion).

Customer Service

Haven't needed them for customer service yet.

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Thiel, B&W, JM Labs, Innersound, you name it.

Can fill the room with sound with the right placement/equipment. Great image, vocals are right dead in the center, when you find the spot it's magic.

Some people may need more bass. I don't listen to music with heavy bass often, so I think the maggies do a fine job. Other than that, SIZE! If you have to deal with WAF, good luck. These are like two doors in your living room.

If you can afford it and really like to listen in peace, trade the wife in for a pair. :)

World class speaker! I started with the 1.6's without hearing them. I bought the 20.1's a year later without hearing them either. It's like driving a world class sports car... you don't need to test drive it to know that you will like it.

I'm driving them with a Bryston 4bsst, and they need another one. I started driving them with 300 wpc, went up to 500 with a noticable difference... If you can't afford good equipment and don't have a good sized room, do yourself a favor and get another model. Mine are in a 22'x14' room and that's pushing it. My screen is 7' so my speakers are only 1' or so from the side walls.

This is the last speaker for me.

Similar Products Used:

1.6's, maggie center and surrounds

Simply everything

Narrow sweat spot but when you're in that spot it is music heaven on earth.

Nothing to say that others haven't. Simply astounding. Realism beyond anything I've ever heard. No fatigue no matter how long I listen. Bass is just incredible. Accurate music reproduction beyond belief.

Customer Service

Excellent

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Von Scheikert VR4 SR.
B&W 903s
VMPS RM40 all upgrades in 2004
Pinnacle Aerogel

Best sound with 500watts per channel they come alive with the best front end power. (Using Bryston 7B-SST monoblocks at 600watts 8ohms 900 Watts 4ohms and the best cabling you can afford)

Its not really a weakness, but you need a fair amount of space to reach sonic nirvana.

Its quite simple...after years of spending thousands of dollars on high-end (highly rated I might add) speakers searching for the most detail, expansive and transparent soundstage, I discovered the Magnepans MG20.2 - the search is over for the perfect vehicle with which to enjoy a huge classical library. Mahler, Strauss, Mozart etc never sounded so good. Bad recordings are exposed for their shortcomings with these large revealing beasts. Truly the best recorded sound I have ever experience and to boot, you never get tired or fatigued listening to them for long periods of time. Its silk for the ears and the panaorama and depth of the soundstage is breaktaking even compared to Genesis 201s. Simply magnificent - they should be vertically bi-amped for best performance

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Acoustat 2+2, SoundLab A1

MG 20 R makes me laugh and cry. Suspense is always waiting when that kick drum is about to strike. As for the guy with the base guitar sometime I want to get up and shake his hand, and as for Cliene Dion I just can stand there reaching out kissing her lips. The drummer/singer of the Eagles is a regular visitor to my home. By now you should get what I mean. Music and voices are large and alive. Bass is extremely deep and concert like.

Ribbon tweeters will fail with use, replacement is yearly but is normal stress and strain

MG 20 R is pure sex. Makes you feel as if you are sitting on the tenth row of seats at a concert. The sweet spot is a mile wide. Requires vertical biamp and non harsh electronics to obtain the above happines. Solid core cables I suggest.

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Dalquist DQ 10, ML Monoliths, Quads, Accustats 1+1, BW 801 1995, after all of these I still kept my MG 20 R

Sweet sound. Tremendous sound stage. Great Imaging when set up correctly. Incredible price for what you get. Nothing under $20K comes close.

size and placement

I demoed these speakers against Dunlavy and Nautilus 801s. The Maggies actually impressed me more than the others although they were less expensive. I then matched them against Vandy 5s. Again the Maggies impressed me more. The Vandys had a very sweet sound but not the sound stage. The other brands were very good quality but nearly as musical. By the way, If you are going to leave info here and not a true review, you should average out the reviews and rate accordingly. A non review lowered the average of the Maggies considerably. Not what this site was intended to do. I hope more people leave excellent reviews for these speakers to show the true average.

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Too numerous to mention. 40 years of listening and my ears still can tell the difference from very good and great speakers.

Sound stage, sweet highs, quick tight bass

Size, power, and placement requirements.

I have been toying with the idea of moving on from my Tympanies to the MG20s so I gave them a listen. I had the opportunity to do an A/B comparison to Dunlavy, Nautilus, Vandersteen, Wilson, and Genesis speakers. IMHO the only 5 star rating went to the MG20s. They not only sounded better (actually more musical and enjoyable) than the others, they were less money. If you have the power and room that these speakers require--Buy them. It will cost you at least 3 times more money to get anything better. Now I somehow have to A/B the MG20s with my Tympanies to make the final decision. Happy listening to all of you.

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Most everything on the market.

Talk about imaging and sound staging...wow!

They're so revealing that you'll find yourself avoiding some recording because of the sound quality. Also, they can be a little hot and sizzly on the top end....so you'll need a good set of cables to round it off just a bit.....

Well...let me just say that I've always wanted a pair of these babies. I got my chance a little over a year ago when a guy in Pittsburgh decided to sell his pair. I jumped at the chance and have loved them ever since. They were in perfect condition...with black cloth and dark cherry trim. They also came with xovers supplied by Magnepan but I already had a pair of Bryston 10Bs which I'm using instead. These speakers are pretty tall....[about 80 inches]... and about 30 inches wide. Just imagine 2 great big doors sitting in your living room for stereo speakers, which makes it all the more surprising just how unobtrusive they are. Yep....if ever there was a "top o the mountain" in stereo speakers, the MGs must be it.

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Quads, Sound Labs, other Maggie stuff....