Open and clear sound

requires space and must be set up properly for best sound

I brought these to replace my Polk Audio RT7 as my main listening speakers for music only. Nice improvement in the openess and the clarity of the music. everyone who hears the speakers are amazed at the sound. I listen to Jazz and the reproduction is very good, if gives you the sense that you are right there with the muscians. the only problem, they require alot of space and must be set up properly for the best sound. One of the best speakers I have heard and would recommend to any one who listens to acoustic music, limited bass however you can always add a quality sub with it

Similar Products Used:

none

Musical, isn't that what it's all about? Realistic Dynamic Soundastage Nothing comes close.

They are big. They like a little space. The more power the better.

I've listened to a lot of speakers over the years. When I saw Magnepan's "offer you can't refuse" buy the MMG's direct and try them out, if you don't like them send them back, I had to give it a try. I was REALLY impressed with this $550 speakers. But there was nothing under about 55 hz. So I bought a sub. Never could get it interated just right. But I liked the Maggie sound so much that I couldn't go back to a "box" speaker. So I started looking for a used pair of 1.5's. Well I've owned these for about 2 months now and all I can say is "Holy Smokes!". This is without a doubt, the most realistic, musical system I have ever heard in my house and maybe anywhere. The soundstage is HUGE, the music just flows. They are very detailed, very tight, very dynamic and the bass, while not the lowest(down to about 40 hz in my room), is by far the most accurate, quickest, realistic bass I've heard. The detail from a standup bass or bass drum is scary real. To sum it up these speakers are AMAZING! I would suggest everyone try them at least once in your life. The more power you can throw at them, the better they sound. They sound best, in my room, about 4 ft from the front wall.

Similar Products Used:

Various planars, Martin-Logan, Apogee. Many, many box speakers.

Soundstage, imaging, depth, clarity, looks, yada, yada, yada...

Eat power like you wouldn't beleive, positioning, lack the bass that you feel in the chest, get a good sub or 2, I did!!But look out babe once your set up with a set you will loose sleep and miss days off work, but that ain't to bad, is it?

Well I will not throw a bunch of ear pleasing words at you to make me feel better about my knowledge of the English lanquage or impress you with the stereo jargon to make you think I know all about HI-FI, well I don't, but I do know what sounds awesome,outstanding, great,good,alright and like crap!!What I will say is find a set and listen to them, I think you will love the sound from them, espescially with a hi end sub!!I have had some really great spkrs in my time and these are right at the top!! PSB Gold I, Vandees 3A, VMPS 40's Theil 1.6, Martil Logan's, Klipsch, James, to name a few, and I've listened to many great spkrs that in the stratosphere in cost, my are the 1.5qr model's with a Hotrod upgrade with Cardas wiring threw out and Kimber Caps, made a great spkr sound awesome!! Alone these are the best value I feel under $2000, but remember you better have an amp the has alot of current output!! I use a Cinepro amp and I will state here and now I will put my amp up against any amp out there that cost under $5K,and I beleive you will agree that the Cinepro amps are the biggest sleeper in the audio industry!!These sound amazing for the price!! I've had Krell, Aragon, Adcom, Carver,Sunfire, Bryston, Mac's and alot more, when I got the Cinepro I stopped looking for Amps!! Great match with the Maggies but Cinepro will drive anything out there!! Cinepro boast's they make the most powerful amps in the world and they sound unbelievable, but enough about that!! Go grap a pair of Maggies 1.5,1.6, 2.5,3.6's and you will never go back to a cone spkre again!! Best bargains out there for overall performance to dollar ratio, bar none!! Prove me different babe!!

Similar Products Used:

Logans, Vandersteens Psb, Vmps Theil

Imaging, Detail, Sound Stage, easy to listen to for extended
period of time

low end, offers quality rather than quantity

What a wonderful listening experience these Maggies prove to be! Sounds are as big as the instuments that produce them. The 3D soundstaging would have one belive that YoYo Ma was playing his cello in your living room. After purchasing these beautiful panels I found that listening to my CD collection was a whole new exciting experience! I heard things I had simply never heard before. Acoustic strings and percussion sound so remakably real it is bizare!

Similar Products Used:

Meadowlark Kestrels, Theil 1.5

Tonal accuracy, soundstage & imaging

Tight but light bass, a little hard to place

I've owned a few "box" speakers and hybrid electrostats over the years but I still prefer the sound of "Maggies". I have known very few people who had planars and went back to box speakers and the odds are that if you give Maggies a good listen then chances are you won't go back. They offer a wonderful soundstage and imaging but do require carefull placement to maximize their capabilities. When listening seriously, make sure you move them away from the rear and side walls to let them breathe. Many new listeners will find their bass as soft or light but it is tight and natural. The bigger models will provide you with a lower bass extension and if you really miss the bass then add in a sub. I do find that they do not go as low as my Acoustat hybrids did and I am planning to add in a small 8" sub on a trial basis to see if I like the results. I find they are excellent with classical and jazz music but do not play as well as I would like with some of my older rock cds. Many speakers seem to offer something specific - Quads bring out the best midrange, the big B&W's can give you good bass extension, Meadowlarks have wonderfull highs, etc. but Maggies do everything well. Maybe this model won't give you the best available in a certain frequency range but overall, they provide a well balanced sonic picture.

I think the 1.5's offer a great value in the used marketplace. With the cost of the new 1.6's now over $1600 these are a steal at around $600-$700. It would be my recommendation that you use as much power as possible as IMHO Maggies love current. Even with a relatively flat impedence curve they still prefer good juice. I owned a pair of SMGa's in the late 80's and fell in love with the Maggie sound. Its taken me 12 years to get back to Maggies and I can tell you its just like coming home after a long trip - the familiarity of that wonderful sound. After being away for 12 years its good to be home again.

Associated gear:
Bryston 4B-ST amp
Rogue 66 preamp
Arcam Alpha 8SE cdp
Coincident CST interconnects
Analysis Plus Oval 12 bi-wires

Similar Products Used:

Magnepan SMGa, Acoustat Spectra 11

Great sound . Great looks.

Bass.

This is a speaker with a crystal clear sound. Probably at his best when you like classic music. We like , however , popmusic,blues and rock more .
The Maggies indeed have a lack of bass. After three years , we decided to buy a active subwoofer.We only can say incredible!!!! The Maggies even sound better now.We think that the combination of the 1.5 and a good active sub , may give you a better sound as the 3.6 , although the price is much lower.

Crisp highs, incredible imaging, best bang-for-the-buck. I cant say enough good about these speakers!

bass below about 45 Hz.

I bought a set of demo speakers and have only enjoyed them more every time I listen. I recently went to bi-wiring, and there is now enough power (about 400 w to each channel) to make the bass a touch better. I am not using any "high end" equipment with them, and not even expensive cable, just what sounds good! My music selection is quite wide, and I have found no music that the 1.5's cannot keep up with.

Decent speaker. Strengths - lots of detail and a spacious soundstage. Problems - crappy lower treble with no "bell" sound with cymbals, just the SSHHH sound. Also, no low bass and a quirky upper bass/low midrange. No dynamics a mile above sea level. I like ribbon detail, but I'd buy a good dynamic speaker first since the strengths don't outweigh the weakness. A great secondary speaker for those looking for something "different".

The creator of the Magnepan 1.5/QR apparently missed the day in grade school when everyone else was learning that, "you get what you pay for." Maybe he/she was at a concert. Regardless, that concept simply does not apply to these speakers. In my experience, you get 5 to 10 times what you pay for.
In a nutshell, these speakers deliver imaging that will take your breath away, at a price that will make your jaw drop.

There are at least three yardsticks against which to measure a speaker's performance. One is technical specifications. Since I am a music lover, and not an engineer, I have no idea how the Maggies perform. The more meaningful yardsticks to a music lover are the (1) the degree to which they recreate the sound of a "live" performance; and (2) the emotion they elicit in the listener.

My in-laws produce a major jazz series in Salt Lake City. As a result of having married well, I have had the privilige of sitting front and center at performances of some of the greatest musicians alive. From 10 feet away, I have experienced the music of Dave Brubeck, Ray Brown, Monty Alexander, Diana Krall, etc., etc., etc. Fortunately, when I return to the real world, a pair of Magnepans awaits me. Moreso than any other speakers I have ever heard, the Magnepans disappear from the equation and let the music be heard in a most natural and uncolored state. Place yourself before a pair of these beauties, feed them a high-current, high-quality signal, close your eyes, and lose yourself in a thoroughly musical experience.

One of the ways in which Magnepans excel at placing you front and center at a great performance is by their imaging. I recently brought my Maggies over to a friend's house to hear them with some truly extraordinary electronics (a top-of-the-line, all Spectral system at approximately $30,000). My friend owns a $20,000 pair of Duntech speakers (sorry, I can't remember the model number). When he connected my $1500 Maggies to his system, he was flabbergasted. After marvelling at their extraordinary imaging for an hour or two, he exclaimed that he needed new speakers. His Duntechs, although strong performers in their own way, simply were no where near as muscial and enjoyable to listen to as the Magnepans.

The other yardstick of speaker performance is emotional effect. At this, the Maggies are unbeaten in my experience. I have compared them to a number of other well-regarded speakers (most of which I simply could not afford even if I wanted them), and they have compared favorably with everything I have heard. The term "transparency" taked on a new meaning with Magnepans. Rather than being sources of the music, they become almost like supports for it. As you listen, you know in your head that the speakers are relevant to the experience, but in your heart, they become as hooks to a painting. You simply forget about their existence because you become so involved in the musical experience.

Magnepans offer some less ethereal benefits as well. Although they are tall, they are so thin that they need not intrude into your room when you are not engaging in critical listening (however, you will need to pull them at least 2 or 3 feet out from the wall to appreciate them fully). This makes Maggies especially accomodating for those of us whose listening rooms must double as a family room. In the same vein, Maggies are remarkably kid-resistant. I don't need to cringe or shout when my 2 year old twins touch or lean on them. There are no cones to crumple.

Perfection is not of this planet, and even Magnepan cannot escape this truth. The 1.6 does drop off sharply below about 45 hz. Some people don't care about an attenuated bottom end (not surprising, since most recordings do such a poor job of capturing sound at the deepest frequencies). I am not one of those people. In order to achieve true audio Nirvana, one needs not only a pair of Maggies, but also a high quality subwoofer, crossed-over at about 50 hz. Also, a high ceiling is a plus (although in my experience, this is the case with all speakers).

I was an M&K point source devotee for many years until I heard Magnepans. Now, I don't know that I will ever again be able to tolerate the colored and constrained sound that even the best conventional speakers produce.

When you listen to this speakers, forget the price tag, forget conventional wisdom, forget acoustic theory, forget everything. Pay attention to one thing only: the music. If you have not heard Maggies with high-quality electronics before, you will probably be awed. Duke Ellington's advice is more applicable to speakers than to any other link in the chain of music reproduction: "If it sounds good, it is good." These speakers sound gooooooooood!!!!

awsome soundstage

only as good as the recording

I see some mixed reviews on the maggies below but I bet those who didn't like them used a cheap low current amplifier. I use a vtl st-80 and those 60 tube watts are perfectly suited to these maggies. I love these speakers and I hate them. They will not make a bad recording sound good but I have noticed that all cd's of the last 10 years have become much better and good recordings sound amazing on magneplanars. The best of Sade is an excellent cd to demo these speakers with. Dynamics are again a question of recording quality but I have to admit this is not a speaker for any sort of hard rock fans.