I purchased the MG 2.7 QR speakers new over 12 years ago. This is the third pair of Magneplaners that I have owned; The first being a used pair of MG1's, then MG1.5's and now the 2.7 QR's. The 1.5's had poor bass response so I upgraded to the 2.7's. At the time of purchase the 2.7's had the same woofer panel as the 3.x (I've forgotten what rev they were back then). I viewed the 2.7's as a much better value play with the same bass response as the 3's and still going past 20 KHz with the quasi-ribbon tweeter. I like the detail, immediacy and sound stage of Magneplaners.

However, I must warn anyone considering the purchase of any Magneplaner that there is a significant problem endemic to the design concept of the Magneplaner, that being longevity. Of the 3 pairs of Magneplaners I have owned, 2 of them have had their serpentine wires come loose from the diaphragms over time. I have discovered that this is not uncommon to Magneplaners. The glue that they use to adhere the wires to the diaphragm degrades over time. I ended up paying $850 (including shipping) to have my 2.7’s “re-wired”.

I know of no other loudspeaker design that has an inherent flaw like this. I am disappointed that, after 30 years, Magnepan has not found a solution to this problem. I fully expect that, 10 years from now, I will have to send my 2.7’s back again for rewiring. No doubt, many Magneplaners will never have this problem but far too many of these speakers do, making the probability of wire separation too high for a speaker costing thousands of dollars. Thus, I have decided that when this problem occurs again, I will search for a new non-Magneplaner speaker - unless it has been proven to me that Magnepan has solved this issue. Magnepan needs to get up off its laurels and fix this problem.

There's nothing that even comes close to the 'live' sound of magnepans except for the actual live performance. Also, they retain their value and quality over decades. Cone speakers degrade practically with the first 10 uses. Also, the treble doesn't sound like a zip zip zip coming from a peep hole... it's grand !!

Too expensive considering what's in them. Materials to manufacture one of these would cost around $50.00 bucks...

2.7 ... I really don't know how magnepan comes up with model numbers because the 3.6R's do not sound as good/warm as the 2.7's. I will never ever own another type of speaker. Magnepan has made the only speaker that actually 'speaks' !! I have owned 2.7R 2.0's 1.6QR, 3.6R, MMG's & MGMCa's... These will probably be replaced by the 20.1's that cost $10 grand a pair. There's nothing that sings sweeter than a Magnepan speaker no matter what the model number. As always, these require a massive amp and I use 2 EV7300A stage amps (600W RMS @ 8 ohm each) - This allows some headroom which these speakers will appreciate the most.

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Nothing compares to Magnepan's patented technology ! NOTHING !!

Amazing image and sound stage and lack of boxiness

maybe a little bass shy, but I have a sub-woofer

Having had over 50 different speakers, including apogees slant 6 and martin logan cls twice, all I can say when live was what I wanted nothing compares to thes Maggies

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apogee slant 6, martin logan cls, thiel 3.5,proac tablette

Nice design. Wife Acceptance Factor is great. Very good for orchestral music and operas. Very good balance and bass is tight and does not rumble.

I could not find any except it has to be driven by a powerful amp.

Mats Hansson is absolutely right when he paired his Maggies 2.7 with the Electrocompaniet AW250 R and the Electrocompaniet EC 4.5. This pairing is magic. Bass is tight and with authority if partnered with a powerful amp like the Electro AW 250R. My front end is a Project Perspective with a Clearaudio Sigma cartridge and a Musical Fidelity phono stage. My cables are QED Silver Spiral. The Maggies 2.7 is fantastic. Soundstaging and Imaging are great. Midrange is a killer.

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Dynaudio Facette

Coherence, lifelike paino reproduction, overall balance

The occational sound of the mylar diaphram, power hungry, large.

I had been wanting a pair of MG 2.7s since 1996, but it was not until last year that I have the financial means to aquire them. I have spent extensive time listening to the 1.5, 1.6 & 3.5''s and have always liked the 2.7 the best. The 1.5 and 1.6 are to thin sounding for me, and the 3.5 was always a bit to bright. The 2.7 is a very coherent speaker that speaks with one voice. Also they are warmer than other maggies making them less analytical and more musical (in my book at least). Imaging is decent but not like a minmonitor, dynamics are good, but they like a lot of power to really sing. I highly reccommend them and would not trade them for any other speaker except the Vandersteen Model 5. System: Pioneer DVD-525 transport, Cardas High Speed Digital Cable, Bel Canto 1.1 DAC, Wireworld Equinox III+ interconnects, Adcom GFp-750 pre-amp, Adcom GFA-5500 amp, Wireworld Oasis III+ speaker Cables, and a Velodyne ULD-12 Subwoofer

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Magnepan SMGa, Vandersteen 1c, Celestion Unit 15

It seems to me that anyone spending 2G's on a set of speakers is goinf to have to give it a favorable review or risk looking like an idiot...that being said, I listened to these at a friends house and found them to be lacking in imaging and clarity in comparison to a set of much less expensive Dahlqusit DQ-9's or even....gasp, shock, horror of horror's, Bose's AM-5's...review with your ears, not with your ego

I have owned a pair of MG 2.7's for the past year, and truly they require timeto reveal their true capabilities. Experimentation with set-up is crucial as well as a large room. A bullish amplifier(Parasound's HCA 2200II) amp, CAL CL-10
digital front end,along with other competent hardware do elicit acceptable
results across the frequency band.Do I have problems with the bass? No! It is
tight, and not exaggerated. I feel the only need for a subwoofer is for
home theatre applications. These speakers offer a wide soundstage, depth, and
details. "Mucho" details! They are a bargain.

Magnapan's MG 3.5R have recently replaced my MG 2.7/QR as my main speakers. Theimmediate impressions were the deeper bass(the two are said to have the same
bass radiating area), more midrange presence, and a delicate treble. Although
I was deeply satisfied with the performance of the 2.7s, in retrospect I should
have initially scrape enough dough to start with the M.G. 3.5Rs. For those who
may be inspired to try these speakers out, mate them with a plus 200w amp. Kick back and be amazed with you bargain.

OK.....I'm not hogging web space....these speakers need a follow-up review.After three months of use, things begin to happen.....the sound is more
open and the frequency response is flatter....much of the midrange "pinch"
is gone.....They are breaking-in.
I have a 2.2 ohm resistor in series with the tweeter.....there are terminals
on the back plate to accomodate resistors for padding down the tweeter and
midrange...(if necessary)....No...these speakers are not plug-n'-play. Takes
some experimentation with placement and equalization.........
They have that type of sound that transcends the physical world of components.
They disappear and music comes through with remarkable realism......

The Magnepan 3.5R's are the best speakers I've ever heard and certainly a best buy for the money. The frequency/tonal balance is almost perfect although they may sound a little bright in some rooms. This can be cured with judicious application of room damping. The bass goes all the way down and will satisfy all but home theater types who want to haer those dinosaurs stomping. Room placement takes some experimentation but will reward you with great imaging and a wonderful soundstage. I don't understand those who say the images are too big. A box speaker sounds totally artifical after listening to a planar speaker. For even better results, bi-amp these babies. The transparency improvement is clearly audible and the extra power probably doesn't hurt. I expect I'll own these as long as my previous speakers (Magneplanar T-1D's) 15 years!