I own Magnapan IIIa speakers and love them. This is my second pair of Maggis. They require a SOLID 100 wpc amp and take some time to place in your room. For this you are rewarded with a smooth, natural, open, and musical sound. Their bass is very good; quick and accurate if only down to 30 hz. They are not as dynamic as box speakers and do not compete with sub woofers. Maggies are the genuine artical and give satisfaction decades at a time.

I purchased my 2.7s after listening to them on the showroom floor at Gifted Listener Audio in Centreville, VA. The sound they projected was absolutely beautiful. When I got them home, however, they didn't quite sound the same. They had absolutely no bass. That has been over a year now. With great patience and time I have achieved the bass that I heard a year ago. These speakers take quite some time to "break-in". Once "broken-in" they have one of the smoothest sounds I have ever heard. If you are thinking about purchasing the 2.7s, be patient and have a good amplifier capable of handling 4 ohm loads and you too will achieve wonderful results. (I am currently using an ADCOM 5800 amp).

I Have The MMGs. They are great. The sound beats out those causting 10 times the price. The depth and quality put into the MMGs are just as good as the larger Mags. The sound is just as good, just not as big or deap. Because of there affordability I give them a 5.

Very good overall balance. fantastic bass with a powerfull amp.

Havent found any yet !

I have partnered my Maggies with Electrompaniet AW 250 R, Electrocompaniet EC 4.5 preamp + ECP-1 Moving coil phono stage. Turntable is a Maplenoll Athena MK 2 with Ortfon MC 20 super MK 2. The digital front end is a Teac T-1 transport and a Teac DT-1 Dac. Cables/connectors from Tara Labs and Isoda.

This combination sounds absolutlely wonderful with all parameters in balance. The MG 2.7 is compared to Quads a big step forward. I have also auditioned the Martin Logan sl 3, but i found them to bright for my taste and the bass is still not as well integrated with the midrange as it should be for a speaker in this price range.

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My MG 2.7 QR have replaced a pair of Quad ESL 63 on Arcici stands. I have also compared them to Martin Logan SL 3

I replaced my old MG-1's with the Magneplanar 2.7/QR.....just like the MG-1these sound a little "pinched" when new....the manual says that a 2 month break-in period is required for full bass response....With the MG-1 it was more like a year, and I expect the same with the 2.7
Otherwise I cannot live with a box speaker after owning Magneplanars....when
all conditions are right the experience of listening to well recorded music
through these speakers is awesome.
Also, another gripe I have is the grill cloth going right down to the floor
level on these speakers. That's the only thing separating an errant rocking chair runner and the cross-over components behind the grill.
If you have kids and cats, look elsewhere.

The creators of the Magnepan MG 2.7 apparently missed the Economics 101 lecture on the subject of getting what you pay for. I am guessing that the Magnepan people skipped that class to go to a concert, because they obviously are music lovers of the first order. The concept of getting what you pay for simply does not apply to the MG 2.7. This speaker gives you 5 to 10 times what you pay for.
In a nutshell, these speakers deliver transparency, accuracy and three-dimensional imaging that will take your breath away, at a price that will make your jaw drop. If you are uncomfortable with the thought of standing in your favorite high-end audio store, mouth agape, salivating and unable to breath, then you should not audition these speakers.

There are at least three yardsticks against which to measure a speaker's performance. One is its technical specifications. Since I am a music lover, and not an engineer, I have no idea how the Maggies “spec out.” And frankly, I don’t care. Unless you are a computer, this is the least important criteria for a speaker. The more meaningful yardsticks to a music lover are (1) the degree to which the speaker recreates the sound and experience of a "live" performance; and (2) the emotional response it elicits 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 privilege of sitting front and center as some of the greatest musicians alive cast their musical spells. From 10 feet away, I have witnessed performances by Dave Brubeck, Ray Brown, Monty Alexander, Gene Harris, Kenny Burrell, Diana Krall, etc., etc., etc. Fortunately, after the artists have finished their final encores, and I have been forced to return to the real world, a pair of Magnepans has awaited me to cushion my musical landing. Moreso than any other speakers I have ever auditioned, the Magnepans disappear from the equation and let the music flow in natural and uncolored state. If you love music, do yourself a favor: position yourself before a pair of Maggies, feed them a high-current, high-quality signal, close your eyes, and you will lose yourself in an utterly musical experience.

One of the ways in which Magnepans excel at recreating the experience of a live performance is by their stunning ability to create a sonic image not only of clarity, definition, and horizontal accuracy, but also of uncanny expanse, depth and three-dimensionality. I recently brought my Maggies over to a friend's house to hear what they sounded like when powered by some truly extraordinary electronics (a top-of-the-line, all Spectral system in the neighborhood of approximately $40,000). My friend usually plugs his components into a $15,000 pair of Duntech speakers (sorry, I can't remember the model number). When he connected my $2000 Maggies to his system, he was flabbergasted. Watching him react was at once funny and sad. After marveling at the Maggies’ extraordinarily lifelike image for about an hour, he expressed disbelief with the Maggies and dismay with his own vastly more expensive speakers. I don't know if he plans to buy Maggies, but I do know he is now in the market for new speakers because the Maggies so thoroughly convinced him that a strikingly more musical sound and lifelike experience were possible. His Duntechs, although strong performers in their own way, simply were no where near as musical or enjoyable.

The other yardstick of performance is the intensity of emotion a loudspeaker elicits in a listener. At this, the Maggies have no equal in my experience. I have compared them to a number of other well-regarded loudspeakers (Duntech, Wilson, Martin Logan, etc.), and the Maggies have created a more emotionally involving musical experience than anything else I have heard. If you have ever wondered what audiophiles mean when they talk of "transparency," listen to a pair of Magnepans with your eyes closed. The speakers become transparent – you lose the ability to identify where they are. Rather than sources of sound, they become like a stage for the music. As you listen, you know in your head that speakers are involved in the experience, but in your heart, they are irrelevant. While they may be necessary in the presentation of the experience to you, your subconscious melts them into the surroundings and you lose all awareness of them. The speakers themselves disappear, and are replaced by voices, strings, sticks, etc. Even at lower volume levels, they wrap you up and carry you away in the experience.

Some people think that the best and highest use of Magnepans is to connect them to high-end solid state electronics of virtually sterile sounding accuracy (Krell, etc.). Having listened to them through everything from Bryston, to Classe, to Audio Research, to Cary, to Levinson, I would disagree. The Maggies are exceptionally good at turning electrical impulses into sound without coloration. Consequently, you can safely attach Maggies to virtually any brand of electronics so long as you know you favor the sonic characteristics of that particular brand. But beware! The Maggies will sound like the components to which they are attached, pure and unaffected. There will be no complimentary interplay between the characteristics of your electronics and the "sound" of your speakers -- since Maggies truly do not have a sound of their own. If you depend on some such interplay to sweeten your electronics, Magnepans may not be for you.

I connect my Maggies via Tara Labs Prism Bi-Wire to the newly released Audio Research 100.2 (an amazingly warm and tube-like, yet accurate solid state power amplifier), which is connected by Cardas Golden Cross balanced interconnects to an Audio Research LS-9 preamp (the combination of the Cardas cables and 100.2 amp is so warm that it almost needs a harder sounding solid state preamp to provide adequate definition). For a source, I use a Nakamichi CD4 compact disc player. The experience is what I imagine it would be like to go skinny-dipping in the Carribean – I am bathed, enveloped and suspended bouyantly, in a big, warm, musical solution which is so clear you can see detail at the bottom which you otherwise would not believe existed. Talk about good for the soul! But the point is, despite their accuracy, Magnepans are not prone to a sterile sound at all.

Magnepans offer some more practical and 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 engaged in critical listening (however, you will need to pull them at least 2 or 3 feet out from the wall when you sit down to do your listening). They sound good from anywhere, but proper positioning of the speakers and of your ears will produce an experience of being engulfed in sound that is spacious, luscious and seamless. Although your spouse may look at you quizzically as you sway in your musical trance like Stevie Wonder, you will not notice or care because you will be so caught up in the experience.

The light weight and trim design of the Maggies makes them especially accommodating for those of us whose listening rooms must also double as family rooms. In the same vein, Maggies are remarkably kid-resistant. My vision does not begin to blur and my stomach does not begin to burn every time my 2 year old twin daughters or 1 year old son touch or lean on them. There are no cones to crumple, and their design enables them to withstand the innocent knocks and bumps of toddlers. However, you must never let children get into the habit of intentionally pushing or rocking the speakers because they will eventually topple over, and at 72 inches high, they can do damage to themselves, your room and your children.

But alas, perfection is not of this planet, and even Magnepan cannot escape this truth. The principal weakness of the Maggies is that they drop off sharply below about 35-40 hz. Some people don't care about an attenuated bottom end (not surprising, since most recordings do such a poor job of capturing sound accurately at the deepest frequencies). Unfortunately, I am not one of those people. In order to achieve true audio Nirvana, I need not only a pair of Maggies, but also a high quality powered subwoofer, crossed-over at about 50 hz. Also, a larger room or a high ceiling is a plus (although in my experience, this is the case with all speakers).

I was a conventional point source, cone driver devotee for many years until I heard music flow through a pair of Magnepans. I don't know that I will ever again be able to tolerate what now sounds to me like the colored and constrained sound that even the best conventional speakers produce.

When you listen to these speakers, forget the price tag, forget the esoteric and theoretical musings of the acoustic elitists, forget everything. Pay attention to one thing only: the music. If you have not heard Maggies powered by high-quality electronics before, you will be awed. Duke Ellington's words ring true moreso with a loudspeaker than with any other link in the chain of music reproduction: "If it sounds good, it is good." Wow, these speakers sound gooooooooood!!!!

we currently own a pair of MG 2c's. we are totally blown away by these maggies. they possess an incredible ability to allow you to feel the size and height of a soundstage not served by small box speakers. we have tried a number of quality amps,pre-amps,sources and cables and have found them to be somewhat system compatible. with some experimentation we have fallen in love with the maggies. they are a joy to own and with the right type of experimentation they will truly sing for you too. by the way they are awesome with tubes.

I've had my 2.7 "friends" for a long time now.
Powered by Levinson's "oldie" 23.5 (400W at 4 ohms)Power Amp and 380S Pre with proceed dap/cdd source, Lapis interconnects and Monster Cables 2.5 speaker cables its simply one if not the best sounds I have heard ever.
To have a good sound, all the components of the system must match.
I spent 4 years in trial and error until a final setup was decided upon.
But you REALLY MUST have a good high power amp to get good sound ou of any Magnepans.
So all of you out there with Maggies, if you haven't yet, try them with a good high power amp, and hear bass and dynamics for the first time...and I really mean for the first time.
Jorge

Regarding maggie 2.7's, honestly I have not heard the 2.7's but I have heard the 3.5's. Simply put, the maggies are indeed the best sounding speakers on the market today (overall). The only thing a box speaker can offer over a planar magnetic is dynamics, period. Enjoying music is not a critical event, it's an emotional event. When you are truly feeling a palpable presence in the room, there is a sense of involvement and image size has everything to do with that involvement, it creates a sense of people in your room like no other speaker can. The other part of that involvement is being able to hear all of what is going on, which the Maggies do in spades. Sonic imperfections go away at the height of that involvement and the music takes over. Thats what it's all about! I have a pair of 2.5r's with an AMC CD8 and a denon avr2500, Kimber pbj, Audioquest type 4, and an Adcom 5800 driving the 2.5's. AWESOME!! 2.5R'S between 1987 and 1990, they're pretty much older 2.7's from what I've been told. You can find the 2.5r's used for about $700-$800.
An enthusiastic 5 stars

the mg3.5r sound great but cost quite a bit to get it right.have since upgradedseveral power amps.to get sound right,since it craves for power.change from
100w to 200w cj transistor amps still clip with the leds coming on at high levels and peak.sold those amps and bought mark levinson 331 still doesn't get
the bass.finally settled for the classe ca400.and having the speakers run in
for more than 6months before getting more bass.the thing about these speakers
i find ,its simply sweet sounding.