I don't understand all the glowing comments about these units. It sounds like a 2.7 with a ribbon of clearly unmatched Q. If the quasi-ribbon midrange made an attempt to sound like a true-ribbon, the result would be OUTSTANDING!! However, the entire XO region is cluttered with IMD from mismatched transients upon recombination of the drivers.
In an attempt to explain my POV better & preclude negative eMails, it's analogous to matching a metal dome with a paper cone in an overstuffed sealed enclosure.

As the owner of the Maggie 3.3 and having heard the 3.5 many times at a local audio shop, Mart's comments that it sounds like a 2.7 is ridiculous. I heard the 3.5 vs the 2.7 and quite frankly, I never could understand why the Series 2 was developed at all. It did not have the openness or musicality of the 3.5 and yet it was not that much less in price. And interesting that Magnepan has in fact dropped this product line.
As for all this silly tech talk of unmatched Q, distortion at the crossover points, ribbon tweeter technology, etc, I would suggest that you find a competent dealer that has these speakers set up within a truly musical system and hear for yourself why this speaker has more universal praise than anything else.

Mixing a Stereophile Class A CD player or phono, with another Stereophile Class A preamp, and amp, etc., is not going to guarantee anything. And if you are driving these speakers with Best Buy or Circuit City electronics, you put your money in the wrong place to start with. Find a system that is meant to work together by its designers, and give these another listen.

These speakers are truly power hogs; my ARC VT130 is a great sonic match but runs out of steam at about the point where these speakers can really get going. And perhaps this is their weakness - they don't do very well at low listening levels. I have read that the higher powered Bryston and Counterpoint 200+W amps are a great match with these so I will soon look into trying one of these amps as well.

I can only assume Mart felt these speakers had serious distortion problems because of an amp mismatch. To just make comments about such a problem without also specifying the system he heard these with makes his generalized comments insignificant. Sounds like he has his instruments hooked up to the system rather than his ears!

They sound incredible way out in a room but bass is sacrificed if they are too far from corners or side walls. And I have found in my own experience that putting the tweeters on the outside allows the music to extend far beyond the side boundaries of the speakers.

As for the tweeters themselves, I spent 3 hours one day an a local Audio Research dealer who carted in every Martin Logan speaker except the Monolith, the Paragon Jem/Jubilee (excellent by the way), the NHT 3.3, and the Wilson Watt/Puppy, and none of them even came close to the awesome clarity and treble extension of the Maggie 3.5. And I tried the B&W 802, Thiel 3.6, ProAc 2.5 and Alon V as well at home, and again, not even close. Each of these speakers has some incredible strengths but none of them approached the 3.5 in the trebles.

This is clearly a 5-star speaker and there is really nothing else out there for the price that even comes close.

MG 3.5 R are one of the best speakers regardless of price. Transparency, detail, sound picture, dynamics are all world class. The most of dynamic loadspeakers are non comparable here. MG 3.5 R are big bargain for performance they give. Need good amplifier and CD player and about 0,6-2 m of backspace. This is really superb product.(Sorry for poor english)

Magnepan MG 3.5 R are beautiful sounding loadspeakers. With the right setup, they are just amazing. I am using Swiss Physics amplifier and Wadia 850 CD player. The sound is marvellous by any standard. For the price they are steal.

Yes Maggies 3.5 are very,very good sounding loadspeakers. Soundstage is so natural with fantastic transparency and detail. These are among 5 best loadspeakers in the world regardless of price. But, it is important with good amplifier, cables and CD / LP player. & stars if possible.

I had picked up a set of MGIIIAs some time ago, impressed with the sound of these panels, I took a trip to listen to the MG3.5s.I was floored at the dynamics and realism of the 3.5s, I had asked for the power amp to be the Jadis 200 since my amps on my Maggies are 200 watt tubed amps.
The sound was luscious, detailed and realistic.
I closed my eyes and felt like I was in the balcony of the concert hall!
Well they came home with me and other than my Infinity RS4.5s, I find myself in front of the maggies anytime I crave tubes and classical,(which is all the time)!
I will not buy any other speaker!
Happy Listenin :-)

I have owned the 3.5R's for a couple of three years and MGIIIa's for 10 years before that. The 3.5 has been replaced?, upgraded to the 3.6R, supposedly different crossover points and redesigned mid panel section. A review of this speaker may be moot but as they will be available on the used market and the fact that they apparently are not that removed from the 3.6 makes for a great used prospect. At the $3000 original retail price, the only thing that comes close is a similar price point Martin Logan. The ML's I have heard with Krell electronics sound grainy and boomy compared to the Maggies. These Maggies are way smooth. Yes they could stand a tad more bass heft but I will give up that short coming for the overall excelent sound they produce. They are not high db rock-n-roll speakers. They will poop out before a 200watt amp will and will most likely blow fuses. They are a perfect reproducer of jazz from traditional to progressive. After having MGIIIa's for 10 years, I auditioned several box speakers including Wilson Witts, Watt Puppys, B&W, Mirage and Vandersteins. The 3.6 as all Maggies I have heard throw a much bigger more 3D soundstage than any box speaker. Once you own Maggies you can never go back to the box. I would give them a 4.5 with the half speaker deduction being for less bass than ideal.

Very refined sound. Beautiful highs. Monstrous soundstage

Lack of bottom octave, midrange is not the best, lose focus at high volumes, and soundstage, while neat to hear, is too big.

Very nice speakers, with lovely, realistic sound. I lived with them for some time, but had to sell them because of the ridiculously large soundstage. It made images far too big and sounded unnatural. I go to the MN orchestra almost weekly and the Maggies, just spread the stage all over, which is not what I hear live. That said, the highs on the speaker were just amazing! About as good as the Inner Sound that I now own, but the midrange of the Maggies was not that great. Quad's, Inner Sound Eros, and Spendor's all have much, much better midrange than the 3.5. If a speaker doesn't have a great midrange, it eventually loses it's luster w/me. It's not a terrible midrange, but there are speakers that definitely beat it, including the much improved 3.6, which I consider a marked improvement over the 3.5 in the midrange. Some don't think the midrange of the 3.5 is a weakness, but all I have to say to them is this- listen to Quad's and you will realize the 3.5's midrange isn't that great. At over 15 yrs. old, the Quad's still have the best midrange bar none, but they, too, have their own problems (i.e., lack of highs). I liked the speaker, but at about 1,000 more, I think the Inner
sound beats the 3.5 hands down. For their price, they still represent an excellent value, but overall, I think they fall a little short because of the weaknesses I mentioned above.

Similar Products Used:

Quad ESL-63, Inner Sound Eros, and Spendor mini-monitors.

transparent mids & highs, solid bass reproduction. Best sounding when Bi-amped

requires proper installation and placement. also requires very careful handling, ribbon tweeter can easily damage.

I acquired my pair of MG3.5's just a week ago. They had been used for about 10 months, therefore the ribbons were well broken in and settled. The level of accuracy at which the 3.5's are capable of reproducing is mostly apparent with speakers systems in the $10,000 and above range. Therefore, if you get the chance to purchase a pair of either the 3.5's or 3.6s, go for it! You will not be disappointed with your decision. However, please keep in mind, in order for these speakers to sound best or at least what they are capable of, you must place them in a large room or listening hall, and for that matter a dedicated listening environment is preferred. Current placement is in a listening room measuring 30 feet length and 15 feet wide: 4 feet from wall behind, 3 feet from side walls, 8 feet apart and listening distance is 12 feet approximately. I highly recommend these measurements for that magical soundstage the MG3.5's are capable of delivering.
Associated equipment:
preamp - conrad-johnson PFR
power amps - conrad-johnson Premier11A (driving the mids/highs section), Jamo A300 professional amp (driving the bass section).
CD player - conrad-johnson DV2b (valve CD player)
Cables & Interconncets - Nordost Red Dawn pure silver wire (for mids/highs section) & Nordost super flatline gold MKII (for bass section).
power cords - winstar 13amp distribution block with external surge protector unit wired for 30amps.
For the MG3.5's to work really well, I have discovered that bi-amping is the best solution. the amplifier must be rated between 100 - 300 watts and that being either a valve design or a true high-end solid state design. The use of less expensive electronics may also be used to compensate for budget requirements, but then remember, you are not giving the 3.5's the best are you? Therefore, whenever affordable try your best to match these speakers with very high-end electroncis and you will not purchase anything else for at leat another lifetime! There is one very imporatnt point to make and that is; many say that the Magnepans have weak bass, this is not true! Bass is room dependent and if you stick to the dimensions given above, you'll think that you're using a sub at point or the other. The MG3.5's frequency response is typically 34Hz to 44kHz. Now, Magnepan is not going to print those figures if their speakers cannot deliver isn't it? I will not go into detail about how they sound, rather it is far better for one to go and listen for yourself at a dealer who has properly set the system up, with highend electronics, then I am sure you will not leave without purchasing a pair if and when you have the means. Happy listening and look out for Magnepan's newer arrivals! regards, Raj

Similar Products Used:

Apogee caliperII, Martin Logan SL3 & Request, Carver Amazing ribbon system, Quad ESL63, Magnepan 3.3, Infinity Rennaisance 90.