An incredibly palpable sense of realism once working properly; unbelievable soundstaging. Highly musical. Will wow non-audiophiles; especially the non-believers(all my friends)!

Need very powerful(current-wise) amplification; or tubed. The patience of Job needed in setting them up. Lack of deep bass. Need to be paired with high quality amplification & subwoofers and thus end up being very expensive unless everything bought used.

What a saga! I'd Heard lots of good things about Maggies and these were available locally - the place I'd just moved from actually - so I took the plunge. Now I'm very glad I did, but at first...my old AMC Integrated was no match at all. So I got a pair of B&K ST-140s and bridged 'em. Then I dragged out my old MF "The Preamp" and hooked it up. Things started to get much better but had to do a LOT of moving(of everything) to find the precise location/position so that they did what I expected from them. Took about a month to get things just right. But for the first time I felt glad to be widowed, since my late-wife would have reached for a loaded shotgun long before completion! But in retrospect it was well worth it! The results are magic and with the Hsu subwoofers linked in as well - another week of tweaking to get that balance right(isn't audio FUN!)- things couldn't be better. Especially with my phono tube preamp(I'm getting a MF X-10D for the SACD player next). From Orchestral to rock/jazz ensembles it really is like having a concert hall in the living room. In retrospect though,since I had to upgrade the amplification & add the subwoofers I'd planned to sell, it was by no means an exercise in cost effectiveness: but that's HI-FI! Right lads & lasses???!!! Seriously though, I'd recommend getting the next one up model and dispense with the subwoofers if buying new. The Maggies are not something you can buy as a stand-alone purchase irrespective of other considerations. These have to be part of a well though out system more than any other component. For all that, well worth the time and effort spent in getting things right:if you have it that is!

Similar Products Used:

none

I bought these speakers back 1995($1100 ca). After almost 7 years these speakers are really come alive when I drive them with Classe CA 201 power amp. Before that I drove them with a mid fi power amp Yamaha MX 800. Final word - Japanese electronic just for look, hi tech or fit your wallet, you want real music start listening Canadian made products, American, Bristish, French, or even some Australian speakers like Dunchtech, Krix etc. You even surprise with price wise, some of the system even a lot cheaper. Bottom line is my speakers now worth around few hundreds. But now they sound great, detail and I can hear real bass of Maggies. Classe gives them warm in high, authority in low, mid more smooth out and clarity. I am thinking upgrade to 1.6 qr series for more lower bass, but I just afraid that they bigger and accousctic would change a lot in my room. This is only the draw back of Maggies. If you shopping for a used pair of Maggies I will sell them if interested. If you own these speakers and have been disappointed with your listening try new amp like I did. Maggies really suck out alot of juice from your amp. If your amp can double power eg. 200w/8ohm,400w4ohm it will do. Remember stay away from Japanese Electronic, its only good for your kids or wife. Heavier amp is better than light one as I experience. Happy listenner!!!

They are excellent. Period. But thing can go easily wrong. Use the 1 Ohm resistor, place the ribbons on the outside, angle them a little inwards - et voila! Great sound

Open, Transparent, Lightning Quick, Coherent, Revealing, Unusually tight musical bass, Large deep soundstage

Does not resolve loud or dense passages well, lacks heavy dynamic slam

This was (is -- Still available in Europe) a bargain. This does many things that only speakers in the 10's of thousands do. It doesn't do everything as compromises are to be made, but these are very musical speakers for many types of music. The only music it doesn't do great service to is heavy dance-type music like rap or reggae which demand a strong ability to thump the room.

Otherwise, this is quicker than any other speaker I have heard under $3000. This conveys a huge soundstage and large images. Instruments sound life-size and they hover in mid-air creating a startling illusion. And because the two drivers are so similar, the sound from top to bottom is incredibly coherent.

One note, I have never heard reed instruments (saxes, clarinets, etc.) conveyed with such realism.

Vocalists are particularly well-treated here. With traditional speakers, there tends to be a kind of a cupped or boxy sound. Not here.

My major complaint is the inability to resolve really dense material well. Large orchestral works don't sound as good when the climaxes occur (the ones from the music). What happens is the marvelous air and soundstaging which are so unique to Magnepans goes away. The soundstage collapses and the sound gets mushed. For the quieter passages and for all other music (jazz sounds wonderful on these), these provide great and immediate sound.

As far as the bass goes, well, it extends down to about 50 hz. Not real deep nor does it have a huge impact as I mentioned above, but what it does have is extremely musical. Acoustic bass notes are not muffled approximations of notes, but instead, you can hear the twang and the overtones of the string itself. It really is great to listen to for more melodic aspects of the bass frequencies.

Of course, for more authoritative bass, you'll want to get one of the larger Magnepans like the 1.6. The larger panels are not only more capable of going deeper, but resolve better.

All of their speakers require amps capable of driving 4 ohm loads. No mass market brands need apply.

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Cizek 1, Castle Isis, Mordaunt Short 20i

Magnepan makes good stuff.I have the 1.6R in my main system. Sounds wonderfully coherent with the right cable, In agreement with previous reviewer:
My experience is that flat cables like the Goertz exacerbate the brittle highs and make the Maggies too ear piercing. With purist Audio, they mellow out.

However, the SMGC that I purchased for my room were
intolerable , even with thick sounding cables like Cardas Golden cross.

It may be a cheap, but it is quite a horrible sounding spkr compared to its brethren Maggies.

Similar Products Used:

Magnepan makes good stuff.I have the 1.6R in my main system. sounds wonderfully coherent with the right cable, In agreement with previous reviewer.
My experience is that flat cables like the Goertz exacerbate the brittle highs and make the Maggies too ear piercing. With purist Audio, they mellow out.

However, the SMGC that I purchased for my roon were
intolerable , even with thick sounding cables like Cardsa Golden cross.

it may be a cheap, but it is horrible sounding.

Quick transients, good imaging

Easily confused, cant play complex orchestra

I;m now using this in my AV system with a Muse subwoofer and it rocks. the ribbons articulate the treble and vopcals better than box spkrs.
In a normal Hi Fi system, Ive found coax spkr cable types to work best , It sounded very flat with Nordost and Goertz.
My view that it is " Budget Price; but NOT budget sound, as commented earlier.

Obviously the 1.6OR would be better but price wise, this is a budget beauty
for AV set up.

I must say that I'm fully pleased with these speakers. I currently drive them with a class a tubed amp producing only 12 watts! There are no signs that this little Audion amp should give any problems with bass control or the fact that the speakers are specified at 4 ohms. My theory is, that the planar magnetic design in itself is quite self-damping and therefore the damping factor in the amp is of less importance. I must say, that this combination is something to recommend! Of course, you cannot play extremely loud. But my opinion is, that if the quality of sound is at a very high level, why bother about the quantity of it? The dynamic expressions of this combo is even better than when I used them with a 60watts solid state... If you have any experience of this or any similar combination, please let me know! lars.stromberg@okm.ok.se

I bought a pare of these used for about $400 in 1998. I first was running them with a class "A" BEL 1000 power amp using a single Spica Subwoofer. Without the subwoofer the low end is a little weak. The mid and upper ranges are well defined and clear. Placement is tricky to get them to image properly.
Their look is quite impressive.

I am now using them as the front speakers of my surround sound hometheater and they sound very good. They aren't the best ribbon speaker I ever heard but they are one of the least expensive. The sound is very pleasing. For the money they are great.

Budget Ribbons- Budget sound
i know Im going get knocked for giving such a low rating but IMO, unless you drive these with quality high end tube gear, the sound is harsh and shrill.



with Aragons 4004II and Classe DR4, the sound is unbearable.

The 1.6 r is a lot better so the dealer has offered a trade.