Planar Speaker Asylum

Welcome! Need support, you got it. Or share your ideas and experiences.

Return to Planar Speaker Asylum

Message Sort: Post Order or Asylum Reverse Threaded

The system that made me love Magnepan speakers

166.216.157.123
Posted on April 8, 2015 at 08:41:32
Bigjimsguitars
Audiophile

Posts: 194
Location: Northern Cal
Joined: January 21, 2015



My first experience with Magnepan's was back in the 70's and I was at a friend of friends house and was hearing the most glorious music, but couldn't see the speakers. The friend of the friend laughed and said they were the things that looked like room dividers. I knew at some point I would own a pair. What I didn't realize, it would be over 25 years later.

Anyway, my first pair were 1.6qr's that I paired up to a pair of Marantz 9's, a McIntosh MX110 Pre, and the AH! Tjoeb CDP. I also had the B&W subs going on.

Many changes since then, still a damn nice set-up!

The hook was when I was watching a movie and there was a scene where it was raining and I literally could hear the rain dropping all around me, it was freaky surreal.

Jim
ARS VS-110
Customized Bottlehead Foreplay II
Preamp
Totem Arro's
B&W ASW 300 Subs
Ah Tjoeb Tube CD Player
w/Siemens E288CC's


 

Hide full thread outline!
    ...
RE: The system that made me love Magnepan speakers , posted on April 8, 2015 at 09:41:22
Norman M
 In the early 70's a fellow listener in an audio store advised me to go and audition some Maggies. Having taken his advise, I did that. I bought them very soon thereafter and have listened to nothing but Maggies since that purchase and until this time:



 

RE: The system that made me love Magnepan speakers , posted on April 8, 2015 at 10:06:27
Bigjimsguitars
Audiophile

Posts: 194
Location: Northern Cal
Joined: January 21, 2015
 I see you have the same "Room Dividers"! The Tymphs are amazing, only if I had more room.

Jim
ARS VS-110
Customized Bottlehead Foreplay II
Preamp
Totem Arro's
B&W ASW 300 Subs
Ah Tjoeb Tube CD Player
w/Siemens E288CC's


 

RE: The system that made me love Magnepan speakers , posted on April 8, 2015 at 12:33:03
grantv
Manufacturer

Posts: 7728
Location: B.C.
Joined: January 15, 2002
 My first Maggie experience was at Sound Plus in Vancouver, late 70's I'm thinking. Had no intention of listening to speakers, there for something else entirely (source?, can't recall for sure). It took some time, but eventually I had the $ and space. IIRC it was an all Audio Research system, amps for sure.

 

RE: The system that made me love Magnepan speakers , posted on April 8, 2015 at 13:50:02
66mgb
Audiophile

Posts: 252
Location: Neskowin Oregon
Joined: November 8, 2009
 My first time to hear Maggies was a tri-amped Tympani system at Garland Audio in San Jose. They were driven by tube Audio Research. They left a lasting impression. I have owned Magnepans for over 35 Years! I still would like to have the Tympani's if I had the room.

 

Sure seems like Magnepan & Audio Research are a winner!, posted on April 8, 2015 at 18:35:45
Bigjimsguitars
Audiophile

Posts: 194
Location: Northern Cal
Joined: January 21, 2015
 One of my favorite groups, Steely Dan, used Magnepan's and Audio Research amps in the recording studio in the 70's. I prefer my Audio Research amp over the Marantz 9's I had. Sure wish I recalled what amp the friend of a friend had, I was memorized by the "Room Dividers"!

Jim
ARS VS-110
Customized Bottlehead Foreplay II
Preamp
Totem Arro's
B&W ASW 300 Subs
Ah Tjoeb Tube CD Player
w/Siemens E288CC's


 

RE: Sure seems like Magnepan & Audio Research are a winner!, posted on April 9, 2015 at 14:53:22
Bigjimsguitars
Audiophile

Posts: 194
Location: Northern Cal
Joined: January 21, 2015
 Just to further what I was saying in my previous post, the liner notes from Katy Lied (Steely Dan) notes the Double Magnepan speakers and Audio Research D76 amps driving them. Damn, why was my journey so long when it was all spelled out for me...

Jim
ARS VS-110
Customized Bottlehead Foreplay II
Preamp
Totem Arro's
B&W ASW 300 Subs
Ah Tjoeb Tube CD Player
w/Siemens E288CC's


 

RE: Sure seems like Magnepan & Audio Research are a winner!, posted on April 9, 2015 at 23:03:47
Desafinado
Audiophile

Posts: 183
Location: Alberta
Joined: March 10, 2013
 Big Jim:

I have no hard copy proof such as liner notes but I have heard from more than one source that Bob Seger and Prince also used Maggies in the recording studio.

 

RE: Sure seems like Magnepan & Audio Research are a winner!, posted on April 10, 2015 at 06:36:52
Bigjimsguitars
Audiophile

Posts: 194
Location: Northern Cal
Joined: January 21, 2015
 If they or anyone for that matter, recorded in room C of ABC Studios in the 1970's did.

Jim
ARS VS-110
Customized Bottlehead Foreplay II
Preamp
Totem Arro's
B&W ASW 300 Subs
Ah Tjoeb Tube CD Player
w/Siemens E288CC's


 

RE: The system that made me love Magnepan speakers , posted on April 13, 2015 at 06:17:19
computerman
Audiophile

Posts: 491
Location: Northeast
Joined: August 31, 2011
 I own some Tympani 1-D's which were my first experience with maggies. WOW I was also blown away with the presence of these speakers, even with the 1-D tweeter at the time. At present I still have the 1-D's although they have been rebuilt, and have added some wood framed "Frankenpans" with custom built IIIa panels by Magnepan, and use their ribbon tweeter framed in a separate hinged enclosure, plus the 1-D bass panels. Magnepan was gracious enough to rebuild the IIIa's with the same foil that they use for their 20.7's midrange drivers as recommended by Roger here at the forum. The knowledge I have gained from this site has been nothing short of amazing. Many here seem to really have a grasp on the technical aspects of maggies as well as a great deal of experience with them. Thanks for your post. It brought back memories of my first encounter with these incredible speakers..

 

It was 1974, posted on April 15, 2015 at 09:08:28
E-Stat
Audiophile

Posts: 37666
Joined: May 12, 2000
Contributor
  Since: April 5, 2002
 I visited a new store in my area and wondered what lines they sold. I found Harman Kardon receivers along with Fulton and ADS speakers. I noticed there was an upstairs and asked what was up there.

What I heard completely recalibrated one 17 year old's perspective of how realistic speakers could sound! It was tri-amped TIIIs using Audio Research SP-3a, EC-4, two D76s with a Crown DC300A driving woofers.

While I prefer full range electrostats today, I still appreciate what Maggies can do.

 

RE: It was 1974, posted on June 8, 2016 at 16:00:58
BDP24
Audiophile

Posts: 1070
Location: Vancouver, Washington
Joined: September 12, 2013
 Okay, I'm over a year late getting here, but the mention above of John Garland Audio and Fulton speakers impels me to speak!

I bought my first "big" system in 1972 from Livermore, CA retailer Walt Davies at his new shop, Audio Arts. I had just discovered J. Gordon Holt and his Stereophile Magazine, and was visiting every Hi-Fi shop within driving distance of my home in San Jose. I showed up at Audio Arts on the day that Bill Johnson just happened to be installing a complete ARC system in his new retailer's soundroom. I had intended to listen to Quad ESL's, but that was not to be. Hearing a pair of Tympani T-IU's bi-amped with a Dual 75 and 51, fed by a Thorens TD-125/Decca Int./Decca Blue into an ARC SP-3 pre, was a mind-blowing experience for this 21 year old. I needed one of my own, and soon did. By the way, Walt Johnson is responsible for the Last Record Care products---a great guy!

I enjoyed that system immensely for over a year, but found myself longing for the transparency of an ESL and the bass of a transmissionline loaded woofer (I had heard the ESS Transtatic I, which possessed both---RTR ESL tweeters and a TL loaded KEF B-139 woofer). There was new High End shop opening in San Jose, right on Stevens Creek Blvd., only a couple of miles from me. It was John Garland's new place. He had the Fulton Modular-J loudspeaker, which just happened to also contain the fantastic RTR ESL tweeter (six of them) and a big bass bin. I went for them, selling my Tympani's to finance their purchase. It didn't take me long to regret it. Yes, I had gotten the greater transparency and bass I craved, but at too high a cost. I ended up selling the Fultons, and sometime later got another pair of Tympani's---T-ID's. Unfortuntely, they needed a lot of work, so I got into Quads---the originals, single and stacked. Then a pair of Infinity RS-1b's. Transparency and bass, right? Then a pair of ET LFT-8b's (still have them).

But now I'm back, baby! Older and wiser, this time with already restored Tympani T-IV's. With the T-IV's and Saties NEO 8 mod, maybe I can finally have it all: transparency and bass, plus the Maggie magic!

 

That's the ticket! (nt), posted on June 9, 2016 at 11:06:24
guitar slim
Audiophile

Posts: 168
Location: Washington DC suburbs
Joined: May 24, 2012

 

RE: The system that made me love Magnepan speakers , posted on June 17, 2016 at 00:01:17
pictureguy
Audiophile

Posts: 22597
Location: SoCal
Joined: October 19, 2008
 It was probably about '74 when I DID buy a pair of MG-1s. I sold my RSL 3600 studio monitors the very NEXT DAY for 1/2 of what I paid for the Maggies.
And i kept 'em for a LONG time. Even thru a rebuild in White Bear Lake. Their was something so 'right' about them I kinda' wish I had kept them.
Too much is never enough

 

RE: The system that made me love Magnepan speakers , posted on June 17, 2016 at 02:01:16
Satie
Audiophile

Posts: 5426
Joined: July 6, 2002
 Well, I guess I should put my story up too.

As a kid, my composer uncle had Alison square speakers shooting at the walls that always made music seem to occupy a real space. I wanted to have that.

At 15 my music teacher gave me my first lesson at his place since he didn't manage to book a practice room in time. He had Quads with a KEF oval sub driven by a Mac 40 watter with a TD125 TT and a DBX expander used for larger pieces. It was amazing for me and made my folk's system sound broken. The detail was astounding and the natural tone was phenomenal. Imaging was very convincing too. Dynamics - despite the sub were MIA beyond a certain level. I asked him to give me more lessons at his place so I can hear more music on his setup. Which we did occasionally. On his advice I got a subscription to HiFi Choice and later swapped to What HiFi and picked up a sub for Stereo Review, then for Audio

I already had a clear idea that I wanted planars eventually. But was intrigued by articles about Maggies. At 18 I went to an audio show and heard 3 setups that really struck me. One was based on a Canton tower speaker then sporting the newfangled titanium tweeter which I liked for its incredibly tight bass. Then after hours there was a CLS driven by a Teac R2R with Joni Mitchell playing, powered by a class A Krell. It was as if she were right there on the show's big hall's floor encased in the intimate studio acoustic which was surreal considering the ballroom sized space. Last was an Altec VOT driven by a tube amp. Dynamics drive and impact and a sense of "touch" .to quote Art Dudley.
Needless to say, I immediately had in my head a hybrid horn loaded electrostat with a column of woofers. I went through all my audio rags and there was nothing like that to be had. No dealer had anything like it. And dealers laughed at me for expecting to ever find anything that performs like that. It is either/or, not all together in one package. Perhaps an IRS from Infinity when that rocked the audiophile world.

A couple of years later visiting the folks on break from engineering school I did a tour of the North Chicago audio shops and came across a T1D in Audio Consultant's used room in Evanston I think. It was being demonstrated for someone else but for the first time I could imagine having fine detail and immense spatial presentation with sufficient deep bass and realistic dynamics. I then knew that one day I would own a big Maggie. It was not the imaginary horn loaded ESL with a woofer tower, but at least it existed and did not cost as much as a house.

In the interim the Apogees showed up in the press and at grad school the Apogee dealer was right off campus and I pestered them and barged into their big Apogee demos when time allowed. I wanted a big Apogee but the price tags of the grand speaker and the electronics that could drive it without shearing your ears off were just too far out of the realm of reasonable.

It took two decades till budget and available space made it possible, then I got my T IV and eventually got it the Neo8 magic mids (near ESL detail, horn like dynamics and full scale soundstage with full size and precisely rendered musicians and space) and I got what I imagined a horn loaded electrostat might sound like (sans horn hoot) and eventually figured out how to get big bass out of it too. If I ever get a larger space then I will build my subwoofer tower. At the moment the room can just about handles the panels alone (to 20-25 hz and audible output down to 16hz) and the bipolar subs overwhelm the room .




 

The first time I ever heard Magnepan's...., posted on July 12, 2016 at 07:58:58
Cougar
Audiophile

Posts: 4593
Location: SoCal
Joined: June 25, 2001
 were at Jeff Sound Values. They were the Maggie 3.6's being pushed with a McCormack 3.0 power amp. I remember the sounding very nice and close to real life reproduction. Where I was really impressed is when I asked Jeff to fire them up. Jeff cracked it up and they sound even better and handled everything the McCormack threw at them. Never once broke up or became harsh. I wanted them but at the time didn't have the cash for them.

A great speakers that blends well into any home environment.

 

RE: The system that made me love Magnepan speakers , posted on July 18, 2016 at 07:50:03
srwilsonmiami
Audiophile

Posts: 19
Location: South Florida
Joined: March 15, 2016
 I remember my first encounter with a Magneplanar. Was around 1982, I think, and I was at as all boutique for my first real turntable (an LP-12) and I heard what I swear sounded like live music coming from another room. When I asked to go in to that listening room I was greeted by the sound of the MOFI pressing of John Klemmer "Touch", played back through the unusual flat panel speakers. I stayed and listened for a couple of cuts and couldn't believe the transparency and presence heard through that set up (ARC electronics). From that moment on, the Maggie's were on my wish list. Though my first speaker purchase after that was the ProAc Studio 1 monitors, I eventually got my wish around 2005 when I purchased my 1.6qr system. Because I had to downsize in 2011 to MMG, I eventually plan to go up to the 1.7i or higher as space allows.

 

Page processed in 0.029 seconds.

[ Top Top of Page ] [ Contact Us ] [ Support/Wish List ] [ Copyright © 2024, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]
[ General ] [ Speakers ] [ Tubes ] [ Vinyl ] [ Digital ] [ Hi-Rez ] [ Video Asylum ] [ Cables ] [ Tweaks/DIY ] [ Music ] [ Films ]