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Magnepan - planar measurements

This is all conjecture but I suspect the real reason for Magnepan’s reticence relates to the difficulty in obtaining accurate measurements for large planar (dipole) speakers, with the result that the measurements for planar speakers and dynamic speaker may not be directly comparable. Yet, readers would likely hold the planar speaker to the standards of the dynamic speaker.

IIRC, this difficulty in measuring planars was discussed by John Atkinson some years ago in a video about taking speaker measurements.

I seem to recall from the video and related discussion that the difficulty resulted from (1) the large size of the planar speaker and the fact that it outputs a wave of sound from the entire top to bottom of the speaker rather than a direct sound emanating from a point source, (2) the fact that the planar speaker is a dipole and radiates sound from the front and back of the speaker in both directions, rather than mostly just from the front, and (3) the resultant importance and variability of the room in taking measurements, with the room interaction dependent upon the size and shape of the room and its construction material.

Because of these factors, planar speakers often just don’t measure linearly in the same fashion as a dynamic speaker, and I would think that Magnepan would be concerned that the measurements would be misinterpreted by the readers.

Yet Magnepans still sound great.

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