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Re: Exactly

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I can see how an acoustic bass could be well-reproduced by Maggies (similar wave launch etc.)... But what about other instruments? Most specifically, the grand piano. Both my mother, who auditioned the Maggie 3.6R's with me, and I are very familiar with pianos. When we listened to a piano recording (Emmanuel Ax playing Chopin) I normally use to audition equipment, the Maggies couldn't summon up the "presence" of the instrument we've gotten on other setups. We could hear every last bit (literally) of information of the hammers hitting the strings, but the effect couldn't convince us of the piano being *right there*.

There's also the experience of the piano transmitting some vibrational energy through the ground and into your seat and bottom :) Maybe this is something cone speakers are also better able at doing.

The Maggies could give the illusion that the piano was on a stage maybe 50' away, but not 10' away. Apart from "bass slam" issues, there was another part in the recording that wasn't too convincing--in one of the more complex passages in the Ballad, there's a lot of stuff going on in the upper midrange with the pedal down; in real life and on other equipment the notes "ring" convincingly--you can feel it in the room; it's an almost painful pleasureable sensation that exalts one's spirit (at least for me! =). I reiterate that this happens in real life also, i.e. on our Steinway at home. Maybe this is what those reviewers call "bloom"?

For some reason it wasn't happening. I'd suspect the Mark Levinson gear over the Maggies, but...

In any case, my mom and I concluded that Maggies are untouchable for classical music played in a concert hall, a less visceral experience. But for more intimate recordings that require some 'slam' (yeah, I know, there are connotations of crass amplified rock--I'm using the term also to describe the experience of being next to something like a grand piano), the Mark Levinson/Maggie 3.6R setup just couldn't deliver. Perhaps if the dealer had connected their VTL monoblocks or integrated a REL sub the story would be different, but in our situation, with our setup in that room, that's what we concluded with.

My reference for audio remains the Sonus Faber Amati Homage driven by Cary CAD-1610SE monoblocks (55 watt SET's), sourced by a Wadia 27ix/transport. Now *that* insane system can do *everything* =)

-Andrew


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  • Re: Exactly - Andrew 12:02:50 06/10/00 (2)


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