Problematic?
Depends on whom you ask. Most have had very positive results with older Magnepans. Although Magnepans are not for everyone they can provide an incredibly musical experience for not a lot of $$.
Do you have the room for placement options?
It's preferred NOT to have anything in between them like a huge RPTV that is unless the RPTV is recessed into the wall.
Having the speakers 3-5 feet from the front wall and 1-3 feet from the sidewalls is preferred, but not always necessary. Once set up correctly wow!
The 3A's were built from 1987-1990 so you have about a 15+-year-old speaker.
Can you listen to the speaker before you buy?
If you can listen before you buy use material with good string bass notes. This will help detect any delaminating wires from the panels. You may not hear this with drum notes. I This can be repaired with some effort, but the toughest part is re stapling the sock covers. Factor this into the cost.
You can get pair of 3A's for about $600-1000 depending on condition. That's a very good price for the performance you will get from them. If ever you have to replace the tweeters it about $100 per side and can be done in your home. I do not know if Magnepan still offers refurbishing of the 3A's. A simple phone call to them will answer that. Consider cost of shipping in the equation.
You will need a high current amp not just a high watt amp. This will help in preventing blowing of fuses or the tweeters and bring the performance of the speakers to a higher level.
Another issue is that although the later version Magnepan are not as revealing as the newer Magnepan speakers you may find yourself upgrading your source, Amps, Preamp, cables...So consider that into the equation as well.
By the way I have never owned the 3As, but I have owned 4 of Magnepan later versions including the 1.6QR, 3.3R, 3.5R and now the 3.6R.
Hope this helps
Depends on whom you ask. Most have had very positive results with older Magnepans. Although Magnepans are not for everyone they can provide an incredibly musical experience for not a lot of $$.
Do you have the room for placement options?
It's preferred NOT to have anything in between them like a huge RPTV that is unless the RPTV is recessed into the wall.
Having the speakers 3-5 feet from the front wall and 1-3 feet from the sidewalls is preferred, but not always necessary. Once set up correctly wow!
The 3A's were built from 1987-1990 so you have about a 15+-year-old speaker.
Can you listen to the speaker before you buy?
If you can listen before you buy use material with good string bass notes. This will help detect any delaminating wires from the panels. You may not hear this with drum notes. I This can be repaired with some effort, but the toughest part is re stapling the sock covers. Factor this into the cost.
You can get pair of 3A's for about $600-1000 depending on condition. That's a very good price for the performance you will get from them. If ever you have to replace the tweeters it about $100 per side and can be done in your home. I do not know if Magnepan still offers refurbishing of the 3A's. A simple phone call to them will answer that. Consider cost of shipping in the equation.
You will need a high current amp not just a high watt amp. This will help in preventing blowing of fuses or the tweeters and bring the performance of the speakers to a higher level.
Another issue is that although the later version Magnepan are not as revealing as the newer Magnepan speakers you may find yourself upgrading your source, Amps, Preamp, cables...So consider that into the equation as well.
By the way I have never owned the 3As, but I have owned 4 of Magnepan later versions including the 1.6QR, 3.3R, 3.5R and now the 3.6R.
Hope this helps