Maggie LRS so ridiculously good

As an alternative to LS50 Metas I tried LRS speakers with an Ayre VX-5 amp, augmented with a pair of KEF KC62 subs. I was impressed. As an alternate for KEF Reference 1s I’ll be trying them with an Ayre VX-5 Twenty and Parasound JC 1 monoblocks augmented with a pair of Velodyne HGS-15s with SMS-1 bass managers that provide acoustic room correction. I’m expecting to be even more impressed.

Not to take away anything of the opinions of those that are happy with the bass with Maggies alone, I suggest you get one or two subs and integrate them well in your system and listen to what happens. The subs fill out the sound. These are panels so they are just not going to move air or have any percussiveness. No bass slam. When you add subs it just revolutionizes the sound. It’s not a small improvement. It’s a massive improvement. So just go get subs. Borrow them from a friend or dealer if you can. If the dealer is smart they will loan you some subs. You will end up buying them. 

Well here I am still continuing to listen to these Magnepan LRS panels - they are very good indeed - however I did need to purchase a powerful amp to get more out of them.

I have chosen to use a Musical Fidelity M6si which is good ol’ fashioned Class A/B which seem to work very well.

I am not a bass freak so - I will stick to the LRS for now despite there being a very good deal on a 1.7i nearby which is tempting - but I shall refrain ...

It also helps to open the sound a little with valves in the mix somewhere - in my case the use of an Audio Note 0.1x. DAC.

 

I got the LRS to finally hear get the Maggie experience. I loved it but it was a gateway drug. I wanted to hear a deeper bass and some dynamics so I sold them and bought the Magnepan .7s and I loved them more. I was driving them with some vintage stuff that seemed to work pretty well although they had to be recapped in order to be able to handle the Maggies. After a while, same issue with the .7s and then I turned to open baffle and that's where I am today. Similar open sound with dynamics and bass. Much easier to drive as well.

@chopandchange 

Yes I still have the MMG.

Things that I have done since my post old post here in the thread.

As I said I crossover the MMG at 53Hz there the Maggies roll of.

 

I put up my super upgrade bookshelf speakers and could do A/B comparison the MMG were better in every way you name it.

 

Expect in one area!

I hade a test track that had some constant bass line and it sounded better on the bookshelf. I with a frequency analyze I could determine that the frequency were 80hz.

 

So when I have two 18" right and left woofers. Those are a bit behind the MMG and the DSP time align them ao that the MMG and the woofers are playing from the same Place and arriving at the same time to your ears.

(In other words it is like having a 3 way and no issue with localization when they are more or less where the MMG is)

 

The second thing is that the 18" woofers plays up to 2000 Hz linearly.

 

So then I thought: why not let the 18" woofers play the 80 Hz instead of that the MMG is doing it.

 

So i made the crossover point at 100 Hz instead so the woofers play now the 80 Hz plus the Maggies would get some relief.

 

When I re-did the A/B listening tests now the bookshelves had not the upper hand any longer and the 80 Hz bass line in the song were produced by the woofers as good as that the bookshelves could!👍

 

Next thing I have done on my +40 year old MMGs that has the exact same plate/binding posts/fuse/attenuation connection.

I modified and put a good quality blinding posts. Plus scraped the fuse and attenuation steel components and went directly to the crossover.

To be honest I usually don't hear any difference when I do tweeks.. And I usually/sometimes let the tweek be in the system when I have not heard any degradation either.. but when no noticeable sonically improvement were the tweeks worth it.?!

But this time when all that crap steel connectors and all the solider joints, were removed from the signal path I heard a real improvement. And I were just baffled with the thought that nobody that are listening to their MMG/LRS in orginal condition have yet NEVER heard their full potential! 

(The silly signal path for the Tweeter on the MMG/LRS:

First bad steel binding post for your speaker wire, then solider a lead to that solider to the fuse holder then contact with the fuse and the little thinn fuse lead and another end of the fuse and its clip holder solider wire to the steel binding post for the jumper (attenuation) to the other steel binding post and the last soldier to the lead that now eventually can go to the crossover..) 🤣

 

I now have a pair of LRS speakers - and looking back at these comments amaze me that some have paired 30 watts / 60 watts with these speakers and getting good results!

There was I looking for a Hegel H190 or H200 to power them with.

Have any of you chaps still got the little LRS or moved on?

If the bass is adequate or not from LRS/MMG?

I have the all the stuff for measuring with a calibrated microphone. Running sweeps for a couple of years now on my and several audiophiles friends requests.

For the old MMG in my room setup far from walls. I see that the frequency response goes down to ~50hz there it is dropping like a rock.. So MMG in my room is not playing anything below 50 Hz.

Yes, I could also say that "oh, it works for X type of music." BEFORE I knew better..

How can i know that playing down to 50 Hz is not enough?!

I have integrerated with a DSP, measurements and for example correction with PEQ with other things, that DSP is only controling my two 18" open baffle with a separate amplifier.

Even when it is only the bass and it amplifier that the DSP is controlling.
That DSP is doing 6 DIFFERENT duties/optimizations! (No DSP on the MMG)

But to get to the chase. I can then enable the bass amplifier and not the amplifier to the MMG. So I can clearly only hear what music content there is in the bass despite:
1. The crossover point is in the low range of 53 Hz and below
2. At 53 Hz it is a very steep slope of 48 dB/octave

So more or less only playing frequencies below that the MMG can not create and nothing else I can TODAY say with confidence.

That there IS stimulating music information EVEN on a Jazz trio (acoustical instruments!).
And on LP for example that everybody knows "Dark side of the moon" and we know there in the background there is a low rumbling "hart beat" sound.

Yeye everyone has heard that you say.. But actually there is several more "hart beats" sounds that is lower in level AND on couple more tracks than you probably did not know of. When those is not apparent and not played by a normal system.
Yes there is more on the d a r k side.. ;)
(And that on a LP!)

(Remember my subwoofers plays lower than my cartridge and tonearm resonance frequency! So you guys and girls that know what a rumble filter is can as you already suspect understand that it is much needed. My DSP is doing that duty also when it is needed during LP playback..)

But those MMG are gold! They can do THINGS that I never had heard a speaker do.

Agree with Kaco’s post
Really like these and I actually feel the bass is for the most part adequate, especially for classical music. If I want to be blown away by The Wall for instance, then my Crites speakers fit the bill.

Today I'm wondering: I recently mentioned my decades-old thoughts of a Quad ESL/sub system.

Does anyone have the breadth of experience to comment on the LRS vs. the original Quad when paired with an appropriate sub?  I've never heard either combination, although, of course, I've listened to the Quads without sub.  The price of the LRS is so reasonable it begs the question.

I could never get a subwoofer to integrate with my Magnepans. Their bass panels are right for full bass as you will get from an orchestra.

@drbarney1 You're on point with regards to acoustical bass frequencies for orchestral / symphonic recordings, which I own a plethora of. For other genres, however, a fast small subwoofer is a "nice to have" with the LRS -- as larger Maggies don't need one.

I use two bass panels with my 0.7s which are the biggest speakers I can fit in my 26 foot diameter house. I drive them with separate taps off Hammond 1642 transformers to know they are all properly phased. An 833A triode runs SET at1000 Volts on the plate and zero grid bias. I could never get a subwoofer to integrate with my Magnepans. Their bass panels are right for full bass as you will getfrom an orchestra.

a fantastic gateway drug !

My LRS are my 3rd pair of Maggies. Back in the 70s I had a pair of MG2167s driven off an HK Citation 16. My co-workers at the time were all into big Altecs, Barcelonas and 604s. The had never heard anything that could do what Maggies could. But when I finally got them off Japanese receivers and into tubes, those Altecs could sing and get really loud. It was their only defense. 

Fast forward 15 years and I bought a pair of MMGs for a rental I was in while my new house was being built. Powered them with an NAD 7125 20W/ch receiver. They were so sweet in that room because I could get them where the needed to be, and the NAD had a bass EQ that too k them to 50Hz easy. I sold them to a friend out of pity - he had some real trash boxes.

FAst forward to now. A friend just picked up 2 pair of LRS - we split them- that were being used in a media room, but they weren't a good match, the original owner had them tucked up against the walls, and hated them. His loss our gain. I'm back in the Maggie world again. 

I swap them in and out with my KEF LS-50s and a Sunfire SDS 8 sub. (In a perfect world it would be a REL R/7i). 

I'm powering them with a Marantz PM7000N. Plenty of power for my needs, and it's happy with low impedance/high current loads. Plus its a pretty good streamer/DAC. Overall, It's ridiculously good for $999. As is the matching CD6007.

I tell everybody that they should at some point in their lives own 3 things: 1) A convertible, preferably a real roadster, but any convertible is still a totally unique driving experience a sunroof cannot match. 2) Some really good cookware and cutlery. Because refueling and cooking cuisine are not the same thing. 3) Magneplanars. My buddy that got the other pair of LRS is a primo guitar player and has made jokes about audiophiles for over 40 years. After he set up the LRS he called me and said he was hearing things on Rory Gallagher albums he never new were there. "You can actually hear how they're playing".

'Nuf said.

I spoke to MagnaRiser as Im planning on tweaking my LRS. Looking forward to testing. Thanks to those who referred me to them. 

I recently (15 days ago) installed a new set of SVS Prime Bookshelf Speakers for our front L/R speakers in our Surround sound room.  Our system is powered by a Pioneer SC-LX701 AV Receiver, along with two Def Tech Subs, an SC6000 & SC4000, also Height & Surround Speakers.  These new SVS Prime Speakers are QUITE Wonderful!!!!!! with marvelous clarity...

@russ69

Thanks, it's important you pointed that out to me.  Taller Magnepans have never been an option as they would fully obscure two nice front windows in my listening room.  Looks like if I ever go planar it will have to be with a sub.  (Over the years I've been tempted to do classic Quad ESLs with a sub - back where I started!)

"...but I do like to hear those types of music at nearly realistic levels (like seeing a live music in a small club.)..."

You will want 1.7s and big amps for that. 

I purchased the LRS when it was first released. I use it with a Classé DR-9 amplifier and I added MagnaRiser stands. A few observations:
1) I spent many hours minutely adjusting the positions, both from the rear and side walls and "toe-in". As legions of others have observed, positioning is critical. I ended up using the formula on the Cardas Audio Room Set-Up page and it seems pretty good to me.
2) With the DR-9 and a Mytek Brooklyn DAC + listening volumes can range from very pleasant to simply deafening. The DR-9 outputs 400 wpc into 4 ohms if I recall correctly.
3) The sound stage is quite good, bordering on convincing realism with some recordings. Maybe these speakers are super-revealing or there's some other shortcoming in my system, but I've observed that a significant number of vinyl, streamed and CD recordings are rather "brassy". On a smaller subset of recordings (e.g., the vinyl of, "The Harvest and the Harrow" by Welch/Rawlings), the speakers perform marvelously well. For context, I use a VPI-HW 19/Mørch UP-4 arm/Sumiko Blue Point #2, an NAD CD (forgot the very long model number) as a transport and I stream music from Tidal using Audirvana.

4) At least for me, the bass is fairly anemic. I don't have a sub-woofer. I prefer chamber music and vintage small group jazz, so that hasn't been a major problem (but, I continue to look for used REL sub-woofers, since these supposedly work well with the LRS).
So, in my opinion, these are well worth the price. I suspect that with a more sophisticated system than my own, they would reveal their full capacity.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/8UbSsnRfKF4gt5L76 My 1.7i with CCR center and .06 rear I have been revisiting 5.1 music and it has been a dream. I run two subs and don’t have an issue with Rock and metal. I am giving them 525 WPC using class D amps. Here is an example keep in mind it’s recorded on a phone but with headphones you will here the bass is solid. Flim and the BBs Tricycle test

Three Cheers for the LRS! Clarity, clarity, clarity! If you need super dynamics, look elsewhere; but if you want to know what people and instruments sound like - order a pair today. Definitely the best buy in speakers. If you can put them well out in the room, you will get bass enough to cover big band & double bass jazz & folky music with no problem. I'm working on building downward firing subwoofers to go under them. Happy listening. 

FYI: If you want a sub with Maggies you need a fast efficient sub for music, not home theater. 

@optimize I could not have stated it better.

Look. I don't have my shop any more, so I have no skin in this at all, but what I learned, given that I could lock the door and LISTEN to every speaker of any quality on the market at the time for as long as I wanted to, was that Jim Winey had discovered something amazing.  No matter WHAT speaker I tried with the best hardware sources--master tapes run down to home r-t-r, Sheffield recordings, even a tape my old band made in the studio, there was NO comparison, period.

OK, I do exaggerate a bit.  Robert Fulton had a speaker--I think the Fulton 100--that was AMAZING for a box.  Not sure what or how he did it--only met him once at the old CES in the 1970's, but told him that as he was entertaining many other dealers at the time.  So yes, there was a good box out there then and I am certain that today, given the hard work many others have done, that there are boxes that are not bad.  (I do find it interesting that today's designers seem to like very tall boxes--wonder where they got THAT idea??).  BUT, Maggies reveal everything, and as you posted, they are capable of providing "hifi nirvana;" what more can you ask for?

Cheers, and happy music listening!

I’m a long time planar guy. I owned Apogee Duetta II’s since the mid 90’s. One of the woofer panels died last year, so I went on a speaker quest, and wound up with Maggie 1.7i’s.

There was nothing, and I mean nothing that sounded nearly as good at even 3x the price to my ears (except maybe the 3.7i’s).

They do need a lot of hours to start breaking in. They started to open up at around 200 hours. In my room, I took the subwoofer out as I found that I really didn’t need it, and the bass sounded slow and heavy with the traditional sub. I’m considering adding in their bass panels for the 2 channel system.

I have heard the LRS, and they definitely give you an accurate taste of what the larger Maggies can do.

Manny use Class A to their magnapans. With good results. 
As the manufacturer says the important thing is: 

Class A/B amplifier designs that come close to doubling power at 4 ohms have a long and successful track record.

https://www.magnepan.com/faq#receivers

(And class A is always "on" and delivering)

I bought a pair to primarily have a total different type of speaker that i could switch back and forth between a panel and my box speaker.

It is a dedicated rather big 2ch listing space. With treated with thick absorberas and 2D diffusion behind the speakers all symmetrical. I am using a fairly near field setup there I am ~2m and sometimes closer distance from them (Not so much interaction with the room). Probably why I am happy with 5w class A. ;) I am primarily a sound stage guy.

The box speakers I upgraded with all bells and whistles that we don't even see on higher end speakers (with several thousands of dollars on their price tag).

Got the magnapan home set them up. No tweeks and just played some songs in standard configuration. And we're surprised that they sounded way better than my box speaker at this starting point!

My thoughts goes like this: 
I thought that I had hifi and good sound. But the magnapan showed me that I were wrong and what good sound is really like!..

Today I know that my beloved box speakers will not be used again 🥲 that were I not prepared for at all. And I will never look at a box speakers in the same way as i have done previous.

When it comes to tweeks one that benefits LRS/MMGs is to rise them so that the middle of the driver is at ear level and in center of its directivity (probably more crucial when you are closer to them).
Easy to test just sit up on your knees at sweet spot and listening what happens when you lower yourself by lowering your rear end towards your heels so you sit down and are more in the middle of the driver. 
You should hear a big improvement. Then it is easier to be motivated to rise them when what you will gain is more reviled.

Another tweek from the owner and manufacturer is to make sure that the left and right side of the panel is at equal distance to the listing position. When the tweeter is on one of the sides of the panel. Then it will bring the tweeter and woofer on the same parallel plane towards your sweet spot.
In other words if you have your panels parallel to the wall behind them then the arrival time will be different between the two drivers (again probably more important if you are like me rather close to them).

In conclusion if we do not sit far away with a reflective coffee table between sweet spot and the panels and other compromises in my opinion. Then you will find hifi nirvana with almost no effort even with the smallest panels. And my 5w/Ch shows that it is not about the power as such and it is more about doubling down than anything else.

I wanted to try LRS. But the wait was 19 weeks. These speakers are amazingly popular. I found a pair of MMGs in like new condition for $490. Brought them home and hooked them up to my Dynaco clone VTA ST120 and was nearly in tears they sounded so good. I'm using a B&W subwoofer with them. You don't need lots of power but you do need an amplifier with lots of current. There are a number of youtube's and internet articles about 1000 watts not doing them justice but a high current 50w amplifier making them sing. My room is 24x12x8 and with 60w a channel I can play at a measured 105 db if I wanted to. But as the OP said, listening late night at low volume is also extremely rewarding. Good luck with them. Enjoy.

Break-in period is about 50 hours of listening for the LRS. After that the sound is very warm and spacious. 

I have been a Maggie owner since 1972 so I am biased - but I do have friends that use B and W and Wilson. Glad to hear you like the LRS speakers. As you move up their speaker line IMO you get a lot more sound for the money with the 1.7is. They are just over $2200, but the clarity, soundstage and  vocal quality are hard to beat. The 3.7i get you to the true ribbon tweeter but cost to get there is $6300. Most posts I see on this website do not do any cost / benefit analysis. With the LSRs below $1000 - this is the best way to expand this hobby to the masses.  You do need clean power to push any Maggies, but once you have the power and a good source - I use Krell and LUMIN - the sky is the limit.

Happy Listening!

I listen mostly to jazz, blues and guitar solos/duets/trios.  I don't need to play loud rock, but I do like to hear those types of music at nearly realistic levels (like seeing a live music in a small club.)  I'm a vinyl head and am not opposed to dabbling in tubes at some point.  In the process of getting my SOTA/SME V refurbished & rewired, with a new A-T ART9XA cartridge to boot - it should be ready any day now.

I'm used to more of a full range sound (Aerial 10t's) but am curious if I'd get hooked on the spaciousness of the LRS.  Also, I've always loved electrostatics but, like many, never wanted huge panels.

The reason I went Classe pre and Classe amp was my concern over the tubes deteriorating (or the nagging thought that they were).  I think I was just being paranoid.

Yeah I think you'd be fine with the Classe amp.  I'm running a 30 watt amp in an 18x26 room that opens to an upstair and it get loud enough for me.  You aren't going to get super loud kick ass sound out of these but what they do well is pure magic.  Since mine have broken in they seem to be opening up more and not as closed and compressed sounding as when brand new.  Give them a chance when you get them don't write them off to soon

keegiam, I think it's more important how the amp does with 4 ohm or below loads than how many watts.  I've tried my McCormack dna .5 and Rogue Atlas Magnum 3 tube amp (each 100 watts) with good results.  But, my Hegel H360 is the best combination.  420 watts into 4 ohms and damping factor of over 4000 does the trick very nicely.    

As mentioned, they are not the best for slam or rock concert levels.  But get plenty loud for me.  They excel with drums, voices, guitar, horns, air.  I will most likely be picking up a REL sub in the near future to help flesh things out.

This thread is tempting me to try my first new speaker in 28 years.  With the Magnepan 60-day trial offer, what's the risk?
Do you think my 175 wpc Classe would drive the LRS well enough?  My room is only 11' wide by 14' deep, but the rear wall is mostly open with another room beyond.

As far as other current speakers I have.  My main use speakers for a little while now has been Klipsch forte III with Decware Zen triode amp.  I also have the Zu Dirty weekend (another incredible speaker for the money) I just sold My Kef Blade 2.  The Blade 2 while having much bigger bass and being more refined in many ways just left me cold mostly which seems crazy given the huge price difference.  These maggies though wow I think they must have improved with break in because they seemed so anemic and no good with anything remotely dynamic and loud.  If slamming sound is your thing maybe the Dirty Weekend or a Klipsch.  The LRS is so transparent and smooth perfect tone.  I have these hooked up to a Pass 30.8 amp being fed by DCS Rossini DAC and clock so electronics are way off probably what you would normally pair with a 650 speaker but that is what I have for now.  I did try with Naim Uniti Nova and Atom and those work pretty good too.  The 80 watt Nova runs out of steam way before the 30 watt Pass amp.  

The LRS are so light and easy to move, if you had a system with a good amp you could keep them in a closet and pull them out on an occasion.  I'm doing that now and I have no desire to put them away anytime soon. I know they aren't my end all be all speaker but just had to share my enthusiasm. Amazing you can buy this factory direct (same goes for Zu dirty weekend) made in the USA for such a low price.  Decware too. These USA companies are killing it and we don't have to pay prices that would be much much higher if sold through the normal dealer supply chains.  

(Sorry for typo: “tweak” not “tweet”)

Experimenting with stand upgrades such as MyeStand or Magna Risers is another tweet

Per Magnepan’s website and many user recommendations, the LRS (Maggies in general) require high current amplification. Using more power is the key to driving them, so in other words Maggies are not efficient speakers. Also precise L/R/wall distance positioning using a tape ruler is a must to obtain the best of near-field low-level vs. sweet spot higher-level listening experiences. Experimenting with stand upgrades such as MyeStand or Magna Risers is another tweet you can try, though stands also depend on your room’s floor material. I have tried all of the above for classical, jazz, electronic genres with success. 

They are not the most accurate loudspeakers but the do beat out most dynamic enclosure speakers. The LRS is a good sounding speaker. It is a bit limited in range and volume. The 3.7i will go louder and if it is jazz, country and classical you listen to they are probably enough. They get a little louder with subwoofers and their distortion lowers but not as much as a full range ESL where the addition of subwoofer produces extraordinary results. I like the concept of Emerald Physics speaker. Limiting dispersion is a very important concept as if done right it will decrease room interaction but if you limit it too much you get a very selfish system like the Acoustat 2+2's I once owned or the Sanders Model 10. But, that one listener gets an incredible experience. 
If Magnepan had made the 20.7 7 feet 10 inches tall they would have had the best speaker they have ever made. That was the intension but the marketing department cut it short. Very sad about that.

I've owned many, many Magnepan speakers and find them among the most consistently musical and appealing offers out there, no matter the price.  :)

Among those found along the way on my journey have been MGI's, MGIIa's, MGIIIa's, Tympani 4a's, and MG 20.1's.  ALL of them NEED a subwoofer for deep bass extension and "slam" (if you like rock) but the bigger issue is amplification.  MORE POWER is better.  I've heard them sound good with NAD, ADCOM, Bryston, etc. but THE BEST HANDS DOWN was with a pair of Mark Levinson No. 23's bridged into mono.  Glorious.  ;)

I keep posting that Magnepan has the most accurate speakers. NOW, YOUR ROOM may not be right for them. I have set up over 75 pair in my time and there are rooms that just do not work with them.

However, a good dealer with knowledge can pretty much get them right for you ALMOST all the time. Nothing is "always" in this life.

Obviously, since they reveal whatever you put into them, you do need excellent source material and hardware. What you have will be revealed when you hook it up to a pair--good or bad! Also, I do not know this model, but I have never seen too much amp on a pair, either, but that may no longer be true. I speak from the days when they were all very large and required as much as you could give them and more.

The real fun is playing them next to whatever box you have and seeing the look on your face when you finally realize that ALL boxes add negative elements to the music.

Anyway, pleased you love them. I challenge everyone to try a pair IN YOUR ROOM and see what I mean.

Cheers!

They are what they are; wonderful bargain, great entry to HiFi. 

ejlif,

I heard those speakers at an audio show, powered by small TEAC electronics and they sounded wonderful to me.

"I ordered a set of the LRS just to be able to say I have lived with Maggies at least once."

Did you mean to say "at least twice"?

"I had 3.6 maggies many years ago and I snubbed them."

I agree one of the best bang for your buck speakers out there.  I was lucky enough to pick up an almost new pair several months ago.  Everything they say is true - good power/current and get them out into the room.  Right now using a Hegel H360 integrated.  I had them about 3.5 ft from the back wall and they sounded great.  Just today rearranged things a bit and have them 6 ft out and sitting a little closer.  Simply amazing.  Took them to another level altogether.     

I had the LRS and could not get them to
work in my room. Near field speakers they are not.

I heard the Maggie LRS at the last live Axpona and in a hotel listening room they were very impressive. I own a pair of 1.7i Maggies. They do need and benefit greatly from a lot of power and some tweaks. I have a pair of Bryston 28B3 monoblocks, replaced the stock stands with a set of MyeStands and replaced the stock fuse and plate steel jumper with the Mike Powell silver upgrade. All of that made various obvious improvements and power is no issue. But what really transformed and revolutionized the sound quality from this Maggie 1.7i setup is the addition of a pair of REL T/9i subs using high level inputs. Wow. Like me I was in denial about the bass quality of the Maggies. But they don’t have the sub bass frequency response, and slam because they don’t move air. Well when you add the RELs it’s a whole new ballgame. I would imagine that if you got one or two smaller RELs like the T/5i or T/7i to go with the LRS you will be quite happy!  

@ejlif I share you love for the LRS. They are a technological marvel! Great post. 

I could have chosen Quad ESL's when I bought my Dahlquist DQ-10s in '76.  Not sure the Quads would have lasted 45 years, but I'll never forget their transparency and holography.  With an appropriate sub, they must be amazing.

Moved to a new home with a smaller dedicated audio room. 13.5x16  9ft ceiling. 1.7s driven by a 4B3.  Compressed they are most certainly not. I will postpone the upgrade to the 3.7i because these vanish, energize the entire space and are simply sublime.  The great room can handle the 20.7 but finding a pair available on the used market is impossible, no one wants to part with them.  Interestingly the owner who sold these to me purchased the Emerald Physics 4.7s and was disappointed. Not even close in clarity and resolution was his comment. After 1.5 years I still love them. 

Or even better yet...get the Spatial Audio X series.

ejlif, you are only going to get so far with bigger amps and subwoofers on Maggies. You should try the 3.7i's. I think they are the sweet spot in their range but,  if it is loud rock and roll you want to listen to you should probably look elsewhere. If you like the dipole planar sound then you need to get a pair of Sound Labs ESLs. With subwoofers they are thunderous. Once you have a pair you will be done for the duration. Very few on the used market.

Tweak1, those drivers belong in a table radio.

@ejlif are these your only speakers/setup currently?

 I had Maggie 3.5Rs that I tired damn n ear everything, including twin SVS 12" powered subs

IMHO (owning 3.4s) that a pair of Emerald Physics 3.0s OB, 12" concentric driver, ~ 100dB efficient will blow them away.

https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lisa6h28-emerald-physics-cs3-infinite-baffle-speakers-with-active-...