Maggie speakers and bi-amping


Hello,

I've heard that the 3.7 speakers are far superior to previous models.
However I've also found that bi-amping Maggies also brings out great improvement and the 3.7's do not allow bi-amping.
I realize that reviewers would not compare these options but it seems more relevant to me if you already have two amplifiers (paid for.)
It would be nice to go to a dealer to compare but I've found that dealer's rooms are generally too small to listen to the larger Maggie speakers.
Does anyone have an opinion on the sound qualtiy of the 3.7 with a single amplifier versus older 3 series Maggies bi-amped (preferable in a large room)?
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Showing 2 responses by brownsfan

There is a discussion about this in the current thread on the 20.7's. I think you will find that lots of people have opinions on this subject. I have no experience with biamp'ed 3.6's using an external active crossover, so I can't offer a comparison on that set up vs. a stock 3.7. Those who have that set up appear to be very satisfied, so if you already have the amps and the crossover, it might make sense to go that way.
A separate question is the comparison of stock bi-wired 3.6's vs stock 3.7's. It seems that some have a very strong preference for the 3.7's, while others are less enthusiastic about the magnitude of the improvement over stock 3.6's. I have gone the monoblock route. I find my 3.7 single wired to my Cary 500 MB's to be wonderful. If your stereo amps are matched and can be bridged, that would be a way to fully utilize your existing equipment with the 3.7's.
I think Magnepan looked at the problem in a different way that many owners of the x.6 generation are looking at it. I think they said, "How do we build the best speaker at $xxxx price point?" Their answer to that question utilizes a series crossover, which as I understand it is inherently not biampable (is that a real word?).
As a long time owner of 1.6QR's and someone who was open to buying a demo pair of 3.6's, I think Magnepan made the right decision. It may not be the right decision for someone who is willing to invest in an active crossover, but for those who just want to use the stock speaker without by-passing or modifying the crossover, I think the stock 3.7R is a much better speaker than the 3.6R unless you use an active crossover with the 3.6's. I have not heard the 3.6's or 20.1's with active crossovers, but there are a lot of golden-eared Maggie owners that swear by the active crossovers. In my opinion, based on my long time ownership of the 1.6's and audition of the 3.6's, the stock crossovers left a lot to be desired.
My Cary 500 mb monoblocks drive the 3.7's just fine. I see no particular need for biamping when using the Cary's. No thanks on the arc welder. And only having to buy one set of cables enabled me to spend more (a lot more) than I would have if I bought two sets.
I would encourage people to judge the 3.7's and 3.6's based on careful auditioning. The question should be more one of how well is the design executed, not so much one of which design is inherently superior.