Magnepan owners : past / present


What speakers have you bought after owning maggies that you liked as well as maggies ?
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Showing 1 response by plato

I presently have a pair of Maggie SMGa's in a small room with a QuickSilver tube amp and that system totally rocks (albeit used with a 12" powered sub dialed in to perfection). I had 1.6QR's in the same room but they were too big for the room and threw too much treble at me. Over the years, I've also owned the MG-1 Improved model, MG-12's and the MG-III's. And I've heard the Tympani's, the 3.5's and the 3.6's.

In another room I have a pair of VMPS RM2's, which are somewhat large ribbon hybrid floorstanders, but in my opinion they outclass the Maggies in midrange transparency (they reproduce guitar strings better than any speaker I can think of) and they are certainly more dynamic and extended in the bass (more kick and they go lower).

Believe it or not, at the moment I have them sounding fantastic using a '70's vintage Pioneer SX-939 receiver and an inexpensive Pioneer DVD player to play my CD's. They sound even better with more upscale gear but my point is that they can sound quite involving with well-designed modest gear too. Being more efficient, they are not as amp fussy as the Maggies and seem easier to place and tune in my room.

Accordingly, the larger VMPS ribbon hybrid models (the ones that move some air, starting with the RM2) get my vote as affordable speakers that beat the Maggies. Playing Rodrigo y Gabriela's "11:11" on the VMPS today was an authentic-sounding mind-blowing experience that my former 1.6's couldn't quite match - as good as they are.