Transitioning options from Big Maggies


Greetings all. This is a shout out to former Maggie owners and lovers. I have 6 foot vintage MGIIIs. They sing with my tweaked tube phono and pre amps and class A mono amps, vinyl only system. Strings are separated and  shimmer, voice is sweet but not overly romantic. Cohesive, detailed, open and musical. Able to handle complex thick music. Deep unveiled insight into background. Bass shy so that's an area for improvement but may supplement with subs.

They are now assigned to a bedroom/ man cave measuring 11x14 ft. and I am not unhappy but thinking if other options might be optimal.

I would like to hear from other large Maggie owners that have successfully transitioned to smaller quarters as to what kind and name/model speakers that possess these qualities albeit for smaller confines, if there are any. IOW, musical as opposed to analytical, immersive feeling as opposed to listening.

I am brainstorming and wondering what others have come up with. For sake of this discussion, I would not want to transition to smaller Maggie's and the  budget hoovers about $3-4 K max.

Thanks in advance to contributors who can share their successful (or not so) experience. Used older classics, DIY and unconventional designs like full range are definitely options but please explain what is gained or lost compared to the Maggies. Like I mentioned, I am brainstorming but inclined towards tried and proven over latest and greatest.

Please PM me if you prefer.

My best to all. 
derekw_hawaii

Showing 5 responses by bdp24

Derek, if you're not in a rush, consider waiting for the concept speaker Magnepan is working on, the "Dual Dipole". It consists of a 1' W x 6' H midrange/tweeter panel coupled with a 1' x 3' H triangular OB/Dipole sub. Each sub contains 8-6.5" dynamic woofers, the woofers self-powered and DSP-treated.

The catch is, the Dual Dipole is currently only a prototype design being considered, and may never actually make it into production. Wendell Diller is on tour with the speaker right now, demoing the speaker at Magnepan dealers across the U.S. and Canada.

hth, the Emerald Physics KCH is a great candidate for an OB/Dipole sub. If you're interested, check out the one available from Rythmik and GR Research.
True @roberjerman, but do you think the 8b will work in an 11 x 14 room? I guess they could be placed on the short wall, firing down the length. The speaker is 13" wide, and being a dipole (above 180Hz) can be placed fairly close to the side walls. The 14' room length will allow the speakers to be the required 3' minimum from the wall behind them (5' is better), so maybe they will. $2499/pr., plus the cost of the stands Sound Anchor makes for them, about $200 I believe.
A pair of Eminent Technology LFT16A. Each 23lb. 10" x 10" x 22" (height) speaker contains a planar-magnetic midrange driver, a ribbon tweeter, and a 6.5" dynamic woofer. 8 ohms, 85dB efficiency, $1250/pr.