Magnepan 1.6

hi doug:

i was told by the designer that the original lft 8 was softer sounding. that is, the treble was less prominent. did you compare the two ?

The mistake that most people make is UNDERPOWERING the Maggie 1.6's. With 100 wpc [into their 4 ohms impedance, which is more like a resistive load] I was very impressed.

After switching to a Spectron 1 [class D] with 500 wpc, the speakers came alive...punchy dynamics and a marked increase in lower bass. Also, the 1.6's take quite awhile to burn-in.

Further improvements can be obtained with a speaker stand [I forgot who makes it] as well as securing the top frame to the wall with metal studs and clamps [no too WAF friendly].

Huge sound for a ridiculously cheap price...but you do need mondo amp power!

the problem with magnepan's is definitely not the amplifier used to drive it. the speaker has problems regardless of what amplifier you use. its bass response is lacking and it has too much treble energy. if you use a powerful amplifier, you might find the presentation fatiguing.

speaker design is the issue not power. this is true of other speakers as well.

i have heard my magnepan's driven with mike sanders 300 watt solid state amp. it did not solve the magnepan's problem. it exacerbated them. the only amp that has tamed magnepans that i am aware of is the conrad johnson mv 125.

The Magnepan 1.6 has only peers, no superiors. That's my opinion anyway. I thoroughly enjoyed the two pairs, and about 5 years that I owned them. When you consider their cost, they are quite a bargain. There is a good reason speakers like the 1.6 and, MMG continue to appear in The Absolute Sound's speaker of the year, editor's choice, budget component of the decade, etc., over and over, year after year. And, this isn't the only entity that has been enamored by the Maggies over the years.

Maggies are outstanding speakers. What draws me to Maggies is the crystal clear sweeping soundstage they produce. None of the speakers I have owned can do it like Maggies, no doubt due to the large surface area of the panels. I currently have rebuilt SMGa's to Peter Gunn's specs and and it's hard for me to imagine a better sound. Other speakers seem to compress and miniaturize the performers. Even large, cone floor standers. MMG's and 1.6's are CHEAP for what you get in return.