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Passive sub for Magnepan 3.6r?

Intrigued by the fanatical praise for the Magnepan line, my buddies and I finally got the chance to audition same at length. The 1.6s were fairly engaging, though a bit bright to my ears, and wholly lacking in low end slam--overall there's a number of conventional dynamic speakers I'd choose for the same $$. The 3.6rs, however, truly are as awesome as their cult proclaims--they reproduce drums and vocals as well as anything I've heard and are incredibly transparent. We did an A/B comparison of the Maggies to comparably or higher-prices B&W Nautilus and Thiel floorstanders, and it was absolutely no contest--next to the Maggies, the others sounded veiled and boomy.
All that said, and with due respect to those that enjoy the 3.6rs w/o a sub, we all felt that the 3.6rs lacked bottom end impact and were, in effect, 80% of a great speaker. We then added a REL sub (as is often recommended), but still struggled with the integration--no matter how we adjusted the sub, the combo still sounded like two separate speakers, not an integrated whole.
So my question is, assuming I take the plunge, would the Maggies be better served by pairing with a passive sub? My concept, as yet untested, is that by using the same amp to power both the sub and the Maggies, I might get a less distorted, more seamless sound. While I'm sure this topic has been addressed somewhere, your informed opinions would be most appreciated.
loomisjohnson
audiokinesis
2,713 posts
 
Hi Marty,

Well I can't discount your experience, especially since you were taking actual measurements, nor can I explain it.

In an AES paper entitled "Dipole Loudspeaker Response in Listening Rooms", researcher James M. Kates compares the response of monopole and a dipole at various listening positions and toe-in angles, and he finds the dipole to be usually (but not always) smoother in the bass region.

In an unprinted supplement to his review of the dipole-bass Gradient Revolution, Robert E. Greene records its in-room frequency response, which he finds to be remarkably smooth in the bass region. You can see this supplement at his website:

http://www.regonaudio.com/Gradient%20Revolution%20Loudspeaker.html

Again, I cannot explain your experience. Perhaps the Maggies do not start out "flat" in the bass region; I recall seeing a Stereophile measurement that did not look flat, but it may have been their measurement technique.

Best wishes,

Duke
martykl
3,578 posts
 
Duke,

I checked that link. If you can get that kind of in-room response (app +/- 4db down to 25hz!) without EQ, my hat's off to you. I've never gotten close in any of my rooms with monopoles, omnis, di-poles, or even bi-poles (Sunfire CRM) until I added EQ. Pretty impressive.

Marty
pummill's avatar
pummill
34 posts
 
ML Depth with my 3.6 maggies has worked well for me.

http://www.integracoustics.com/MUG/MUG/pix/HTFer/
audiokinesis
2,713 posts
 
Well Marty, the resolution of Greene's posted measurement is pretty low, showing 1/3 octave bands in one dB averaged increments. So I doubt that the actual curve stayed within +/- 4 dB... but that's still impressive in-room performance (which isn't recognizable as such unless you're all-too-familiar with how truly horrible most in-room bass response really is!).
loomisjohnson OP
1,903 posts
 
Thanks to all for unusually good and thoughtful feedback.
After digesting it all, my continuing quandry is whether the Maggies are truly worth the commitment--upgrading power amps, adding one or perhaps several subs, tweaking the room, etc.--when some more traditional full-range speakers are more of a plug-and-play (and certainly cheaper) proposition. As a sick Agon freak, I know much of the fun is in the setup, but I have to mull this over.
Again, many thanks--lots of smart people weighing in.
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