Magnepan 20.7 and Subs

Elizabeth, that bassiness you describe can be adjusted by moving the speakers away from the wall which in an attached condo might be a problem due to room. The bass that is annoying you is between 150 and 50 Hz. If you have a test record with frequency tracks you can hear exactly where the problem is. Now interestingly enough if you get two subwoofers and cross them just a little higher 125-150 Hz you will have more control of your bass just by turning the subwoofer volume down and get the advantage of further cleaning up an already clean loudspeaker. The longer bass excursions doppler distort the higher frequencies, it modulates them. It is one of the most important reasons for using subwoofers with planar dipoles.

Mike

pwhinson
any new developments on this thread? Hope you are well and enjoying Summer.  Give us an update as your Maggies continue to bloom and settle into your room/system.
Happy Listening!

The 20.7 will go down to 25Hz in a good room with proper setup and a decent power amp.

There is a noticeable sonic transition to subs with tall Magnepan’s, because Magnepan’s have tall bass waves, and subs have short bass waves.

Some do not like planar bass, with it’s natural sound for acoustic instruments, they like punchy, dry bass, that box speakers put out with with rock ((since rock bass is played mostly through boxes.

I have Magnepan IIIas and 3.6s and guests always ask me where the sub woofers are?
There are none! I know how to setup Magnepan’s in an appropriate room.

don_c55, Magnepans are linear radiators down to about 150 Hz. Below that they are point source radiators just like any single sub woofer. Maggies will make bass but it is very lumpy for lack of a better term. Not only is their response not smooth but input below 50 Hz really shakes the speaker distorting everything else. I prefer 4 subs with 20 series Maggies using 12 inch drivers and crossing up at 125 Hz essentially keeping the system Line Source throughout. You also have to high pass the 20.7s to get the full benefit so you really need digital bass management to do it right along with room control. Now we are talking serious money. It is best to avoid subs unless you can do at least two. Single subs will just get lost and cause a lot of heart burn and frustration.
Setting up Maggies to get the smoothest bass is just a matter of adjusting the distance to the wall until you get what you want but it will never be the smoothest base because you can not avoid dipole interference and cancelation effects off the front wall. Wasting money on all kind of room treatments will not change or correct this.