This question really speaks to me.
After reading all the glowing reviews of Magnepan, I took the plunge. I dumped my boxes and blindly ordered a pair. I live very rural and there simply wasn't an opportunity to audition them. They arrived, I did all the "things" recommended to bring out the sonic bliss I read about. I fired them up and...you know the smiley face emoji with the straight mouth line? That was me. I felt almost sad and perhaps a bit duped. They were.... Ok. This was a big deal for me and I was so disappointed. I kept reading, kept dicking around with them, following more advice I would read. The result? Pffft. I blew all this hard earned money and I had gotten these big, thin sounding, far over rated speakers that mostly just sounded annoying. Buyers remorse? Oh yes Sir.
I quit reading all the "expert" advise given. I decided I don't like them anyway so let's try a different approach. They are just going to sit there and gather dust anyway. One day, a couple months after buying the Magnepans (and still kicking myself for my stupid purchase) I received an email from Klipsch. There was a sale on subs. Of course I had read all the "expert" opinions that subs were impossible to integrate with Magnepan- unless you wanted to waste more money with their bass panels. No way would I spend another penny on a panel that to my ears, could not do squat with real bass. Incidentally, I am not a thundering bass guy. Anyway, I looked at my meager checking account balance and thought "gone this far, what have I to loose?". I ordered a 12" sub and waited. Yes snobs... I know... a Klipsch. Keep in mind the idea of a REL or anything like that was out of my financial scope and considering how I was feeling, it was remarkable I even bought a THAT!
The sub arrived and without any anticipation or excitement, I hooked it up. I went in and changed my crossover, draining all the bass out of the Maggie's. Sent everything below 100 to the sub.
I fired the system up, expecting to be kicked in the teeth again.
OMG..... These wimpy, tin-sounding overpriced weaklings lit up! I mean they came to life! For the first time I smiled. They were lovely.
As for not being able to easily integrate a sub with Maggie's? What a crock. I keep the sub pulled way back.. I am barely aware of it- no thumping or banging. What it (the sub) allowed was for the Magnepans to shine where they are able. The sub added the warmth and richness that was absolutely missing.
So, here's what I think in regards to switching from a box to a Maggie. You will lose the ability to play back ALL types of music- say goodbye to Madonna but hello to Shubert! The speed and crystal sharpness of electronica will dazzle you. Out of the box you MIGHT be disappointed but with some fussing, you will get it right if you like that sort of thing. To much fussing and you have diminished returns. You MIGHT find that at higher volumes they are not pleasant. At lower volumes, they can be sublime. Irrespective of what "experts" say, a sub is your friend. Probably it can be summed up like this- Magnepans are like a mail-order bride. You won't have a honeymoon period but instead, you will grow to love them. It was not what I personally expected when spending that much money but, in the end, it's ok.
As an aside, I am 59 and though I never thought of this as my "retirement" system maybe it is lol. I suspect I will be buying again in the future and run two systems. I won't get rid of my Maggies- I truly appreciate them for what they are.
