I dont understand Magnepans

Allen Marshall · 01-13-2004, 09:00 PM

how do they work, sub drivers and midrange drivers and what not are big and stretch back far what do Magnepan drivers look like? i have hard time trying to imagine a panel lookin thing makin a lot of bass and being loud

Tim Streagle · 01-13-2004, 10:26 PM

Maggies have rectangular mylar (plastic) panels stretched over frames. These mylar panels are covered with wire that is looped up and down repeatedly, larger wire for bass, smaller wire for mids, and (in most models) a separate section for a quasi-ribbon tweeter. The front of the speaker has a grid of thin (refrigerator-style) strip-magnets bonded to a perforated metal sheet. The entire mylar panel vibrates to produce sound from a very large surface area- it does not have to move as much as a conventional cone to produce as much sound. Be aware that Maggies do require more powerful amplification than most cones. The bass freq.'s roll off sharply at a certain point on the less expensive models (40-50 Hz), but still produce nice, tight low end. I use a sub for deep bass.

There is a point at which planar speakers do lose their capacity to "pump up the volume." However, this point is well above 115 dB in my listening room, and is not a concern. Suffice it to say that Magneplanars are not speakers one purchases to win college dorm sound wars, amplify rock guitars, or blast tunes toward a neighbors house for revenge.

Many times I have heard people say that Magneplanars are not suitable for low level listening. I have not found this to be true. I particularly enjoy them for quiet symphonic listening.

I have the luxury of having several different sets of speakers in my listening room yet I listen to the Magneplanars most of the time. In closing, consider the size of a typical speaker cone; then imagine how much sound would result if you multiplied that surface area many times. The sheer size of the sonic image is ear/eye-opening when you first experience it. The detail and soundstage is usually the next thing new listeners comment on. One thing's for sure- you will either love 'em or hate 'em. Most planar owners never go back to conventional speakers. I happen to like both types, each for specific tasks.

Alan Pummill · 01-14-2004, 04:47 AM

After having owned Paradigm speakers for over 5 years, with the Monitor 7 as my front speakers, I recently upgraded to a Magnepan system with the MG1.6/QR as my front speakers.

I crossed over the 7's at 80 Hz to my PW-2200 sub. But I cross the MG1.6/QR's over at 40Hz. They have much better bass response than the 7's had. With most of the music I listen to, jazz, I sometimes set the Magnepans to large when listening to stereo CD's. And let me tell you, with the proper amplification, these maggies CAN play loud!!

I'll never go back to box speakers! I love my maggies!!

cabreau · 01-14-2004, 07:13 AM

Do Magnepans have a round woofer in them like some of the Martin Logans do? The ML's that I listened to (Mosaics) used ribbons for the mids and a separate ribbon system for the highs, but had a normal woofer. The other ML's that had mylar had a woofer in them also.

Jeff O. · 01-14-2004, 08:19 AM

cabreau,
To the best of my knowledge, none of the maggies use a conventional woofer.

**HTF Ads**

David James · 01-14-2004, 09:09 AM

Check out this link from the "Maggies Users Group" site.

http://www.integracoustics.com/MUG/M...les/index.html

Take a look around the site, reviews, discussion forums, etc. Great site for Maggie information

alan halvorson · 01-14-2004, 11:35 AM

I am going to say something that will rile Magnapan enthusiasts: The Magnapan driver is one of the worst drivers in audio. Now, I am not talking about the ribbon driver that Magnapan uses in some of its models; I'm only talking about the actual Magnapan driver, the company's claim to fame.

The magnapan driver consists of a row of stationary, vertically arranged permanent magnets, and a moveable mylar membrane. A single wire is glued to the membrane opposite each row of magnets. The audio signal flows through the wires and the membrane moves in concert with the varying magnetic field intensity. So far, so good. It's what happens after the audio signal is removed that is the concern.

Electrostatic and ribbon speakers are what is termed "double-ended". The electromagnetic force driving the membrane comes from each side; each side is of opposite polarity. Damping of the membrane is mechanical, but mostly electrical from the amplifier. The membrane follows the audio signal very precisely; distortion and transient response are excellent, even extraordinary. The Magnapan driver, however, is "single-ended" - it is driven only on one side. Damping is mechanical only. The result is that when the audio signal is removed, the membrane keeps on vibrating. Transient response is extremely poor. An analogy can be made to car suspensions; if the shock absorbers (more properly called dampers, as the British do call them) were removed, we would end up with a car that would keep on bouncing long after hitting a bump - not a good idea in cars, not a good idea in speakers.

Another downside to the Magnapan driver is that the membrane must be much heavier than those used in electrostatic and ribbon speakers to be able to support the wires. An electrostatic membrane can be breathtakingly light. Furthermore, the advantage of a planar speaker is that the entire membrane is driven equally; this is not really true of the Magnapan driver.

I have never understood the attraction of Magnapan speakers. They have been one of the darlings of the "underground" audio press for many years and have now almost have become the Bose of the high end (fortunately, no infomercial). Which is strange, because every review I have ever read of a Magnapan speaker that included a chart for transient response clearly displayed its poor damping characteristics. A mainstream speaker manufacturer would have been taken to task on this point; Magnapan gets a pass.

I have owned a couple electrostatic speakers (Soundlab and Martin-Logan) and one ribbon speaker (Carver Platinum - still own) and have listened to Magnapans on many occasions. I understand the attraction of that big launch area; but in comparison to any electrostat or ribbon speaker (and a huge number of plain old cone-powered speakers) you can name, Magnapan speakers are clearly inferior and are not worth consideration.

David James · 01-14-2004, 12:01 PM

"I have never understood the attraction of Magnapan Speakers. They have been one of the darlings of the "underground" audio press for many years and have now almost become the Bose of the high end (fortunately, no infomercial). Which is strange, because every review I have ever read of a Magnapan speaker that included a chart for transient response clearly displayed its poor damping characteristics. A mainstream speaker manufacturer would have been taken to task on this point; Magnapan gets a pass."

I don't own any but perhaps the owners like the way they sound

John Kotches · 01-14-2004, 12:29 PM

David,

A few quick points to make:

The Magnepan 20.1 is a fully symmetrical push/pull design, with the mylar and voice coil between the two panels for bass/midrange. The Magnepan 20.1 and 3.6 utilize true ribbons which are attached at only 2 points.

All of Magnepans other speakers "quasi-ribbon" or planar magnetic, as the voice coil is attached to a backing material.

I agree with you on the symmetric Push/Pull arrangement -- I use planar magnetics myself (based on BG drivers) which are symmetrically driven. Bruce Thigpen's Eminent Technology speakers are the planar equivalent of an electrostatic, with fairly low sensitivity, but excellent sonics.

Cheers,