okay maggie owners-help me decide! (1 Viewer)

[Doug Fogle]

first off,Ilive about 100 miles from the nearest dealer so it is hard for me to demo maggies.I did go hear the 1.6QR and have never been more impressed by a speaker.My question concerns them and the 1.2QR.How much diference is there and which would be better suited for me?I have a 14'by 28' room and the speakers will be on the shorter end,powered by a sherbourn that has 300 watts at 4ohms.Wil the 12 give me the "maggie sound" or should I go for the 1.6 to get full benifit?Budget is definately a priority.Thanks for any response and sorry bout the length of this post-doug

 

[Jack Dotson]

Doug, welcome to the Maggie family. Go here for all the Maggie info you could ever want:

http://www.audioasylum.com/forums/mug/bbs.html

 

[Rob Rodier]

Exactly Jack, this is not the place to ask.

Good luck Doug, you are on the right track.

-rob

 

[Doug Fogle]

thanks for the kind replies and the link,but what is wrong with posting here about maggies?There have been several threads-this is in fact where I first grew interested in them enough to make a 100 mile road trip to hear them.Hopefully I haven't offended anyone but I'd still like to hear some input from maggie owners on this forum

 

[Dan Driscoll]

Doug,

There's nothing wrong with asking about Maggies here, it's just that you won't get a whole lot of responses. The MUG (Magnepan User Group) on AA is THE place to ask about Maggies.

 

[Lewis Besze]

Doug,
I auditioned both[it's actualy 12 not 1.2]and I found the 1.6 to be a step up,and worth the price difference IMO.

 

[Joe Casey]

Both the 12 and the 1.6 are Maggies, and therefore have the Maggie sound. If you like, try the MMG's for $550 shipped, and then upgrade/tradein to the 1.6's. Your room size is sufficient for the 1.6's, as long as you can position them away from the rear wall (at least 3 feet). Side wall positioning is not as critical. Power-wise, you may be on the low end with 300 watts, but that is something only you can determine (your preferred listening levels, type of music etc.).

 

[Lewis Besze]

Power-wise, you may be on the low end with 300 watts,

Magnapan recomends 100w nominal and 250w max for the 1.6QR in the manual.Has something changed?

 

[Joe Casey]

Magnapan recomends 100w nominal and 250w max for the 1.6QR in the manual

Sure, if you listen to elevator music with no dynamic range.

 

[Doug Fogle]

so.um magnepan assumes thats what their market is into? Or they're purposely misleading on power requirements?

 

[Joe Casey]

I honestly don't know what Magnepans reasons are, but I am quite familiar with the MMG, 1.6, and 3.6. Not having thier manuals handy, a look at thier website shows the 1.6 as having a recommended power amp rating of 50-250W, and the 3.6 of 100-250W. My personal opinion would be to START with a 250W amp for the 1.6 and a 400W amp for the 3.6 (all solid state). The bass panels of these speakers are very demanding of a powerful amp. Like I said in a previous post, you MAY be on the low end with 300W, and it will depend on your preferences.

 

[RichardHOS]

Joe is right, Maggies love power. Lots of it... actually, current. Lots of it. 300wpc will probably be fine for 1.6's if it is a well made amp (and I hear Sherbourn's are, but I've never researched them enough to really know).

Having listened to most maggie models, and having owned four myself (with the 2.7QR's being the "best" I've owned... soon to be 3.6's), here are my thoughts on the relative improvements for each model:

MMG to MG12 - you get more bass (larger panel), slightly increased maximum dynamics, and a taller soundstage.

MG12 to MG1.6 - you get more bass (larger panel), slightly increased maximum dynamics, a taller soundstage, and a more refined blending of mids and highs (subtle, but audible).

MG1.6 to 3.6 - more bass (larger panel and three way design), a substantial increase in maximum dynamics, a substantial improvement in midrange quality (I've read on several occasions that the midrange is QR, but some insist otherwise... I've never taken on apart myself), the same refinement of mid/high blending of the 1.6, and you get the wonderful ribbon tweeter

MG3.6 to 20.1 - yet more bass, another substantial increase in dynamics (due to panel area but mostly the step to double sided magnets), the same midrange/high refinement in the 1.6 and 3.6 (and the 20.1 definitely has the QR midrange... and it sounds terrific).