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Post by jandl100 on Apr 28, 2015 8:18:21 GMT
I've had a pair of smaller Maggie smga before and didn't get on with them at all - the ultimate pipe&slipper speaker - seriously boring items. These 1.6QR are different beasties altogether - a very "present" sound that conveys the excitement of music well. Not everyone's cuppa char for that reason, but I suspect I am really going to enjoy them.
If I ever had to replace the MBLs in my main system, I would certainly have some of the 1.6QR's bigger brothers on my shortlist.
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Post by ChrisB on Apr 28, 2015 8:25:57 GMT
Yes, you certainly have to go up in terms of acreage in order to make the Magnaplanar magic! Another reason why they're not for everybody.
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Post by MartinT on Apr 29, 2015 19:00:33 GMT
Everyone should try Maggies at some point in their life. I guess my time is yet to come.
Nice acquisition, Jerry!
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Post by jandl100 on Apr 30, 2015 6:04:15 GMT
Yep, I'm very very pleased with the purchase, Martin.
It's a different sort of presentation from other types of panel like 'stats - and of course a world away from box speakers. Some folk just don't 'get' the point with Maggies, but I enjoy different approaches to sound reproduction. Not hugely different from the larger Apogee ribbon speakers.
I heard the later Maggie 1.7 at a Show a while back and was bowled over - the 1.6QR I have are very similar.
A very forthright and 'chiselled from granite' presentation which I know some folk regard as unmusical, but I find enjoyable in its own terms. It'll be interesting trying some different amps with them and seeing what works and what doesn't.
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Post by ChrisB on Apr 30, 2015 6:17:22 GMT
If you don't mind me asking such a vulgur question Jerry, I wonder what you paid for them?
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Post by jandl100 on Apr 30, 2015 6:39:11 GMT
hahahaha - £600.
Which imho is embarrassingly little for the quality and quantity on offer! -- but they are a bit (well, quite a lot) marmite. Do you like marmite?
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Post by jandl100 on Apr 30, 2015 6:49:49 GMT
Hmm. I've been thinking about this, I suspect the reason that I am so pleased with these Maggies is that they do do it differently to most other speakers.
They have replaced a pair of standmount Usher X-719. Those are very nice speakers, well reviewed and deservedly so, but they are simply trying to do what my MBLs do so well, and they are inevitably a bit disappointing to come to as a result. The Maggies, though, have a quite different approach to sound presentation and in a strange way don't really compete with the MBLs at all. So system 2 is fundamentally different from my Big Rig, and is enjoyed in its own right rather than as a poor 2nd to a far more expensive system.
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Post by John on Apr 30, 2015 6:55:17 GMT
Sounds like a bargain I never heard the speakers myself but know they have a rep! I occasionally like Marmite but more to add flavour whilst cooking (not on its own far to powerful for me)
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Post by jandl100 on Apr 30, 2015 6:56:14 GMT
My wife likes marmite on toast - I just can't get my head round that!
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Post by ChrisB on Apr 30, 2015 7:02:05 GMT
I'd say that is a great way to look at it, hats off to you! At the price they were an utter bargain, I'm quite envious.
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Post by MartinT on Apr 30, 2015 7:38:39 GMT
The only panel speakers I've heard that made a real case for themselves as speakers I could live with are the big Martin Logan CLX. Others have given real insight into how different a presentation can sound from what I'm familiar with, and that's a great lesson, but I don't think I would swap my large boxes for them.
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Post by MartinT on Apr 30, 2015 7:39:13 GMT
My wife likes marmite on toast Yummy!
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Post by jandl100 on Apr 30, 2015 13:33:20 GMT
The only panel speakers I've heard that made a real case for themselves as speakers I could live with are the big Martin Logan CLX. Others have given real insight into how different a presentation can sound from what I'm familiar with, and that's a great lesson, but I don't think I would swap my large boxes for them. No, I wouldn't swap my MBLs for them as my main rig - but I am happy that I can have both!
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Post by Eduardo Wobblechops on Apr 30, 2015 17:46:15 GMT
Heard a pair of Maggies at the last Owston, thought they sounded great. Can't remember the model, they were about 5ft high. Like to hear the larger ones.
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Post by jandl100 on May 11, 2015 6:55:01 GMT
Ah, they don't make 'em like they used to. This one has been 'fully fettled' and encased in its own mini-rack. A bit of a powerhouse - more than 150wpc and can drive my MBL speakers to insane levels without any signs of distress. A tad smooth at the top end, with just the last level of fine rez in the mids and top MIA. Bass is very clean, taut and impactful. Overall, I prefer the power amp section of my vintage Rotel 1412 monsta - that allows through the aforementioned fine rez missed by most amps of my acquaintance, but doesn't quite have the bass control of the Crown DC300A. Ah well - I'm only really a bass freak when visitors come a-visiting, and the Rotel is fine in the bass for my classical music preference. It's only 'OTT electronic bass' that gets a bit whoomy. I foresee a happy future for the Crown amp driving my Maggie 1.6QR panels in my 2nd system. I'm expecting it to fit in rather well there.
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Post by ChrisB on May 11, 2015 7:21:24 GMT
Fantastic! How does it pair up with your preamp choice Jerry? I've toyed with the idea of using on of these as a bass amp in the past but was frightened off by tales of difficulty in matching.
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Post by jandl100 on May 11, 2015 16:45:41 GMT
At the moment I am driving it direct from an Audiolab MDAC. There is enough gain for 99%+ of my recordings, but some run it quite close!
Yep, for bass duties I think it would be a hard amp to beat.
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Post by ChrisB on May 11, 2015 17:45:13 GMT
Interesting, thanks.
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Post by jandl100 on May 17, 2015 7:50:43 GMT
New toy !! A room correction / DAC / pre-amp thingamejig. - one of these www.tnt-audio.com/accessories/dspeaker_antimode2_e.htmlIt's a DAC and pre-amp, but its main purpose is room correction in the bass. It's a goodun. I think it has supplanted my MDAC as DAC and pre-amp de jour. It doesn't have the MDACs slight grain in the mids and slight top end emphasis, but seems just as resolved. Dynamics might be slightly curtailed compared to the very forthright Audiolab. But overall it seems more 'musical' to me. (I think I'll try the MDAC with the Crown ballbuster DC300A amp and Maggies in my 2nd system, the Crown being a tad laidback it may work well). Whoa - the room correction thing works well. There was a 50Hz peak that the box'o'tricks vanquishes. Bass is a bit better controlled but the main improvement, strangely, is a significant improvement in the imaging. Yum.
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Post by MartinT on May 18, 2015 7:21:06 GMT
Interesting, Jerry, and not a direction I would have expected you to take.
What do you do with your analogue feed? You don't put it though an ADC, do you?
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