Former or Current Maggie Owners

Have or owned the Magnepan T-1Ds, the 3.5s, and now the 3.6s. I've been listening to Maggies since the late 60s.

Set-up is time consuming, but worth the effort. Would agree with the sweet spot comment due to a mild Venetian blind comb filtering effect created by side by side driver placement. They play plenty loud enough in a tri-amped system with big subs.

Magnepan's produced a very good, high value product, but they need better stands for bracing (Mye) and, for all out performance, the crossover caps and inductors and wiring can be improved for noticeably better transparency.
 
Barry said:
Have or owned the Magnepan T-1Ds, the 3.5s, and now the 3.6s. I've been listening to Maggies since the late 60s.

Set-up is time consuming, but worth the effort.
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As the author of the T-1D set-up manual, I certainly agree.

Barry said:
Magnepan's produced a very good, high value product, but they need better stands for bracing (Mye) and, for all out performance, the crossover caps and inductors and wiring can be improved for noticeably better transparency.
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Also agree.
 
'began my Planar life time with Apogee Duetta Signatures, they eventually died from old age and use.... tried to find the Planar magic again. 1.7's well, kinda, 3.7's now we're talking, 20.7's oh yea, never looked back.
 
Right now I have a pair of 3.7i's with Mye Stands meticulously set up in my main system and its hard to imagine anything sounding a whole lot better. But I'm fortunate enough to have a dedicated room and just crazy enough to have spent at least a week dialing in the locations and set up with laser beams and tape! (Jim you would be very proud of me!) They are about 5 1/2' out from the front wall and 7 1/2' from my ears, so I'm pretty close and they have plenty of room for the rear sound waves. Plus I had to do a lot of work to tame the room (14' x 28") and have 20 HFT's, 3 FEQ's, a Black Box, 4 Stillpoint Apertures, and 5 Tube Traps. But......... I'll put it like this; it was worth it.

It seems like the Maggies will show off any upstream improvement in spades and really respond to extremely careful room placement and acoustic treatments, if one has the will and the patience. I've had, and still have in my very sad speaker mausoleum, several pair of highly acclaimed speakers including JM Lab Utopias, AZ Crescendo's, and several pair of Quads, and I'm not inclined for even a moment to listen to any of them over the Maggies. Unless I hear something else that completely sweeps me away at Axpona, my short drool list of speakers includes the 20.7's and maybe a pair of Sound Labs. (pause to wipe drool from chin...)

Ted
 
Ah Tedtag,

You put a smile on my face. I went from Spica TC 50's to finally Maggie 3.7i's and wow what musical bliss. They just hit you with a wall of sound whether sitting or standing. When the pocketbook won't let you reach up into the $20K and higher speaker range Maggies bring you pretty close. :yahoo1:
 
Jim Smith said:
MG-2167; MG-2, 2A, MG-1; MG-3.5; Tympani 1, 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 3, 3A

Wrote MG-1, MG-2, T-1D manuals. :whew:
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Jim: Many thanks to you for "Get Better Sound". Your advice on measurement, bi-amping, and use of the Leica Disto for set-up, was indispensable to me in achieving the systems improvements I've gotten. Oh, you should have told us about the Duelund passive XO - I had to figure that out on my own.

I am forever grateful!!! Best of luck in all your future audio endeavors.
 
Barry - great post. I've been a huge fan of Jim's for years. I had him do an actual full setup in November. Watching him work for two days was an eye opener.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Barry said:
Jim: Many thanks to you for "Get Better Sound". Your advice on measurement, bi-amping, and use of the Leica Disto for set-up, was indispensable to me in achieving the systems improvements I've gotten. Oh, you should have told us about the Duelund passive XO - I had to figure that out on my own.

I am forever grateful!!! Best of luck in all your future audio endeavors.
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Hi Barry,

Thanks for the kind comments!

I mentioned the Duelund xover about two years ago in a Quarter Notes newsletter. As a Get Better Sound owner, you should be receiving them - let me know by private message or e-mail if you are not and I will see to it that you are added to the mail list and that you receive the eighteen newsletters to date - #19 is coming shortly.

Here is a link to that newsletter - the Duelund reference and a link to an article on the Internet about mine - is 2/3 or more down in the newsletter:

http://www.getbettersound.com/quarternotesv4i2.html
 
I was teasing you about the Duelund XO a little Jim but NOT about the value of your contributions to audio setup. I actually did the outboard Duelund crossover back in 2012.

I still get and read the Quarter Notes. They are terrific and I enjoy the podcast I tried too. We need you. Keep up the great work!
 
Barry said:
Jim: Many thanks to you for "Get Better Sound". Your advice on measurement, bi-amping, and use of the Leica Disto for set-up, was indispensable to me in achieving the systems improvements I've gotten. Oh, you should have told us about the Duelund passive XO - I had to figure that out on my own.

I am forever grateful!!! Best of luck in all your future audio endeavors.
Click to expand...

I was fortunate enough to be sitting in Jim's new listening room on Friday while he ran through some demo cuts and explained the features and techniques he used to dial in his room and system. Holy crap! I have never heard speakers disappear like that and it was like the room had been completely removed from the equation. Gone..... nada.... only music floating in space. The dynamics were stunning all the way from a whisper to a powerful drum roll. The tonality was addictive. And the presence was "reach out and touch it"; tangible and real. I left with a whole new level of inspiration with gobs of new and good ideas. Thank you Jim!

For anyone who hasn't read his book or his DVD's called "Get Better Sound", I feel like its an absolutely essential component for setting up a system. There are hundreds of common sense suggestions all presented in easy to understand and practical terms. I'll try not to gush too much, but following the principals and methods as outlined in the book and DVD's, listening to music has gone to a completely higher and much better level of experience. And we're not done yet. This summer I'm building a new garage with a dedicated listening room upstairs and with Jim's help, plan to take a no holds barred approach to try to get the best sound possible. So there should be some good material to write about.

Here's a post I wrote for Jeff's Place (great website for audio purists!) right after Jim had been to my house 3 years ago and helped me with some advice about set up. Sorry if its a little wordy and at times a little over the top with excitement, but it sort of captures some of the essence about what its like to go through the set up process and why I'm so crazy about this stuff!

"Like most audiophiles I’ve struggled for years to get the kind of sound I dreamed of in my system. Its a strange obsession I guess because although I struggled to improve the sound of my system what I really was after was to reach a point where I could stop thinking about how the system sounded and just enjoy the music. I feel fortunate to live near Jim in Atlanta and to have stumbled upon his work a couple of years ago. After reading his book I asked him to come over and advise me on my system. I ended up rearranging the speaker location and my listening position, building a raised platform under the couch, trading speakers (my Utopias had a bump in the frequency spectrum that could not be fixed), and moving the equipment rack off to the side. I also added a sound curtain to shrink my room and then measured in the speakers to an inch or so tolerance. It sounded pretty good but just was not there yet.

Then I had Jim come back over and listen again. He played some specific tracks off his playlist and made some suggestions about speaker placement which were now Quad 2905’s mounted on heavy maple plinths and spiked to the floor. Jim pulled out a set of Herbie’s Gliders and suggested I get some which I ordered immediately after he left. Then he showed me his laser tools and how to measure everything to 1/16th of an inch tolerance. Three days later I drove to Jim’s house and he played the same tracks on his system. The sound was indescribable and we sat listening to cut after cut for about 4 hours until I had a mental imprint of what it sounded like. I went home, the gliders arrived, and I spent the following weekend tweaking the speakers. Here’s a quote from one of the emails I sent Jim after the system snapped into focus by just following his suggestions to a proverbial T.

“FOUND IT!!! Can’t believe what happened! Kept moving em first closer together then towards couch then apart then toe in…… Sat listened, did it again and again. All of a sudden the sound stage opened up and everything snapped into focus! Its huge, deep, wide, plus all the detail is completely there. Cat Stevens “If I Laugh”; the guitar is floating almost in front of the left speaker every note ringing out, he’s back a bit in the center, then the bass comes in. Unbelievable song. Can’t thank you enough Jim. I never would have had this happen without your help. Forty years I’ve been trying to find this experience. I’ll be up all night. Now its Clannad; harmonies are stunning, full of air, rich, and pure, like being surrounded by a choir of angels."

And this was from the next day after I calmed down a bit! : “I’m still rattled from what happened last night. After thinking about it, I was down on the floor with lasers set up and tape all over the place working on a front to back window of about 2″. I had the system playing at full listening levels while I was doing this, so I was being extremely careful like it was a surgical manueaver. After moving the speakers a few hairs I’d stop, go sit down, and listen until I found a spot that seemed a little more focused with great bass and tone. Then I started playing with toe in and that’s when it happened. Remember I already was thrilled with the way the first round of measuring and positioning had improved the sound. The system already sounded great but I was going for soundstage depth and realistic spacial information.

All of a sudden, while hunched down on the floor between the speakers, I thought I heard the sound snap into focus, so I scrambled back to my seat and could not believe what I was hearing. The images were floating holographically on a deep soundstage, with even better bass, clarity, and tone. That’s when I stopped moving the speakers and started flipping through music which went on for hours. I played all of the cuts on the CD’s you sent me and although the system sounded different than yours, the message was the same; it just sounded right and was pure musical enjoyment! Where before last night, yes it all sounded good and very technologically advanced, now the system is absolutely compelling to listen to. In fact, I’m taking the afternoon off to get an early start on a listening session so I don’t have to stay up so late!”

I can’t thank Jim enough. The system was transformed just by getting it set up right. The only equipment I changed during this entire time frame were the original speakers which were defective. Also I want to encourage any audiophile who shares my passion for listening to music on a well voiced system to diligently follow his suggestions and don’t be afraid to jump in and be an active part of the process. With the right tools and some determination, the results of Jim’s methods can be absolutely astounding!"
 
Ted,

Thank you for taking the time to write your experience down. I have both Jim's book and his DVD set and have used his suggestions. My whole system in my basement with room to experiment now. I have the same Magnepan 3.7i's and Mye stands. I used those furniture sliders with the spiked Mye stands setting on Pennies. It is tricky to keep them on the pennies when trying to move them. Time to order some Herbie's Gliders. Maybe you could do another thread on the forum as to how you use a laser alignment tool to set up Maggies. I had a hard time getting the toe in the same. One question for the new thread would be, where do you run your laser measurement from? At one point I was lining up off the feet of the Mye stands. I was using a tape measure off the back wall to try to get the toe in the same. Definitely seat of the pants. I need to watch Jim's DVD's. It rewarding when you get it right. I finally got longer speaker cables to move my audio cabinet from behind my Maggies on the front wall over to the right side wall. That made a big difference just like Jim said it would!

~Mike
 
Mgard said:
I started with the 1.7's and a year or two later bumped up to the 3.7's. Then sent them back to the factory for the mysterious .i upgrade. I really enjoy them but you do need to have them 4 to 5 foot out from the front wall.

~Mike
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What do you think of the i upgrade? I'm waiting for mine to come back from Magnepan.
 
You guys should try out the Restored Apogees. The guys from the US should get the ones from True Sound works in Nevada, the guys from EU should get the ones from Henk in Holland. Duettas for normal rooms, Full Ranges for really large (at least 8m long, 5m wide) rooms
 
Hi limniscate,

My biggest issue with the 3.7's when I first got them was they were to bright sounding to me on the high end. After upgrading to the 3.7i version they have settled right down and sound so much smoother. The bass is punchier too. I mainly listen to Bluegrass and other acoustic music which the Maggies already did an excellent job on. Now the female vocals are so smooth and buttery warm, no glare to them. Alison Krauss & Union Station sound so magical and have the feeling of being right there in my room. Another female group called the Wailin Jennys is a treat to listen to. I think you will be pleased when you get yours back. I made a pallet for mine and shipped them fright. They came back without any issues.

~Mike
 
Maggie's with CAT gear...... Starting today I have a box of Kleenex next to my listening seat.

As I mentioned in posts #29 and #35 in this thread, I've got a pair of Maggie 3.7i's with Mye stands, meticulously set up and have used some really great gear with outstanding results. Preamps have been Gat1, Gat2, Triode TRX2, Modwright (all upgrades). Amps have been Carver 305's (a little tube rolling), CJ Premier 8's (kt120/teflon upgrades), and Nuprime R20's; all over 300 watts per channel. Every combination has sounded great and the Gat2 is a tremendous sounding piece of gear. My favorite combination is the Gat2 with the Carvers. I've also got a pair of REL G2 subs right behind the Maggies that I've obsessively dialed in at a cross over of between 37-39 Hz and a volume setting of between 7-10 depending on the gear upstream.

However; I was so blown away by the Cat gear at Axpona that I ordered a brand new Cat Legend preamp with an amazing phono section and a pair of Cat JL7's with KT150's. They arrived last week and I immediately put them in my Maggie system. They have now had a little time to settle in with about 100 hours of play time. I bought the Cats for a second system I'm building in a new dedicated listening room over a 2 car garage that's being constructed as we speak. That new room should be ready in a few weeks, but in the mean time I'm running the Cat gear with the 3.7i's. One more point to consider is that I'm a vinyl guy, and very obsessive about dialing in my TT. The cartridge I'm using in a VPI Classic 3 with 3D arm is a Koetsu Blue Lace Platinum (Koetsu folks will get this). That might seem like overkill for a $6k pair of speakers but who cares!

I'm careful about using exaggerated explicative type words and will try my best to keep these comments in relatively rational terms. But holy shit! My complete emotional melt down happened last night while listening to the most unsuspecting piece of music I could imagine. That being some rock and roll from Dave Mason's masterful debut solo album "Alone Together". Specifically the last cut on side #2; "Look at You Look at Me". The kick drum felt like it was pounding me in the chest, there was a wall of music several feet on either side of each speaker, and then at 1 point Dave shouts out a big Whoooo! That came from some distant back left corner of the soundstage and I literally jumped in my seat. Finally that amazing guitar solo at the end just ripped my heart out and I sat there emotionally drained, sobbing like a baby.

All I can say is now what? Its hard to imagine separating the Cat gear from the Maggies. Its an absolute heavenly combination even compared to the premium gear I've been using! But the Cat gear was earmarked for a completely different system, just waiting to be assembled in a dedicated listening room. I may have to cash out my retirement account, sell all my cars, or even rob a bank, but I might just have to go for a pair of Cat Statement amps and another Legend preamp to build that second system. Tough problem when we have to deal with such dilemmas I suppose!

But to get back to the matter at hand; from my experience, a well set up pair of Maggies, driven with enough power and current, will be exactly as good as the quality of the signal they receive. And with a Koetsu Blue Lace Platinu and the new Cat gear, I think I'm gonna have to order an entire case of kleenex........
 
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