[Housteau]

I have a question for those that have had the chance to listen to the 30.7.  I was wondering since the high frequency panel is less wide at around 16", if it is more capable of presenting non-larger than life images when called for?  The one drawback for me regarding Maggies is that more often than not they can present images that make me feel as if I am living in the land of giants.  I know that some like this, but I am not one of them.

[I.Greyhound Fan]

I can't answer your question but part of the charm of Maggies is the huge sound like you are in the front row.  The smaller the Maggies the less you get of that, but it is still present.  If you want small and intimate, look elsewhere even though I find Maggies to be more intimate than most speakers.  You are right there with vocals, piano, acoustic guitar and horns.

[Housteau]

I can't answer your question but part of the charm of Maggies is the huge sound like you are in the front row.  The smaller the Maggies the less you get of that, but it is still present.  If you want small and intimate, look elsewhere even though I find Maggies to be more intimate than most speakers.  You are right there with vocals, piano, acoustic guitar and horns.

I like and expect large scale presentations when the music and recording call for it, but also expect to have small and intimate and proportional in scale when called for as well.  I am very fortunate to have all of that now.  I am not looking for anything new.  However, I like to have short lists of possible options to look into If something changes in the future.  I was hoping that the 30.7 was able to this to a better degree than the other models.

[SteveFord]

I made sure not to hear them but I think Josh did, maybe he'll chime in.
I would think it would be a tall (and wide) soundstage due to the height of the panels.

[Housteau]

I made sure not to hear them but I think Josh did, maybe he'll chime in.
I would think it would be a tall (and wide) soundstage due to the height of the panels.

It could be.  I had the Acoustat 1+1's many years ago.  Because they were half as wide as the 2+2's they created a much better realistically sized image.  However, they were close to 8' tall and so that image could be higher than shorter speakers.  But, placing the listening seat on a small platform helped with that.

[josh358]

I have a question for those that have had the chance to listen to the 30.7.  I was wondering since the high frequency panel is less wide at around 16", if it is more capable of presenting non-larger than life images when called for?  The one drawback for me regarding Maggies is that more often than not they can present images that make me feel as if I am living in the land of giants.  I know that some like this, but I am not one of them.

Are those Neo 10's in your line? The midrange and the tweeter are close in the 30.7, so while the imaging specificity isn't quite what it would be with a single line it's going to be fairly close. However -- I see what look like 3 midbass couplers under the line? Are the dipoles? With an arrangement like that, I'd expect pinpoint lateral imaging with midbass down too low. I assume that the big woofers I see in the rear are crossed over low enough so that they can't be localized.

With the 30.7's, on the other hand, the midbass couplers are planar lines and they're part of the woofer panels. So you're going to get some image spread below 300 Hz or so (just guessing -- I don't have the crossover points). lt's going to have that Tympani sound, which can be freaky in its realism on acoustical music but may not be as pinpoint as you'd like.

I find it hard to describe that because it isn't like the smaller Maggies but it isn't like a narrow line, either.

What struck me most of all about the 30.7's was their freaky good midrange. A solo violin was the most realistic reproduction of a violin that I've ever heard. It is better than the Neos (I have a line of Neo 8's in my modified Tympanis). I see what looks like a tweeter in the center of your line, not sure what it is, but I don't think I've heard highs better than the Maggie tweeter. The dipole bass is also more realistic than conventional omnidirectional woofers. So I'm guessing that from the perspective of tonality, the 30.7 is superior across the board (but probably doesn't have the slam of those big woofers).

I wish I could do a better job of answering your question. The best I can say is that you do hear some spread, but it's in the lower frequencies. There's no way that the 30.7's imaging is going to be as precise laterally as your speakers. It seems to me that given the cost of the 30.7's, the dealer should fly you to where you can hear a demonstration.

[Housteau]

Are those Neo 10's in your line?  I see what look like 3 midbass couplers under the line? Are the dipoles? With an arrangement like that, I'd expect pinpoint lateral imaging with midbass down too low. I assume that the big woofers I see in the rear are crossed over low enough so that they can't be localized.

Thank you for taking the time for such a detailed answer.  I think that part of my issue is that maybe I have just never heard a set of Maggies set up properly. 

Those are not Neo 10's.  they are modified Monsoon planar drivers originally made for the automotive and computer industry.  They were used almost exclusively by Brian Chaney of VMPS.  They were also often used in rebuilds of the Infinity RS1b's.  The upper bass pedestal is a sealed unit with the tower section a full dipole.  The tweeter is an Aurum Cantus G3i.  Although it is a large system with many different sections, it speaks with a single voice and completely disappears as a source within the virtual soundstage.  As a dipole the image is not pinpoint razor sharp, which for me is a good thing, because I do not find that realistic either.  On my system large scale works are huge and expansive, and yet I find the image of a soloist, vocal or instrumental, to take on the size of a real person in front of me.  That does depend on the recording of course and my dedicated room acoustics aids in that as well.

[mick wolfe]

I heard that VMPS speaker ( the one pictured) at The Show many years ago. Both Brian Chaney and James Bongiorno were still with us at the time. James Bongiorno even played piano on a live vs. playback demo thru the VMPS speakers. Bottom line, probably the best if not one of the best speakers I've ever heard. I've never heard the 30.1 and I'm sure they're more than worthy. That said,  I wouldn't consider selling the VMPS without doing a long term in system demo of the 30.1 for comparison. In a perfect world, I'd keep both if the 30.1 works for you as well.

[mick wolfe]

Oops, meant 30.7 in regard to the Magnepan.

[josh358]

Thank you for taking the time for such a detailed answer.  I think that part of my issue is that maybe I have just never heard a set of Maggies set up properly. 

Those are not Neo 10's.  they are modified Monsoon planar drivers originally made for the automotive and computer industry.  They were used almost exclusively by Brian Chaney of VMPS.  They were also often used in rebuilds of the Infinity RS1b's.  The upper bass pedestal is a sealed unit with the tower section a full dipole.  The tweeter is an Aurum Cantus G3i.  Although it is a large system with many different sections, it speaks with a single voice and completely disappears as a source within the virtual soundstage.  As a dipole the image is not pinpoint razor sharp, which for me is a good thing, because I do not find that realistic either.  On my system large scale works are huge and expansive, and yet I find the image of a soloist, vocal or instrumental, to take on the size of a real person in front of me.  That does depend on the recording of course and my dedicated room acoustics aids in that as well.

I know those drivers well, since I still have my old Monsoons!

When I run the mid-tweet panel of my Tympani IVA's without the woofers, imaging is palpable and almost pinpoint. When I cut the woofer panels back in, the image expands nicely. It isn't as pinpoint, but it can be stunningly realistic. (Like all dipoles, it's back behind the speakers.) The 30.7s should behave similarly.

The new high quality midrange in the 30.7 midrange is stunning, with +/- 1 dB frequency response, and the ribbon tweeter is still the equal of the best ever made and almost certainly better than the Aurum Cantus. However, there will be some tonality shift around the XO as you move laterally, owing to the side-by-side crossover.

Bass is flat to 20 Hz but as I said it isn't going to have the midbass slam of your current arrangement, so it's naturalness vs. slam.

General consensus is that you'd have to spend over $100,000 to equal or surpass the sound of the 30.7's, and ordinarily I'd recommend them without hesitation (I've heard them twice), but with a custom build like this, who knows? I would want to hear it before I bought, not just to avoid a mistake but because if they're of similar quality there's no reason to go to the expense and effort to switch. But I would definitely have a listen, the 30.7's are amazing.

[Housteau]

I heard that VMPS speaker ( the one pictured) at The Show many years ago. Both Brian Chaney and James Bongiorno were still with us at the time. James Bongiorno even played piano on a live vs. playback demo thru the VMPS speakers. Bottom line, probably the best if not one of the best speakers I've ever heard. I've never heard the 30.1 and I'm sure they're more than worthy. That said,  I wouldn't consider selling the VMPS without doing a long term in system demo of the 30.1 for comparison. In a perfect world, I'd keep both if the 30.1 works for you as well.

My guess is that was at the Alexis Park in 2009.  I was there helping out.  In the years after through 2012 I was the one doing the Live vs DSD recordings for them.  I have no intention of letting mine go.  Including the bass towers there may only be three to four such systems out there.  I actually only know of mine and another for certain.  My goal is to just create a short list of speakers to consider in the event I needed to change.  Weather patterns are changing and bad things happen more frequently these days.  Whatever I went with I would want to keep all that I enjoy now.  That is why I wanted to consider the 30.7 as a possible contender.