[capwkidd]

I have had two opertunities now to carefully listen to Magnepns at two different stores with two different sets of electronics (one set being my own).... Both locations I heard the 1.7's and 3.7's, and one of them I heard the 20.7's. They all had a harshness to the sound..... Adding the resistor did help though..... Any comments?

Also, since I have a chance to edit and fix the typo in this message..... When we connected the 1ohm resistors to the 20.7's, then the treble was Eisner on the ears. But it was probably just slightly too little..... Too much midrange now.... So, perhaps 1/2ohm would do.

[geowak]

I have two opera unities now to carefully listen to Magnepns at two different stores with two different sets of electronics (one set being my own).... Both locations I heard the 1.7's and 3.7's, and one of them I heard the 20.7's. They all had a harshness to the sound..... Adding the resistor did help though..... Any comments?

If you mean opportunities, I think the first question is what kind of brands and models of electronics? If you have been listening to box type speakers, they have a different sound. To some the sounds are better, to others worse. To me, that is one of the beautiful things about speaker design and engineering. Something is out there for all manner of taste and hearing preference....

[thunderbrick]

I had a tube preamp that sounded just right running my system.  Switched to a different tube pre and it made my ears bleed.  Installing the resistor did the trick.

Why the big difference?  Dunno.

[SteveFord]

Planar speakers of all stripes are going to show up the deficiencies in whatever is downstream and that includes the source material.
They're like big magnifying glasses and are not going to sound like the speakers you're used to at home.
They may not be the thing for you when all is said and done.
If you buy some and get them home you'll discover that the models you're looking at are way too large for your listening area.

[SteveFord]

Perhaps if you could post pictures of your room and your set up some of the members could offer some helpful suggestions.

[guest61169]

If you mean opportunities...

Thanks.  I stared at the OP's "opera unities" for several minutes, even Googled it and still never figured that out! 

[Photon46]

Probably one of two situations here. Geowak may be correct, perhaps you just aren't going to like the sound of Maggies under the best of conditions. The other more likely scenario IMO is that you are hearing the limitations or incompatibility of downstream equipment and/or the effects of mediocre setup and rooms. Just because you heard them set up by a dealer means nada, I've seen mediocre room setups in more than one Maggie dealer's showrooms. Optimally setup for good room interface with partnered equipment that pleases your ears, they can be wonderful. That said, I gave up on Maggies myself after twenty years of using them because I just couldn't get past a certain level of sound quality without feeling I needed to buy very expensive electronics to make them achieve their ultimate potential. It just seemed weird to me to have to spend close to ten thousand dollars on electronics to make four thousand dollar speakers come alive. I tried any number of supposed "giant killer" amps and never found one that transcended mediocrity with Magnepans. I've ended up with (for my finances) rather expensive dynamic cone speakers that play well with any number of less expensive, lower powered amps. The often repeated observation that Maggies like LOTS of high quality power is really true, I can't think of anything less expensive and with less power than a Bryston 4Bsst2 that would drive Maggies well. 

[Quiet Earth]

I gave up on Maggies myself after twenty years of using them because I just couldn't get past a certain level of sound quality without feeling I needed to buy very expensive electronics to make them achieve their ultimate potential. It just seemed weird to me to have to spend close to ten thousand dollars on electronics to make four thousand dollar speakers come alive. I tried any number of supposed "giant killer" amps and never found one that transcended mediocrity with Magnepans. I've ended up with (for my finances,) rather expensive dynamic cone speakers that play well with any number of less expensive, lower powered amps.

I had the same experience. Just substitute "SoundLab" for Magnepan.

I think the real problem with planars (in general) is that they can only be made so efficient, which is never efficient enough. It's not that planars are so good that they expose all the bad sounding amplifiers, it's that they are such a difficult load that they make most good amplifiers sound bad. So it is up to the user to figure it out. This is a problem for a lot of cone and box speakers too. You'd think that after all these years that speaker and amplifier companies would be working together, not in their own idealistic bubble.

If a speaker designer really believes in his product, he should design and/or sell an amplifier to go with it. How many companies do that?

[thunderbrick]

Biamping Maggies lets you use less-expensive amps.  My 20.1s sound great and play loud with a vintage Forte 3 on the bottom and a Moscode 300 on the mids and highs.  Market value of the two amps combined is right at $1,000.

[capwkidd]

I just now noticed my typo.... That is what I get for trying to type out a message during my break, in A HURRY ON an iPad!

The recordings I used, I have heard on many systems, 1 song in particular I have been listenening to for over 20 years.

The amp I used did not show anything but a smooth sound on all the speakers I have tried them on, 1 including a ribbon tweeter. I also experienced this while listening to the 1kwatt Mac monos....
And the preamp I use is an MSB...

It appears to just be a matter of level adjustment with the resistors.

I need to hear the Soundlabs again..... I guess I need to hear the Gilmore's again as well...

As far as pictures of my room, that's not likely to happen, I would have to clean first lol.

I thought I would also mention that the 3.7's are a big step up from the 1.7's, the 20.7's are not as huge a step up, diminishing returns. I wonder if the 3.7's are the best sellers?

[geowak]

I have two separate audio systems. My everyday listening system is a pair of MMG's and a Parasound A21 amp. They mate very well for jazz listening. I listen to mostly digital and did not pay over $500 for my DAC. The room and setup with Magnepan speakers matters, as does most speakers. I even read of a guy suspending his speakers on wires from the ceiling, instead of letting them rest on a base pedestal.

I had listened to the 1.7 and think they are tremendous for the money! I would think if 3.7's are in the budget, they would be worth an in-home trial for certain.

Once again, planar speakers are not everyone's cup of tea. I get annoyed when I hear someone say they just sound better than every other kind of speaker. Most people have not had a hearing test in decades.....

[I.Greyhound Fan]

I have a pair of 1.6's and MMG's.  I run an A21 amp (in 2 days I will have a Pass X250) with the 1.6's with an AVA HiFi hybrid tube dac and preamp.  I find that I have to use the resistor with the 1.6's.  I experimented with different ohm resistors and found that a 0.75-0.82 work well for me. 

[Chuckdog2005]

Been there myself.

For the money spent Maggies can be some of the the most rewarding and unforgiving speakers I've experienced.

I'd welcome the addition of a brightness control instead of swapping resistors, interconnects, and the like, but.... we instead have what appears to be steel jumpers.

Right now I've combined .5 ohm Mills resistors with inexpensive Blue Jeans copper cables for respectable results.

[guest61169]

...
Right now I've combined .5 ohm Mills resistors with inexpensive Blue Jeans copper cables for respectable results.

Also using .5 ohm Mills (+ inexpensive Tara Labs Prism Klara speaker cables). 

My room has 2 listening seats...one for music farther back and a closer one behind my computer desk.  The computer chair is very close to the speakers (ie about 4 feet) so I have to compromise a bit.  Doubt if I would even use the resistors if I didn't listen while working on the computer sometimes.

[satie]

For the most part, the prior generation of magies could sound harsh at normal volumes if the tweeter is not attenuated according to the distance to the seat. Without the resistors the 3.7 or 20.7 speaker won't sound neutral till you sit at least 12' away, and the tonal balance won't turn sweet till 15'+, So you need to take that into consideration.

[I.Greyhound Fan]

I have found that these Audio Quest Corals from here tame the brightness a little.  They sound as good as BJC's but tame the harshness a little.  The problem with my listening area is wood floors and lots of windows.  My room is 17x17 with 9' ceilings



http://hcmaudio.com/comp.asp?compID=498

[simoon]

It appears to just be a matter of level adjustment with the resistors.

If that's the case, what you were hearing was not 'harshness' but 'brightness'.

Brittleness is the tweeter level being too high. Attenuation resolves that issue, as you saw.

Harshness is the actual sound quality of the upper frequencies. If a tweeter is harsh sounding, it is harsh sounding. It will be inherent in the speaker. Attenuating it will lessen it by lowering the level, but the harshness will still be there.

[satie]

I have found that these Audio Quest Corals from here tame the brightness a little.  They sound as good as BJC's but tame the harshness a little.  The problem with my listening area is wood floors and lots of windows.  My room is 17x17 with 9' ceilings

http://hcmaudio.com/comp.asp?compID=498

I think you have an RF issue in your setup - that is why the floating shield in the Coral helped. BJC don't float the shield on their interconnects - they use straight coax cable, but the coral is twinax with a floating shield connected at one end. Is there a plasma TV nearby?

You may benefit from the choke tweak for your speakers.

[SteveFord]

Sort of on topic, I never cared for the resistors as they made the speakers sound funny to me.
Drapes and different tubes in the preamp is the approach for me.
Interconnects can play a big part, too, as we've lost the tone controls on the modern gear.

[kevin360]

Sort of on topic, I never cared for the resistors as they made the speakers sound funny to me.

After much experimentation, I came to the same conclusion. Heck, my 3.7s are not only resistor free, but fuse free too.