I'm going to try to keep this to the point, yet reasonably detailed. I've been an audiophile for over 45 years and during that time have owned many different pieces of equipment with speakers from JBL, Klipsch, KEF, Sonus Faber, Usher, Tyler and others. I have always passed on Magnepans because at the times I heard them, I felt they were a bit thin and sterile sounding. Finally, my curiosity got the best of me and I picked up a nice used pair with black grilles and rosewood accents. Let me just say that my opinion has changed dramatically.
I listen to most genre's of music with the exception of metal and rap, so if those are your preferred music types, disregard any comments as to the suitability of the Maggies for those types. I'm driving them with a Marantz PM11S1 Reference integrated that is rated at 200 wpc into 4 ohms with headroom of almost 300 wpc. Sources are SACD, Logitech Transporter or Rega P25 table with an AT440ml cartridge.
To cut to the chase, the 1.6qr's strongest suit is midrange. Voices...especially female voices have the performer in your listening space. Each breath, each vocal nuance is more clear than any previous speaker I have used. At the same time, this clarity and detail is not aggressive or etched in nature. Images are well placed although at times somewhat larger than life. Frankly, when I want to really engage the music, that doesn't bother me at all.
The treble is very good, although there are ribbon tweeters that are more delicate. If anything, it is slighly rolled off at the extreme high end, but then again, so is my hearing
Songs that on other speakers can sound harsh are more listenable. This is not to say that they are euphonic or inaccurate. They are honest, but not brutally so. If a recording is poorly done, there is little doubt. If it is well done, the result is wonderful!
Planar bass is always an interesting topic. I'm also a headphone buff and have slowly migrated toward planar and electrostatic cans. The way they produce bass is different from conventional drivers and provides a bit less sense of "slam". This is true of the Maggies as well. They are not bass light, rather it is fast and taut. Stringed instruments like cello, or acoustic bass are reproduced with a tonality and clarity that I don't find in other speakers. There is a sense of "wood" and body to the sound. The same is true for percussion. At lower volumes they do tympani quite well. At higher volumes, the leading edge is well produced, but the sense of slam is less than a good dynamic driver. In my 24X30 room, they don't do "room lock" the way my ACI Jag 2000 LFM's do. Listening to the Telarc recording of Symphony #3 "Organ" the conclusion is big and you can hear the shuddering waves of sound, but at a reduced level. Still, without direct comparison to a speaker with greater low end extension you don't feel you are missing much. Organ buffs....add a sub or two. Electric bass is very well reproduced and if anything sounds more realistic than many dynamic drivers....especially those in the same price range.
Soundstage width is very good if that's the way the music is recorded. If the person doing the recording panned certain instruments hard left or right, the sound is the width of my 24' wide room. Depth is also very well reproduced and a live recording such as Wynton Marsailas and Willie Nelson "Two men with the blues" has a very live feel and sense of hall.
OK...I've rambled on enough. If you've stuck with me this long, you are to be commended! In closing, I would say that if you have adequate amplification for the type of music you listen to. (less is required for "girl with a guitar" than an orchestra at full song) you would be hard pressed to find a speaker that could begin to perform at the same level for the same price point as a used Maggie 1.6qr.
regards,
Hibuck...
