[SteveFord]

Wendell asked me to post this so here you go:

Dear Press Member,

The LRS is a "steal" and instantly revived our faltering MMG home-trial program.

I see in the chat rooms that some customers are investigating adding a subwoofer. There is a perception that Magnepan is opposed to subwoofers. But, that is not entirely accurate.

The conventional subwoofer does not work correctly with a dipole/planar speaker. I don't want to get into a debate about acoustical theory because there is a woofer/subwoofer that DOES match a dipole/planar speaker---- a dipole woofer/subwoofer (sometimes called "open baffle woofer").

Open baffle woofers are an old idea that has new life due to DSP and high-powered plate amplifiers. So, to set the record straight--- if you want to use a subwoofer with a Maggie, use a dipole woofer/subwoofer. They work very well because they replicate more closely the way a big Maggie produces bass.

[Saturn94]

Is there a general crossover range that’s recommended?

[SteveFord]

I think I run mine at 40 Hz.
Don't have the type Wendell recommends, though.
Maybe someday.

[Saturn94]

I think I run mine at 40 Hz.
Don't have the type Wendell recommends, though.
Maybe someday.

I don’t have an OB sub either (it’s sealed).

Are you crossing that low with your smaller Maggies (MMGs?) or you speaking of the bigger ones (1.6 if I remember correctly?)?

[SteveFord]

I swiped the sub from the MMG system as that's what the wife uses for her TV so  no sub for her.
I figure Judge Judy is annoying enough as it is.

[AvsFan]

If you like any kind of low frequency foundation for your music, then YES! Absolutely!  if all you listen to is acoustic music then no. But man, the LRS's don't do bass. And I am not talking about room rattling rap bass, I am talking about just low frequency foundation and impact in general. I am not using OB subwoofers but I am using very fast and articulate dual RSL Speedwoofer 10S subwoofers and they seem to mate very well to the LRS's.

[Paul McNeil]

Ha, ha, YES, Maggies do not do bass well, below 80hz. Wendell and Magnepan should acknowledge this and move on...because Maggies are exceptional in the midrange and excellent in the treble.

[Paul McNeil]

Missed the bit about the dipole not working well with a subwoofer! Has he tried it? My sealed subs (SVS and NHT, four) work very well with my 3.6s, thank you.

[AvsFan]

Ha, ha, YES, Maggies do not do bass well, below 80hz. Wendell and Magnepan should acknowledge this and move on...because Maggies are exceptional in the midrange and excellent in the treble.

Yeah, not at all. Like you said, spectacular above 80hz. Funny you mention that frequency range, beause now that the LRS's are in my home theater, I found they sound the best crossed over at 80hz with the dual subs kicking in under that. 

[AvsFan]

Missed the bit about the dipole not working well with a subwoofer! Has he tried it? My sealed subs (SVS and NHT, four) work very well with my 3.6s, thank you.

My RSL is vented, but not the typical ports and it sounds like a sealed sub. And it's fast enough to keep up with the Maggie's and my ZU Audios.

[Tyson]

For an open baffle speaker, you really want an open baffle sub.  The "speed" you hear from OB speakers has to do with how they interact with a room.  It's the same with a sub.  No box sub will ever integrate as well with an OB speaker as an OB sub will.  Check out the GR Research offerings on this site, they are pretty spectacular.

[AvsFan]

For an open baffle speaker, you really want an open baffle sub.  The "speed" you hear from OB speakers has to do with how they interact with a room.  It's the same with a sub.  No box sub will ever integrate as well with an OB speaker as an OB sub will.  Check out the GR Research offerings on this site, they are pretty spectacular.

Thanks for the info.



 

Would something like this work?

[I.Greyhound Fan]

AVS, if your subs integrate well then don't waste your money on new subs.  You can tell when the subs don't integrate well.  My 2 ML subs integrate seamlessly.  They get out of the way and disappear with the speakers.  You are only are aware of them by the way they pressurize the room and fill in the bottom end without being muddy or boomy.  They have fast controlled bass.

The issue that people run into is that they set the volume too high on their subs.

Now I have an older Velodyne sub that does not integrate well.  It is slow and sloppier.

Trust your ears.

[Wind Chaser]

For an open baffle speaker, you really want an open baffle sub.  The "speed" you hear from OB speakers has to do with how they interact with a room.  It's the same with a sub.  No box sub will ever integrate as well with an OB speaker as an OB sub will.  Check out the GR Research offerings on this site, they are pretty spectacular.

+1

[WGH]

One area where an open baffle sub might excel is localization. Since the LRS only goes down to 50Hz a sub would have to be crossed over pretty high. A pair of subs would probably be ideal.

You can start with one sub and see how it sounds.

Audiocheck has free test tones for all kinds of tests, donate and the files can be downloaded:

Low Frequency Sound Localization Test 
https://www.audiocheck.net/audiotests_basslocalization.php

[Tyson]

Thanks for the info.



 

Would something like this work?

That would be good.  But a pair of these would be much better:

[Saturn94]

I’m happy to report my PSA Triax is playing very well with my LRS.