[I.Greyhound Fan]

My experience with Magnepans is totally different.   I question the electronics that you were using.  Maggies will let you know when your electronics are not good enough.

[Peter J]

Nice evaluation.

I especially like "Giant Cheese Grater".

[Zitoun]

My experience with Magnepans is totally different.   I question the electronics that you were using.  Maggies will let you know when your electronics are not good enough.

Hey Greyhound,
The amp was modwright 150SE 9k USD retail. That amp was damn good. Way better than I may ever buy. The room was treated for boxed speakers thought, that certainly muted the Maggie's a bit. This is a comparison, this is not saying maggies are bad, I think they are pretty good actually if you remove the fact that you need to invest twice or three times more on the electronics and subs, that would have been my choice. But from my listening experience that makes it a more complex path to get synergy and upgrades in your system.

Let me know what you found not true, I am interested to know where I missed some stuff.

[I.Greyhound Fan]

Hey Greyhound,
The amp was modwright 150SE 9k USD retail. That amp was damn good. Way better than I may ever buy. The room was treated for boxed speakers thought, that certainly muted the Maggie's a bit. This is a comparison, this is not saying maggies are bad, I think they are pretty good actually if you remove the fact that you need to invest twice or three times more on the electronics and subs, that would have been my choice. But from my listening experience that makes it a more complex path to get synergy and upgrades in your system.

Let me know what you found not true, I am interested to know where I missed some stuff.

Well I retract my statement about electronic's, although, what preamp and music source did you use.

I agree that Maggies sound better in a live room.  My room (17x17 with 9 foot ceilings) is wood floors and lots of large windows.  I find mine very dynamic and musical but they do need subs.  I run dual non ported subs.  I also use a BAT VK-51se preamp, Pass X250 amp and a Luxman DA-06 DAC.

[Zitoun]

Well I retract my statement about electronic's, although, what preamp and music source did you use.

I agree that Maggies sound better in a live room.  My room (17x17 with 9 foot ceilings) is wood floors and lots of large windows.  I find mine very dynamic and musical but they do need subs.  I run dual non ported subs.  I also use a BAT VK-51se preamp, Pass X250 amp and a Luxman DA-06 DAC.

Wow you do have a great set up, I am not surprised they run very well at your place, the preamp was a schiit freya plus, I don't remember the dac and media player but that was very decent quality with tidal high res at your fingertips.

Remember that I did the analysis in the optic on investing on speakers with a budget equipment, and as you mention Maggie's are the most intolerant speakers when it comes to matching electronics, so that makes it the hardest starting point for me, especially when you have to match subs with them. Then from a nice 1000 $ 2nd hand you end up buying a piece of 5000 $ system, which makes it comparable to other more expensive speakers that are more tolerant. This is not right or wrong but a different approach, I'd rather spend more on speakers and care less about electronics than the opposite. Just a different way of achieving the same goal with quicker Returns on Investment.

[I.Greyhound Fan]

You don't have to spend a lot of money on subs.  I bought 2 used Martin Logan Original Dynamo subs.  I paid $250 for one and $180 for another.  They are sealed, fast  and musical.  They integrate seamlessly with my Maggies.  They don't have the slam of larger subs but they keep up with the Maggies.

That Schiit preamp was the weak link in your electronics.

[Zitoun]

You don't have to spend a lot of money on subs.  I bought 2 used Martin Logan Original Dynamo subs.  I paid $250 for one and $180 for another.  They are sealed, fast  and musical.  They integrate seamlessly with my Maggies.  They don't have the slam of larger subs but they keep up with the Maggies.

That Schiit preamp was the weak link in your electronics.

Good price for these subs, but as I am listening to a lot of music based on a lot of bass, I can't be cheap on these, I'd rather have true dipole OB subs to get more uniformity.
I give more context in this thread: https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=168696.msg1788059#msg1788059

Very interesting that you are saying the freya is the weakest link, they have very good reviews out there, I ll probably pay attention to this more when I'll be looking for a tube preamp.

[I.Greyhound Fan]

Good price for these subs, but as I am listening to a lot of music based on a lot of bass, I can't be cheap on these, I'd rather have true dipole OB subs to get more uniformity.
I give more context in this thread: https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=168696.msg1788059#msg1788059

Very interesting that you are saying the freya is the weakest link, they have very good reviews out there, I ll probably pay attention to this more when I'll be looking for a tube preamp.

The Freya plus is a very good preamp for the price, performs above its price point.  I got to hear it at RMAF but there are much better preamps.  I know a few guys on forums that  had it and liked it but moved on.

I get it about the bass.  My Dynamo's supposedly go down to 25hz and they can shake my house but eventually, I am may buy larger subs.