[TONEPUB]

Well, we've been talking about British monitors, which I love,
but I am back to my first love and that's panel speakers.

I've owned just about all of them (Acoustat, Quad, Magnepan
Martin Logan and Apogee) and heard the rest.  Currently
we have a pair of Final's as well as the new Martin Logan
Vantage.

I think I'm falling in love again....

[shep]

Love affair with Maggies of yore ('80's). Would love to hear recent ones. Never heard Final or Martin L.
Was offered a pair of demo stats once (can't remember the name, they were famous for being impossible to drive, small, very pretty???) Modified Maggies are a joy to listen to. I am crazy about my little Dutch TL's but panel speakers have a something else...

[shep]

I think they were Stax 81. Does that ring a bell? Nobody could get them to work right or sound right. Apparently there was an easy solution but it was only recently discovered. The new Jenzens look sweet but oh lordy the price!

[flintstone]

Well, I've owned and loved my Apogee Duetta Signatures for a few years now. Setup in a fairly large room, it don't get much better than this.

BTW...did you know that a fellow called "Graz" has brought Apogee back? Yep, he has dealers for complete support and rebuild of the old Apogee models...along with brand spanking new ones.

here is a link for the western US dealer: maybe you can setup a review.


http://www.hisierrahifi.com/



Dave

[robert1325]

I love my labtec computer speakers,   They are like miniature Finals...  very detailed  and realistic       The subwoofer is to slow but packs a punch !   I still listen to them sometimes ,  they are fun and a good second "system".

Get them if you can, these are great computer speakers within their limits ( don't like loud music )   

PS< you can  even hook up a pre amp instead of the plastic volume control ,  I tried this and improvements where very obvious ( much better soundstage and detail)



http://www.amazon.com/Labtec-Edge-3-Piece-Computer-Speakers/dp/B00004TL60

[vinyl anachronist]

Have two good friends who have Martin Logans, one with an original CLS, and another with ReQuests.  Both use Audio Research amps.  I like both set-ups a lot.

I think when it comes to panels, though, I'm a Quad ESL guy all the way.  I can see one day in the future when I'll own a pair...I've been talking about it for years.  I came very close a couple of years ago, when I had a chance to buy a review pair of 989s for $3000.  They showed up at the dealer's DOA, though.  A few weeks later, another pair became available at the same price.  They wound up having problems, too.  This was right after Quad shifted the manufacturing to China.  I figured that I would wait until they worked out the bugs out.  Then I got hooked on the whole low-powered SET/HE speaker thing, so who knows when I'll own Quads.

Honestly, if I bought a pair now, I think I'd try to find one of those meticulously restored ESL-57s.  Every few years a company pops up and does this, usually for around $3000-4000 a pair.

[sleepysurf]

ML Summits for me!  Incredibly detailed and realistic soundstage... but took a LOT of work to set up correctly.  Years ago I owned the Apogee Stages... also an incredible speaker, perhaps even better than the Summits.  Just my luck...   I sold the Stages (thinking I'd never be able to replace parts) right BEFORE Graz started offering his replacement ribbons!  Unfortunately, the new versions are a bit too pricey (and large) for me now.   But it's great that he brought the design back, and I really hope they sell well.

[Toka]

The first time I listen to panels (after a while of not hearing them) I always end up entranced...but for every record I have that would sound great on them, there are others that just don't sound 'right'. Of them all, I liked Magnepans the best, but for me, I think the ideal setup is cone woofer/mids with a ribbon tweeter...best of both worlds. So long as I have a Maggie dealer nearby where I can take some Al Di Meola CD's over once every few months, I'll be ok.   aa

[Berndt]

I have to speak up here for my beloved magnepan smgas.
I have evolved my sytem around their requirements. I love the soundstage and presence.
I also love the upgrade potential and their evolution as a speaker has been a pleasurable experience.
I also must plug my upgrade source, Peter Gunn of magnestand.


http://www.indiespinzone.com:80/magnestand.html

[TheChairGuy]

I really dig the box-less character of Maggies - just wonderful stuff.

Significant downsides, however, include...

1.  You really need several feet between any wall - often requiring the long side of the room only (not available to me here)

2.  Sufficient cubic footage, overall.  Even my 12 x 15 x 8-12' room seems insufficient for my MMG's.  I'm investigating the Behringer ULTRACURVE PRO DEQ2496 to address this issue: http://www.behringer.com/DEQ2496/index.cfm?lang=ENG

3.  If you are not using digital/'switching' amps, low frequency driver has terrible control and annoyingly high distortion levels as it reaches it's limit.  You are almost obligated to put a high-pass filter at 60-80Hz (Maggy Mates high level or rca levels, both work) and carefully blend a subwoofer in for satisfactory sound.  This puts further strain on budget and involves further room interactions. (larger Maggies have thicker/heavier frames and may not have the panel slapping problems the babies do)

So, Maggies are really a bit of an enigma.  You need to do a lot to really enjoy them, but are worthwhile when you do.

fyi, my pair have top & bottom Mye Stands and outboard crossovers by Sonic Craft already done.

I'm enjoying what I have currently, and the savings involved, that I haven't gone that further step to get the Maggies really singing in my room.  But, I know they can and (likely) will one day   

[NealH]

As much as I enjoy auditioning speakers and trying different set-ups when I can, in almost every case if there is a panel speaker in the mix I will ultimately prefer it.  The Maggies and ML are two of my favs.  As has been stated already, set-up and amplification is important on these.  But the immediacy and realism projected just always seems to elude even the upper crust of the box crowd (all in my opinion of course).  I have not listened to the ML Vantage at length but, the Summit sounds outstanding.

[TONEPUB]

ML Summits for me!  Incredibly detailed and realistic soundstage... but took a LOT of work to set up correctly.  Years ago I owned the Apogee Stages... also an incredible speaker, perhaps even better than the Summits.  Just my luck...   I sold the Stages (thinking I'd never be able to replace parts) right BEFORE Graz started offering his replacement ribbons!  Unfortunately, the new versions are a bit too pricey (and large) for me now.   But it's great that he brought the design back, and I really hope they sell well.

Im pretty sure I'm buying a pair of Summits after this review is over, I really love these speakers (The Vantage).
I have a pair of Apogee Calipers still and am really intrigued with the GRAZ mods, but with what I can buy a
pair of Summits for at accom pricing its a lot easier.

The panels really are seductive!

[Toka]

What kind of music is everyone listening to with panels? As much as I loved them with jazz/classical, I found something missing with harder rock and such...I'm not throwing out my Deep Purple collection anytime soon.  I'm forever driving past the panel exit on the interaudiostate, alas...

[Berndt]

I really dig the box-less character of Maggies - just wonderful stuff.

Significant downsides, however, include...

1.  You really need several feet between any wall - often requiring the long side of the room only (not available to me here)

2.  Sufficient cubic footage, overall.  Even my 12 x 15 x 8-12' room seems insufficient for my MMG's.  I'm investigating the Behringer ULTRACURVE PRO DEQ2496 to address this issue: http://www.behringer.com/DEQ2496/index.cfm?lang=ENG

3.  If you are not using digital/'switching' amps, low frequency driver has terrible control and annoyingly high distortion levels as it reaches it's limit.  You are almost obligated to put a high-pass filter at 60-80Hz (Maggy Mates high level or rca levels, both work) and carefully blend a subwoofer in for satisfactory sound.  This puts further strain on budget and involves further room interactions. (larger Maggies have thicker/heavier frames and may not have the panel slapping problems the babies do)

So, Maggies are really a bit of an enigma.  You need to do a lot to really enjoy them, but are worthwhile when you do.

fyi, my pair have top & bottom Mye Stands and outboard crossovers by Sonic Craft already done.

I'm enjoying what I have currently, and the savings involved, that I haven't gone that further step to get the Maggies really singing in my room.  But, I know they can and (likely) will one day   

you have the prototype mmg mystands, and sonicraft xo mods.
Love to A/B...

[ryno]

1.  You really need several feet between any wall - often requiring the long side of the room only (not available to me here)

Sometimes I hear people say you need space from the side walls, other times I hear dipoles are better close to the side walls. All I have for my MG12's is 11' wide, so I'm at 18" from the side walls.

2.  Sufficient cubic footage, overall.  Even my 12 x 15 x 8-12' room seems insufficient for my MMG's.  I'm investigating the Behringer ULTRACURVE PRO DEQ2496 to address this issue: http://www.behringer.com/DEQ2496/index.cfm?lang=ENG

I use both optical and coax from the source, with a dual input DAC. The optical runs through a DEQ2496. For low bass, simpler music, without the eq is better. More bass sounds better eq'ed.

3.  If you are not using digital/'switching' amps, low frequency driver has terrible control and annoyingly high distortion levels as it reaches it's limit.  You are almost obligated to put a high-pass filter at 60-80Hz (Maggy Mates high level or rca levels, both work) and carefully blend a subwoofer in for satisfactory sound.  This puts further strain on budget and involves further room interactions. (larger Maggies have thicker/heavier frames and may not have the panel slapping problems the babies do)

With me the problems a room node that makes things a little boomy. I'm using a sub under the full range maggies. I just ordered a marchand xover board, I'm hoping this helps enough that I want need the eq anymore.
Ryan
TCG, allways enjoyed your maggie posts.

[JoshK]

i've never heard any ml's outside of harvey's poor listening rooms.  i've heard some maggies and other panel speakers.  i like the seductive sound, but i hate the head in a vise sound that comes with it.  fine if you sit tight and don't move an inch while listening, but that isn't me.

[TONEPUB]

These new ones are pretty good in the sweet spot dept and they are much more
dynamic than the older ones I used to own (CLS, Aerius).  I have a Conrad Johnson
Premier 350 in my main system and I can really crank these speakers!

I was very surprised at how loud they would play without compression!

When their marketing guy told me the new panels would play loud
I was a little suspect, but once I got a few days on them, I gave em
the acid test.  Granted they won't play quite as loud as my Tetra 506's
will, but they play way louder than I need to listen to music and much
louder than I have ever heard a panel play in the past!

[mcrespo71]

I grew up on Magnepan's and Quads, so, yeah, I have fond memories of panel speakers.  I don't own them, but I would love to get a pair of Quads again.