Magnepan 1.5 review

Options
liv4fam
liv4fam Posts: 311
edited September 2002 in Speakers
Well I didn't get to hear the DQ-10's today because Mike at the Stereo Exchange is just too lazy to put the new woofers in them. So that was a disappointment but he had a pair of Maggies 1.5's so I gave them a real good listen and this is my experience with them. IMO,IMO,IMO,IMO,IMO,IMO,IMO,IMO........................ First of all I ran them off a CJ preamp, Beard Tube amp, Rega planet cd player, and audio quest wire. After letting the tube amp warm up for about fifteen minutes I sat down and gave a listen and at first I thought they had pretty good bass response for a panel but they are really boomy and do not go play low enough so they would really benefit from a good tight little sub. There midrange seemed very laid-back as well as the highs which I don't really care for. They image very well and the soundstage that they present is very tall and open and extends well beyond the speaker which is due to the fact that they are almost 6 feet tall but I like that performance out of a speaker. I thought they lacked a lot in overall clarity and seperation of instruments is not that good which makes them sound muddy and muffles out the singers voice. Build quality is not that great even though it's a panel they could have used a little nicer grade wood finish. They seemed to struggle a lot with rock and orchestration but they did all right with Jazz and acoustics. My end result is that they are at best okay, I'd really prefer ML over them but they are simply not for me.
Post edited by liv4fam on
· Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Comments

  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,056
    edited September 2002
    Options
    Yeah thats the poilte way to review them .........
    But I felt slighty different about them...........There horrible sounding.........muddy mess just as I remembered them from the last few times I listened to them.

    Built quality was lousy as well.I like the screws in the banana plugs for bare wire and such...and the jumpers look straight off a older receiver.....tube lookin things.Nice legs 2, they look like one of those "We have A Sale Today looking things you find out at the curb.

    This time around I was incontrol of what was played on them and I was so dissapointed.They are dead..........no life at all sounding speakers.The Beard tube amp has alot of current and the Conrad johnson pre was also tubes and has alot of spunk.Those speakers are so cloudy I couldn't even tell where the bass guitar started and the kick drum ended.

    For 1500.00 dollars, my Lsi 15's destroy them in everysingle way.There was no sign of a good shootout.Plain and simple I feel they are a horrible sounding speaker.I can name off a couple of 1500.00 dollar speakers that would destroy them to the point that you might want to use them as a sled.

    Martin Logans vs Magnepans??????Wrong class wrong league and not of this world at any level.........totally the wrong speaker for me and thats that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:p
    Dan
    My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • liv4fam
    liv4fam Posts: 311
    edited September 2002
    Options
    dynamic duo strikes again
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter