Planars

swb502

Hello Again Club Polk,

I had a question about Planar speakers. I have never herd them in real life and I was wondering what they are like? On audiogon they had this set for sale and they look pretty cool and not all that far away:

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrplan&1283538101&/Magnepan-MG-3.3R

They don’t seem to be that popular so I’m guess they sound weird or something. There also huge, which I think is cool but I’m thinking allot of people don’t fancy behemoths in there homes.

So just a question about what planar speakers are all about.

cstmar01

They are totally different sounding IMO than a box speaker. They tend IMO to be more open and really are great for mids and highs. You would want to run them off an amp however as they do like power to get to their full potential and I believe most are 4ohm loads as well.

try to listen to some before you would make the move to buy any. Placement and the sweet spot can be tough at times to get right, but when you do, they rock.


Also if you use Maggies some people like to add a sub as they tend not to always do as well in the lower range than other speakers as they can't produce the low end as easily.

mhardy6647

Good sounding loudspeakers in general; somewhat picky about placement and a bit artificially "larger than life". They are notoriously inefficient and need plenty of power. The big Magneplanar Typmani (distributed by Audio Research rather than Magnepan, for some reason I never understood) were my favorites by far. They've been in continuous production since at least the mid 1970s; that should tell you something.

Plenty of other flavors of planar speakers and drivers, including my personal favorite - electrostatics.

debussyj

I've had my Acoustat 2+2's since the 80's when I first drooled over them. They are electrostatics, roughly 8' feet tall by 2' feet wide. They pretty much envelope you in sound. They are very articulate, you can hear the layers and parts of the music, instruments jump out at you. They are very fast speakers and don't show distortion. On the down side, they love power (bi-amping is a must), they are unforgiving of poor audio recordings and you'll quickly come to love artists that know how to use the studio. But without a doubt they are my favorite way to do my serious 2-channel listening. Even though they are almost 30 years old, they still have "jump factor", and I wouldn't part with them for anything.

nooshinjohn

mhardy6647 wrote: »

Good sounding loudspeakers in general; somewhat picky about placement and a bit artificially "larger than life". They are notoriously inefficient and need plenty of power. The big Magneplanar Typmani (distributed by Audio Research rather than Magnepan, for some reason I never understood) were my favorites by far. They've been in continuous production since at least the mid 1970s; that should tell you something.

Plenty of other flavors of planar speakers and drivers, including my personal favorite - electrostatics.

The Tympani series ended with the MkIV versions about ten years ago if I remember correctly. They will however be superior to the 3.3's. If you have the room for a pair of speakers 6 feet tall and 5 feet wide, they are the way to go. Keep in mind they are only a couple inches thick. This way you will have a leg to stand on when the wife says they are huge!:p

mhardy6647

nooshinjohn wrote: »

This way you will have a leg to stand on when the wife says they are huge!:p

I like your thinking! Play the volume card! :-)

debussyj

It's so funny to me. I'm the audiophile in the house, I select all of the goodies, and I'm a woman! My husband just shrugs when the bills for the goodies come through the door! I think the big speakers are beautiful! LOL!

dorokusai

nooshinjohn wrote: »

The Tympani series ended with the MkIV versions about ten years ago if I remember correctly. They will however be superior to the 3.3's. If you have the room for a pair of speakers 6 feet tall and 5 feet wide, they are the way to go. Keep in mind they are only a couple inches thick. This way you will have a leg to stand on when the wife says they are huge!:p

I believe Mark meant that Magnepan has been in production since.....not the Tympani exactly.

Having owned over a dozen Magnepan, including the Tympani MkIV, it's my favorite loudspeaker, hands down. They lay down bass just fine, just not with the room filling authority of a bonafide woofer. It's and easy fix with a small subwoofer....or a giant one.

I would not suggest getting a Tympani Debussy. It's very heavy and very difficult to position by yourself. The early models are harder to dial in...the more recent ones are easy. My suggestion would be a used pair of 1.5QR to get a flavor.

mhardy6647

Correct, sir. Self-expression isn't my best thing... my antecedent was hazier than I realized, I guess.

Despite the anti-Magneplanar bias in some hifi circles, I (FWIW) think they sound dandy and could live with a pair of 'em of any size given an appropriate amplifier. Anyone who is really interested in this hobby should have (or at least spend some real quality time listening to) a broad variety of loudspeakers - closed boxes, ported boxes, aperiodically-vented boxes, open baffles, front horns, back horns, tapered pipes, transmission lines, dipolars, planar drivers of various flavors... there are so many different, but good sounding, solutions to the problem of enjoyable (if not always accurate) reproduction of music.

The venerable Tympanis are just remarkable loudspeakers to listen to, though.

nooshinjohn

mhardy6647 wrote: »

The venerable Tympanis are just remarkable loudspeakers to listen to, though.

True that... as I stated before, my first job out of high school was building them! The experience of hearing the Tympani's in the Magnepan sound room hooked up to first-rate equipment has never been forgotten. One day they will have a place in my home... just don't tell my wife!:D

KyleSTL

My father owns a pair of late-70s Magnepan MGIIs (6 ft tall, ~2.5 ft wide) for his fronts and a new Magnepan center in his livingroom. They do have a good sound, but I think that's also how he designed the room (he's an architect). The wall behind the speakers is ~14 feet wide and has wing-walls on either side that come out about 3.5 feet. The speakers are angled ~30 degrees toward center, creating a trianglular area behind the speaker that projects the sound. I'll post a picture next week to show you the setup (I'll be out of town over the weekend for a wedding). In short, I believe the space is very important to have good, full sound (both as an engineer and a listener).

Ricardo

dorokusai wrote: »

They lay down bass just fine, just not with the room filling authority of a bonafide woofer.

Mark, you'd change your mind if you came down to listen to your old MMG's now with wood frames. Unbelievable the bass that can come out of those panels!!

LessisNevermore

That stain looks like an excellent match to your floor Ricardo. Or at least 3/5 of it.:D

Ricardo

Shut up Duell!

I didn't have enough laminate, and it was discontinued. Long story.

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=52922&highlight=pattern

LessisNevermore

Ricardo wrote: »

Shut up Duell!

I didn't have enough laminate, and it was discontinued. Long story.

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=52922&highlight=pattern

Gotcha.
I love the look of the floor!

xj4094dg

Ricardo wrote: »

Shut up Duell!

I didn't have enough laminate, and it was discontinued. Long story.

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=52922&highlight=pattern

Looks good. What are the speakers next to them?

Face

Those are fish bowls.

Hawkeye

Any panel speaker, either Maggies or ML are a treat if you have the room to let them do their jobs. I've never owned Maggies, but they are on my list (1.7). I do have a lot of experience with ML. While not quite the same, close enough to be seperated from a box speaker.

I wouldn't advise running either off an AVR. Good, solid amps are a prerequiste to getting the most out of them. You also need lots of real estate in your listening room. My ML's are 5 foot off the front wall, and I believe they need support in the bottom octaves. A very accurate sub is almost a must. This may not be true with the Maggies, but I think so with the ML's

The mids and highs are to die for:D I've yet to hear a box that could match the transparency of a panel speaker. A box will do the bottom but a panel WILL do the mids, but there is where it is all at.

Gordon

mhardy6647

My personal fave "planars"... these need to be plugged into the wall to function, though :-)

soundfreak1

I keep reading about" weak" bass on maggies. Am listening to my first pair tonight ( ran head on into a pair of mg1 this morn) been playing them about 4 hours now I find plenty of bass - smooth maybe not as punchy as my rta 12b's or ess m102's but very nice -rich, firm and warm. but
I'll agree placement is a ---well difficult anyway. If I keep them I'll just have to watch where I walking in the middle of the night LOL anyone ever hang them? I was thinking horz. From ceiling might be intrresting.

soundfreak1

Btw if someone knows the ohlm rating on the mg1's I'd like to know. I'd assume 4 but just guessing.

Face

http://www.stereophile.com/content/magnepan-magneplanar-mg16qr-loudspeaker-measurements

Bernal

In this endless research of what is today the best sound, I have updated my configuration in a full way to a Magneplanar audio system which has my full recommendation.
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showcase/view.php?userid=98096

Bernal wrote: »

Good bye LSi and Welcome Magneplanar!

It`s true, my Forum friends, certainly as the title says, today I say good bye to my complete LSi series and at the same time I welcome my new Magnepan complete series .
Since I got LSi series, on March 20th, 2009, I have shared the experience of knowing a good audio product with which I have been very pleased.
On that date I became a member of this Forum and I found that most of its members share their knowledges in a serious and respectful way; this strengthens the Forum existence.
I thank the Forum its teachings, mainly related to LSi and the fact that you have supported my limitations of communication because English language is not my native language.
The guiding principle learned is to listen our audio system more than ask advice to others about their components, configurations and settings because sometimes we get subjective opinions, others are not true and others come from inexperienced people. At the end we must to conclude that the best sound is a decision, our ear and the fruit of research.
The advice or instruction to the new members is always listening, listening and listening the audio system before deciding to live a sound experience, it is something personal.
At some point, I centralized my updated expectatives on the new LSi-M series, however, I felt unsafe in the way of introduction, together with the uncertain date of start, took me to another purpose. I hope to list them in the future and feel the experience LSi gave me in those moments and today I say good-bye.
In this endless research of what is today the best sound, I have updated my configuration in a full way to a Magneplanar audio system which has my full recommendation.
I warn you, this is not an easy system to build, but accomplished the task to listen the Magneplanar ? either as stereo or home theather- caused me a fascination and attraction difficult to explain. The illusion and reality get mixed in space and makes you feel the experience of being part of this true musical universe, is actually have in my room as close to the interpreter.
I am absolutely delighted with them at home, although I miss my MBL that always will take me to another dimension.
I know that there will be interest in knowing that pushes my new system. Well, I am using a five-channel Bryston 9B-SST2 and I have used also my dear Sunfire. Both are to listen and appreciate slowly because each has its importance; I like both but my hearing in special moments feels better with the secret created by Bob. The most important is that each one produces a different scene to play with space. I also updated my Denon 4308Ci to the new Marantz AV-7005, as well as my Oppo BDP-83SE to Oppo BDP-93, both ready to HDM 1.4a, LG N2B1DD2 Network Storage, Furman IT-Reference-15-I, Furman AC-215 and a new 65-inch plasma.

---

01) DENON AVR-4308CI: Advanced 7.1 CH/5.1+2 CH/ 3.1+2+2 CH A/V Home Theater /MultiMedia Multi-Source/Zone Receiver with Networking and WiFi/170 watts x 7 channels
02) SUNFIRE Grand Signature - Bob Carver's
03) OPPO BDP-83SE Blu-ray Disc Player w/SACD & DVD-Audio
04) OPPO DV-980H 1080p Up-Converting Universal DVD Player with HDMI and 7.1CH Audio
05) DENON DVD-2500BTCI: Blu-ray Disc? DVD/CD Digital Player/Transport
06) HITACHI P55T501. 55" HD1080 Plasma HDTV
07) POLKAUDIO LSiC (Center speaker)
08) POLKAUDIO LSi15 LEFT (Front speaker)
09) POLKAUDIO LSi15 RIGHT (Front speaker)
10) POLKAUDIO LSiC Vertically (Surround speaker)
11) POLKAUDIO LSiC Vertically (Surround speaker)
12) POLKAUDIO LSif/x LEFT (Surround back speakers)
13) POLKAUDIO LSif/x RIGHT (Surround back speakers)
14) VELODYNE OPTIMUN SERIES 12"(High Output Digital EQ SubWoofer 2400W/1200WRMS)
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showcase/view.php?userid=98096 (Not updated)

FTGV

WTH is wrong with you? you have'nt updated your showcase with pic's of the Maggies yet.


You might find this of particular interest. http://widescreenreview.com/images/attractions/154ecmagnepan.pdf