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Maggies on my mind.

Category: Speakers

There I was, minding my own business, when I innocently went into my favorite audio shop to just chat and look at the goodies. I sat down in the listening room and heard a used (albeit sold) pair of Maggie 1.5s. Oh, SH*T! WHAT a sound! It was addicting. Wide soundstage, no boxiness ... I felt like I was right on the bandstand. Holy moly! My friend suggested that I listen to the 1.6s since the 1.5 was discontinued. The 1.6s were heard through a Levinson integrated and Rega Planet 2000. They sounded nothing like the 1.5s ... collapsed soundstage, thin, uninvolving, boring and very directional. Maybe it was the electronics, I dunno (you'd figure a Levinson integrated would do a great job, n'est ce pas?). The 1.5s (heard through a Musical Fidelity rig) were simply intoxicating ... I WANTED to O.D. on 'em. I went home to listen to my B&W N804s and heard "the box" for the first time. I am now sorely depressed. Those 1.5s were just magical (albeit way big for my room). Sigh!
rlb61

Showing 1 response by scubadaddy123

scubadaddy123
13 posts
 
I've owned serval pairs of Magnepan. I've heard the 1.6s sound great and I've heard them sound thin (bad). Magnepans LOVE current....not watts, but current. The more current, the more open and transparent they sound.

There is nothing else quite like them. But I'm telling you the 1.6s are much better than the 1.5s. And what your experience PROVES is that matching components to speakers is a MUST!

If you want the best that Magnepans can offer, I suggest a tube front end and a huge SS amp with plenty of current. This is by far how the Maggys sound best.

Steven
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