Magneplanar Tympani Obsession

I have a pair of Tympany IVA's, which I bought new at least 13 o14 years ago. They are wonderful, but...They are extremely sensitive to placement. When I have moved, it will take me one to two years or more to get them optimally positioned again! You have to crank them up fairly loud to get them to come alive, though I may be underpowered. I have an Eagle2A on the bottom, and an ARC D70MkII on top, (and an ARC SP10Mk11preamp), and a custom built crossover between preamp and amps. The better the equipment is, the better the sound. Of course, they visually dominate the room. The bass is better than other MG's I have heard, but I haven't heard any since the MG3.5, nor the MG20. I wonder if I would like the MG20's. Can they come alive at moderate volume? Is their bass as good? I would prefer to be able to listen at more moderate volume to preserve my hearing (wouldn't it be tragic if we loose some of our hearing?) They also need a great deal of power which would require me to reconfigure my amplification, which would cost a lot of money, and I would probably have to give up tubes on the tweeters. I believe the Tympany IVA's are the best of the Tympany series for an overall balanced sound. Good bass, very good highs, and a good midrange that requires volume to come alive. I have heard most of the Tympany models, and I like the IVA's the best. In my nearly quarter of a century owning Maggies, I've owned 2A's, 2B's, and 3's. When I bought the Tympany's I felt I had finally arrived. In many ways I still feel that way. So go for them!

Martin -- thanks for the feedback. I have heard arguments that any of the Tympanis might be shamed by the later Magnepans and the 20s, but I agree that there is something very special about them. I don't know but I am imagining that the newer models have improved tweeters which might come alive a bit more at lower volumes. Nonetheless, Tympanis are high on my list subject to available space in my upcoming move.

I am currently using some Tympani 1-Ds I had re-done by Magnepan about 8 months ago. New HF& mid-range panels, complete re-wire, new caps, new sox & they even installed new hinges. After several months I finally found the optimal set-up position. To me they sound very good,even better than my 3.3s. The soundstage is huge & they have mid & lower bass that the 3.3s didn't come close to. Although the 3.3s had more extention in the HF I don't really miss it because, being an old musician (drummer)my HF hearing is not what it used to be. For me I like the overall sound of my 1-Ds better than my 3.3s & my friens 3.5s.If you can find some decent 1-Ds & get Magnepan to re-do them I believe you would really like them. I must tell you, it took about 7 months for Magnepan to get them back to me. Good luck with your obsession.

I must admit I have a tympani obsession too. I Have ML CLS2Z's and Tympani 1D's. People are amazed with the ML's, but they dance with the Tympani. If anyone has any mods can you please forward them. Magnepan said they are no longer doing Mod's on the Tympani.