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Magnepan 1.6 vs. B&W 805N

I have the 1.6 almost a year now bought it used. Somtimes i get bored with the maggies, im currently using it with a classe 20 pre and adcom 555II or 535 also planning to upgrade to classe 10 amp. I cant get the sound of i want from the maggies and since i'll go for the classe combo i'm thinking to go with the b&w 805N. I find a hard time dealing with dipole w/ my room. Any sugestions?
xtian_lugz
jallen
502 posts
 
To get the best of your maggies you will need more than tha Adcom will deliver. I have liked the sound of them with Quicksilver Silver monos, Bryston 4BSST, and Eico HF89. They need clean power, and good cables. Do not underestimate how good those speakers can sound. Jallen
yagimax
21 posts
 
As Jallen mentioned,more power will open up the maggies with high quality power. I've added a Classe CA400 to my MG3.6r's and couldn't believe what I was missing.

Not sure on your room dimensions but make sure there is ample space behind/around them if possible.
elizabeth
6,726 posts
 
I just traded in B&W 805s pair for a new set of Maggie 3.6 speakers. The B&W are nice. The Maggies are nicer. I can understand if you do not like the Maaggie sound. One problem answering your question is you do not explain what you want soundwise. Do you want better bass?, do you want a more coherent soundstage? Do you just want louder and cleaner?
I would say the maggie to B&W swap you are mentioning is basically a totally lateral swap. that is: you are NOT going better, just same yet a little different.
(And Maggie owners are fiercly loyal, you are gonna get a LOT of naysaying about your wanting to switch.. because the maggies can be pretty good sounding with great electronics.)
photon46
1,008 posts
 
Having used 1.6qr's in the past with 545 & 555 Adcom amps, I can speak from experience. Those amps are SO not letting you hear what the Maggies are capable of. When you get a chance to hear what a compatible, higher quality amp brings to the party, you might very well forget the desire for another speaker. That said, it is going to put a dent in the budget buying an amp that really let the Maggies sing sweetly. In the end, that pickiness about partnered amplification was one of the reasons I switched to dynamic speakers.
macdadtexas
1,794 posts
 
When I had the 1.6's and bought an Innersound ESL amp, I couldn't believe the sound. The bass that came out of those speakers was just astounding, comparatively.

Upgrade your amp before you change speakers. There is a reason that Maggies are almost universally revered, they are great speakers.
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