Giant Black Things in my Living Room

[Ralf11]

I have been a fan of Magnepan speakers ever since they ousted my pair of Vandersteens in the mid-1990s after a several month long comparison.  

After 22 years, I decided to upgrade my 1.5QRs but the dealer wouldn't let me test the 3.7i speakers at home.  So, I kept trying to find a different brand - maybe dynamic speakers would work better in my difficult listening room or provide better bass and sound for rock music at the same price.  No real luck there but I did find a used pair of 3.7i speakers for 30% off.  I'd wanted the cream or off-white cloth so it would blend into the background and not be so obvious.  For the side rails I'd wanted oak again or maybe cherry which would look nicer.  Instead, these 2 ft. by 6 ft. panels are black on black and they seem HUGE.

[Ralf11]

Like a few other brands Magneplanar has pursued a single unitary vision for several decades, refining it every few years.  And I have ot say the latest version does sound great.  

 

Magnepans have a storied history of development and refinement.  Here is a group of beta testers evaluating spatial dispersion of an early version of the speaker:

 

 

[Ralf11]

Thanks - I am using my old Sunfire right now.  I have been watching @Johnseye comments on amps in his Ref speaker thread, and am going to start an amp thread separately soon.

 

But first I am going to let my relatives finish their listening evaluations:

 

 

[Ralf11]

IIRC, theses new 3.7i's are rated to 40 kHz so these are xlnt test subjects.

 

The old ones were 1.5QRs (not 3.7s) and the main difference I hear is a LOT more clarity in the sound.  Also more speed, and more LF extension.  I am going to hook one of the 1.5QRs back up and set the pre-amp to mono, then do a test where I walk back & forth (a la @Jud ).

 

The only really extensive listening tests of others was 3.7i vs. 1.7.

 

BTW, I have some of the worst listening room layouts one can imagine.  But I like having big picture windows... and it would really be nuts to try and move them.

 

More to come...

[Ralf11]

maybe flat panel tech was developed from the monoliths

 

or MAYBE flat panel tech IS the monolith

[Ralf11]

Yes -- very ...ah... spacey.

 

But for all its advanced technology (what with radio beams to Jupiter and all), the Monoliths are relatively inefficient at converting electricity into acoustic energy.  Magnelith, the company in Magnasota that builds them, says they are just 86 dB, 500Hz, 1 meter, 2.83V.  I guess that is A-weighted.

 

Here we see an unfortunate listener attempting to drive one with an early version of the "First What" amplifier.  The SPL is so low he had to fashion that hearing trumpet in his hand out of a leg bone.

 

[Ralf11]

That looks like a Quad

[Ralf11]

These guys have gone to a lot of trouble to treat the listening room, but It looks overdamped to me.

 

I do like the amphitheatre type "openness" of the venue however...

 

 

[Ralf11]

I think there are plenty of monkeys listening to high-end audio systems already (trading in their monkey chow on magic cables, etc.)

 

BTW, monkeys are certainly subject to certain human biases, and so are birds.  when I was teaching undergraduate biology course, I used ot have a slide I'd show of a frigate bird sitting on and incubating a large red ball.  It had abandoned its own egg to incubate a bigger, redder object...  So there is a general bias for larger size (sometimes called "The Mae West Effect").

[Ralf11]

Here is a similar setup - no ceiling and an open air "feel"

 

That room does look to be overdamped however.  I'd say back off on the sound absorption treatment.

 

 

[Ralf11]

Here is another listening setup - apparently the Monoliths sounded so good that people spent several days at the venue.

[Ralf11]

read the OP, dude

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Here is an installation in free space.  Note how the lack of any reflecting boundaries has created a large red area behind the speaker....

 

 

[Ralf11]

Here the Magnolith Planar magnetic speaker is being used in a bedroom system.  Note the gesture based remote control also.

 

 

 

[Ralf11]

...

 

 

[Ralf11]

damn remote won't work!!

 

 

 

[Ralf11]

Ha!  an ultrasonic instrument sounds like a dog whistle

 

I am still listening to these things vs. the 1.5s - not blind tho

 

 

[Ralf11]

I should NOT have waited 22 years to upgrade (from 1.5QR's).  Anyone who has any Maggies (esp. ones earlier than the 3.6s) should turn the old ones into end tables and get newer!!

[Ralf11]

To be honest, some of the improvements the 3.7i's have made are things I didn't even realize were possible.  

[Ralf11]

Interesting - I skipped the x.6 era, but I have read that Maggie really improved the 3.6's over the previous ones.  Anyway, the 3.7i's are truly xlnt speakers, and pretty easy to drive too (which saves on amplifier costs).

[Ralf11]

not satisfied with the one of me trying to use the remote??

 

 

I'll try to get a pic up in a day or 2 - critically important boozefest with French food tonite

[Ralf11]

ok, here they are - I often pull them further apart and further from the rear wall if "really" listening.

 

Given the highly asymmetric room and the glass on 1st & 2nd reflection points for the LH side I am a bit surprised they sound as good as they do.

 

 

[Ralf11]

[Ralf11]

Looks like this guy is really into QRD diffusors!

 

 

[Ralf11]

Hey -- guess which speakers Barry Diament uses?

 

 

[Ralf11]

Thanks for the setup re treating a room for resonances and reflections!

 

 

here is how Audio Research Corporation tests their expensive tubey electronics before shipping: