Magnepan LRS?

Look brand new, just heard a mention by Steve Guttenberg.

Magnepan

 

Sounds promising for $650.

 

Magnepan

 

I love the MMG and these sound really interesting. If the MMG is fully Planar-Magnetic I'm guessing these are more like a mini .7 being "full-range quasi-ribbon".

 

I think so. As I understand it, the MMG (which has a quasi ribbon tweeter and a planar magnetic woofer -- I used to have a pair) was designed to work with inexpensive low power receivers because it was their entry level model. The LRS uses technology from the higher end .7 models, so it requires a somewhat beefier amplifier but has better sonics.

 

This is huge.

 

Oh boy! Instant purchase for my son!

 

So the LRS is described as:
Description 2-Way / Quasi-Ribbon Planar-Magnetic
Freq. Resp. 50 - 24 kHz ±3 dB
Rec Power Read Frequently Asked Questions
Sensitivity 86dB / 500Hz / 2.83v
Impedance 4 Ohm
Dimensions 14.5 x 48 x 1.25

The .7 is described as:
Description 2-Way/Quasi Ribbon
Freq. Resp. 45-22kHz ±3dB
Sensitivity 86dB/500Hz /2.83v
Impedance 4 Ω
Dimensions 15 w x 54 H x 1 D inches

So very similar it appears, but the .7 is double the price.

 

Interesting note about driving with a receiver, I wonder if they ever mentioned this about the MMG? I think the note should have read, "If you put your inexpensive receiver on the LRS, you will see a puff of smoke"

"The LRS will perform nicely with a receiver, but it was intentionally designed to extract the most from high-end amplifiers and electronics. The LRS expects more from a properly designed high-current amplifier. That is a radical departure from most entry-level loudspeakers. If you put your expensive high-end amplifier on the LRS, you will hear the difference."

 

Do any online dealers have these yet? I'm looking for a pair to buy.

 

Are you ready for bona-fide high-end speakers for $650 a pair?

 

Guys, I wouldn't get too excited about this supposedly "new" deal. The LRS does not have the same drivers as the .7, it is in fact just the replacement for the MMG, and at the same price. Here is a link to the old MMG / MMGi page: Magnepan

MMG
Description 2-Way / Quasi-Ribbon Planar-Magnetic
Freq. Resp. 50 - 24 kHz ±3 dB
Rec Power Read Frequently Asked Questions
Sensitivity 86dB / 500Hz / 2.83v
Impedance 4 Ohm
Dimensions 14.5 x 48 x 1.25

Available in natural or black solid oak, dark cherry trim with off-white, grey or black fabric.

You will see at the bottom of the page the specs and size for the old MMG. Compare that to the LRS and you will see that they are identical. So is the price. So Magnepan has removed the MMG from their sites drop-down menu making it hard to compare, but here you go.
Perhaps there is some change under the hood, but it must be subtle enough not to have changed any specs, dimensions, or pricing. What they have done is reach out to SG and others and got a write-up or two, also omitting comparison to the MMG. So what I am seeing is clever marketing and revitalization of a core product from their stable. None of that is bad thing, I mean the MMG was well recived, but let's not consider this like the top models at or lower price or like an entirely new development. Perhaps a tweak, perhaps a facelift, perhaps just a new webpage. Time will tell, and my guess is that'll be a very, very short time, when someone who has a set of MMG's compares the LRS directly.
-Bill

 

From SteveG's review above (it's a quick watch), the LRS is all ribbon (mid/tweeter), while the MMG was planar-mag/ribbon for mid/tweeter. These are viewable through the fabric.
What sonic difference that makes I don't know, but that's the physical difference.

 

Why bother comparing the MMG to the new LRS?

I mean, it's Magnepan's new entry-level offering, replacing the old. Kudos to Magnepan for refreshing that part of their line. If that's what you are looking for, then that is what is available from them at that pricepoint. It seems unlikely someone would look to upgrade to the LRS if they already have the MMG for 2-channel. The only scenario I could see comparisons making sense is, if you were looking to go multi-channel & potentially add the new LRS's to a pair of existing MMG's.

 

I dunno, I didn't pick-up on that. I took the specs directly from the new LRS page on Magnepan's site. Maybe that's wrong and they will update it. I do see them using the term "quasi-ribbon" to describe it, yet the specs list it as 2-Way / Quasi-Ribbon Planar-Magnetic in the specs on their own page. Could be that they found it no advantage or just as cheap to make it a more homogeneous technology design and less hybrid. Hard to say from what I could gather. I am just suggesting that people wait until they can see and hear one in person before rushing to judgement. It might well be a totally new design in the old package. Despite some sprinkles of marketing hype from a reviewer and a product description, I just can't tell from here.
-Bill

 

OK, finally, here is a video where SG describes it as a full ribbon design:

Still no direct comparison to the MMGi, and no good photos to see anything other than the frame, which is identical to the MMGi. Could just be yet another step forward for the MMG toward the larger units. Mated with a sub and a powerful amp, it'll probably work well in mid-sized rooms.
-Bill

 

That's what I linked to above and referenced, all ribbon.

 

It looks to be a smaller version of the .7....for half the price.

 

Pretty much a smaller speaker for a smaller price. Not sure what if any compromises were made and why, if it is better that the MMG ever existed. I think that we can safely assume the midrage will be more transparent down to a lower frequency because of the larger ribbon area. It's not really knowable how the bass response was affected without a listen.

I was never a big Magnepan fan, although I have heard some nice systems that use them. I really liked the Apogee Acoustics speakers, which were all pure ribbon designs. Certainly the size of the panel was very important there. Apogee used specific ribbon sizes for specific ranges, incorporating crossovers for each and that lowered distortion over using a single ribbon full range. I am assuming that Magnepan did the same, at least on their larger models. The smaller Apogee speakers were either hybrid or you added a sub to get the full range sound until you got farther up into the line, where the ribbon panels really got huge and you didn't really need a sub. I owned a set of full-range units, which were flat down to I believe 30hz and were pure ribbon. Those were monsters!
-Bill

 

That's my impression.

 

I own a pair of 1.7is which are quite impressive. I was able to audition the MMG when I bought mine because my dealer had a trade in pair.

I wasn't impressed by the MMG at all. A friend bought them though.

 

Bill, if you're 'not a big Magnepan fan' perhaps you can find something better to do with your time than trolling a Magnepan thread.

 

Ha! Fair enough. I wasn't trying to troll, just found it interesting that there was conflicting info on their site and then of course it's hard to get any decent info out of SG. Sometimes the marketers make things out to be something other than what they are. I am really interested in their designs, and mostly curious as to what technology is used and how that compares to what we already know of other models. I can be pretty skeptical of new introductions after many years of watching them roll out from so many companies, so yeah.
-Bill

 

Well, if you paid closer attention to the video you would realize SG clearly states that, unlike the MMGi which he also has on hand, the LRS has a ribbon woofer and a ribbon tweeter.

So, unless Magnepan did something funky to the crossover, it's a mini version of the two-way .7

I do feel that Magnepan could have put more effort into the announcement and description. Shame on them...

 

$ 500 sure would be nice. Dont know that meg's were built with idea of being used with cheaper gear home. At the time I had a nice 100 watt h k amp. Also the h k home theater pre was the biggest downfall. But I still very much enjoyed the. It would be a different story with this speaker.