Bought Magnepan LRS Speakers - Now What?

As your Cambridge has pre-outs, I'd recommend a Yamaha P5000s ($450 starting bid), same price @ GuitarCenter (formerly sold @ Crutchfield. NOT to be confused w/newer PX series, which I believe uses an off-the-shelf chip & fans run constantly.

• 2-channel power amplifier
• power output at 20-20,000 Hz:
  • 500 watts RMS per channel at 8 ohms
  • 700 watts RMS per channel at 4 ohms
  • 1400 watts RMS (mono) at 8 ohms in bridged mode
  • Yamaha's exclusive EEEngine technology, which keeps operational costs down by significantly reducing AC power consumption and heat generation.
    
  • P Series - Features - Yamaha - United States
• My P7000s' variable fans have never come on. You would need XLR=>RCA cables.

 

You've discovered that placement is key and whatever you put into them is what you're going to get back out.
They'll show up the weakest link in your system.
You're really going to need a sub and tubes are a good thing!

Congrats on the LRS, mine are still on order but I have others to keep me entertained (two pair of 1.7s, one pair 3.7s and the ancient MMGs).

 

I was thinking of using the Cambridge CXA80 as a pre. But I can't find any specs on the CXA80 preamp. Like is it gonna mess up the sound, or not dynamic enough, or cause too much noise etc????

 

I had the 1.7 for a while and wholeheartedly agree with your assessment of Magnepan bass. After everything i read about Maggies, the bass the from the 1.7s surprised me. I did use a SVS SB3000 with them and getting them to blend was easy. With or without the sub though, the bass was satisfying.

 

You also might want to ask this question on Planar Asylum which is part of the Audio Asylum site. There is a lot of Magnepan wisdom there. For what it’s worth the LRS are supposedly harder to drive than the MMG which they replaced. Further they will never sound like a box speaker. You may or may not like the presentation. Good luck

 

http://www.store3.sure-electronics....d-t-amp-sta-516-be?SID=CcQz6uUmdrQK53LTXO,HR3

http://www.store3.sure-electronics.com/ps-sp11142?SID=CcQz6uUmdrQK53LTXO,HR3

http://www.store3.sure-electronics.com/aa-aa11117?SID=CcQz6uUmdrQK53LTXO,HR3

This should do them justice. Bolt the module to a board and go. We have quite a few ourselves.

 

Probably overkill but you only go around once as far as I know.

 

Don't stop experimenting with placement. Try a bit further than 3'. I had planars before (no maggies). Try the Sumiko master setup for speaker placement (google it).

 

B&K (BK) Components Sonata M200 200W Monoblock Amplifier

Get a pair of these. The stability down to 1 ohm is important in my experience. They are very inefficient speakers that require a lot of amperage and control. These amps wore my MMG’s like a pair of gloves. Granted I did need a sub for the full experience. Once you have the clear and detailed highs and mids, the bass omph just fills out the rest of the sound. It made for a fun listening experience. They also suited the majority of music I listened to. If I was a classic rocker, I would look elsewhere. But lots of world music, folk, jazz, orchestral, country western, 2000’s indie, electronic (ambient or not Crystal Method) sounded great.

I don’t think all heavy amps are the same for Maggie’s. The right ones pair perfectly. I wasn’t a fan of larger Magnepan speakers. Or at least the 1.7’s I tried. The smaller ones worked best in my house.

I’ve toyed with the idea of the LRS. But I would have to track down another pair of these, and then it would be kind of like chasing the dragon a little bit. I’ve opted for more efficient open baffle speakers and tube amps, which give a different yet in the same world feeling.

 

There is a new article, KIH #89 on Darko Audio's website. Might be valuable to read it regarding amplification and speaker impedences and loads. darkoaudio.com

 

I must say, that web site ranks as one of the worst busiest hardest to sort content from ads web site ever. Took a lifetime to find the article. I read it. Dark specs. So...can you demystify what the article was about. I'm having trouble trying to distill new knowledge from it relative to my needs. I'm not being difficult of crapping on your post (and thank you for responding) but I don't know what I'm supposed to use in article. Thx!

 

Surprised I haven't seen this mentioned VPE Electrodynamics . Not a bad price for a well made dipole sub plus it has a built in crossover so you can highpass the LRS which is what a lot of people do. Rythmik audio also has a dual 8inch sub that supposed to work really well with planar speakers. My LRS should be coming in any day now, I can't wait .

 

Amazing how unfriendly some websites are. It's like they're daring you to find what you're looking for. No thanks.

 

You sure your name isn't Morbius?

 

People will always tell you that you need to throw bigger, heavier, more powerful and more expensive hardware at whatever problem you describe. Especially in the case of Maggies, placement and treatment matter a great deal. And yes, try sound anchor stands to get them off the floor.

 

I just googled the article title and it came up first hit. You didn't miss anything though, just the usual caveats about marketing misdirection, plus a few of its own. When it comes to maggies they're not tough loads, they're just current hawgs and damned revealing of weak sources.

 

B.Scarpia,
That was great - it reminded me of one night when a tube went nuclear on me, the whole room lit up!

I haven't heard the LRS yet but they appear to be smaller 1.7s.
Like everyone is saying, get them up in the air and out a bit, some power behind them and get a good preamp and source.

FWIW, when my LRS show I'll be using Oppo BDP-103, AVA Avastar preamp w/ Sylvania tubes, Kimber 4TC speaker wires, SVS sub and an old Adcom amp.
There's also a CC5 center speaker driven by a Bryston 3B Pro amp which has a gain pot so it gives me a wall of sound instead of just normal stereo.

The Adcom will be the weak link but it'll do for the time being.

 

I run my 1.7i maggies with Bat VK-150 amps. The high current really makes them come alive.

 

Anthem amps. High current lots of power

 

Yes damn revealing, especially of compressed digital streaming or CD's where loudness has been increased and thus compression. You can really hear that with LRS.

 

You can hear it with any planar speaker, electrostatic or magnetic. These things have such low distortion...in some cases lower than the electronics driving them....that they make even the best cone speaker sound mid-fi by comparison. Maggies are incredibly cheap for the quality of sound they deliver, but you need a spendy amp to drive them or you'll never know how good they can be.

 

That is true.
You can put a lot of power behind them but you're also going to hear what the amp sounds like.
It makes a ton of power, they love power! Yes, and it will work really well on a subwoofer, that kind of thing.
The science fiction lights are VTL monoblocks on a delayed shutter speed.
They have the power and they sound right to me.

I thought of this thread earlier today as I got a new CD player (Rega Saturn) and want to hear just what it can do.

Quick review:
It's not going back.
The end.

I put on two David Byrne CDs: one a commercial offering and then one that I burned from an album.
Granted, two different titles but the CD (Feelings) sounded pretty bad but my CD-R (My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts) was really good.
I have to laugh, it was such a stark contrast. It wasn't the equipment, it was the recording.

 

mags , quads always sound thin in my opinion, if you are used to a "boxy" sound
the idea that planars are transparent is a little off the mark, they just have a different colouration

 

Now What??? Sell the LRS pair.

Nothing wrong with the way they sound or perform. They proved quite remarkable powered by Parasound 2125. One of the best sounding vinyl albums we have is Pablo label Basie Jams. We have several. The LRS sound SO GOOD playing those Basie LP's. But they don't fare well with cats. Yes our pet cats. They seem to be attracted to them. I'm afraid they'll climb up them and use as scratching posts. Didn't think about that. It's a real issue with cats. I packed the LRS pair up so they won't get damaged. LRS are now for sale.