= Excellent detail and resolution = Smooth frequency response = Coherence, e.g. no discontinuity or dissimilarity between the drivers = Fabulous soundstage, air, and sense of the presence of the performers

= Proper placement is critical = Fairly large, imposing appearance = Ultimately limited bass dynamics = Require a relatively powerful, high-current amplifier

Note that my price, above, was in Cdn$. I will assume that the readers knows little about Magnepan speakers. Magnepan's Magneplanar lineup are flat panel, full-range dipole speakers. The look a bit like narrow room dividers. By dipole I mean that sound comes out the back of the speakers as well as the front; the sound from the back is "out of phase" with that from the front. The radiating surfaces of the Magneplanar MG 1.6 are flat membranes: a wider one for low mid & bass, and a narrower one for upper mid and highs, (above about 600 Hz). Magnepan calls the latter a "quasi-ribbon". In my opinion, the MG 1.6 is a high-end speaker at a "mid-fi" price and one of the greatest audio bargains out there. See my list of Strengths, below. In my judgment the advantage of the MG 1.6 (and other Magneplars), stems from the following: = It is a full-range dipole, and = It has uses low-mass, planar drivers for the whole audio spectrum. These attributes account for its extraordinary clarity, coherence, "air", and "you're there in the concert hall" soundstage. It is an inherent characteristic of all dipole speakers that they must be placed carefully to get sound good. In the MG 1.6 case, it is 3 - 4 feet from the wall behind and about 2 from the side walls. If not, the sound from the rear of the speaker will be reflected in such as way as to interfere with the sound from front, causing a quite raunchy and inaccurate result. (Failure to meet these conditions might have been Mr. Klementovich's problem but if son he didn't mention it.) With proper placement the Magneplars produce a sense of air and presence that few, if any, speakers can match. But the MG 1.6 is no "rocker". If you like to listen to rock music at high volumes you might well be disappointed by the speakers. Inherently their planar membrane design limits driver excursion that in turn limits their ability to deliver hard-driving bass. This is not to say they don't have good bass, only that there are limits.

Similar Products Used:

Magneplanar MMG; B&W DM7; B&W CDM1N

They are THIN

EVERYTHING

This speaker is probably the worst speaker I have ever owned in my life. They have NO redeeming qualities at all and there is no wonder you can pick up a pair of these Maggies (any model as a matter of fact)quite easily off of the leading internet audio resale site anytime day or night. I have used the highest quality Solid State and tubed equipment made in the world today with the highest grade copper and silver IC's and Speaker cables with the results being ...well... a JOKE a total JOKE. Please if you want to buy junk speakers don't spend thousands... they can be had at any department store for mere dollars and cents. If you like a ribbon or Quasi Ribbon type sound just go and get a pair of Martin Logans or QUAD and buy some really good tubed equipment and some silver IC's and speaker wire and have some fun. You will get way better full bodied sound from these than you will ever achieve with any of the Maggie lineup. If someone thinks that Magnepan makes a good speaker they need to get out more and listen to some other things out in the marketplace. This is not a matter of taste this speaker does NOTHING accurate!!!!!!!!!!!

Similar Products Used:

I have heard it all and owned most everything that is of any quality. Resources are endless

Must say, the 1.6qr’s are, hands down, the very best speakers that I have had the pleasure of experiencing in my home, or in any retail sound rooms for that matter. Music from planar magnetic speakers is something that has to be heard to be believed. All of the eloquent words in the world that I can type here don’t even begin to do justice to the sound stage that the 1.6qr’s reproduce. Though the physical size is initially somewhat imposing, I have grown to like them a great deal. They have a very bold aura about them with their immaculate cloth covers and subtle wood trim.

First off, they are quite large; I mean really quite large. When you take them home and set them up for the first time the masculine side of you gets the Tool-Time-Tim Harrumph! feeling, but the feminine side starts glancing around nervously for your spouse… They are simply physically imposing, (this apprehension melts away rather quickly once you actually hear them, but the initial view is rather stunning). As much as you want to pop in your all-time favorite CD, I strongly suggest that you start by playing your significant others’ most treasured recording; Loreena McKennitt’s ‘The Visit’, worked for me, and I might add, I enjoyed it as well. The only other nit-pick that I can offer are towards the stands. Lets face it; these puny metal flat-bar stands are downright homely. Come on Magnepan, you can do better than that – you are dressing up a queen in old sneakers! These are beautiful speakers with some really ugly stands! I am led to believe that there are third-parties which supply athletically appealing stands for the Magnepan line, but one should not have to purchase aesthetically appealing stands from elsewhere for speakers of this caliber / class. I will have my brother-in-law, the master-carpenter create some really fantastic rounded oak or mahogany stands with hidden rear attachments for my Magnepans and will sell pairs to those interested as well! The only thing that stopped me from giving this speaker a perfect rating is that the stands are so poor!

Recently picked up a pair of Magnepan 1.6QR’s and, as I spent so much time online in this and various other review sites in the past, wished to ‘give something back’. At any rate, onward with my Magnepan 1.6QR review. Not your average audio-buff, I am not a fan of jazz, very little classical and no opera whatsoever. Rather, I spend a lot of time listening to Eric Clapton, Neil Young, Gordon Lightfoot, Tragically Hip and a wide variety of other soft / hard rock recordings. My audio system is nothing to write home about; a Technics SA-DA10 receiver, Toshiba DVD player and various monster cables. The Magnepans are the front speakers for a 5.1 surround system, complimented by some Paradigm rears, center and sub. As a home-theater speaker they are fantastic, but as a critical listening stereo speaker they are astonishing. Though I have a quality sub, I turn it off in stereo; its simply not required. Roughly estimating, I would say that I have auditioned well over a hundred sets of speakers in my life, in most conceivable rooms with front-ends ranging from ultra, (Linn LP12, Krell & Levinson Pre’ / Amps’), to average, (Pioneer / Yamaha etc.), and Magnepan’s transducers have always impressed me the most overall. I had heard & read much that led me to believe that I – must – use these speakers with a powerful, (read ‘audiophile expensive’), separate pre-amp and amplifier. In fact, the dealer cringed when I told him that I would be hooking them up to a Technics receiver. Not one to be swayed however, I urged the audio shop to allow me to audition the 1.6qr’s with a quality receiver. They hooked me up with a NAD T773 receiver and NAD C542 CD player. So far, so good. I lined up some CD's that I had brought with me and sat back. Listening to a variety of CD’s, all went well until about an hour into the listening session. John Lee Hooker’s sharp licks on Tupelo, (from the CD ‘Chill Out’ – Virgin Music), shut the receiver down hard while playing at just slightly over half-volume. While this was at a level that I would consider as ‘nearly loud’, (the speakers are a in-efficient), I was disturbed that a receiver of this heritage, (and price), could be shut down so easily. That aside, I had auditioned several other maggies and was determined to take home the 1.6’s. I felt that I could run the Technics very low and pop for a stand-alone pre’ & amp’ later. However, since arriving home I have run the Technics receiver a little over half-volume on quite a few occasions and have yet to shut down or even audibly distort the receiver. Often my sessions run many hours. I can only attribute this oddity to the NAD having much more sensitive clipping circuits. The only reason that I have not pushed the receiver even harder is that I understand that (most), speakers require a gentle burn-in period. Thought that might be a wife’s tale until I actually read it in the Magnepan user’s manual. Details; my listening area is odd; it’s a long room, about 16 feet across and perhaps 40-ish feet long. One end hosts a dining room with antique furniture, while the other end is mostly modern, (computer desk / audio gear). In this end I have the 1.6QR’s, TV, center channel and electronics set up facing across the short length of the room at my sweet spot. The room acoustics are slightly deadening; carpeted with soft furniture, though the walls are ‘hard’ in that they support few hangings with sound-dampening characteristics. The room also plays host to a wide array of my wife’s large plants.

Similar Products Used:

Magnepan MG12, MGII's and a wide variety of 'classic' cabinet speakers.

Fills a room with music even at low volumes

A B**ch to set up. Lacks just that little bit of extension.

I'm a point source kind of guy. I admit it, so you may be wondering what I'm doing with a pair of line source speakers. It all started with the renovation of my condo. I was left with a living room/lounge with the most abhorent dimensions you can imagin length x width with a ratio of 2.6:1. Obviously there was no way to get proper bass response from a point source. A happy quirk of bipolar line arrays is given a long room like mine you can move the speakers forward and back until you can catch the null node at the listening position. Line arrays also have a tendency to beam their HF so a little diffusion of the side walls and some attenuation with treatments for the back wave can tame the 2khz monsters that love to slap around a bare/live room. The reason I settled for the 1.6s however lies in its wave launch characteristics. Since it is to be used in a room meant for entertaining, I felt I needed speakers that could deliver full body and emotions at and below normal conversation levels of roughly 85db. Should the party begin to rock however I needed speakers with high powerhandling. At the moment, they sound pretty good with jazz trios and small ensembles. Strangely enough they seem to have a difficult time with complicated program material often compressing at the midband. Listening to R&B and House with grunge,futz or bit-truncation effects can be downright brutal. Phase based effects with Trance or World music on the other hand can be quite a trip. Moving to Dance music vinyls the Maggies come into their own. No more digititis no more fatigue and I don't care what other reviewers have said they CAN punch you in the gut from 200 to 150 hz. True that they just down extend very well. Nothing a good sub with a good active electronic crossover can't fix.(I agree REL has the most flexible conrols) In closing I would say that the Maggies may not be the last word in detail, soundstaging, texture (especially this) and truthfulness as far as the presentation of the actual recording venue (No bipolars do anyway) but they are, in a word, enjoyable. They do what I ask of them for half the price and half the compromises. My other Levinson set up with the Revels proverbially kicks this systems butt in every department but all in all Pretty good. Associated Equipment: Tascam CDRW2000 Professional as Transport Levinson No.380S DAC Levinson No.360 Pre Levinson No.23.5 Power Amp Tascam X-9 Professional DJ Mixer 2 Technics SL-1200 Mk.II Turntables 2 Ortofon Concord Black Cartridges 2 Ortofon Concord Eliptical Styli Transparent Musiclink Plus Cables 2 Chang Lightspeed 1600s

Similar Products Used:

Revel F30, Veritas 2.4, Dynaudio Contour 3.4, Contour 1.1, Maggie SMGc, B&W 603 S2 all owned and in use

As I said you better buy now

I can't find any weaknesses

Ijust bought mg 1.6 qr,and this speaker is absolute amazing ,excellent sound,stage good price,also good appearance,if you have budget around $1500 for speaker this speaker is a must buy speaker, dont go to other speaker company you just spending time for nothing,

Similar Products Used:

martin logan,quad,B&W

This is my second pair of 1.6QR. I bought a used pairs five years ago and kept them for about 3 years. Then I sold them for the same $ I paid three years later! I was thinking that I can settle for the MMG or something smaller but decent....Well, five pairs of speakers later (MMG, Triangle Titus, 2 different pairs of PSB, and the B&W CDM 1NT) have gone in and out of my home...with no regrets. This is not to mention 4 different subwoofers (REL Storm III, Bagend Infrasub 18, Hgs 12, and Paradigm) have also gone in and out of my home. And now I am back to the 1.6QR. I can't say that they are the best since I have yet to own more expensive speakers for a long period of time. Through experience, I realized two things I like about my sound. I like them clear, meaning that every instrument and sound is separated with a sense of realism as if you are stand infront of a band, all singing together but each has seperate identity. I have tested many speakers at the showrooms (Vandersteen C1 signature, Sonus Faber Concertino, Martin Logan, B&W 801 and 805, and many others, none could do the separation/clarification of the sound like the Maggies. Other speakers deserve respect for their engineering and strengths, but none could match when it comes to voice and string sounds. The second thing I like speakers is their ability to transparence the sound. The open sounding fills the soundstage of sound. One thing also I have notice is that Maggies are similar with the Martin Logan (ML) but the MLs sound is thinner and sometime harsh. That's why I didn't purchase the MLs. Well...I can go on and on about the Maggies, but I will stop. So far I've settled with the Definitive Super Cube I subwoofer which seems to be the best sub that I can afford. It's the best of both world, music and home theater. To sum it all up, the maggies are here to stay this time! No more search... Well... maybe the 3.6R but definitely no more box speakers.

Inner detail,closes to live music that I have heard.Theres nothing like a Planar or Electrostatic speaker!

Images aren't quite rock solid but close enough for me.They can only be enjoyed by one person but I'am the only one listening so who cares!

This is a follow up to a previous review.I have learned something about these speakers. You can't judge them on a show room floor. I decided to try some at home for the hell of it. Wow I think the last review sums it up pretty well!Not a gut punching speaker but it does so many things so well I can live without the gut punching bass.Now I understand why audiophiles keep these speakers for 20 yrs.I'll have to give them their just due.Terrific for live and acoustic music..probably the best I heard .I'am now officially a Maggie Head!

Everything but WAF

WAF

Oh my God! That pretty much sums up my opinion of the Magnepan MG1.6/QR. I have never in my life heard a speaker this glorious. While it is true I am not an Audiophile in the sense that, up until now, I have never had more than about $4,000 invested in any one system I have owned, that has now changed. I considered my investment in my Maggies and and power amp (a used NAD C-270)to be a significant investment in my existing system consisting of my Denon AVR2801 receiver (also purchased used), my Toshiba SD-6200 DVD player, and my Panasonic TU-HDS20 HDTV Receiver. My existing speakers were, with the exception of my B&W LCR 600 S3 center channel and Velodyne HGS 10 sub, B&W in-walls. I thought it was lacking (an understatement) in the speaker department so I auditioned the Magnepans along with Martin Logans, Sonus Fabers and a rag-tag assortment of also-runs. The Martin Logans sounded the best to me until I heard them side-by-side with the Maggies. The MG12 and the MG1.6 both sounded better than any of the Martin Logans even roughly approximating my budget (around $2,000)so I ordered them. When I picked them up at Audio Systems, Stuart told me that an amp would not hurt anything (an understatement) so I bought a used NAD C-270 power amp which uses my Denon pre-outs for the front left and right. I never dreamed that my system could sound so good. I understand that my exuberance is certainly affected by the fact that my system was, shall we say, "basic" before my purchase of the amp and Maggies. In fact, most audiophiles would thumb their nose at all but the Maggies in my system now. All I know is when I run the Denon in "direct" mode stereo though the NAD and the Maggies (which are not even broken-in yet)I am in sonic nirvana. The Maggies sound absolutely stunning. I recently bi-wired them and was re-stunned! I guess I am learning what good sound really is. It is just a matter of time until I go overboard, just like most of you who might read this review, and start my unending quest for better sound. Only thing is, I cannot imagine better sound than I have right now. The Maggies sound transparent, open, detailed and the midrange is smooooth. The bass has palpable textures, definition, nuances AND the kind of punch I have only heard at live performances. Even without breaking them in, a sub is superfluous except when running the system in HT. The appreciation of sound and music through an electronic apparatus is necessarily subjective. However, I have never heard a better sounding system than the one in my living room! I know that Krell monoblocks might make for an incremental improvement in my system, but why should I bother with sound this glorious at my beck and call without shelling out another $30,000.00 or so (like my wife would go for that!). This brings me to another point, the ubiquitous Wife Approval Factor (WAF). Let me preface my comments with a complement to my wife. She is understanding, supportive, and the light of my life. However, when I set up the speakers at our little love nest, I thought she was going to hyperventilate. That was before she started crying. I have learned that for women there are 4 phases they go through when you bring these monoliths home- 1) Anger 2) Denial 3) Grief, and 4) Acceptance. We are now in the acceptance phase judging by the fact that she now comes out of the bedroom most days. Anyway, the speakers sound remarkable and really do benefit from bi-wiring. As fantastic as they sounded before, bi-wiring made them sound even better (and I did not even realize it could get any better. Buy these speakers. You will not regret it. However, I strongly suggest that you consult a domestic relations attorney if you bring these babies home without first buying your wife a very expensive piece of jewelry.

Similar Products Used:

None

Detail, timbre, imaging, soundstage, midrange palpability, image size, speed, coherency

Are you kidding???? Maybe their size in some enviornments, or with a less than understanding spouse!!!!

Followup to my Nov. 2001 review - After living with these speakers now for nearly 4 years.... My original opinion stands!!! In the 4 years since my purchase of these Maggies, I have owned and/or auditioned many competing speakers. None has come close to the detail and realism of the 1.6s, much less surpassed it. Obviously system synergy is EVERYTHING!!!! Speakers that sound GLORIOUS being driven by one amp, may sound atrocious when driven by another. The importance of amp/speaker synergy cannot be overstated. So I will state categorically that in my system with my cables and my amplification(which, in fact, has varied over the years), and in my room - these are the finest sounding speakers I have yet to hear - and I DO listen to and try others regularly in a never-ending quest to find the "silver bullet"(which of course, doesn't exist). In four years I have not found any reason or desire to replace them. I am a totally satisfied owner!!! At the price I paid for these and the immense pleasure that I have derived from them over the years, I feel as though I stole them from Magnepan. Still one of the greatest bargains in hi-end audio. As to the previous reviewers post - all I can say is that the dealer obviously did not have the Maggies set-up properly and/or did not have them mated well with the associated electronics. Synergy is everything.... setup is almost everything........!

Similar Products Used:

Owned: Magnepan MMG, ACI Sapphires(another dandy!), Sonus Faber Concertos, Klipsch Heresy

At the moment I can't think of any!

Kinda fuzzy ,no bass,Need a large room to get the best out of them.Unfortunely the room I was in was large and really didn't help them in my case.

I auditioned these recently ,I have heard them before but it has been a while.Well I think I was ruined by the sound of some Martin Logans in the same room.Infact the Maggies sounded fuzzy in comparison.The clarity that some speak of.. sorry I didn't hear this .My box speakers actually do a better job! I still can't figure out what the fuss is about.I played a cd that I have heard probably 50 times ..there was so much information that I didn't hear with these speakers.I felt like I was listening to panels and not the music.Where the Martin Logans took me to the recording venue.The maggies had no impact at all.I would suggest a sub to anyone buying them.The Martin Logans weren't perfect either.The bass wasn't quite integrated with the great midrange.This is where my box speakers also did a better job .All in all not bad but definetly not for me!

Similar Products Used:

Solioquy,Sonus Faber,Martin Logan,Vienna Acoustics,Paradigm,Thiel,Deftec,Equations,PSB,Meadowlark and probably some others I can't remeber right now!