Timbral Accuracy, Transparency, Dynamics, Imaging and Soundstaging.........they disappear!

The lowest bass; placement.

Having been a die-hard Maggie fan (I still use the MMG's and 1.6's in a separate system), I had to hear the 3.6's at the dealer. Was I surprised? No. All the Maggie strengths were there of the 2 models I own but MUCH better. The true ribbon tweeter is a sonic marvel. Never had I heard such clean and accurate highs; it was so real. The mids are palpable and smooth. The bass is accurate and clear. Very seamless throughout the frequency range. They do require decent amounts of good power, and even at high levels are not in-your-face. These speakers are truly musical instruments and have the ability to transport the listener to the original venue. My listening tastes are 50% accoustic jazz, 30% rock, and 20% small ensemblec classical. Associated electronics:
Camelot Morganna 24 CDP
Cary SLP-50B preamp
Bryston 7B-ST monoblocks
Cardas Neutral Reference I/C's
Cardas Hexlink for the highs
Kimber 8-TC for the lows

Similar Products Used:

Magnepan MMG, Magnepan MG-1.6/QR

Crystaline highs. You are there big sound.

Magnepane customer service. Long wait to get them.

This is a very important review because I am going to tell you something that you should consider very important. You will never read about this topic in any audio review magazine.

Everyone assumes that you have to wait three months to obtain a new pair of Magnepan 3.6s because of the demand. This is only partially true. The reason that Magnepan can not keep up with demand is that the company is run so inefficiently.

First of all Magnepan offers no technical support in choosing compatible components. They tell you that they are a small company and don’t have the resources for that. That leaves the decision solely between you and the Magnepan dealer. I ordered a pair of 3.6 at the beginning of September 1999. During my very impatient wait I expressed concerns to the dealer (Audio Connection in Verona , New Jersey) that if I had to wait three months to get the speakers what would happen in the event that they needed repair. He lied to me and said that Magnepan fixes all repairs very quickly. When the speakers finally arrived one week before Christmas he handed me a sealed box. I asked him if I should open the box to check for shipping damage. He replied definitely not. Sure enough when I got the speakers home (1 1/2 hour drive) I found that the speakers had damaged wood strips. It took two months before the dealer finally repaired one of them. This could all be avoided if Magnepan spent another $40 on better packaging.

About two months later I was playing the first track of Sting’s “Brand New Day”. One of the speakers rattled violently on the first track with a heavy base note. I packed up the speakers on a Saturday and brought them back to John Ratan at Audio Connection. He would not even listen to them instead he belittled me and told me that he had twenty years of experience and this is normal. No where did I ever read that Magnepan 3.6 speakers rattle during strong base notes. Furthermore for $4,000.00 no speaker should. This left me to deal with Magnepan directly.

I dealt with Steve Winey at Magnepan who is in charge of manufacturing and service. He is the only one at the company who can get anything done and if he is not there, there is no one else to deal with. After receiving the speakers for a week they finally opened the box. Steve told me the good new was that the speakers did have damage to the base driver. The bad new was “in the worst case scenario it would take two weeks to repair due to the fact that he had to find the parts”.

Well six and a half weeks later the speakers finally arrived home. In the interim I purchased a new pair of Revel Studio speakers. I had them shipped from CA. in one week.

The Maggies do sound great! That is why I bought them in the first place. But there is no reason why in this day and age that anyone should have to wait three months for a new pair of speakers (we are not sending a man to the moon here). I don’t care how great they sound, if they are in the factory being fixed you can’t listen to them!

When you choose a high end speaker, you are buying a company and not just a pair of speakers. Regrettably I am no longer a Magnepan owner and never will be again.

Sound five stars
Value two stars
Customer service unacceptable

Similar Products Used:

B&W 802, Revel Studio, Magnepan 1.6

Huge soundfield, high frequency extension

Transparency, driver integration, power requirements

I found the Magnepan speakers to be unimpressive long term. They do make an immediate impression on you that leads you to believe they are the best speakers on this planet. Long term listening reveals their opaque quality that is their biggest detriment. This results in a midrange that sounds muted on natural instruments like clarinet, oboe, etc.

The highs were very extended but not to my mind natural. Cymbals took on a kind of ssshhhh sound as opposed to what they really sound like. You can definitely notice the transition between the midrange panel and the ribbon tweeter. On piano recordings the timbre of the notes changes from midrange notes to high notes.

The 3.6 needs a huge power amp >100 watts minimum. One of the reasons for this is because of the severe opacity you will want to keep turning up the volume to hear what is on the recording.

On the positive side the 3.6's do envelope you in a huge sound field.

Packaging for shipment is a joke for a product at this price. Magnepan must fix lots of damaged speakers.

How these speakers got a class A rating in Stereofool is beyond my comprehension.

If you want real transparency buy an electrostat, Quad or SoundLab.

Similar Products Used:

Quad ESL-63 US Monitor, ProAc Response 1.5, Harbeth Compact 7, Acoustat 1+1. Amplification all Air Tight.

Extremely fluid sound, wonderful soundstage

Low Bass

I spent a few hours listening to the 3.6R's at a dealer's showroom with my music. I also had the good fortune to listen uninterrupted, while deciding whether to buy the maggies. I think they are superb speakers; they do so many things fantastically well. They have one shortcoming, however, a lack of deep bass. If you're willing to spend the time to find and integrate a first-rate sub, they will give you "five star" sound, but not at $3,750. Since I don't want to chafe any of the maggie-philes by downgrading the sound (which is probably truly five stars with a good sub), I'll ding the 3.6R's for lack of perceived value. Oh did I mention bi-wiring or bi-amping? Just kidding.

Transparency and coherency that defy description.

Low bass

I have always been seduced by the immediacy and effortless musicality of these speakers. They convey the emotion of the performer as if they were present in your listening room. You are there at the recording venue...that's as good as it gets for me.
Associated equipment:
ARC VT 150s
ARC LS22
ARC PH3
Oracle MkIII, Graham 2.0, Crown Jewel
Theta DataII, Theta ProGenV Balanced
REL Storm III

Similar Products Used:

I used to have MGIIs and Acoustats along with various dynamic speakers including my last speakers which were NHT 3.3s (great in their own right)

Clean,Open, Warm room filling sound

prevent me from spending more time with family

Recently picked up a pair after hearing a set at a friends and being incredibly impressed. I did some research on this site and others and then decided to go to a local dealer to hear them again. After listening at the dealer for about an hour I spontaneously purchased them on the spot after being convinced that no speaker I've ever heard sounded better (I've never auditioned speakers over $8-10,000 but doubt I'd find better anyway). I also found the feedback of people around here and their experiences helpful and would encourage others to do the same.
After burning these speakers in for about 100 hours they start to come alive, At 200-250 hours they seem fully ready for a true musical experience. They do seem to require some playing around with room positioning (I use 3 1/2 feet from back wall and about 2 feet from side) but so do any good/great speakers I've ever heard. Besides for being truly beautiful to look at (cherry wood finish) and amazing friends who have never seen such a thin speaker and can't comprehend how it works, the real wonder of the maggies is how pure and warm they sound.
My room is 12 x 19 and I initially thought that it would be too small for such a large speaker but a phone call to the folks at Magnepan assured me otherwise and I now agree that these can be used in either a large or small room with wonderful effects. I give them plenty of power (Conrad Johnson amp w 120 watts per channel) and have other strong components (VAC preamp and Theta Digital CD player)but it is the Maggies that are the star of the show.
With jazz (Brubeck, Miles,Metheny), folk rock, female vocals or Dave Matthews instrumentals I'm convinced nothing can present a warmer more open sound. I wouldn't buy these to play heavy metal or hard rock as seem to excel at the softer mor finesse side of things. Also, they will expose (more than most speakers) CDs that were not recorded particulary well but conversely they fully take advantage and make shine those that are well produced. I just sit back in my chair and find myself listening to a large open soundstage with every note and breath captured. I don't consider myself a technical guy but the Maggies do seem to disappear when you listen and the music comes at you and envelopes the room. No box speaker I've heard is this open and warm. The other reviews on this board can give you the objective and functioning analysis. I can just say that to sit and truly listen to music come out of these speakers is a pleasure. Each day I look forward to sitting in front of them and being amazed by the rich seemingly new sound come from a disc that I've heard numerous times before but just not in the same way. They could disrupt the audiophile tendancy to want to contantly upgrade and try a new component. I can't imagine ever wanting a different speaker.
If you've got the ability to put them a few feet from the back wall I can't think of a better speaker and for $4000 they are worth saving for. I think any Maggie 3.6R owner will feel they got a bargain of a speaker so 5 stars is only fair and while I believe nothing can be perfect, I can't see wanting any thing better so the overall rating can't be less than a 5.
Ice cold lemonade on a hot summer day, a glass of red wine sitting outside and watching the sun set and quality listening time with my maggies. They all give you that it doesn't get any better feeling.

Similar Products Used:

totem mani 2, meadowlark shearwater hot rods, spendor, b&w

The Biggest, widest, most 3D soundstage you ever heard. Accurate, ballanced and mostly neutral. Incredible mids and hi's. More suited to jazz than hi volume rock.

Almost none other than low wife acceptance factor.

I don't think you can buy a better dipole speaker for the money. Compare these to the same price point Martin Logan's and I think you will prefer the Maggie's. If you want booming(read bloated and over emphasized) bass, you might want the ML's or you might want to add a sub woofer but it won't be a neutral, balanced sound. These speakers sing like no other and they vowel to create a phantom center channel like no other. Read the negative reviews below with a jaundiced eye. Dipoles aren't for everybody or every room. Some negative experiences are the dealer's fault, plain and simple. And hey, Maggies are hand built one at a time. If a dealer does not have a pair on hand to sell, then they should not be a dealer or at the very least, they should let you take their floor models home till yours come in. Don't be afraid to demand what you want from a audio dealer. Unfortunately the standard this day and time is to stock nothing and represent everything and make 40% on shuffling paper. These speakers have been critically acclaimed by every audio rag in or out of existence. Use your ears to determine how to spend your money. They(MG3.6R's) are power hungry and should be auditioned with your amplification or as close to it as you can get. There's that dealer demo thing again. Make them earn their keep.

Similar Products Used:

MGIIIa's, MGI's

Transparent, amazing midrange, amazing trebble, excellent value

Needs serious amplification power to really sound best, Bass tight but not deep

After breaking these speakers in for quite a while, I have come to the conclusion that these may be the last pair of speakers I own. (At least for the next 7 or so years). Magnaplaner has outdun themselves. At it's price point the 3.6's are competitive with any speaker under 10k. ANY SPEAKER. They only have one main drawback... If you are going to use them, I would highly advise using a serious ammount of amplification. I use 2 Plinius SA100 mk3s in MONO. This runs 665wpc into the Maggies (4 ohms). If I was to say that the Maggies were driven well by the Pliniuses it would be an understatement. These Maggies are about as smooth and linear as speakers get. There just is not much coloration in their reproduction. they also hide nothing from the listener. I have never heard a speaker that raises the curtain on musical detail like these Maggies. Also, there is a myth floating around that Maggies need lots of room. This is quite an exageration. I have them 3' from the back wall, about 6' apart, and about 2' from the side walls, and I am about 8' from them while listening. This is not a 'big' area... but they throw a soundstage with unbeleivable depth (depending on the recording) and quite satisfying width. I just LOVE it! I have listened to many, Many, MANY robbon speakers before, and these blow every other one away. These are the first I have really liked. I do like the 1.6's but these show all the faults of the 1.6's (if compared back to back). If you are in the market for a speaker in ANY price range from 3k up, I STRONGLY suggest giving these an audition.

Similar Products Used:

I have listened to many earlier generations of Maggies.

Neutral sound

No bass

After reading all the awesome review for the 1.6QR and the 3.6QR, I went to my local dealer to give them a listened. All I can say is that Iam dissapointed after listened to the 1.6QR. The 3.6QR is better but the sound is still not as detail as the Martin Logan's. 3 days later went to another dealer to give these speaker another try but the result is still the same. These speaker has no bass, it seriously needed a subwoofer help. It is also very sensitive to a sweet spot, moved a few inches away the speaker sound totally different. To all potential buyer out there, LISTENED to other speakers first and not just reading the rave review before purchasing one, Iam glad I did! I also auditioned the Martin Logan SL3, Request, Joseph Audio 22i and 25i, in my opinion these are far better speaker than the magnaplanar.

Similar Products Used:

Martin Logan, Joseph Audio

Sweet treble, clear midrange, no harshness

So transparrent, you'll wish you had better equipment driving them

These maggies are the best speaker at anywhere near their price point. Audition them if in the market for a speaker over $3000.

Similar Products Used:

Magnapan 1.6