The Maggie is a large panel dipole speaker. At one meter, the frequency-amplitude curve may look as if bass is overemphasized. However, we are not supposed to correct it. The curve at 1 meter must look so in order for the in-room response at 3-4 meters to be reasonably flat.
Bass decreases somewhat like 1/r^2(point source), while high decreases somewhat like 1/r(line source) with distance r from the speaker. In addition, in bass, the effect of cancellation with the sound reflected from the wall behind the speaker becomes more pronounced as we go further away from the speaker. Due to such a difference from the conventional box speaker, panel speakers are not designed to show flat response at 1 meter.
The slower decay as a function of geometric attenuation for cylindrical propagation versus spherical propagation makes sense… but both of those equations should have r^2 terms in them. As the formula for the surface area of a sphere and a cylinder (which are the respective denominators in the formulas you’re talking about as best I can tell) are dominated by r^2 terms. Am I missing something? If so let me know, always looking to learn. Thanks 👍🏻
Back in the 70's I owned a pair of Maggi IIs. As at that time I did not have the knowledge to re-design x-over networks, from years of reading and modifying audio equipment, I did know how to make these speakers better. First was the 1/8" Masonite side wings that I added Floor stone concrete resin on the back side to add mass and to reduce unwanted vibrations. Next issue was the front plate with the oblong holes between the magnet pole pieces to allow the sound from the planner diaphragm to emit forward. That panel could also react to magnetic forces and was also low in apparent mass making it too vibrational thus adding more coloration. For that I made a Teflon wedge form to squeegee silicon troughs, thus creating a type of wave guide on the front plate on each side of the sound transmitting holes. Finally the simple first order x-over, I replaced the single polyester cap with a better polypropylene. That was tough since the wire used for the HF section was aluminum so I had to result to a crimp connection. What I achieved was a speaker way beyond the original and it is still working to this day, but I did give them away to a carpenter friend who was building some speaker cabinets for me. What I learned from this is that radiating area matters; that speaker reactive loads effects how different amplifiers sound; that dynamic range is important for my type of music/videos; that increasing mass of cabinetry can greatly increase quality of music. So now I have a system with each channel having two 15" woofers, a BG Neo 8 loaded in a tractix horn and two ribbon tweeters with everything time aligned . I might sound like I'm bragging, but I just want to let you know that some of the finest sounding systems I've heard at RMAF (Al Stiefel the main person for RMAF was my partner) was Danny Richies's. He has gained my deepest respect as one who is very knowledgeable and with his You Tube channel he is freely sharing his expertise. I congratulate Danny for his expertise to help make others musical experience better.
Mr Danny tweaked my Maggie 1.7i and it sounds insanely better. He knows what he is doing and he happens to be a super nice guy!!! If you are on the fence....do it!!
@@JohnLee-db9zt Now tell me how can you reproduce that in your living room? No speaker in the world will reproduce what you can experience at the Boston Symphony Hall? Very different live {played) music from reproduced (recorded) music.
@@JohnLee-db9zt I suspect the 20hz is probably in room gain but it would be interesting to find out the db output at that frequency. Average music listeners like myself however do not have a dedicated listening room that is why I mentioned having these expectations in my living room are unrealistic.
@@TombstoneTube In my case I already had opened the speakers and had another xover. So all I had to do was to disconnect the other one and install the one from GR. The challenge is to identify and run the tweeter and super tweeter in series which turns the speaker from a three way speaker to a two way speaker.
I’ve always suspected any of the Magnepan’s are more like 2-3 ohm speakers not 4ohms. Additionally sensitivity is probably 82-83db, not 86, considering it’s firing front back.
I Bought the upgrade kit for the maggi 1.6 and finaly I got it to work after few try and error on my side. But it was all worth it huge improvement overall to the sound quality. Befor the upgrade I was missing the high and mid but after they are perfect. Anyway Just wanna say thanks for the work you do
I put an Auricap in my 1.6qr years ago after reading about it and the difference was night and day better with the Auricap in place. Better imaging, cleaner sounding, better definition. Just sounded like a much more expensive speaker than the cost of the upgrade .
I really enjoy your videos Danny. Thanks. Really wondering how you do your measurements. Have you got an anechoic chamber? I would love to see an episode about your measurement techniques.
Your comments on the way you made your frequency response reading on these Magnepan speakers at ~ 2 meters instead of the "standard" 1 meter makes a lot of sense. Planar, open baffle horn, or omni-directional speakers don't propagate sound in the same way as point source ( cone and dome driver ) speakers. It also seems that a lot of high fidelity speakers are trending away from standard point source. Do you think that new measurement standards which better address this situation will be coming soon?
I have the Magnepan 1.5 that continue to bring joy on my spare room. Although you've highlighted upgrades for the 1.6 & 1.7, I also read where you've done upgrades for other models. If possible, I'd like to add your upgrade to my 1.5. Thank you.
Thanks Danny. Been hoping you would look at the Maggie’s (1.6’s). The polarity of the bass panel & tweeter is reversed on the stock 1.6. Wondering if you maintained that with the mod?
They don’t stress at all with the right HIGH CURRENT amp, capable of 3 ohm loading, like the Hegel, Parasound, etc. They don’t require a lot of watts in general, just a lot of current. Even 40-60 watts of power will energize a large room with their smallest speakers like the LRS+, but you need (1) a high current amp, (2) a dialed-in sub.
Placement is extremely critical with Maggies, so the question is, are the measurements take this into account or just basically measuring components? No doubt these crossovers are better quality but I feel we're missing part of the story here. Would it affect the recommended usual speaker placement, you know about 4 feet from the wall (let's be real), bit of an angle inwards, tweeters outside and the space between them is about half the listener's distance ? thanks !
I am now on the LRS wait list as of today but fulfillment will take a good while. Happy to drive them out to Danny upon arrival. I enjoyed my last visit immensely!!
That'd be great! I have my LRS, and I really like them. I'd send them to Danny, but I'm very hesitant to ship them. Being within driving distance would be much better!
@@markconner5569 I live in New Zealand and have just received the LRS ( still unboxed as I am waiting for my Peachtree Nova150 to arrive ) would love to hear from you if you go ahead and upgrade your LRS, has it made a diff and what amount of parts and cost was involved, would be gratefull...thanks.
@@cruise2023 They are out at GR Research currently and I am waiting to hear what Danny comes up with. It is nice to be within driving distance to GR, but not nearly as pretty as New Zealand.!!
Be interesting to see how the LRS. People are spending a lot of money on amps to be able to drive a thousand dollar speaker. If they can sound better AND be an easier load, that would be great!
It doesn't have to be expensive to drive the LRS. I bought a 1 year old Naim Nait 5si for euro 750,- (new 1450,-). which delivers 2 x 60 Watts and a lot of current. Current is what LRS needs. This combination is Great. The volume control hardly ever goes past 10 o'clock. Hegel amps also deliver a lot of current. To make the LRS sound a LOT better, I replaced the fuses with 6mm copper rod. The copper rods cost me less than a dollar, but the sound quality is now so much better. It's more of everything: range, dynamics, soundstage. The fuses are real bottlenecks.
Happy to see this video Danny. Why would someone incorporating your Servo Subs still be running a Magnepan panel full range? I tend to agree w those that believe that asking for full range performance w adequate amps & current is also a cause of panel distortion and ultimately distress at higher volume levels. I have indeed “de-laminated” a pair or two.
First of all thanks for posting all these videos and sharing knowledge and experience. Can u define which are the high current amps in relation with the wattage of the amp? Thank u in advance.
One way to quickly weed through a bulk of amps is to look at amps that double the output power with a halving of impedance. Other than that, amps that are actually rated for 2Ω loads.
After decades of manufacturing speakers, Magnepan gets a big spanking on crossover knowledge from Danny!!! Amazing frequency response corrections on both models! WOW.
don't forget Magnepan is building to a price point, These upgrades would be worth three to four times Danny's at retail, so its great for both GR and Magnepan IMO. also this is a kit so DYI saves a huge chunk of cost.
Man, I'd love to hear the before and after. Much as I love DSP for movies, even pro level DIRAC or proprietary algorithms with all the bells and whistles comes close to sounding natural in my opinion. DSP is for movies and cinema and does a great job of it. I'm so addicted to passive crossover design and it's mostly your fault Danny !
al maggies are crossed to high for the bass:) always a hump from 350-800 :) i dont know why they voice them like that. i make the same sort of speakers myself for some years. and the fun thing is they state there efficiency at 500 hz :) right in the peak. so in real life there efficiency is a 3 db lower then stated. and another 3 db if you take into account they used 2.85 volt into 4 ohms :)
Why didn't you put some notch filter on 6-13 bumped up region? It is common problem with panels, even B&G RD50, RD75 had some problems there and the notch filter was mandatory...
I notice the 1.7s have quite a lip on the edges of the speaker panel and the side trim holding the sock off from the panel. Would adding NoRes on these edges benefit?
Good day, Danny. Could not find any quantifiable advantages to analogue crossovers online. The ones who advocate the analogue crossovers seem to talk only in non-quantifiable terms (clarity - openness, richness ... and other non measurable ones) Could you please share with us what are the advantages and a method to quantify them taking in consideration that better is closer to the source in average human hearing spectrum. Thank you very much!
Do you mean as opposed to a digital crossover? Are we talking bi-amping or tri-amping? or are we talking mini-dsp (which is not really a cross over)? or are we talking about an actual digital cross over inside the speaker. It makes a huge difference on the answer depending on what you are talking about.
I'm always perplexed why the manufacturer, after watching these videos, doesn't take on the recommendations to make the best product possible. Reputation and performance is everything.
I had a 1.4 several years ago. I had the same problem that this 1.7 and 1.6 had. No treble. What happened? Does the frequency response deteriorate with time? I think this experience indicate that there is a fundamental issue with these speakers. The tweeters wear out.
Hi, Danny. I own the .7i’s that I play with a Sublime Acoustic active crossover & a pair of REL t/7x subwoofers. Would I benefit from your mod for the .7i’s? Also, could I just build external crossover boxes and bypass the stock factory ones?
I've been waiting to see a magnepan rework. They were the first "good" speakers I ever heard and was blown away when I was in highschool. I've got a pair of MG2As sitting the garage just waiting for someone I can give them to that can haul them away. I noticed that they're VERY sensitive to the quality of the amp -- an AVR does not sound good with them at all. If someone ever says all amps are the same, and an avr is fine, hook up a pair of magnepans for them. If their impedance curves were anything like the newer ones, now I know why.
Hi Greg. I would love to "haul those away" for you!... I've always wanted a good shape pair of Maggie's but I've never been able to afford any!... Where do you live anyway?
Have you done anything with the hpm series? I’m curious I just got a pair of 40s they look amazing and sound pretty good but the super tweeter isn’t working on either.
Hi Danny - since I recently discovered GR-Research channel and subscribed, I've really been enjoying your videos & tech talk. Initially skeptical, your obviously deep knowledge very quickly resonated with mine and I can see - sometimes by listening between the lines - your experience packs a rare heavyweight punch. The same is true with this video - having two friends with Maggies, I know just what you're correcting here and can easily imagine the delight of the owners rediscovering their treasures in a new light. Looking forward to your next revelations! All the best, Rob in Switzerland.
Always a pleasure! Have you ever looked at the Realistic Minimus 7, the early models from the 70’s and 80’s? I’ve done the Zilch mod using high end parts and it’s pretty great after also damping internally, etc. Lovely little speakers if you ask me. I’d love to see you play around with them, the Zilch circuit, and see if you could make it even better. (The original crossover was pathetic, but the drivers were good, and Zilch pretty much flattened them out...) Any interest in doing a video on these? Would love to see them in your shop!
Do you have an impedance graph for the 1.7 after crossover mod? I think I saw one for the 1.6 mod. Is there a high frequency rolloff when tweeters are not in parallel?
Got tons of speakers my tympani does everything still better exception of low end dynamics. I am not sure this mod applies to my tympani (3 panels per side) Way betters sound field capabilities, even above my RS1B (basically the smaller irs v brother ) With some subs good ones, the maggies outdo many speakers. Measuring a maggie always reads weird because you rely allot on room reflection it also absorbs highs in the more dampened rooms.
@@dannyrichie9743 would obviously love to see how you would upgrade the LRSs. I'm planning on getting some better stands and upgrading crossovers on them some day.
@@dannyrichie9743 I nominate Doan, as his are just in his bedroom system ;) Seriously though, I hope you get a set to tinker with. I think a pair of those with some open baffle servo subs could be a killer setup for the money.
Thanks Danny. I would love to see some information from you how you measure all this. Which microphone do you use? Do you use an oscilloscope and/or a PC or lots of special equipment? I ask because I guess many of us would love to be able to do those measurements at home with our own speakers. Enjoy the rest of the year and all the best for 2021!
Looks like Danny is using Clio measurement system, check out the logo in top right corner of the plots. You're looking at more than a couple grand, but it's worth it and it's pretty much the equipment of choice across the industry.
@@peterdesmidt8742 It would be great if you are in the USA and can send your LRS over, many of the LRS owners want the upgrade, but are across the world, so shipping them to Danny will be too costly
If so many owners upgrade these speakers after buying them, then they are clearly not shy of spending more for the speakers. So why doesn't the manufacturer recognise this and use better parts? The owner still spends the money, just with yourself instead of the manufacturer. I would have thought the manufacturer would be wise to this.
Hi Danny love your Chanel I have a question for you have you ever heard a pair of Martin Logan Statments E2x I have a pair and I was wondering if you think they can be improved I was told when they were built nothing but the best parts were used regardless of cost that what I was told from the designer Gayle Sander let me know what you think I use all big Krell monoblock
@@mfr58 very true. In this case they used inexpensive parts and they measured as shown. I will tell you that you will NOT get the same sound using cheap components as more expensive ones. Also the more components needed to adjust a flaw degrades the signal. I'm sure its probably related to cost.
Why dont designers / manufacturers make speakers that are more right straight out of box they aren't dummies , maybe to hold cost down idk , ive had 3 1/2 grand speakers that had 22 to 24 gauge wires connecting speaker crossover to speaker connectorsand ive replaced them to 12 gauge wiring
This video makes a lot of sense. I heard Magnepans in a dealer once and thought either the moon amp or the speakers were severely coloured. Now I know it was the Magnepans
I suspekt there could be a problem with this mod. It is greatly shown in your 3.7i video. In that video you explained very well how you made an almost flat frequency response but then for once actually listened to the speakers afterwards. The result was a very thin sounding speaker despite the flat frequency response. So you had to go back a make adjustments based on your listening like any other talented speaker designers always end up doing. You have many times stated you don't need to listen because "you know how it will sound". That statement is proved to not always be right based on your 3.7i video. Also it seems you did not takle the 7K peak in this one like you did with the 3.7i mod
so you do your research on those things to fix/improve them and provide instruction for free! then you only ask for payment of parts ?? wow huge respect !! really good man ...
Danny Richey uses graphs to evaluate speakers. According to him, they should all sound lousy. Reviewers on the other hand, use their ears and every speaker that's reviewed is great. So which one of you are lying?
Manufacturers also use graphs but it's only one side of the story I agree. I think the i.7i's sound great when they're setup properly, not perfect but there's plenty of smooth highs and deep lows, I find the mids are lacking a bit imo.
"where are all the highs" he says, wow..... Well they're perfectly There in all their natural Glory. Not to be touched. Unless of course someone prefers your aggressive 7-8-9 khz peak that will stab them in the ear with an ice-pick. Some of them will even believe that that is an "upgrade"! Hilarious. (Try your freq resp measurements again at 2M then 3M.... and you'll understand Maggies better)
Oh yeah, the highs sounded like they had a blanket thrown over them. They are also much smoother after the upgrade. See what this customer had to say and check out his audio clips. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ijNtfNaxswo.htmlsi=XLWspDu07gG0_Klw
I only wish I could afford a pair of Maggie's!... Maybe if I ever find a pair still in good shape and working order at one of my local thriftstores, but otherwise it ain't gonna ever happen! Lol!... I have audiophile ears, but essentially I'm only on a "homeless" person's budget! Haha!
I bought both of my Maggie's for less than a hundred bucks and one was the ng2 and the other one I believe is in your 1.6. the mg2s all they really needed was a crossover fix since the last person that was in there didn't know how to solder aluminum wire. the other ones however have severe problems where I found out the 1.6 is actually have a hole in the actual mylar that's going to be a little bit more difficult to fix however it's not all that hard to really do once you take your time and do it right. And the wires on them can easily be repaired and if you're willing you can just basically just use aluminum tape instead of the wire or aluminum wire and actually works just as well. check out your Joseph Pelon and his do-it-yourself loudspeakers and he will show you how to make one from scratch and if you want to make one from scratch you can probably do it for probably less than fifty bucks if your Thrifty he made his out of just regular magnets that you would use for putting stuff on frigerators and more than likely you might actually be able to score some pretty cheap magnets if you buy them in bulk on eBay. I suggest just to go ahead and get a broken set of magnepans for less than $100 because you know you're going to have to fix them once you do you will never go back. if you are on a severe budget for amplification this one will basically be it. get yourself a Pioneer car stereo that has network mode and one of the newer ones will probably set you back about a hundred bucks. get yourself one of those dual amplifiers that are either on sale at Walmart or you can pick up its clone at AutoZone. get the 4-channel model you can probably get it for 80 bucks if you shop around it is class D but again it sounds wonderful. since we're talking budget go ahead and pick yourself up a lawn mower battery for $20 at Walmart go on eBay and get yourself one of those DC to DC converters so you can get some clean power to charge your battery. these can also be had for around $20 or less . most of the time you can get these for $10 all day long that will put out a significant amount of current at 15 volts. to keep it cool just put it in some mineral water. ATX PC desktop power supply . they are so abundant you could probably get them for almost free wired all up and then set up your system and crossover and EQ points on the deck with the 31 band EQ and the Pioneer iPhone or Android app and then after that go ahead and set your games properly on your amp and you should be good to go! the car amplifiers have no problem running a 1 ohm active load so you're going to be fine turning up the juice on that little amplifier and they can handle it and it runs pretty cool. you can also set up your crossover points on the Pioneer deck and set your different crossover slopes as well and you should be 95% of the way there . subwoofers you're going to have to get really creative here . sonotube subwoofer is basically going to be your best option for cost . the key with the magnepans is because the actual panel most of the time has the Tweeter and the woofer on the same panel you want to do whatever you can to go ahead and eliminate as much of the low-frequency information from the large panel as possible this will really clear up your highs if you like to listen at high volumes. most people seem to really like it crossing over there magnepans at 100 Hertz and a 24/dB. you have up to I believe at 36 DB crossover slope which may really help out if you really like turning up the juice. Parts Express usually has a really good deal on woofers. another great budget option is to basically just buy some old home speakers and use the woofer drivers from those to supplement Your Love went and yeah it's going to look a little bit Yankee but hey you want a budget this is it
I auditioned a pair of 1.7s 2 weeks ago, on a large McIntosh amp, with vinyl, streamer and a high end CD player - everything sounded like garbage. Where I live they are very expensive, and I could get the pair for a little over a grand, but I let them go. If you get there, don´t be over impressed by the brand name, but use your ears.
This is completely ridiculous. Magnepan has been obsessed with improving their products for over 50 years and here's this clown thinking he's got all the answers in a couple hours. Completely ridiculous and anyone who pays this fraud anything to screw up their speakers has been scammed