MAGNEPAN LRS+ LISTENING TEST ! STOCK vs MOD. WHICH IS BEST ?? 

Hi Mikey, I admire your enthusiasm and love for audio gear as well as music. There are not other people like you who can build such an audio system. Not all of us can afford such a system, but at least we can enjoy your videos. Keep doing the great work and please bite us the vinyl lovers not to much.

Here's to a happy and prosperous 2023 Mike! You're definitely right. The LRS sounds very much more open, bright, and alive with the Modification! In the Stock mode it sounds more subdued, shadowed, and muffled. Way to go Wiley Coyote, Super Genius! John C. Peace!

This is my favorite channel on audio equipment. I just bought a pair of MG-1’s and am still playing with the positioning to get the most out of them in my limited space. Despite being in a small room they still sound very good. I’m sure they’d sound better in a bigger room but I was eager to check these out just to see what the hype was about. Not disappointed. You rock, Mike. Thanks for the awesome content, and keep up the great work!

More harmonics, less technical and fuller sound was obviously clear after only 1 listening pass. What a knowledge Mike has, really great this!

Great video OCD. Love your no BS passion!

Thanks for posting this video. Very Helpful.

I got lucky right before Thanksgiving when my local Magnepan dealer let me know he had a few pairs of LRS+. I had the original LRSs for about a year and decided to go with the LRS+ and immediately noticed the difference. I ordered the mods a couple of weeks ago and just got them today. Definitely worth the $$!! Thanks Mike! I live in Macon, GA and would like to come visit you in Atlanta, if that’s possible.

Nice vid, Mikey!

Happy New Year Mikey Brother !!! I told you these are incredible since I got them right at the Capital Audiofest. As I said before I am only using them in a Triamped system from 80 to 500 Hz and they have blown away the super low distortion Purifi drivers in that same range. I also agree that when I listened to them full range, the imaging was amazing and they really do have bass down below 50 Hz. The imaging is almost as good as with the NEO8 line arrays from 500 Hz and up. I probably should try then down to 50 Hz and just use the big subs from DC to 50 Hz instead of 80 Hz. If you have time, you should try them with your GR Research subs maybe up to 50 Hz to get that low energy that is there that they are missing. Back in the 1970s, we did the same thing with fuses on the Tympani 1Ds and got the same effect that you just got that is easy to hear for me too. These really can get people into the high end with suitable electronics and they are super realistic and disappear and no box sound at all. Thanks for doing this demo, probably one of the most important you ever did for people that don't want to spend the megabucks. Cheers. Prof. Jim

Just got my LRS+. I added a little bass from the amp. Sound amazing. Sound stage is obvious. Sounds like the band is in the room. I am using a 100 Watt per channel tube amp and it’s sufficient for my bedroom. At full volume, it’s loud enough and clear as a bell.

I won the lottery when I was able to walk into a store and walk out with a pair of LRS+. Phenomenal speakers at that price, I have cables that cost more than that. Anyway, just ordered the MOD but you have to ship it to Canada. Enjoy your Vids and stay true.

Best HiFi Entry Level Speakers Period! $1,000 is like $100 in 1973! Great Starting Point Mikey! You have shown youth of today that Great Music can be heard at an Attainable Level! Hats off to you Brother!✌

Great video Mikey! So I have to ask how do the LRS+ compare to the .7 and 1.7? Or even something like a 2.6r. I'm on the list for a set of LRS+ but would love to know your thoughts

Great vid, the difference is quite apparent. I have his older kit with the hollow silver fuse tube with nothing in it and that along with the silver metal attenuator bypass bar do make a positive improvement over stock. My question: is it still worth upgrading to either the .7 or the 1.7i from this new LRS+, in regards to mids/hi's tonality and not low bass as I have fast dual subs to 20hz? Thanks

10:44 yup, got the time codes. thanks !!!!! greattttt video!!! thanks man!! :-)

Yep you nailed it. A little sharper but a lot thinner sound stock. Hard to beat the top end on those for a thousand bucks

phenomenal

Thanks for Great Info. Just pick my LRS+ and breaking them in. Would you still use a k231 active crossover with a sub or no sub? Have a great New Year.

On my +40 years old MMG I have unmounted the whole binding post plate. Desolder the fuse and the horse shoe parts. With that I have removed several solder points and all the steel parts in the signal path all together. And I also replaced the binding posts to pure copper 5 way binding posts (again removed the steal shit). I seldom note any difference on my tweaks and I dont try to imagine that it sounds better than before the change if there is any. But this time it were a noticeable sound quality improvement when all that junk were removed from the signal path. And that is not a observation from a fast A and B test. It is as a owner that know how the speakers sounds and did the modification and a day later when they were back into the system got. Wow a noticeable difference were noted, without the need of fast A/B testing to try to pick up any small differences/nuances. And I sat and thought that it is a pity that Magnapan owners with that lousy substandard binding plate construction and poor material choices that is dragging down the sound quality performance so much. Everyone that has that embarrassing stock arrangement have NEVER heard what their panels are truly able to produce sound quality wise! It is so sad realization for me especially when there has been NO refinement on that input plate for over 40 years, when it looks the same today as it does on my old MMG! (And that were not even a sound improvement from the stock thinn fuse and stock horse shoe jumper.. Of course I had replaced the fuse to a fuse that had much higher current capacity and were not any longer a thinn threaded fuse a while back just to get a bigger cross section. And for the jumper I used a pure dead soft silver pice. I did not notice anything in the improvement department it were probably not worse anyway, but I did not A/B comparisons. But from THAT tweeked starting point there were an definitely clear sound quality improvement by removing it all together. (Remember that I also replaced the speaker binding posts also at the same time, so I can't tell how much that contributed.))🥂

Sounds excellent

I still have my first Maggie’s. The MGWs. But they are wrapped in my garage. They were/are really good. Just moved onto what my ears tell me is music these days. But I’ll never forget Maggie sound for sure.

I can't wait to hear these with the new dipole subs. I'd love to hear what they sound like on *affordable* high currant amplification though. Maybe a pair of Burson Timekeeper GTs. I heard they're made here in Australia. Not sure what DAC. I would never spend more than 5k on a single piece of audio gear.

Hi Mike! I totally agree with you about how great those LRS+ are. I demoed them at AXPONA with Wendell. At the prepandemic AXPONA I demoed the original LRS. They are the bargain of century at $1000 for the current LRS+. As a former owner of a pair of 1.7i, I agree that your $150 mod makes a big difference. I bought it for my 1.7i Maggies. It does make the sound organic and really ads detail to the highs, like cymbals and high hats and such. The mod is a must own for anyone with Maggies. Why they don’t just buy them from you and include them at the factory is beyond me. They could list it as an upgrade when you order. Go figure because Wendell told me that U jumper is simply plate steel. The fuse is a cheap crap fuse. I miss my old Maggies. I may get a pair of LRS+ just to get me occasional Maggie fix. Plus they are so light you can easily move them into and out of position to store them away somewhere if you have other speakers. Ok. Here is the controversial part: bass and subwoofers. Now I think that these LRS+ are excellent for new (or experienced) audiophiles. You can get a pair of these, power them with a good amount of current and be happy. The good thing is that later on you can add a pair of subs to them. In my experience with my 1.7i, while you do get bass notes. You don’t get sub bass or percussive bass slam from these. But when I added a pair of REL T/9i subs to my 1.7i - OMG it revolutionized the sound. It made the combination of the 1.7i + subs full range beasts. You can do without the subs to start. But when you add them it raises the rig to a whole new level. The guys at Audio Excellence in Canada have mentioned in the past how it is difficult to integrate subs with Maggies. I totally disagree! It was easy to do so with the RELs. So that is my take on bass and subs with Maggies. You and others may disagree. But that is my real world experience. The important thing about Maggies though is they need power to bring out the best in them. They need good powerful amps. Ok. Lastly, since the Maggies are unconventional non-box speakers that image well, I would LOVE it if you can do a comparison between the LRS+ and a pair of Ohm inverted Walsh cone driver speakers. They supposedly image well too. I don’t know if you can get a comparable pair for $1000 but the comparison would be unique on RU-vid and super helpful. Thanks!

Mikey over you RU-vid I thought that there was more air in the mod and the bass was more defined. I wonder how they will sound with their upgraded stands?

Hey Mikey I love the magnepans especially for jazz, classical and acoustic but my main speakers after those are B&w 705 s2. They are a seriously good contender the cabinet removed tweeter pod really allows the treble sound to emanate well with in room with reduced diffraction. Probably no where near the level of what your listening to but I'm not rich.

Hi Mikey....just got my LRS+ the other day and still in crates. Can you suggest the best speaker cable setup ( spade lugs? bananas?). Also I have a pair of REL subs to use with them and ask if you have any guidance as to which way to connect (high level? low level?). Will be using my Hegel H590 integrated amp. Very much appreciated, thank you.

Hi Mike. Good to hear you rave about the maggies again! Not to shoot under your business, but the cheapest tweak for every Maggie owner is: No Fuses!! just remove the fusebox from the circuit. Put in new pure copper speakerterminals when you are on in it, the brass shit from Magnepan is rubbishhh (Aliexpress is your friend here) Also very bad experience with silver anywhere in maggies. I had pure copper with silver wire on the new XO. still lot of harshness on vocals. Changed them for NEOTECH OCC copper, smooth al hell. I got 1.7's Modded them myself with total new components. Also had to repair the foil-wirign cause I found out only when i had the cover off, that the tweater was burned. (second hand, prev onwner had his amp blown, probably the cause). So what you say aint correct. Its not the mylar that can burn but the foil-wire on int. Goes very easy, even with fuses. Had two more breaks after tryiing my modded XO's with out soldering them... stupid i know but, hey thats how i learn. For the LRS owners: to get them straight up, I should definitly change the feet to the new 'off the floor' design from Magnepan or third party Copper all the way My two cents Cherio from the Netherlands Ranko

thx so much Mikey. What music is this? Great for testing.

Hi, did you ever hear magnepans or LRS with McIntosh amps? I have a mc2155 from late 80's, do you think it will marriage well with LRS?

Mikey, Can you share the specifics of the audio cut you are using in this video. Thanks Keith

any suggestions of amplification under 15k to run these??

Wow there’s actually a difference, and for the better

Lovely!! Can't wait to hear them in person. I updated OCD Hi-Fi Guy playlists on Qobuz & Tidal ! I need the mod for my .7s? When can you have them?

I have the Maggies but the 1.7i and in stock forum I DO-NOT like em however with your fuse up-grade I enjoy them! I do have the $1500 sound anchor stands to mount them too at 53 pounds that again is a MUST have for these.... I am still looking to sell my Maggies but need to list them. I need to fix my Motorcycle and start riding before its too hot.

I have the LRS+ with the DWM panel to take it down to 40hz, LOVE IT.

What are the black boxes?

Great video... ??? What is the source music artist/album ??? ... Thanks

you sold me with "haunting ghost image"

@OCD Hi Fi Guy do you think mounting the LRS+ to some sort of pole contraption that swings out and up front for listening and can swing back to put away when not listening could still sound as good as on stands? I cant always have them 3'+ away from walls, so thought up this idea. Also have you tried the optional magnariser like stands that are supposed to improve soumd?

For a thousand dollars you can't do any better,bro your audiophile angel

Stock sounds a bit compressed after listening to the mod. Pretty impressive.

Please provide the name of the artist and album. Thanks!

Hola Mikey, Have you gotten in that crossover yet?

Whoa, the ces video just vaporized. What happened? I was excited to hear more about the GaN fet manufacturer.

I own the original LRS, had them almost a year, tail end of production, just missed the plus version by a few months. Anyway, amazing speakers nonetheless. I made a set of stands to get them vertical and a few inches off the floor. Also made a jumper from heavy solid sterling silver wire replacing the steel horse shoe. The stands and silver jumper made great improvements in the sound. I also swapped the fuse for a ceramic fuse, not sure if that made much difference. I don’t doubt that replacing the fuse with a solid bar would improve the sound BUT in less than a year of use I have blown 4 fuses already. I was using a Threshold S350e 300 watts 4 ohms and now using a Peachtree Audio Gan 400, 400 watts 4 ohms and have blown fuse with both amps. Yes I do tend to listen to music moderately loud but not excessively loud. I am hesitant to try the fuse jumper upgrade as I’m not sure how delicate the tweeter panels are and would rather sacrifice a few fuses vs tweeter damage. To me the trade off for slight improvement in sound vs reliability is not worth it. Again, maybe it would be fine but not sure how delicate the tweeter panels are.

Had so many maggies even the Tympani needed a good amount of subs to make up for the lack of dynamic range. I don't care what others say that they have "bass"

Have any of you actually upgraded / modified the crossover of the LRS+ (better parts) to improve their sound? If so, what did you do? And... how did it improve the sound?

So Mikey, I have been thinking about these speakers. If my budget is higher would I better off with the .7 or 1.7i ? or are these LRS + so good it makes no sense to go up only a couple levels ?

I have the original LRS which I bought at the introductory price of 650 before the word got out ...... I did the fuse bypass - how do they sound ? Stunning and jaw-dropping .......

Any serious audiophile has 3-4 pairs of speakers as part of their system inventory. One pair has to be a Magnepan and/or equivalent Analysis Audio, Alsyvox,or Apogee Acoustics. Mikey great job! My audio hero!

Huh, yup. I'm listening on my phone with cheap, Sennheiser buds and I hear a difference. More just a sense of the sound being more natural with the mod, like Mikey says. It would be interesting to hear what these can do with an amp in a sensible price range.. But $50k JR integrated or not, it's astonishing that this is a recording of $1000 speakers!

Agree about the bass. No need for mud subs

Yes, more brittle all around without the mods. That’s the best descriptor for what I heard.

i like the stock version. I found the1 mod too forward.

You’re absolutely correct but one thing you need the new stands are $300 they’re gorgeous and they work wonderfully you need to do that you’re gonna have a $50,000 amp without the new sensor you’re missing a lot guaranteed I have them enjoy the hobby man

Hey Mikey, Marco here I have the original LRS in your opinion will your Mods Help or should I forget it and get the LRS+ and add the Mods? Thank

Very obvious improvement with your mod; less veiled, more snap.

Wait till you hear it with the Magna riser stands . I removed the sub from the system.

Big Difference Kudos Mikey What songs we’re playing

Ha! Wow, that little mod no doubt makes a difference. The stock compared to the mod is kinda like an unbrushed morning mouth compared to a newly brushed and mouth washed cleaned teeth…lol Just more crisp with a veil lifted and nicer tonality. Great job as usual, Mikey. (I wrote that, then ya use the word, “toothy”!?!) Haha 😂 No friggin way….

full size maggies are phenomenal for pipe organ music reproduction no sub-woofer is necessary demands large room and must be set 5 feet in front of a wall at least class A sustained plateau bias mono-blocks produce a lot of heat still very-very-very poor waf in every aspect vacuum cleaning temptations prevention especially i am happier with a few watt single-ended stereo nowadays but can't enjoy pipe organ records without

I have 1.6 Qrs does this mod work for them?

Do Maggie's need a break in period like most speakers do?

would this mod work on my mgiiia?

Could you just replace the fuse section with something a little more audiophile grade?

One caveat lads, you need CURRENT for these puppies! That said, Mikey's upgrade made a big step in performance for sure from what I heard. My personal experience with the original lrs's to my naim supernait 2 wasn't good at all, unless peaks were below 85 db sound level. The amp actually shut down after high heat stress hooked to these puppies on numerous occasions. Just sayin

I wonder if you have thought about the crossover point where rather than spend the total money by buying better associated components (dac/amp) for the LRS+ you step up to the next level speaker with lesser electronics? I guess what I am saying is at what total budget does another speaker take over from the LRS+?

Worth every penny, end game search for the average man that's not rich. Even my el cheapo Klipsch 4.2 desktop amp sub combo can power it.

Would they sound good with carver amplifiers

Are these mod kits ever going be available again?

I've always had a love affair with ribbon planar speakers. Funny how some people try to downplay the absolutely magnificent sound performance of Magnepan speakers, especially the lower cost models like the LRS+. Maggies, and all of the ribbon planar speakers that I've ever experienced produced extraordinary sound. If I had a large enough room, I would think hard about trading my beloved Revel Salon 2 speakers in for a pair of 3.7i or 20.7s, add a couple high quality subs and call it a day.

Sounds analog I like it

I don’t have room from my back wall, wish I could have these. But they need the space to sound great

At this price point why would you by a box speakers they can't even touch these holy crap nice bro I heard with the mods In to be more clear than without them also more realistic sound as for bass I can't because I'm only using my phones speakers but hey I'm limited ATM peace love and happiness Mikey

I have the original LRS. Everything Mikey said is true. Huge three dimensional sounstage, plenty of bass (sub is only needed for slam). The only thing my monitors do better are imaging and dynamics but they retailed for $4k more than a decade ago .

The bass is very impressive, surprised. The modded version had more cohesion from the bass with the rest of the frequency range. Just seemed tighter and more controlled but still deep.

Interestingly, people absolutely rave about these speakers and the experience. These same people never keep them as their reference. What that says to me is, they are amazing speakers to visit but you wouldn't want to live with them on a daily basis. So they don't.

I use your silver fuse bypass mod on my .7s and I thought it was a noticeable improvement in the highs. I think listeners with a good ear will notice it if they have good upstream equipment. IMO the Freya plus and an affordable hypex amp work very well. I continue hoping that someone will try the new higher current purifi amps. They should be spectacular with maggies.

I hear a lot of low bass rumble.

And again...recommend and show the speaker with electronics in a similar or slightly higher (perhaps around 3k) price range. Anything else is nice for demonstration but useless for most of the buyers of LRS

Wow 😢

The mod had a bit more musical character, bit sweeter.

Stock is not bad either, but definitely, the mod version sounds better, at least in my headphones.

minerals are the best 👌

The mylar will not break, the tweeter will melt trough the mylar. thats why there is a fuse. look at it as it was an electric radiator. they become exactly that when you put waaaay to much power in them. mylar is hard to break. it only breaks because the foil melts trough the mylar or at least weakens it so much it loses tension( you will see the mylar not been straight and the coil starts to wrinkle) (dont forget the glue used super77 does not like heat and can let go of the coil). then you speaker is screwed. to me i hear no difference between the 2 recordings im afraid. anyway loved you factory tour videos !

Yesterday on Jay's audio lab's video called "Is This The Best System I Have Heard?" where Jay shows a viewer's Boulder and Magico rig, I commented: _"There is NO WAY this system sounds better than OCD Mikey's"_ Nothing beats Mikey's rig. NOTHING!

RF absorbent minerals c’mon man.

Very boring music

This guy sounds like a used car salesman to me. Why does his presentation have to be in my face all the time? I wish that he would just talk back off, chill out talk to me & not at me. He appears to be angry at his audience..not sure what that anger is all about but it has nothing to do with me & I didn't like it. My audio friends don't like this either about his personality. It's odd & makes me feel uncomfortable as a viewer. He is not saying anything about Maggie's that I haven't heard elsewhere. This presentation insults my intelligence. And yes, he needs to find some humility IMO because he is not the the smartest person in the room anymore. In fact, there are audio reviewers & Maggie owners that have demonstrated to me that they know more about the product based upon their years of experience working with it. His reviewing style always disappoints me. It's a shame because he really knows what he's talking about & is generous enough to share it with us. I've learned a lot from him but IDK if I can watch another one of his videos & that's a shame.

50 thousand dollar amp! 🤣

I love my original lRSs. Magnarisers were a worthwhile addition.