Magnepan, Woodstock, and the moon landing have something in common 

I jumped into MMG in 2012 on Steve's recommendation and now own 1.7i as of Dec 18. These speakers have taught me so much about audio and continue to give me breathtaking experiences that far exceed their price tag. I don't need to talk people into magnepans, they speak for themselves. A good friend of mine is waiting for his LRS now :D

I was looking for new speakers in 1978 to replace my stacked Advents, and spent months traveling to high end dealers in Wisconsin and Illinois, with an LP of Joan Baez singing "Diamonds and Rust" as my demo material. In September of 1978, I walked into Audio Emporium in Milwaukee, and heard Magnepans for the first time. It was a pair of Tympani 1d's, and the sound blew me away. I had never heard recorded music reproduced so realistically before. I bought a pair of Tympani's and that began my 40 plus year relationship with Magnepan speakers, as well as that same dealer in Milwaukee. I've owned many different pairs over the years, and currently own 1.7's, 1.6's, a CC3 center channel and a pair of MMG's. The 1.7's, CC3 and MMG's are used in an all Magnepan surround system that I use just for music..and what it does for my enjoyment of music is glorious. I had the opportunity to meet Wendell Diller last year when he brought a pair of their 30.7's to demo at Audio Emporium, and what a treat that evening was. When I think back to all of the high end speakers I listened to back in 78, before choosing Magnepan, I realize that almost all of those other manufacturers who's speakers I auditioned, are gone today. It's quite an achievement for any business to survive for 50 years, much less continuing to thrive after all that time. Magnepan is obviously doing something right. Congratulations on 50 years of exceptional service to the audiophile community.

Thank you Master Steve, my dad Hedley Jones Sr. also an Audiophiliac, now passed, always thought ribbon microphones like the RCA 44A made in 1933, but still holds up against some of today's great modern mics. It has been 30 years since i have indulged in HiFi, now you know I'm really old, but now I'm back, and I have dusted off my old Acoustic Research AR3a's of 1973 vintage and just recently re-coned them, I think they still sound good, great bass, but now I want more. I started following you and listening to your conversation and you have inspired me and I have just ordered the LRS for Christmas, but they are back ordered till January, .........so thanks for your informed reviews and I'm hooked again, Merry Christmas!

Wow! I had no Idea! Congratulations with deep love and admiration to Magnepan for reaching their Gold Milestone! I have been a Magnepan owner for almost 20 years when I acquired a pair of MG-IIc's from one of my direct supervisors. To this very hour, they continue to astonish me. They are sounding exceptionally great today with lots of low end bass response when powered from my vintage NEC AVR-1010 100/150 W 8/4 ohm receiver. Being I'm singularly most experienced with my MG-IIc's, and have rarely experienced my Aunt's 3.7i's (which I don't think sound as good with her Rotel RA-810A), I've started to wonder if the newer models of Maggies sound even better than my MG-IIc's! I've started to wonder where the MG-IIc's stand among the forest of Magnepan products, and gain a little history lesson about the MG-IIc's. Chuckle- But my favorite thing about Magnepans is their inherent ability to demonstrate uncompassionately just how badly mixed or flawed some albums are... Especially when thoes albums sound great through any other system... Thank you Steve. I'm glad I stumbled across your video. Even if it was just over a year later...

I unboxed my LRS speakers last night. Hope to start setting them up this weekend.

I did a little research on magnepan speakers yesterday after Cynthia's video. I was really surprised by the price, especially considering what goes into building them. I recently purchased my first pair of speakers with ribbon tweeters and was impressed by their detail. To get that kind of detail full range must sound quite incredible. Thank you again, Steve, for introducing a product that I was not aware existed.

And I was born...... you somehow forgot that Steve. LoL

My neighbor across the street had some when I was a kid, a high school buddy (who later worked in a stereo store) recommended them years later and when I finally got tired of blowing up my JBLs I bought a set of MMGs. That was quite some time ago and I never looked back. 50 years is quite the accomplishment. Congratulations and thanks for bringing "that sound" into my living room.

Congrats Magnepan on an incredible run! You have at least one customer for life. First heard them at House of Stereo in Jacksonville Fl in 1980. 20 years later returned and bought my first pair of 1.6s. Never looked back.

Happy 50th to Magnepan! I met Wendell at 2019 AXPONA. Definitely an astute student of audio and representative of this wonderful speaker maker. I am the happy owner of a pair of 1.7i speakers and love them. A flat out bargain for the money and terrific speakers in the absolute sense. Here is to many more years and I plan to touch base with them at AXPONA 2020!

Happy 50th anniversary Magnepan!! I have had a pair of 3.6s for eight years and still am impressed with the clarity and resolution of these speakers. My aim was to recreate a live performance and the 3.6s do give me that illusion. I am considering an upgrade possibly to the current flagship, the 30. series and will try to get an audition in my area. This was a great invitation so continue doing your R&D and improving your speakers with time! John

Nice you're offering a Magnepan homage. Magnepans were my first serious speaker - a pair of MG-IIBs way back when I was a kid in 1980. I've since listened to many different models and owned MMGs and 1.6QRs. All wonderful. The new LRS and .7 look especially attractive. I have visited the factory several times, and also the nearly nearby Audio Research Corp. factory. In a number of past Stereophile polls, the results showed that more of their readers owned Magnepans than any other speaker brand. Extraordinarily good speakers, extraordinarily good value.

I've had the same "Maggies" (2.5R) since the 1980's and can't say enough about them. Thanks Steve for your comments.

Magnepans work amazingly well even though their "cardioid" dispersion pattern poses difficulties. They are highly rewarding when correctly set up.

Thank you for showing pictures of the devises you are talking about. I know this takes time to edit in, and that's tough for a daily show, but it does make a huge difference.

So I was watching an episode of Friends from the mid '90s the other day and I saw in Joey's living room a pair of magnapans. I had no clue what they were until watching your channel but I was always curious to know what the heck they were keep up the good work Steve!

a doctor friend of mine who had bought Infinity SS1s and took them to Hawaii for his residency in Radiology had when i first met him, the 3 panel Magneplanar Tympanis AND IMF Monitor IIIs (which my friend bought from him). ARC SP3 and Phase Linear 700 to drive them. later in the scheme of things, i had to choose between SMGs and the Rogers LS3/5As, the Rogers accompanied me home. relatively recently i snagged a pair of MMGs and you won't be able to pry them from my cold dead hands. this has been the most engaging hobby i can imagine because it partners my love of most types of music and how to get it to sound close to what one hears live. ...hifitommy

50 years is no small feat. Congrats! I almost bought a pair back in '88 but switched at the last minute to Thiel given the size of the Maggie panel.

I love the idea of foldaway speakers. I wish I had a pair.

My first pair were MG 1's bought in 1976-7. I now own the 1.7i's with my Maggies little helpers on the back, that give them the ribbon featheriness of ribbon drivers, 125 hz thru 12khz. Pair them with two REL T/9i subs and I am in audiophile heaven. Had two DWM panels for bass, but the REL's blew them out of my system. Just love em!

We sent pretty much the following to Magnepan a year and a half ago..... March 27, 1982, my wife and I purchased our MG1s (serial # 137786) from New Horizons Hi-Fi in Billings Mt. We still remember being awed by the musicality, openness and huge sound stage when we listened to them for the first time in this small town “hi-fi” store. They were only moved once to our current home in Minnesota and have been our prime listening speakers since that time. They began sounding a bit “muddy” about 18 months ago. Not knowing if that sound was a product of the speakers getting tired or just our hearing going to heck, we delayed replacing or repairing them until last week. had a chance to audition the new 1.7i and it brought us back to our first listening experience and confirmed that it wasn’t our hearing. In December of 2017, we auditioned and purchased a pair of used 1.7s from a very happy former owner who needed to create more space in his home office. They continue to amaze. I am unsure how many other speaker manufacturers can make the case that their products will deliver quality sound for 35 years without replacement or repair. My wife found the old paperwork (receipt/manual) and while $595.00 was a lot of money for a couple of schoolteacher types at the time, we have never regretted the investment in quality sound. Well done!

Congratulations, Magnepan! I ordered a pair of 20.7s in the spring, but I imagine the company is going full-speed on the LRS. Trying to be patient.

Some people would say none of these really happened. I can attest to Woodstock. I was there for Saturday and Sunday. It took me 2 years to get the mud from between my toes.

I have heard them at an audio store and they sound great if you have the room to keep them away from the walls. One thing they really need to work on is their website. It’s obvious that they aren’t paying anyone to make it as functional and beautiful as it could be.

Magnapan might hate me because I've had a pair of mmg speakers for 20 years and love them and will never replace them

I've had four different iterations of Maggie's over the years. Still keep the 1.7 on duty in the panel room.

I own the 20.1's (heavily modified) and it is amazing. To those that never heard a magnepan speaker in person, I encourage you to do so.

MG 12 owner; love em Congratulations to all

Ive had mg1.4, mmg2, and the newer mmgi with ribbon section, their all excellent speakers, one of my favorites. If they could find a way to make them more efficient, they would probably run the speaker market.

I know exactly why people confuse planar magnetic speakers with electrostatic speakers! It's because they are both big thin panels, and most people have never connected a pair to an amp, so they don't ever see the electrical connection that electrostatic models require.

Magnepan did replace the panels in my 35 year old MG IIIs 20 years ago, but they suggested next time I buy a new pair. That may be soon. Wish I had a room big enough for the 30.7.

I was hooked to R n R and hi fi since 1963

I love my MG 3.6's, tri-amped with a DEQX.

I’ve had a myriad of speakers throughout the years... they come and go. B&Ws, Totems, etc. Always have several cone driven speakers. However I have always had a pair of Magnepan’s in my arsenal. The quantitative measurements can not measure the beautiful sounds from planar - ribbon speakers from Magnepan’s or Apogee’s.

I found Magnapan MG2a's at a place in San Antonio, TX back in 1980. I've had nothing to match their quality and sound stage since they met with an untimely death in 1996.

Bravo!

Steve will recommend AB amplifier over a D amplifier for cost reasons, good DAC's are expensive, "Wyred 4 Sound customer"

I have had Magnepans most of my life starting with MMG and then 1.6 and finally 1.7 along with Magnepan center and back channels. To try more dynamic speakers I now have B&W 802D2 and HTM2D2 and as good as these are I miss the Magnepan sound and my wallet misses the value that Magnepans are compared to anything else 2-3x price.

I've been out of the audiophile market for quite some years, but am about to re-enter. Magnepans are among the speakers i have promised myself to listen to, before settling down on what to buy. I'm unsure of how well they master rock, pop and all that not particularly audiphile music i also listen to, but ever since i heard a set of Dali Skylines way back when they were sold new, i've been fascinated by ribbon speakers.

I wanted to try/buy an LRS, but I don't know why Magnepan are making their products hard to find. I ended up getting a pair of RP-8000F.

my 1.6 are still going on strong..i liked them better than the 1.7... However, although by now not the best magneplanar by today's standards - or best of anything, it was the Tympani the one speaker that has left an indelible mark in mind

True ribbon tweeter. Bit of a tongue twister there! Like Toy Boat. : D

I have owned and love Maggies. They are a great audio bargain for certain listeners and a revelation when first heard. They simply are not dynamic enough for me.

1969: ARPANET the precursor to the Internet began with two network nodes which were interconnected between the Network Measurement Center at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science directed by Leonard Kleinrock, and the NLS system at SRI International (SRI) by Douglas Engelbart in Menlo Park, California, on 29 October 1969.

King Crimson!!!

Heard these many many years ago and was amazed. Maybe I should ..... no no ... yes .. fight!

Maggies are special!

50 years? There should be an anniversary model like the KEF LS50! My MMGs have a sagging and flapping bass panel. I loved the sound and miss them. I now have a dedicated room where I can pull the speakers well away from the back wall... I should send them in for repair/ upgrade to LRS Steve: Do you think they will work with the 4ohm tap of a 35w EL34 tube amp?

Hadcock and Nail ARO came out in the late 70s also, both are unipivots. The first unipivot was the Gray Research 108B in the mid 50s.

I juat set up my first system with SMG-B's and they are something else entirely

Still own my T1D's made in Jan 77.

Love my 3.7s.

King Crimson 1969

Cheers! Minnie nicest state!

The Daytona Charger followed by the Superbird. Mopar!! I thought l was on Uncle Tony's garage. Oh wait I'm on a stereo channel. Can you run Maggie's on 35 watt amp like what you usually show us?

1969...Mets won the World Series

A twofer: Have Magnepan users grown tired of them? Or is it just restlessness that cause me to find a lot of people who "used to have a pair of Maggies..."? What does it take to drive a pair to achieve say 115 dB crescendos at 10 feet in a moderately damped room? Can a class D drive them thusly of must it be a hefty A-B? (I would bi-amp a set of subwoofers below about 50-70 Hz.) Anybody out there doing this with success?

My dad's good friend ended up on the wrong side of the law over a misunderstanding about refined coca imports and ended up spending some time in federal custody. During his long stay, we had his Magnepans and McIntosh amps, which frankly was the real crime. My family was not one to appreciate the quality of these first generation Magnepans from, '74.

Happy birthday magnepan! (Maggie 1.7)

1969: The Amazin Mets!

I tipped over my Magnepan’s last week. Landed on my wood floor. It’s rattling now. Guess it’s time for new Maggies.

If I had only saved $13 a year since they came on the scene 50 years ago is have enough $$ to buy the LRS!😉 I'm seriously considering these for my new man cave. (For one of my 3 or 4 systems.) Thanks, Steve.

You get a lot for your money with Magnepan's!

seriously the bigger Acoustats just killed the Maggies we sold both -the mob that purchased Acoustat should be locked up just criminal what they did with the tech

I tried listening to Zeppelin on their larger model a few yrs ago at an authorized dealer and it sounded horrrible. Then he played something totally different and it was incredible.

The Apogee speakers were far better...

I started kindergarten in '69. . .

there is nothing but quad electrostats, for people with brains, ears and knowledge of music. ok, there are some good epigones around, but epigones stay epigones, its like cars, a bentley is a bentley, and with a full b&o hifi-equipment..... not even worth, listening to critics.....

Your a New Yorker, Mets won the World Series and Jets win the Super Bowl!

Never heard a pair so no idea what I’m missing. 😎

Abbey Road! Unlike the idiot conspiracy theory moon landing denier’s in some of the comments(probably the same people who believe McCartney died in ‘66... get a life), it was the second most exiting thing to live through and watch, right after The Beatles on Ed in ‘64. What a decade! Happy anniversary Magnepan!

Summer of '69....Bryan Adams! 😉

Pagnaman? Is that some Anime thing? Manga? Has to be Japanese, right! Mylar, Mylar, Mylar? Why not carbon fiber! Too stiff, too resilient, too difficult to move?

Did the moon landing actually happen ?

IMO Magnepan are a poor mans Apogee

It's amazing, 50 years later and most people still believe we actually landed on the moon. Thanks Stanley Kubrick