3.7's + McIntosh 501's......anyone have?
 

Your input please. Due to A ZERO WAF and space constrants in our dinning room, (or just a good excuse for me to try some new gear :D) I'm considering swapping out my Khorns for 3.7's. Anyone have this combo?

Jon.......I think if the wife isn't happy with the Khorns, you better let her see the Maggies before you buy them. Magnepan speakers aren't exactly known for their wife acceptance factor either.

I believe this pair of Maggies belonged to Julian, although I don't think he owns them any longer for similar reasons.


http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i1...akers55of1.jpg

Two Christmas' in a row, the tree came in and the wife said, "get rid of those ugly things, I need the space". I sold them both times. I have to admit that I agreed with her. :)

Funny thing....my wife and I visited some family recently in Portland, OR. We stopped by Pearl Audio Video and they had 3.7's set up. She LOVED them! Not sure why she thinks tall "behemoth" speakers are ok and my Khorns are not. :scratch2: What can I say.....woman.

I purchased my 3.7s in 2011 and ran them with an ARC VT200 (200wpc) without problem although the amp did run out of steam at volumes higher than I cared to listen. I replaced the VT200 w/ MC601s a couple of months ago and clearly the increased wattage allowed the speakers to perform more fully and with greater ease. I would say your amps are more than adequate. Insofar as WAF is concerned, these speakers look smaller or larger depending upon the room size and what else is in the room. Audio salons can be misleading. I have 13' ceilings and the 71" tall 3.7s were still "noticable". Measure twice, cut once as they say.

Awesome and Thx! Well.......how do they sound? Are you happy with them? I heard them with a MC275VI and they sounded beautiful (low volume thought). :scratch2:

Well I can't say that low level detail is a forte for Magnepan, at least in my experience. They are relatively low efficiency, and they do need a high quality (high current, not necessarily high wpc) amplifier to generate the relatively high SPL needed to allow them to "come alive" yet w/o the mylar bottoming out against the magnets, particularly the bass panels. They present a very large and life like soundstage, and the 3.7s are the most top to bottom coherent version of the 3 series. All Magnepans are dipoles and require a fair degree of attention with regard to room positioning. Room positioning is a major topic of discussion for Magnepan forum participants as well as amplifier choice. If Khorn is Klipschorn, then in comparison the Magnepans would seem to me a very different direction in speaker design parameters and amplification requirements.

Hi to All

Does anyone of You run his/her 3.7 with an AR Ref110, I could buy one for a ridiculous low price from a dealer, just having it 'in' for a soundcheck! ;-)

Thanks!
Marc

Have heard a Ref 150 on 3.7s and was OK up till reasonable levels but started to stretch at the seams a bit when pushed to bigger scale... I'd have thought maybe more watts was required... Would definitely try to try before you buy.

I am close to what you are looking at. I have 3.6 Maggies mated to MC501s. The sound is magical and my wife loves them as well. She would have signed off on 20.1s, but the budget intervened (my call).

Anyway, the sound is magical and it killed my upgraditis about 8 years ago. Just one guys experience.