[salmtpa]

Hi guys, it’s been a while since I was on here. It’s been a very busy year or so but wanted to let you know my impressions of the new Magnepan 3.7s. I now have about 300 hours or so on them so they’re pretty much run in. I went from 3.6s to the 3.7s so I was familiar with what Maggies do right. Most of what they have historically done “wrong” is by omission: lack of real dynamics, not being able to play loudly, somewhat vague imaging, need for a pretty powerful amp. That being said, the 3.6 is a very good speaker when taken on its own, especially when driven by Mac or Krell amplification.

The 3.7 gives you much more of what Maggie does right, primarily in an incredibly coherent top to bottom presentation and even deeper and wider soundstage imaging. Both macro and micro dynamics are vastly improved, I was kind of expecting that given the early reviews. What totally shocked me though was the level of impact in dynamics, there is real “thwack” there now. And overall they seem to play louder than the 3.6 does, though Magnepan didn’t change the sensitivity spec. Resolution and transparency are also considerably improved. One review I read said it seemed like a sheet or veil had been removed from in front of the speakers. I have to agree, there is more of a sense of immediacy and clarity of articulation. Probably the most surprising characteristic of all though is the 3.7s imaging. Where before images were a bit diffuse, they are now almost mini-monitor precise. Almost, I’m certainly exaggerating with the mini-monitor reference but the difference is striking. Especially the center image. That is a bit startling on it’s own since the 3.6 was actually very good at center image projection. I don’t know how much this has to do with Magnepan’s new crossover and mid and woofer panel designs but I have felt no need to even try experimenting with the tweeters on the outside edge. Those of you familiar with Maggies will understand they have historically recommended the tweeters be on the outside, where for the 3.7 they recommend inside placement. BTW, toe-in with the 3.7 needs to be more pronounced than with the 3.6.

So to sum up, I’m extremely happy with the 3.7s, though it did take a number of months for them to arrive after ordering them.

(PS - If anyone is interested in buying a pair of well cared for 3.6s let me know. I’ll be posting them in the for sale section soon.)