Precision and Clarity vs Warmth and Depth

[1KW]

Which is your preference for home theater ? I have 2 rooms set up with very different sounding speakers. For music the SF Cremona's offer up warmth and depth sacrificing some precision and clarity compared with my Magnepan MGIII's. What I have found is that for home theater I prefer the magnepans and for 2 channel music the SF speakers. The nearly 6 foot ribbon tweeter and low mass quick responce of the magnepans mylar driver will give one goose bumps from the sound at times while watching a movie, concert or tv program that will fill a fairly large room . On the other hand listening to music in 2 channel mode I find that I prefer more warmth .

[PHC1]

I think you may be confusing overall leanness of tone and possibly brightness for precision and accuracy. Your "resurrected" to life with glue MGIII's may work but I wouldn't bet on the fact they are somehow superior to your Sonus Faber Cremona's.

Now, since 2 channel listening typically causes us to focus on the sound qualities, especially when the lights are dimmed and there are less distractions, I find the HT environment to be more distracting since our brain focuses on the video and keeps our eyes busy. The ears become less sensitive to the qualities of sound. That is the reason why when watching TV with its built in speakers, one hardly pays attention to the sound. Close your eyes and pay attention to those little speakers instead of video and you'll right away notice the poor fidelity.

Therefore, HT has a greater latitude for tolerance and one can get away with a much wider range of sound qualities. I once had Monitor Audio speakers in a 5.1 setup and while watching movies I was very happy with the setup. Listening to 2 channel through them was a different story.

If you are happy with the MGIII's in the HT, why bother changing?

[1KW]

Serge,

You have a good point about the brain being distracted from listening while watching a movie, maybe that has something to do with my impression. It is true I applied new adhesive to the mylar film where is was needed to repair the magnepans but I have to say they do sound as good as new to me now. Maybe it is brightness, all I know is i hear subtle details in these planar speakers . Here is some information from the website as to how they work: Magnepan > Speakers > Magneplanar Technology
Due to the shear size (which limits where you can put them) of these speakers being 6 feet tall and nearly 2 feet wide they do move alot of air. I would not say these are superior to the SF cremona's but rather very different. What is impressive is how good they do sound which in my mind makes them a bargain. Turning off the lights in the home theater you don't have to look at them , as they are not as pretty as the SF speakers.

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by 1KW

Serge,

You have a good point about the brain being distracted from listening while watching a movie, maybe that has something to do with my impression. It is true I applied new adhesive to the mylar film where is was needed to repair the magnepans but I have to say they do sound as good as new to me now. Maybe it is brightness, all I know is i hear subtle details in these planar speakers . Here is some information from the website as to how they work: Magnepan > Speakers > Magneplanar Technology
Due to the shear size (which limits where you can put them) of these speakers being 6 feet tall and nearly 2 feet wide they do move alot of air. I would not say these are superior to the SF cremona's but rather very different. What is impressive is how good they do sound which in my mind makes them a bargain. Turning off the lights in the home theater you don't have to look at them , as they are not as pretty as the SF speakers.

David, I am very familiar with Magnepan speakers having heard every one of them at one point or another. I've also owned and lived with electrostatic speakers from Martin Logan for a long time.

The magneplanar and some electrostatic speakers sound very coherent due to the fact that they are "cut from the same cloth", something that box speakers with multiple drivers have to work at very hard to achieve through driver integration, crossovers, cabinet resonance optimization, phase and time correction and many fail because of those same parameters listed above. That is often what you pay big bucks for with box speakers.

There is however a tendency to sound a bit lean and bright, with planar and electrostatic speakers especially when partnering gear is not very refined in sonic signature. That is their nature and inherent to their sonic signature. That's not to say one can't find synergy with partnering gear. I did after some gear swapping around. Are they more accurate? Perhaps they can be perceived that way, especially when compared to box speakers in their own price range since they tend to bring out much detail and "perceived" resolution.

Also being familiar with your Sonus Faber speakers and having owned 2 other Sonus Faber speakers myself, I once again will have to disagree that your MGIII's are somehow superior in any parameter even if you do think they sound great. "Different" is a much better term.

I am one who values richness of tone in the midrange without sounding colored and harmonic structure to be intact as those are the most important qualities that move me and make the system sound engaging and enjoyable. Other secondary qualities such as precise imaging, coherence, frequency extension, transparency and detail without sounding bleached, bass texture and quality, smooth upper end response, they all enhance the experience.

Our ears and brain are inherently most sensitive to midrange qualities, this is what we are born with for survival instinct and if the system can't get that right, nothing else much matters. Precisely why I favor Class A biased amps and well executed mosfet topologies as well as some tubed amps even though tube amps may be ultimately lacking in other qualities.

It is understandable why so many really dig the magneplanar and electrostatic speakers, if they find the right partnering gear for them to balance out the tonality, it can be a very rewarding experience since both types possess inherent qualities that make them very "right" sounding while often lacking the ultimate dynamic punch that conventional drivers can bring to the table. As such, the other camp often labels them as "one trick pony".