Magnepans vs. Electrostatics. What is the better technology? What do you prefer?

rugyboogie

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May 30, 2010
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Thanks Don
Being off grid does present some challenges along with rewards.
PV and Micro Hydro has gone down in price since we started our build.
Battery technology has gotten better and price coming down too.
Initial investment his what it is but I'm in charge.........hehe.
Have a few amps at home DarTZeel, Classe DR3, BAT VK5200, Wyetech Topaz.
But I think I will need more juice. So will audition some panels and will go from there.
Listened to the Lamm 1.2 but they were paired with Wilson Benesch.
Would try before I buy in any case.
My room on the Island is 16'x24'x10'.
Looking forward to the journey.
 

allvinyl

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Apr 10, 2013
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Wow, this has been a very interesting read.
Thanks to all that have posted here.
Owned MG3 and after that it was Acoustat III.
Had the III for 8 years and went to Totem 1 then to Watt Puppies, now Maxx II.
Now looking for a new speaker for my retirement home that we are building off grid.
Leaning towards panels,so many options but worry about the big wattage required to drive the speakers.
Lot's of decisions.
I just got back earlier this week from a trip out to the NY Long Island area where I went to audition the GT Audio Works GTA3R speakers: Full range planar driver 72"x10", Ribbon tweeter 72"x1/2", 4 ohms, 92 db, 40hz - 30khz, optional active sub woofer 60hz - 15hz. At 92 db efficient you wouldn't need a lot of power to drive this planar/ribbon. I listened to the A3R with the open baffle SI-200 servo subwoofer system. Their collective signature is seamless integration of the panels and subwoofers, very transparent, life-like dynamics and impact, and faithfulness to source material. I ran Acoustats from 1979 to 2009 when I transitioned to a dynamic driver speaker system. As I listened to the GTA3R, I realized the limitations of my current speakers and how much I have missed the qualities brought forth by this planar/ribbon servo subwoofer system. For me, it was a revelation.

John
 

bonzo75

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I just got back earlier this week from a trip out to the NY Long Island area where I went to audition the GT Audio Works GTA3R speakers: Full range planar driver 72"x10", Ribbon tweeter 72"x1/2", 4 ohms, 92 db, 40hz - 30khz, optional active sub woofer 60hz - 15hz. At 92 db efficient you wouldn't need a lot of power to drive this planar/ribbon. I listened to the A3R with the open baffle SI-200 servo subwoofer system. Their collective signature is seamless integration of the panels and subwoofers, very transparent, life-like dynamics and impact, and faithfulness to source material. I ran Acoustats from 1979 to 2009 when I transitioned to a dynamic driver speaker system. As I listened to the GTA3R, I realized the limitations of my current speakers and how much I have missed the qualities brought forth by this planar/ribbon servo subwoofer system. For me, it was a revelation.

John

Hi John, good to see you back. Thanks for the update. Will visit soon next time I am in NY. What amps were you using, and do you still have your Berning?
 

allvinyl

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Hi John, good to see you back. Thanks for the update. Will visit soon next time I am in NY. What amps were you using, and do you still have your Berning?
Hi bonzo! Thanks for the welcome back. (Really like the current avatar.)

Yes, I remember you listened to and liked the GTA speakers. It was the first time I had a chance to hear them and did so at their dealer's home. The GTAs were running on the Pass XA60.8 and Coincident Statement linestage. Source was the recent Esoteric P-05X SACD transport. The GTAs were paired with the SI-200 or SI-600 open baffle subwoofer system. Really fast, great integration, extension and impact. Steve and Greg were breaking in the SI-600 towers they will be placing in the Frederick room at the upcoming CAF. I spent more time with the SI-200 as that system better fits my listening room.
20181016_171904.jpg
No, I no longer have the Berning amp. It's been replaced by a Viola Symphony. I still run the Berning Pre One preamp but no longer use its internal phono in favor of the new Channel D Lino C. I ordered the Lino with the battery option and have also setup the Berning to run on battery. I still run the Berning on the wall for less critical listening, but run both on battery for critical vinyl listening.
 

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bonzo75

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Wow whose room is that right up at the top?

I found the Luxman m900u much better than the viola symphony in a direct compare, as did the dealer. And cheaper. You might want to take a look. Also if you liked the 230 so much, you would love the Berning quads at similar price to the viola symphony
 

allvinyl

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Wow whose room is that right up at the top?

I found the Luxman m900u much better than the viola symphony in a direct compare, as did the dealer. And cheaper. You might want to take a look. Also if you liked the 230 so much, you would love the Berning quads at similar price to the viola symphony

The room at the top is the GTA dealer's living room. The pictured GTAs and the 6 driver subwoofer towers are what they are taking to CAF. Chest thumping impact. I still can't get over how well integrated they are and how smooth the in-room response is. We used a real-time app to illustrate the room response and it was as flat as I have ever seen. I can PM you with contact info.

Thanks for the advice on the Luxman .vs. Symphony. I will definitely search out the Luxman. Yes, I still pine for the 230 but have moved on. I have spent a lot of time with the Quad Zs. Listened to them quite a bit at Rick Brown's before he moved from Woodbury MN to Calif. You don't see them much on the used market. I know Chris Thomas loved them, as well, but has also changed to something else. Not sure what, though, as I haven't communicated with Chris for a while now.

Thanks again...
 

bonzo75

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Is this Greg himself or another dealer? Which city is he in?
 

GT Audio Works

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Feb 12, 2015
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www.gtaudioworks.com
Hi Bonzo,
This is Greg of GT Audio Works, we met at Charlie Rollo's house in Queens NY a few years back.
That pic is of Steve Rabitz my dealer, the system is in his home, his dealership is Sound Insight of Massapequa NY.
https://www.facebook.com/sounderinsight/?hc_location=ufi
Sound Insight has a store in Huntington NY , but thats mostly for HT and smaller gear.
Steve is a partner with the store and keeps the big stuff at his home listening room.Demos are by appointment.
I have been refining my speakers since you heard my GTA2 model. This speaker with matching OB subs are quite an improvement over what you heard at Charlies. Next time your visiting please drop us a line.
My contact info is on my web site
https://www.gtaudioworks.com/
Cheers,
Greg
 
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planarman

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Apr 30, 2017
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Hi Bonzo,
This is Greg of GT Audio Works, we met at Charlie Rollo's house in Queens NY a few years back.
That pic is of Steve Rabitz my dealer, the system is in his home, his dealership is Sound Insight of Massapequa NY.
https://www.facebook.com/sounderinsight/?hc_location=ufi
Sound Insight has a store in Huntington NY , but thats mostly for HT and smaller gear.
Steve is a partner with the store and keeps the big stuff at his home listening room.Demos are by appointment.
I have been refining my speakers since you heard my GTA2 model. This speaker with matching OB subs are quite an improvement over what you heard at Charlies. Next time your visiting please drop us a line.
My contact info is on my web site
https://www.gtaudioworks.com/
Cheers,
Greg
Just wanted to thank John for the fly in demo.
We were actually using the new Esoteric K01xs
Sacd player/dac.Since Bonzo’s Audition the speakers have undergone a radical design change in that the membrane now contains a special proprietary material that completely eliminates any resonance. Additionally, the planar magnetic driver does not use a crossover and achieves virtual flat frequency response across the mid range and treble region. I personally demonstrated this frequency response in front of John utilizing audio tools software.
 

allvinyl

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Apr 10, 2013
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Just wanted to thank John for the fly in demo.
We were actually using the new Esoteric K01xs
Sacd player/dac.Since Bonzo’s Audition the speakers have undergone a radical design change in that the membrane now contains a special proprietary material that completely eliminates any resonance. Additionally, the planar magnetic driver does not use a crossover and achieves virtual flat frequency response across the mid range and treble region. I personally demonstrated this frequency response in front of John utilizing audio tools software.

Hey Steve!
Yes, apologies for misstating the Esoteric model. I purposely don't gush when writing about auditions, but I hope knowledgeable readers can see in between the lines in my previous comments. I do, though, want to re-emphasize my previous statement about the in room response. Phenomenal, period.

I also want to personally thank Steve and Greg. They were the best hosts and those two days of listening were so educational and FUN! I can't wait to have the same experience in my own listening room. ...And Steve, please say "Hi" to Bill and Chris...
 

planarman

Well-Known Member
Apr 30, 2017
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Hey Steve!
Yes, apologies for misstating the Esoteric model. I purposely don't gush when writing about auditions, but I hope knowledgeable readers can see in between the lines in my previous comments. I do, though, want to re-emphasize my previous statement about the in room response. Phenomenal, period.

I also want to personally thank Steve and Greg. They were the best hosts and those two days of listening were so educational and FUN! I can't wait to have the same experience in my own listening room. ...And Steve, please say "Hi" to Bill and Chris...
I truly appreciate your thoughtful and thorough review of the system. Based on my conversations with you- I know you are a true hard-core audiophile based on the numerous speakers you have owned and auditioned over the years - so your review is quite meaningful.
I will certainly thank Chris and Bill who are also owners of this loudspeaker system for visiting with us during your audition.
 

rugyboogie

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May 30, 2010
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Vancouver, BC
Hi Sam
Looks like i'll be heading to Nevada to check out some Apogee's next month. Nice distraction from work and check out some speakers.
Hope all is good with you and Sunny.
 

c1ferrari

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
May 15, 2010
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Hi Mikel,

We're good...thanks for asking :)
All well with you and the family?

If possible, I'd be interested in seeing pics of the project...you have my private e-mail, right?
 

Chops

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Joining the party late, but getting back to the original question at hand, I've owned Magnepan's as well as Martin Logan's. The Maggies were the MGLR-1's, the ML's are the SL3's. Both from the same era of around 1998. I've also heard many other Maggies and ML's in different systems. If I had to choose, I'd go with the Maggies. They have always seemed to have a more life-like, organic presentation, with more body and texture. Magnepan would definitely be my go-to speaker of choice as far as "panel" loudspeakers are concerned.

With that being said, the best ones I've ever had the pleasure of listening to were a pair of Quad ESL-63's. At the time, there was some kind of manufacture recall/fix that had to be done to the power supply section of some of them. This was one of those pairs that I had to repair. After making said repairs on location in the client's house, I set them back up in the system on their factory riser stands and we sat back and listened for a while. In his decent size room with moderate room treatments and first rate gear (I can't remember the brand of the amps, but they were monoblocks, fully enclosed tube amps with real gold plating on the entire chassis/enclosures) ahead of the ESL's, playing some large orchestral music, these speakers were amazing! Full rich sound, plenty of bass and dynamics, detailed, smooth, with a wide, tall and very deep sound stage. They put you right in the actual venue with the orchestra. I'll never forget that system.
 

christoph

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Listened to the Lamm 1.2 but they were paired with Wilson Benesch
My Lamm M 1.1 drive the 1 Ohm Scintillas with ease to horrendous volume levels while sounding very good. In fact the best sounding amps I tried on the Scinnies and I tried and owned a whole lot...
They will laugh at the Divas :D
But I would try tubes as well on the Divas ;)
 

16hz lover

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Aug 2, 2013
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Owned the Magneplanar Tympani IVa, and the Martin Logan ReQuest. The ML didn't like the room with the cathedral ceiling, so it really depends on how well each speaker integrates with the room.
 
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BruceD

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Yep!-- Really enjoyed my time with the Maggies--I had double set MG-1's driven with two A75's --they surely could give out some whack:p!

Thought it was the bees knees until I heard Jim Bongiorno's(RIP) triple set with 4 JBL Subs and 6 Ampzillas! :D

Ah good times

BruceD
 
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roberto

Well-Known Member
Sharp 1080 and thedudeabides,]
I was sneaking here, and I did read your concerns about this Costa Rican fellow, who loves the music! Thank you so much for your kind words to me!
Warm regards from Costa Rica,
Roberto.
 

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