I am yet to hear the sanders speakers (there is only one dealer in Australia) but I do own one of his magtech amps. I can vouch for Roger's superb approach and excellent service. And if the amp is anything to go by, the speakers should be brilliant.
I'm still debating and considering when I might go for a visit. My vague long-ago memory of Roger is of a sharp and very energetic guy, lot of fun to talk with. - Don
p.s. Reading up I recall one thing I do not like about the new 3.7's: they no longer have the bi-amp option. Having that external crossover box has always been a bit of a pain, but made it very easy to bi-amp my IIIa's. Hopefully the 20.7 retains that feature...
I'm surprised, but that is very good to know, thanks!
I agree with you about the inability to bi-amp even if the new speakers are suppose to be better integrated with the newer XO. I honestly can't believe the new ones can sound better than mine - mine don't have much of a sonic signature at all! I'm bypassing the outboard passive XO completely and crossing over the subs at around 45Hz. This takes a big load off the bass panel and improves the clarity of it as well as providing the opportunity for bottom end impact with the sub. I like the sound of panel bass. At one time I had it crossed over much higher around 60 Hz.
Barry
And if that is OK with DOn , else we take it off-line. What Active crossover are you using in your system?
@Don
I have not heard the Sanders but have heard great things about them. I am however a Magnepan fan; I think upon audition that the 20.1 was without any doubt superior to the 3.6 in all apect of music. It was so much an ability to go lower but that of force when needed and delicacy when called for in the low register. Also there was an integration within the registers that was missing in the 3.6 when compared to the 20.1.
I have not, unfortunately heard the new Maggies... My bet would be on them, regardless (expectation bias full tilt here ) .. It does seem however that they still require stout amplifiers .. the 20.1 needed at least 300 watts/ch .. Reading the specs of the 20.7, it seems the same would be required even in your room ...
Hi all,
I am considering replacing my decades-old Magnepan MG-IIIa's. Here is my short list:
Magnepan 20.7 (~$13k - $14k)
Martin Logan Summit X (~$15k)
Sanders Model 10c ($13k)
Sound Labs Millennium-3PX ($13,270)
While I love my Maggies, to my ears and instruments big 'stats have always sounded a little cleaner, but in the primordial past I found their frequency response lacking a bit (and more artifacts around the low-end crossovers to their subs than Maggie in some cases), dynamics a bit more compressed, and a number of models had reliability problems. A number of them also presented rather nasty loads, especially up high. Magnepan has always seemed a tad more colored and some models in some positions exhibited discontinuities going from high to low as the drivers were changed (not as much as most reviews would lead one to believe, at least IME), but the combination of fairly easy drive, clean sound, and good dynamics has kept me with them since the mid-70's.
Now, given the list above, what say you? Any others I should consider?
- Don
Interesting... I have a pair of good subs that would mate with those pretty well...
My real choices in amps I can no longer afford, thus my current choice...
I am still trying to see if my IIIa's really have an issue or not; something else seems to be going on but I have not had the time and energy to pull out the console and troubleshoot.
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