Home Planar Speaker Asylum

Welcome! Need support, you got it. Or share your ideas and experiences.

RE: Get back to the beginning: facts

John, in my own quest for informed answers to your situation I came across your queries on two other forums, Audiogon & Audio Circle. Nothing wrong with reaching out for more POV, but I suspect you may be struggling with sensory overload from too many wide ranging opinions.

Most of the advice you've been given here and elsewhere is well reasoned, but not all. For instance, it's too early for anyone without first hand knowledge of your system to be speculating that something is definitely wrong with your speakers simply because they may have been purchased second hand. There's no evidence to support that theory.

Where I think we've gotten off the track is that there's still too much missing info about your system for those trying to troubleshoot what you're hearing. Full knowledge of your gear and listening environment is crucial to understanding your system before sharing useful opinions in lieu of actually hearing your Maggies. It's like conducting a forensic examination without access to either a body or the crime scene.

Your room is 12' X 15', right? Is your floor wood or carpeted? Have you experimented with other borrowed amps with more wpc? Are you using any room treatments to soften the edginess of hard reflective surfaces? Do you use one or more subs? If so, with or without an active crossover? Top to bottom, what is your system set-up (components, interconnects & speaker cables)? Are your speakers positioned far enough from the back wall? Have you tried moving them further out? Any special wiring considerations (interconnects & speaker cables) and/or power treatments? Front end music sources (higher end source components)? Note: Apologies in advance for info you've already provided in various conversations here and on other boards.

We know what amplification you're currently using (240 wpc into 4 Ohms is a little shy of what 3.7i Maggies like, but it shouldn't make them sound grainy (especially if they didn't sound that way with the 1.7i system you had before), but to eliminate this as a possible factor, I'd suggest borrowing or auditioning other, meatier, amps in your system before drawing any conclusions about your speakers.

Note: I'm not being judgmental here, ...just trying to help figure out what has been going so wrong. The fact that you enjoyed them in your system with little or no complaint for two months before the sound deteriated is curious. Break-in should work the other way. Of course, if these were purchased second-hand or were dealer demos, then they should've already been broken in sound wise.

Sudden changes usually suggest something catastrophic occurred which you may not even be aware of beyond the sound signature deteriation. It could be anything from a power surge to a compromised component in the chain (amp, preamp, CD player, cartridge and/or stylis). The process of locating and resolving problems can be laborious, but often turn out to be a simpler issue to fix than originally perceived.

If you utilize an image sharing service, I'd recommend posting one or more photos of your listening room as currently set-up. The old saying about a picture being worth a thousand words has a good deal of merit in lieu of having an in home group listening session with like minded Maggie owners.

FTR, my 3.7i Maggies sound great going on nearly four years now. Yes, there's always something that can be tweaked which will either prove to be an improvement or detriment to the Maggie sound, but overall, with a good power source, front end (CD &/or LP) and well thought out room treatments & placement, contentment with the 3.7i is almost universal. In short, these speakers are sweet and darned near bulletproof.

Respectfully,
AuPh


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