Chris Martens from 2013 but still well worth reading.
Here in the United States (my home country) the White Bear Lake, Minnesota-based loudspeaker manufacturer Magnepan enjoys a singular distinction; many members of the high-end audio press consider all three of the firm’s top models—comprising the 20.7, 3.7, and 1.7—as “best buys.” But here’s the interesting part: Magnepan’s speakers not only enjoy a reputation for providing terrific value for money, but for offering mind-bending levels of performance that place them either at or certainly very near the top of their respective price classes. So good are these speakers, in fact, that it is not at all uncommon (again, in the US) to find audio enthusiasts spending several times what the speakers cost in order to find electronics and source components able to do them justice.
The only catch, relative to European norms in such matters, is that Magnepan loudspeakers are relatively low in sensitivity, offer low impedance loads, and therefore tend to work best with comparatively high-output amplifiers (think 100 Wpc and up). But, if you can cross that “watts-per-channel” hurdle, great sonic rewards await.
For those of you who have not yet had the pleasure of an introduction to the Magnepan range, let me sketch a few key points that will help you better understand the company’s products. All Magnepan .....
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