New 20.7’s

[tdotson41]

Originally Posted by keef

Congratulations on a great system. Do you listen to classic rock at all with the 20.7?

I do and classic rock sounds equally as good as other genres. Just finish listening to Fleetwood Mac,ZZ Top and the Stones!

[45shooter]

So much music sounds delightful on mine. Steely Dan is playin now

[45shooter]

Missing is the SLAM.

But to add that is gonna cost.........

[tdotson41]

@45shooter have you looked at Vandersteen? Outside of Magnepan their line provides best performance for your buck IMO.

[Andresmith76]

Greetings - I have owned a pair of Magnepan 3.5R's for over 15 years now and am thinking about upgrading to 20.7's. However, in my area there is not a Magnepan vendor available for me to audition the 20.7's. I am asking others in this forum to enlighten me as to what my initial observations & main differences might be after hearing the 20.7's and comparing the 2 models? In particular, I am seeking more "air", openness & realism when listening to music. I enjoy hard/soft rock (AC/DC > Pink Floyd > Fleetwood Mac, etc.) and am using a pair of SVS SB16-Ultra sealed subwoofers, which integrate very nicely with the 3.5R's in my dedicated listening room. Any thoughts, opinions or observations would be appreciated!
Thanks, Andre'

[Masterlu]

Andresmith76… Welcome to AA!

[Andresmith76]

Thank you, Ivan!

[audio bill]

I've never owned the 20.7, but my experience comparing the 3.5R to 3.7i might be of interest. I found the 3.7i to be a significant step forward from the 3.5R, with notable improvements in driver integration, smoother frequency response, better midrange presence and bass response. I can only imagine how much better the 20.7 would be. Of course as a Magnepan owner you probably realize how much they thrive on quality power, so assuming you have a well matched power amp I can't imagine you wouldn't be thrilled with the upgrade.

[Andresmith76]

I appreciate your comment audio bill! I visited a friend who purchased a pair of LRS+'s earlier this year and to me the openness and air qualities sounded better than my 3.5R's. I'm sure the 20.7's are light-years better than what I'm use to but, just as I would never buy a car without driving it first, I really don't want to spend the kind of money Magnepan wants for the 20.7's without first hearing what I'd be getting.

I'm driving the 3.5's with a QSC GX-5 amplifier - spec'ed at 700 w/per channel at 4 ohms - and there isn't a hint of distortion. The original internal cooling fan on the amp was a bit noisy, so I replaced it with one much quieter. Also, I did send my 3.5's back to Magnepan for refurbishment about 3-4 years ago. The hardest part of doing so was being without them for about 6-7 weeks - pure aural torture!

[tdotson41]

@Andresmith76 I can tell you without a doubt the 20.7 are on a different level than the 3.7i. I truly believe the 20.7 represents the best value in highend audio. Properly setup they give you the speed, realism, air and all the 3D dimensionality that you want. Bass is again real, no bloat or over exaggerated like you get from cone speakers. I bought mine sound unheard as my dealer didn’t have them either and could not be happier.