Magnepan is a private high-end audio loudspeaker manufacturer in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, United States. Their loudspeaker technology was conceived and implemented by engineer Jim Winey in 1969.
Magnepan is a private high-end audio loudspeaker manufacturer in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, United States. Their loudspeaker technology was conceived and implemented by engineer Jim Winey in 1969.
Magnepan's speaker design, sold under the brand name Magneplanar (often referred to as "Maggies"), differs from that of conventional speakers in relying not on cones mounted in an enclosure, but on a planar driver system mounted in a panel. A Magneplanar's reproducing mechanism (magnetostatic loudspeaker) comprises thin conductive wires and or foil strips attached to a thin sheet of Mylar residing in a magnetic field created by a vertical array of permanent strip magnets. When an electric signal is applied to the conductors, the resultant electric current moving through the magnetic field applies a force to the wires or tape, moving the Mylar film sheet, which projects sound as a dipole. In principle, this approach relies on the same concept as a voice coil-driven cone speaker, but in a Magneplanar speaker the "voice coils" are attached (glued) directly to the radiating surface. Since the force is applied only to the voice coil in a cone speaker, there are distortion modes called cone breakup; in the magneplanar speakers the force is applied much more evenly over the radiating surface, resulting in fewer distortion modes.
Sound is projected from both the front and back of the radiating surface. The sound from the back of the speaker is reflected from the front wall of the listening area. This is said to effectively enhance the soundstage – the sense of space and realism – of the speaker. The Magneplanar design, using a passive magnet array, is not a unique loudspeaker implementation, although it was the first of its type. Eminent Technology, Analysis Audio, Apogee and others also employ passive magnet designs. Broadly, these are classed as planar-magnetic speakers. [1]
There are other speaker designs similar to the Magneplanar. MartinLogan and Quad Electroacoustics, among others, make electrostatic loudspeakers, which are another variation on the dipole model. Electrostatic speakers operate on a somewhat different principle. While the voice coils in the Magneplanar are conductive wires or foil strips mounted on a sheet of Mylar film, electrostatic speakers suspend a charged conductive film between two grids (stators), which move the film. One disadvantage of both designs is that a very large panel is required to produce deep bass. Magnepan has addressed this by the physical size of the speakers – a physically large radiating surface produces more bass. MartinLogan has addressed the bass problem by mounting a conventional cone bass driver in a separate section of the speaker chassis, generally resulting in a physically smaller speaker than the Magneplanar.
Magnepans have a life expectancy of about 20-30 years. Eventually the wires or aluminum strips start to delaminate from the mylar. Delamination will result in buzzing when playing low frequencies, and then get worse. This life expectancy shortens drastically when exposed to heat from a fireplace or heat duct, or UV radiation from being in direct sunlight. Magnepans can be shipped to the factory for repair. Repair can also be done at home.
Magnepan has used several different technologies in constructing their magnetostatic speakers. All Magnepan speakers are based on flexible ferrite magnet strips (like refrigerator magnets), 0.060" (1.5 mm) thick, typically cut to either 1/4" (6 mm) wide (mid-bass) or 1/8" (3 mm) wide (tweeters) and more or less the length of the speaker. The magnets are glued to a piece of custom perforated 20-gauge (1 mm) steel sheet. The steel supports the magnets and also completes the magnetic circuit on the back of the magnets, resulting in about a 25% stronger magnetic field in front of the magnets. Mylar film, 0.0005" (12.5 μm) thick, is suspended in front of the magnet structure about 1/16" (1.6 mm) away from the magnets. Aluminum wires or film are then glued to the mylar. Only aluminum was used: copper has two-thirds the resistance of aluminum, which would make the speakers either much larger or much more difficult to drive. Very few amplifiers can handle 2.7-ohm speakers. Older Magnepans used aluminum magnet wire, thin 31 gauge (0.0089", 0.23 mm) for the tweeters and thicker 22 gauge (0.0253", 0.64 mm) for the mid-bass. The wire is glued to the mylar with 3M 77 spray adhesive, then sealed with 3M Fastbond 30NF (Magnepan used to use Milloxane to seal, but no more).
Newer Magnepans use 30 μm (0.0012") thick 1/8" (3 mm) wide aluminum tape instead of wire. When the aluminum tape is used instead of wires, Magnepan calls the speakers "Quasi-Ribbons". [2] Using the aluminum tape spreads out the driving force on the mylar speaker diaphragm, resulting in noticeably lower distortion.
Magnepan ribbons are constructed with a strip of aluminum roughly 5 μm (0.0002") thick, 1/4" (6 mm) wide, 60" (1.5 m) long. The aluminum is corrugated – the pleats help keep the ribbon from flexing between the magnets. Before corrugating the ribbon it's more like 80" (2 m) long. The aluminum is suspended between two ferrite magnets, about 3⁄8 in × 1⁄2 in (9.5 mm × 12.7 mm) in cross-section. The magnets are attached to a 1/8" (3 mm) thick piece of formed and perforated steel, which both holds the magnets in place and also completes the magnetic circuit, resulting in about a 40% stronger magnetic field in the magnet gap. [3] The 20.7 and 30.7 speakers are push-pull designs. They have magnets front and back, thus making for a more linear magnetic field. All other models have magnets only at the back of the diaphram.
The most frequently cited disadvantages of Magnepan's overall design are relatively low efficiency and, given the absence of an enclosure, difficulty in reproducing very low bass frequencies. Because of the low resistance (4 ohms) and low sensitivity (86 dB), it requires a surprising amount of current to drive the Magnepans to moderately loud listening levels. Many inexpensive receivers simply do not have the required current capacity, so they go into various distortion modes, including crossover distortion, current / SOA clipping and slew limiting, with the result that the Magnepans may not sound very good. If the amplifier starts clipping, it could destroy the ribbon or treble wiring. Driving the Magnepans with a 100-watt or better high-current amplifier will result in much better sound. Generally, the amplifier should put out double the power into 4 ohms that it does into 8 ohms; if the specification is for less than double, then the power supply and/or output stage of the amplifier will most likely not be sufficient to obtain best sound from the Magnepans. Many suitable modern and vintage amplifiers can do this, but it depends on their design.
Originally Magnepan sold the MG and the Tympani series. The Tympani series has been discontinued for several decades and is replaced by the 20.7 and 30.7 speakers. The MG series has been produced continuously, but the "MG" has been dropped from the name; thus the MG-I is now the 1.7; the MG-II is now the (discontinued) 2.7, and the MG-III is now the 3.7. Magnepan also produced a small, relatively inexpensive speaker, the SMG, which became the MMG and is now called the LRS. The Tympanis and MG speakers were all made from wire-on-mylar; the speakers with no "MG" in the name are all made from aluminum foil on mylar ("Quasi-Ribbon"). The 2.6, 2.7i, MG-III, 3.7, Tympani IV, 20.7 and 30.7 all include Magnepan's ribbon driver and thus produce sound up to 40 kHz. The other speakers do not include a true ribbon and therefore produce sound only up to about 18–25 kHz.
All Magnepans are 4-ohm speakers, with sensitivity of 86 dB at 500 Hz, 2.83 V.
| Model | Technology | Freq. range | Size (inches) | Production years | Price 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magneplanar LRS [4] | 2-Way / Quasi-Ribbon | 50 Hz – 20 kHz | 14.5 × 48 × 1.25 | 2019–present | $750 |
| Magneplanar LRS+ [5] [6] | 2-Way / Quasi-Ribbon | 50 Hz – 20 kHz | 14.5 × 48 × 1.25 | 2022–present | $1000 |
| Magneplanar .7i [7] | 2-Way / Quasi-Ribbon | 45 Hz – 20 kHz | 15 × 54 × 1.25 | 2010–present | $1800 |
| Magneplanar 1.7i [8] | 3-Way / Quasi-Ribbon | 40 Hz – 24 kHz | 19 × 65 × 2 | 2010–present | $2800 |
| Magneplanar 2.6r | 3-Way / Ribbon Tweeter + Quasi-Ribbon | 40 Hz – 40 kHz | 22 × 71 × 2 | 1994-1999 | $1200 used |
| Magneplanar 2.7 | 3-Way / Quasi-Ribbon | 40 Hz – 24 kHz | 22 × 71 × 2 | 2000–2013 | $1200 used |
| Magneplanar 2.7i | 3-Way / Ribbon Tweeter + Quasi-Ribbon | 40 Hz – 30 kHz | 22 × 71 × 2 | 2024–present | $6000 |
| Magneplanar 3.7i [9] | 3-Way / Ribbon Tweeter + Quasi-Ribbon | 35 Hz – 40 kHz | 24 × 71 × 1.6 | 2013–present | $8000 |
| Magneplanar 20.7 [10] | 3-Way / Ribbon Tweeter + Quasi-Ribbon Push-pull magnet design | 25 Hz – 40 kHz | 29 × 79 × 2 | 2011–present | $18,000 |
| Magneplanar 30.7 [11] | 4-Way / Ribbon Tweeter + Quasi-Ribbon Push-pull magnet design | 20 Hz – 40 kHz | 29 × 79 × 2 + 16 × 79 × 2 | 2017–present | $38,000 |
| Magneplanar SMG / MMG | 2-Way / Planar Magnetic | 50 Hz – 18 kHz | 14.5 × 48 × 1.6 | 1990–2018 | $300 used |
| Magneplanar MG-I | 2-Way / Planar Magnetic | 50 Hz – 18 kHz | 22 × 60 × 1.6 | 1972–1999 | $300 used |
| Magneplanar MG-II | 2-Way / Planar Magnetic | 40 Hz – 18 kHz | 22 × 71 × 1.6 | 1980–1999 | $400 used |
| Magneplanar MG-III | 3-Way / Ribbon Tweeter + Planar Magnetic | 37 Hz – 40 kHz | 23 × 72 × 2 | 1983–2000 | $600 used |
| Magneplanar Tympani I | 3-Way / Planar Magnetic | 40 Hz – 20 kHz | 48 × 72 × 1 | 1973–1978 | $2000 used |
| Magneplanar Tympani III | 3-Way / Planar Magnetic | 35 Hz – 25 kHz | 64 × 72 × 1 | 1976–1980 | $2000 used |
| Magneplanar Tympani IV | 3-Way / Ribbon Tweeter + Planar Magnetic | 30 Hz – 40 kHz | 48 × 72 × 1 | 1980–1999 | $2500 used |
A loudspeaker is an electroacoustic transducer that converts an electrical audio signal into a corresponding sound. A speaker system, also often simply referred to as a speaker or loudspeaker, comprises one or more such speaker drivers, an enclosure, and electrical connections possibly including a crossover network. The speaker driver can be viewed as a linear motor attached to a diaphragm which couples that motor's movement to motion of air, that is, sound. An audio signal, typically from a microphone, recording, or radio broadcast, is amplified electronically to a power level capable of driving that motor in order to reproduce the sound corresponding to the original unamplified electronic signal. This is thus the opposite function to the microphone; indeed the dynamic speaker driver, by far the most common type, is a linear motor in the same basic configuration as the dynamic microphone which uses such a motor in reverse, as a generator.
A tweeter or treble speaker is a special type of loudspeaker that is designed to produce high audio frequencies, typically deliver high frequencies up to 100 kHz. The name is derived from the high pitched sounds made by some birds (tweets), especially in contrast to the low woofs made by many dogs, after which low-frequency drivers are named (woofers).
A woofer or bass speaker is a technical term for a loudspeaker driver designed to produce low frequency sounds, typically from 20 Hz up to a few hundred Hz. The name is from the onomatopoeic English word for a dog's deep bark, "woof". The most common design for a woofer is the electrodynamic driver, which typically uses a stiff paper cone, driven by a voice coil surrounded by a magnetic field.
Headphones are a pair of small loudspeaker drivers worn on or around the head over a user's ears. They are electroacoustic transducers, which convert an electrical signal to a corresponding sound. Headphones let a single user listen to an audio source privately, in contrast to a loudspeaker, which emits sound into the open air for anyone nearby to hear. Headphones are also known as earphones or, colloquially, cans. Circumaural and supra-aural headphones use a band over the top of the head to hold the drivers in place. Another type, known as earbuds or earpieces, consists of individual units that plug into the user's ear canal. A third type are bone conduction headphones, which typically wrap around the back of the head and rest in front of the ear canal, leaving the ear canal open. In the context of telecommunication, a headset is a combination of a headphone and microphone.
In an audio system, the damping factor is defined as the ratio of the rated impedance of the loudspeaker to the source impedance of the power amplifier. It was originally proposed in 1941. Only the magnitude of the loudspeaker impedance is used, and the power amplifier output impedance is assumed to be totally resistive.
In the field of acoustics, a diaphragm is a transducer intended to inter-convert mechanical vibrations to sounds, or vice versa. It is commonly constructed of a thin membrane or sheet of various materials, suspended at its edges. The varying air pressure of sound waves imparts mechanical vibrations to the diaphragm which can then be converted to some other type of signal; examples of this type of diaphragm are found in microphones and the human eardrum. Conversely a diaphragm vibrated by a source of energy beats against the air, creating sound waves. Examples of this type of diaphragm are loudspeaker cones and earphone diaphragms and are found in air horns.
A voice coil is the coil of wire attached to the apex of a loudspeaker cone. It provides the motive force to the cone by the reaction of a magnetic field to the current passing through it.
Thiele/Small parameters are a set of electromechanical parameters that define the specified low frequency performance of a loudspeaker driver. These parameters are published in specification sheets by driver manufacturers so that designers have a guide in selecting off-the-shelf drivers for loudspeaker designs. Using these parameters, a loudspeaker designer may simulate the position, velocity and acceleration of the diaphragm, the input impedance and the sound output of a system comprising a loudspeaker and enclosure. Many of the parameters are strictly defined only at the resonant frequency, but the approach is generally applicable in the frequency range where the diaphragm motion is largely pistonic, i.e., when the entire cone moves in and out as a unit without cone breakup.
The LEAK Sandwich was an innovative loudspeaker design introduced by the English hi-fi company H. J. Leak & Co. in 1961. Harold Leak engaged Don Barlow, who had devised a way of making the cone of the loudspeaker from expanded polystyrene foam sandwiched between two sheets of aluminium foil. This made it both very light and extremely stiff, and correspondingly accurate in sound.
A full-range loudspeaker drive unit is defined as a driver which reproduces as much of the audible frequency range as possible, within the limitations imposed by the physical constraints of a specific design. The frequency range of these drivers is maximized through the use of a whizzer cone and other means. Most single driver systems, such as those in radios, or small computer speaker designs, cannot reproduce all of the audible frequencies or the entire audible audio range.
Infinity Systems is an American manufacturer of loudspeakers founded in Los Angeles in 1968 and headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. Since 1983, Infinity has been part of Harman International Industries, which became a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics in 2017.
The chief electrical characteristic of a dynamic loudspeaker's driver is its electrical impedance as a function of frequency. It can be visualized by plotting it as a graph, called the impedance curve.
A guitar speaker is a loudspeaker – specifically the driver (transducer) part – designed for use in a combination guitar amplifier of an electric guitar, or for use in a guitar speaker cabinet. Typically these drivers produce only the frequency range relevant to electric guitars, which is similar to a regular woofer type driver, which is approximately 75 Hz — 5 kHz, or for electric bass speakers, down to 41 Hz for regular four-string basses or down to about 30 Hz for five-string instruments.
The moving iron speaker was the earliest type of electric loudspeaker. They are still used today in some miniature speakers where small size and low cost are more important than sound quality. A moving iron speaker consists of a ferrous-metal diaphragm or reed, a permanent magnet and a coil of insulated wire. The coil is wound around the permanent magnet to form a solenoid. When an audio signal is applied to the coil, the strength of the magnetic field varies, and the springy diaphragm or reed moves in response to the varying force on it. The moving iron loudspeaker Bell telephone receiver was of this form. Large units had a paper cone attached to a ferrous metal reed.
An electrodynamic speaker driver, often called simply a speaker driver when the type is implicit, is an individual transducer that converts an electrical audio signal to sound waves. While the term is sometimes used interchangeably with the term speaker (loudspeaker), it is usually applied to specialized transducers which reproduce only a portion of the audible frequency range. For high fidelity reproduction of sound, multiple loudspeakers are often mounted in the same enclosure, each reproducing a different part of the audible frequency range. In this case the individual speakers are referred to as drivers and the entire unit is called a loudspeaker. Drivers made for reproducing high audio frequencies are called tweeters, those for middle frequencies are called mid-range drivers, and those for low frequencies are called woofers, while those for very low bass range are subwoofers. Less common types of drivers are supertweeters and rotary woofers.
The Wharfedale MACH series of loudspeakers consists of the MACH 3, 5, 7, and 9. This is an informational page devoted to owners and users of these loudspeakers and those interested in history and construction of electronic sound reproduction.
A magnetostatic loudspeaker is a dipole loudspeaker that is similar to an electrostatic loudspeaker but uses high currents instead of using high voltages. Permanent magnets provide a static magnetic field and wires or strips carrying audio frequency currents are bonded to a thin diaphragm. The current flowing in the conductors interacts with the magnetic field and creates sound in much the same way as in a conventional dynamic driver. Because of its dipole structure, this kind of speaker creates sound mostly to its front and back.
The NAD 3020 is a stereo integrated amplifier by NAD Electronics, considered to be one of the most important components in the history of high fidelity audio. Launched in 1978, this highly affordable product delivered a good quality sound, which acquired a reputation as an audiophile amplifier of exceptional value. By 1998, the NAD 3020 had become the most well known and best-selling audio amplifier in history.
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