Magnepan MG 20.1 Loudspeaker

A fresh look at a perennial audiophile favorite.

You’re probably asking yourself, “What can this guy tell me about Magnepan speakers that I don’t already know?” After all, this magazine has reviewed various Maggie loudspeakers over the years—raves all— and the 20.1 is the basis of HP’s favorite surround-sound system. Moreover, the $12,000 20.1 was The Absolute Sound’s Product of the Year in 2003. So what can a guy like me add? Just this: Having lived with the MG 20 and now the 20.1 for a combined 13 years, I’m hoping I can provide some real-world insight to anyone looking for a state-of-the-art loudspeaker at a fair price.

Magnepan’s flagship, the 20.1 is tall, thin, and sexy (my longed for, but never attained, physical state)—the audio equivalent of the plasma video screen. The speaker consists of three large drivers mounted vertically on a board, with no enclosure save for a wooden frame. The ribbon tweeter occupies the space between one vertical end piece of the frame and a vertical dividing strip, while the midrange/woofer panel occupies the larger space between the dividing strip and the other vertical end piece of the frame. This box-free design eliminates resonance and the colorations introduced by typical loudspeaker enclosures.

The “diplanar” bass panel is the largest of the three drivers—some 786 squareinches in size. This low-mass Mylar diaphragm is infused with evenly spaced wires (which carry the music signals) and suspended between magnets (which provide the power). Unlike electrostatics, planar-magnetic designs do not require large transformers or a connection to an AC outlet to drive the panel. The 137 square-inch “quasi-ribbon” planar-magnetic midrange, although physically attached to one side of the bass panel, is of somewhat different construction and is driven separately from the bass driver. Unlike previous versions of the MG 20, the midrange panels of the 20.1 incorporate a true push-pull magnet structure. The improvement in midrange clarity and definition is the most salient difference between current and prior versions of the speaker.

The most addictive qualities of the 20.1 are its even top-to-bottom tonal balance and realistic portrayal of the soundfield in which the recording was made. Not only does the acoustic space sound lifelike, so do the sizes and place-ment of instruments on the stage. And unlike most speakers, the space and performers sit at a realistic height relative to your listening position—neither lower than stage height nor beaming down on you as if suspended from the rafters. While no home sound system can truly convince you that a life-sized orchestra is laid out before you, the 20.1s come closer than most, and in this regard compete with speakers at any price.

The Maggies are also full-range loudspeakers, slighting the upper frequencies not at all and the lowest frequencies only to a minor extent. The bass is full, quick, and tuneful. It rocks on rock ’n’ roll and moves large quantities of air when a symphony orchestra is playing full-tilt. And because the Maggies have no box, there is absolutely no sense of boxiness or cabinet resonance at the lowest frequencies. However, while the bass panels will play satisfyingly loud on almost all types of material, they can be overdriven by very dynamic low-frequency notes played at louder-than-life levels.

The midrange and high-frequency reproduction of the 20.1 is, in my view, state of the art. Whereas the midrange of the older 20 was slightly opaque and did not seamlessly blend with the ribbon tweeter, the new midrange driver of the 20.1 cures those problems. The midrange is transparent, open, and powerful. It seems to be impervious to overload or strain. It certainly isn’t lacking body, but because it is a planar design you will not want to use associated equipment on the thin side of neutral. This is probably why I (and many others) prefer tubes with these speakers.

The outstanding ribbon tweeter is delicate, crystal-clear, light, and powerful—all at the same time. But it does have certain operational limitations. While it will play to a very satisfying volume level, it too can be overdriven if some caution isn’t exercised. You can generally rock out to your heart’s content, but if you also try to rock your neighbors, you will often meet with blown fuses or, worse, blown tweeters. Fortunately, the tweeters are user-replaceable. To put this in context, the 20.1 will play louder, without breakup of any sort, than any full-range electrostat I have heard.

The only other issue with the tweeter is that, depending on the associated equipment, it may tend to some brightness or glare at higher volume levels. If you encounter this problem it is easily remedied by slightly padding down the tweeter with either the supplied resistors or those of your choice. Depending on your room acoustics, the tweeter should need anywhere from no padding to no more than 1.5dB attenuation. The trick is to pad the tweeter down just enough so it does not call attention to itself.