Instruction manual

76 THE ABSOLUTE SOUND n FEBRUARY 2006
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 beam-
ing 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 loud-
speakers, 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 sym-
phony 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 del-
icate, 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 exer-
cised. 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 con-
text, 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.
equipment report
Design and Setup
T
he tweeter is a true ribbon and is undoubtedly the manufacturer’s crowning
achievement. Five feet tall, it is of such low mass that it is nearly feather-
weight. While not without problems if improperly driven, it is a driver of unsur-
passed purity and detail. (I believe that HP has referred to it as possibly the best
tweeter in the world, and who am I to argue?)
This entire affair of ribbon, quasi-ribbon, and diplanar bass panels is driven
through two moderately complex crossovers. The first is internally mounted and
divides the signal between the midrange and tweeter at approximately 3kHz. The
second crossover is housed in two large metal boxes, one of which is typically
placed behind each speaker. These passive units allow the speakers to be run full-
range from a single amplifier, or bi-amplified using a stereo amplifier or two mono
amplifiers for each speaker. Because there is no gain adjustment on this crossover,
bi-amplification is best accomplished with identical amplifiers.
A few words are in order about amplification. Simply put: the more power, the bet-
ter. The speaker is very low in sensitivity, with a factory rating of 85dB (and that
seems generous). While use of the active crossover seems to lessen the power
requirements, I don’t believe you will experience the full capabilities of the speakers
without at least 300 watts per channel into a 4-ohm load. You will certainly hear music
with a less powerful amplifier, but it won’t come to life in the same way. My VTL 450s
are up to the task, as are other higher-power tube and solid-state amplifiers.
Like all high-end loudspeakers, what you get out of the Maggies largely depends
on what you put into them. They are so revealing that it would be a mistake not to
use outstanding components and cables upstream. I’ve heard many great combina-
tions of same, at various price points, that make the 20.1 sound magical, yet to me
tubes seem to produce the most magic, especially in the midrange. I have also
heard a number of solid-state components I could happily live with.
The speakers are large and require special care in placement because of their
dipole radiation pattern. In particular, to enjoy the most they have to offer, it is essen-
tial that they not be placed too close to the wall behind them. While some critics
grumble that the Maggies “don’t do depth,” they are sorely mistaken. My listening
room is approximately 25 feet long by 16 feet wide and the speakers reside about
6 feet out from one of the short walls. All of the walls are covered, from ceiling to
about three feet from the floor, with silk cloth over cotton batting. I generally get out-
standing depth of soundstage, or so I thought until I visited a friend whose listening
room is much larger and who has at least 15 feet between his 20.1s and the rear
wall. In that setting not only is the depth of stage staggering, but the speakers, as
large as they are, truly disappear into the acoustic of the recording.
DS
A few words are in order about
amplification. Simply put: the more
power, the better.
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