When I created this topic back in February, I mentioned that I was thinking about getting a pair of Magnapan LRS+ speakers – not to replace my Von Schweikert VR IV-jr’s, but to experiment with an alternative technology (I have owned only conventional box speakers).
I found a good deal on a used pair of LRS+, including MagnaRisers stands. I thought I’d post some initial observations; I am still playing with positioning and breaking in the speaker cables that I bought, so this is not the last word.
That special Magnapan midrange that I’ve read about is real. I’ve always thought that my VSA speakers do a good job reproducing timbre of voices and instruments, and they do. But through the LRS+, voices are so . . . human, for want of a better word. Mid range instruments such as guitars also sound more realistic and more delicate.
The LRS+ do a better job of clarifying some aspects of the music; for instance, it’s easier to hear that two or three singers are performing together instead of just one.
The bass is better than I thought it might be, within limits. I should mention that at the moment I have the LRS+ closer to the back wall than some would consider ideal, which provides some bass reinforcement, perhaps at the expense of clarity.
The thing that the Magnapans don’t do so well is reproduce large-scale orchestral music. This is not a surprise, and it’s not what I bought them for. But it is so.
I’ll see how things develop as I experiment more with positioning the speakers.