 2003
Product of the Year: Magnepan MG3.6/R, MGMC1, MGCC2 Home-Theater Speaker System
There are lots of loudspeaker systems
out there and many of them are very, very good. A few of them are even great -- but only a
handful are special. Magnepan's MG3.6/R, MGMC1, and MGCC2 (now
MGCC3) are very special.
Visually striking and sonically distinguished, the
Magnepans combine large panel speakers (the 3.6/Rs) with surrounds that almost disappear
into the woodwork. And then there's the center-channel, which is a knockout.
Where to start? Why, with the MG3.6/Rs of course. That huge
panel speaker creates a visual proscenium effect for your monitor, whether you have a
conventional CRT, a flat-panel display, or a projection screen, but its sound is what
really adds theatricality to your home theater.
Even when you're watching classic films with mono sound,
the 3.6/Rs give you wraparound sound -- and lots of it, from deep, rich bass to the
sweetest, airiest top end you could ask for.
Then there's the innovative MGCC2 (now replaced by the
MGCC3), which matches the timbre of the MG3.6s perfectly, giving you a seamless
wall of sound that puts you in the big picture.
At the other end of the room, things look a lot less
dramatic. The MGMC1 folds up flat against the wall, but easily swivels out when in use,
where it disappears sonically as well as it blends into the interior. In a surround
speaker, sonic invisibility is what you want -- but while you don't want to hear the speaker
as such, you do want to hear all the effects it's supposed to be reproducing. And the
MGMC1s deliver on that promise perfectly.
In a world of me-too products, the Magnepans make the most
of their individuality. And that makes for some mighty fine listening. Maybe as good as it
gets -- at least this year.
...Wes Phillips
wes@onhometheater.com
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