Напольная акустика — Magnepan Magnepan 30.7

The 30.7 is the flagship four-panel dipolar planar loudspeaker from Magnepan, built entirely to order in the brand's White Bear Lake, Minnesota facility as the most complete and capable planar magnetic speaker Magnepan has ever produced. As the company's first-ever four-way design, the 30.7 takes everything listeners have long appreciated about the characteristic Magnepan sound and pushes it to a different level, priced at $30,000 per pair in the US with a typical 3-5 week lead time.

Key specs that matter

Rather than the single-panel-per-channel approach found on most other current Magnepan models, the 30.7 uses two physically separate panels per channel - a wider bass/lower-midrange panel and a narrower midrange/tweeter panel, for four panels total across a stereo pair, each standing roughly 6.5 feet (a shade under 2 metres) tall. The bass/lower-midrange panel measures 79 x 29 x 2.062 inches (200.7 x 73.7 x 5.2cm), identical in size to Magnepan's own 20.7 model, while the tweeter/midrange panel shares the same height and depth but is narrower at 16 inches (36.8cm) wide. The driver complement per speaker comprises two quasi-ribbon bass drivers, one quasi-ribbon transitional line source lower-midrange/midbass coupler, one quasi-ribbon midrange driver using an ultra-low-mass, half-thickness Mylar diaphragm, and one true-ribbon high-frequency tweeter spanning 60.6 inches - covering the full range with genuine speed and low distortion across every frequency band, since each panel section is independently optimised for its own specific range. As with all Magnepan designs, the 30.7 is a completely boxless dipole, radiating sound from both front and rear surfaces, which supports a large, enveloping soundstage given adequate room space and careful toe-in. An adjustable midbass control helps manage the potential for excess midbass energy the large bass panels can generate in smaller rooms. Warranty coverage is 5 years to the original owner, with 1 year specifically on the ribbon tweeter (non-transferable).

Sound and use context

Expect a midrange that is fast, highly transparent and extremely resolving, yet somehow manages to sound effortless and natural at the same time - particularly on acoustic music.

Pairing

This speaker demands powerful, high-quality amplification with real current delivery to give of its best - Magnepan's dipole planar design presents a challenging low-impedance load that rewards a serious high-current amplifier, and correct geometric placement (with the tweeter/midrange panel positioned slightly farther from the listening seat than the bass panel, fine-tuned through trial and error) is essential to realising the speaker's full potential.

Alternatives

Magnepan's 30.7x sits above this model as the further-refined X-Series treatment of the same core design, with every crossover component rebuilt using better materials, tighter tolerances and silver soldering for improved imaging and soundstaging, worth the further investment if this 30.7's already extraordinary performance still leaves ambitions for Magnepan's absolute current best.