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The Magneplanar CCR was designed as a companion center channel speaker for the MG 20.1 (or MG 3.6). The same or similar technology of the 20.1 was used for the CCR with a true ribbon tweeter and quasi ribbon midrange. For many of our "Maggie" customers who are considering adding home theater to their music system, we hear that home theater is not their highest priority. If that describes you, is the CCR the best choice for you as a 3.6 or 20.1 owner? If you think it is not, keep in mind that the center channel speaker "makes or breaks" a home theater system. For those who want the best in home theater performance, the CCR is the logical choice.
However, we won't attempt to fool you. The CCR is no 20.1. If the state-of-the-art for sound reproduction could be had with a "small" speaker like the CCR, what is the need for the radiating area of a 3.6 or 20.1? Most all speaker companies must deal with the same issues for home theater. The space and height available for the center channel speaker is dictated by the video. For a speaker designer, it is the equivalent of "tying one arm behind their back." It is ironic that the most important speaker for home theater has major design constraints. Magnepan's solution to this dilemma was to employ all three speakers (front left, center and right) to work together to create the illusion of a large Maggie in the center. Most ribbon and electrostatic speaker companies employ a dynamic midbass coupler to cover the range between the subwoofer and the ribbon or electrostatic driver. In our opinion, that is an unacceptable compromise for the most important speaker in the home theater system. The Magnepan solution requires more effort for the setup, but the end result is worth it. The CCR has curved true ribbon of the same design as the 20.1 or 3.6. The curved quasi ribbon midrange is a similar design to the midrange of the 20.1 with 213 square inches of radiating area. Because home theater places greater demands on the center channel speaker, the CCR was designed for higher efficiency.
Quasi Ribbon Models
Ribbon speakers have long been respected as pure and elegant transducers. Closely related to the ribbon speaker, the Magneplanar Quasi Ribbon has the appearance and sound quality similar to a true ribbon at a fraction of the cost. Sometimes called Ribbon speakers by other manufacturers, the Quasi Ribbon speaker brings high-end speaker performance to today's mid-priced loudspeakers. Despite the delicate appearance, all Quasi Ribbon models have very high power handling capability and are nearly impervious to abuse.
A Tradition of Innovation and Advanced Technology
Have you ever noticed that instruments projected from small boxes sitting on the floor sound like they are coming out of boxes on the floor? This problem can be partially corrected by placing the box speakers on tall speaker stands. However, the sound still seems to be coming out of a box, because that's precisely what it is doing.The patented Magneplanar principle eliminates these problems by a fundamentally different approach to sound propagation. The Magneplanar projects sound from top to bottom, giving the sound height as well as stereo width and depth. In the concert hall, instruments project in all directions. Instead of projecting sound out of a box, Magneplanars project in all directions, which closely duplicates the original performance.
With your eyes closed the Magneplanar will allow you to "see" the original performance suspended in space. The full height, width and depth of the concert hall can be heard.
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Theoretically, loudspeakers should use massless drivers suspended in space with no box, magnet structure, or framework around the drivers. Most conventional box speakers are far from this ideal. The mass of the driver is high and the rear wave is contained within the box or magnet structure. While the frequency response can be smoothed out in a box speaker, the character of the sound is inevitably affected. The music sounds like it is coming out of a box-constricted and unnatural. The Magneplanar diaphragm comes closer to the ideal driver. The mass is low and the diaphragm is not contained. The sound is permitted to radiate freely into space. With the box removed, Magneplanars sound more like you are there.
Uniform Drive
The power from an ampilifer causes the conventional cone speaker to react as if it had received a sharp blow at the voice coil. Since the outer portions of the cone cannot respond instantly, the cone will flex. The resulting cone breakup gives music a "fuzzy", "blurred" quality. The Magneplanar eliminates cone breakup by driving the Magneplanar diaphragm over its entire area. The force from the amplifer is distributed over the entire diaphragm so that it all moves at the same time. Cone or diaphragm breakup is dramatically reduced and the integrity of the music is preserved.
Mass
The effect of mass on a loudspeaker can be illustrated by the comparison of a balloon and a beach ball. In the case of the balloon a nominal force such as a puff of wind will cause the balloon to accelerate quickly. When the force ceases, the balloon decelerates quickly. The same force will move the beach ball, however, the ball is slower to start and slower to stop. High mass is one of the main causes of sonic degraduation in conventional speakers. Magneplanars use ultra low mass components. For example, the Magneplanar ribbon element is so thin, that on edge, it is invisible to the naked eye. It is so light that when a piece of it is dropped from a height of 6 feet it takes and average of 5 seconds for it to reach the floor. Conventional speaker designs prohibit such low mass-the force from the driving amplifier would crush conventional speakers made of such light materials. Only by driving the transducer over its entire area can you use materials of such low mass.
