Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

The one with the blue power light puts out 1000 watts RMS into 4 Ohms! The one with the green light only puts out a measly 450 watts RMS into 4 Ohms. Mine has an amber power light. This is actually a feature for identifying the different models.

Jeffrey, are those Maggie speakers in the background? And which model would they be? Do they have the long line source ribbon tweeter? They are on my "short list" of audiophile speakers I would actually pay hard earned money for.

Yes, they are MG-Ic Magneplanars. I got them in '89 for $660.00 in Canoga Park, Ca. These do not have the ribbon tweeter, but I don't think they need them. I did modify the crossover because the bass panel was 4 dB higher than the tweeter panel. This was easy to do as this model has jumpers at the crossover points using bent U shaped rods that go into binding posts on a panel on the rear of the speakers. The idea was that there was an external crossover available, I can't recall why at the moment. Also because of this I can bi-amp the speakers easily. With Maggies you don't need surround sound! They have a wonderfully spacious sound that can extend WAY beyond the sides of the speakers depending on the source material.

When people were buying those Bose 901 monstrosities in the 70's and 80's, I wonder if many of them knew what a piece of **** they were compared to a set of good Maggies. I remember listening to a Bose 901 demo by a factory rep that went around to the military bases in the late 70's, because they were then sold through the base exchanges. I went back to my room afterwards and listened to my cheap 10" 3-way Fisher speakers and decided I didn't need the Bose 901 speakers. They made my door rattle on the intro to Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, and they had about as much detail as the Bose 901 speakers, for about 1/4 the cost. American "high end" audio was just then making a comeback after being slaughtered in the late 60's and early 70's by trying to compete with Japanese consumer trash. I still have almost every piece of American audio gear I ever bought, and very little Japanese gear. Had a pair of French JMLab mini-towers, and they were awesome little speakers. My brother got 'em and refuses to let go. They're ideal for acoustic jazz, which he likes.

Have you ever tried playing bass through the Maggies? My Vandersteens do a pretty good job of it. They're flat to 30 Hz, so bass guitar is no problem at sane levels. Just run the RBI through the amps, and it sounds just fine, like a mini-PA system.

Maggies don't have a lot of bottom below around 45Hz. At least the smaller ones don't. Perhaps the Tympanies do, since those have three panels. I have not tried mine with my basses, I suppose I could run my Furman PQ3 into my Aragon 2004 and check it out sometime.

An Aragon should make a really decent bass amp, just like my B&K amp does. What struck me about the Maggies vs. Vandersteens was that Maggies seemed designed from the top end down, and Vandersteens from the bottom end on up. Richard Vandersteen maintains that bass is the basis of western music, and Beethoven said the same thing. So Phil the bass freak went with the Vandersteens by a small margin. The Maggies do look nicer, however, and on vocal and acoustic instruments I would give them the nod over the Vandies. Vandersteens look darn near industrial, inside and out.

If Richard Vandersteen ever builds bass cabs, I'm gonna check them out. His subwoofers and the Model 5 speaker are awesome in the bass, the best I ever heard.

Except for the bottom octave, my Maggies have it all, at least to me, as I know that speakers are as personal as girlfriends/wives. They are magical in the midrange and have a nice sweet, extended high end that doesn't get edgy at all. The bottom end that they do have is smooth without peakiness, with the exception of some room modes in my listening room. I have listened to these in other rooms and I know it is the room, not the speakers.

I have heard the same differences in the bass in my Model 2ci Vandersteens after I moved. The Vandersteens never irritate; you can listen to them all day. They do exceptionally well on the LIAR test (listening in another room), as they have the same spectral response at 30 degrees off axis as they do on axis and give an even energy response into the room across a broad spectrum, which most large panel electrostatic speakers don't do.

I just picked up a '78 Peavey T-40. It's a great sounding bass actually. Very versatile and HEAVY!!! And picked it up cheap. I wanted another RIC but, just forked out a lot for my C64S which I'm keeping flats on. This one will have rounds. Next will be a 4004cii5 someday.

My non Rickenbacker basses are few, but I have The 62 Reissue Hofner bass and the Cavern Hofner bass. I also have a Fender American Standard Jazz bass, (Nobody does that 3 tone sunburst like Fender)and I have a WAL 5 String bass (McCartney model).