Manger P2 Speaker Review (The Epitome Of Precision & Speed)

Most speaker manufacturers, both high-end and low-end, rely on the same piston-like driver type. Some may experiment with different driver materials, but they always stick to the same working principle of dynamic drivers. 

Only a few visionaries had enough courage to deviate from this standard and try to create something new and better. Among them, Josef Manger is one of the most prominent names. He was the founder of Manger Audio, and developer of the famous full-range bending wave driver named Manger Sound Transducer. This driver is the heart and soul of every Manger speaker. 

The current Manger Audio speaker line consists of 3 floorstanders (S1, P1, and P2), two 2-way bookshelf speakers/monitors (C1 and Z1), and one on-wall speaker (W1). Today, we are taking a closer look at Manger Audio’s flagship passive floorstanding speaker named P2. 

My Take 

About the Speaker

Manger Technology

As mentioned, the heart and soul of every Manger Audio speaker is the famous Manger Sound Transducer. It was the result of Josef Manger’s pursuit of the most natural sound reproduction, the one that correctly recreates the experience you would have during a live concert or when listening to an instrument in person. 

It is an intriguing design meant to eliminate the flaws of traditional transducers (dynamic drivers) with piston-like movements. Manger believed that the traditional transducer design had incorrigible flaws that caused energy storage during the transformation of energy from electrical into mechanical form, which further resulted in a bad transient response. 

The diaphragm of the Manger Sound Transducer is almost flat and looks like a plate. It consists of three layers – two thin outer foils and a center layer made of special plastic. This plastic was developed by Josef Manger and is produced in-house. The diaphragm is more rigid in the center, while the rigidity reduces toward the edges. The idea was to make a diaphragm that mimics the behavior of a basilar membrane.

Manger Audio’s trademark is their bending wave sound transducer

Higher frequencies are generated in the inner area of the diaphragm, while the lower frequencies travel toward the outer areas. To prevent sound reflections, a star-shaped damper was introduced. This damper is what makes the Manger Transducer so easily recognizable. 

The Manger transducer also has a special voice coil, which is another patent by Josef Manger. It consists of two voice coils “mechanically mounted in series, and then switched electrically in parallel”. This patent enabled the production of a long but super-light voice coil capable of +/- 3.5mm displacement. The voice coil is excited by 15 small (0.95mm wide) neodymium magnets.

Since the voice coil windings are arranged in opposite directions and are located on the membrane, the transducer has a minimal time delay and reacts extremely quickly to voice coil excitations. 

The transducer alone has a frequency response ranging from 80Hz to 40kHz, while the sensitivity is 91dB.

Manger Sound Transducer – Sideview (source – Manger Audio)

Daniela Manger joined the company in 1991, after getting a degree in electrical engineering. Daniela’s father and founder of Manger Audio withdrew from the company in 1994 and focused on theoretical studies, especially on the development of the new microphone and his work with recording studios and institutes. Daniela has been in charge of the company for almost 30 years. The current Manger speaker lineup is the result of her hard work.

The first speaker introduced by Manger Audio after Josef Manger passed away in 2016 was the P2, an upgraded version of the P1 floorstander with improved bass response.

Father and daughter in pursuit of the same acoustic ideal – Daniela Manger took over the business from her father and is now in charge of further development of Manger Audio.

Design and Build

Manger P2 features a clean and unobtrusive design with rounded edges. It’s not too flashy, but it’s very much likable and easy to fit in any environment. The speaker has a solid aluminum base connected to the bottom by three Allen bolts. This base adds to the stylish presentation. On the bottom of the base, you have four mounting points for spikes or softer cone feet.

You can get the speaker in almost any color you can think of. All RAL and NCS colors are available. You also get to choose between satin, matt, and ultra-high gloss finish. What’s great, the aluminum base and the MST gasket can have a different finish from the cabinet. 

The speaker cabinet is moderately large. It’s 114cm tall (44.8”), 27cm wide (10.6”), and 21.4cm deep (8.4”). Each cabinet weighs 32kg (70.6lbs). Daniela Manger emphasizes that the front baffle is 38mm/1.5” thick and the edges are not rounded just for style – they should also minimize diffraction. 

Overall, the manufacturing quality and the quality of all components are of the highest degree. The manufacturer paid attention to every single detail. After all, almost all components are made in-house in Manger’s factory in Germany. 

The build quality of Manger Audio P2 is impeccable

On the back, there are two sets of WBT binding posts (next-gen series), so you can bi-wire or bi-amp the speakers if you find it necessary or just want to experiment. 

High-quality WBT nextgen binding posts

Drivers and Crossover

P2 is a 2-way passive speaker system. 190mm wide Manger Sound Transducer (MST) is partnered with a special 200mm woofer. Two drivers are crossed at 340 Hz, intelligently avoiding the presence region.

The woofer features a sandwich design with a membrane made of carbon fiber/foam. The woofer was designed by A.T.E. Germany. It’s specially developed for Manger Audio to match the neutral performance of Manger transducer.

Two drivers are paired with two identical rear-firing passive radiators. Thanks to these ports, the P2’s bass floor is 30Hz. By the way, the only difference in design between the P1 and P2 is in the bass reflex ports – the P1 speakers have a sealed enclosure, resulting in a higher bass floor (40Hz).

Other Technical Specs

P2 has the advertised bass floor of 30Hz, while the treble response is extended to 40kHz. The speaker has an 8Ω impedance. With 89dB sensitivity, P2 is fairly easy to drive. The recommended amplification is 50-200W, so finding the right amp should not be an issue. 

The max sound pressure level is 112dB, which makes it very loud for its size. More importantly, the sound output stays perfectly clear, even at max volume. That’s the whole point of the Manger Sound Transducer. 

Pricing and Accessories

The price varies, depending on the finish and additional accessories. It ranges roughly between  $15650 and $17850 per pair. One of the official dealers in the US is DON BETTER AUDIO.

The most important accessory is the Manger Holoprofile, which is a patented sound guide designed to improve the stability of the sound image and give you more precise localization. A set of Manger Holoprofiles is sold at €450 (approx. $500 + taxes).

Manger Holoprofile

My Manger P2 Setup

Positioning the speakers and finding the sweet spot is always a fun thing for me. In this case, I tried to follow the Manger’s guidelines regarding the setup.  

So, the distance between the speakers was approx. 8ft. I angled them equally towards the listening position, making the drivers’ axes crossing at 3ft. Since the speakers have rear-firing ports, I didn’t want to place them too close to the wall to avoid boomy bass. A 1.5ft distance from the wall was perfect for my setup.

Initially, my listening position was 6ft away from the speakers, but I decided to move slightly closer because I felt the bass didn’t hit the right spot.

Even though P2s have two sets of WBT next-gen speaker posts, I didn’t feel the need to bi-amp or bi-wire them.

As an audio source, I used my NAS library and TIDAL, streaming from my Mac via Roon. Roon was sending the tunes to my PARASOUND P6 DAC/Preamp, connected to the PARASOUND A21 stereo amp. 

I have also tried using the speakers with my turntable system consisting of Technics SL-1200G, Allnic Audio H-5500 phono preamp, and Allnic Audio A-2000 25th Anniversary stereo amp. The amp was used in both – pentode and low-power triode modes. 

Sound Analysis

Upon first listening, Manger P2 may sound a bit strange, especially if you are used to traditional sound transducers. Right from the first tone, I noticed the sound was kind of quiet, but not volume-wise – it was more like it lacked something. 

As I kept listening to P2, I finally figured out what it was – it was the lack of that ringing cone noise you usually get with two or three-way speakers using traditional transducers. This noise tends to give a subtle coloration to the sound, especially in the presence area. 

We all say that we are looking for a speaker that reproduces the original sound in a neutral and natural manner, but we are so used to traditional speaker drivers and their cone noise that we can’t even recognize when a speaker does exactly what we want it to do. 

What I am trying to say is that Manger P2s require some getting used to. To me, listening to P2s was like listening to planar magnetic speakers for the first time. 

My first impression about the P2, after the accommodation period, is that it’s fast and agile. It plays everything with amazing clarity and coherence. In terms of overall tonality, P2 is perfectly neutral. Some may consider the lower end a bit more discreet or soft, but I’m not saying that as a bad thing. I have always preferred speed and agility over raw power. 

One of the strong suits of P2, the field where this floorstander outperforms any speaker in its price range, is spatial representation. My test track used to check the representation of space was Ludwig Van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D Minor Op. 125 (Choral). Spoiler – I was blown away!

Ludwig Van Beethoven – Symphony No. 9 in D Minor Op. 125 (Choral)

P2s created a massive stage. It almost perfectly recreated the entire stage with the orchestra, singers, and choir. I was able to make a clear distinction between groups of instruments and even position individual instruments and vocalists with fantastic precision. P2 effortlessly created a holographic image of the stage, allowing me to pinpoint every performer – I was basically there, in the audience. Both, the depth and width of the soundstage enchanted me.

P2 didn’t fail when pushed to deliver the most complicated sequences of Beethoven’s masterpiece. It handled everything with ease and clarity. 

To test the bass reproduction, I went for a German hardcore-rave-techno band Scooter and their song Always Hardcore. I don’t know if you have heard of this band, but they were quite popular in Europe and UK. If you like this kind of sound, give it a listen. 

Scooter – Always Hardcore

Right from the very start, this song pumps a huge amount of bass with a fast-changing pace. P2 handled it like a boss. It was agile and fast, handling the pace changes effortlessly. I can only conclude that the integration of the bass driver was done superbly. The sound reproduction was coherent, homogenous, and dynamic. 

The minor issue I noticed is that the lowest notes are not delivered with the same intensity. There’s definition, attack, detail, there’s even depth (to a certain degree), but it did lack some physical presence when asked to push too much air. On the positive side, it never sounded boomy. It didn’t even give the impression that it was struggling – it just refused to go over its limits. 

Another thing I absolutely loved about P2’s performance is its midrange reproduction. It’s absolutely neutral and natural, without any colorations and artificial tones. The vocals are exactly the same as in real life. Listening to Leonard Cohen singing Dance Me to the End of Love was an overwhelming experience. 

Leonard Cohen – Dance Me To the End of Love

The treble is in perfect balance with the midrange. It never gets too accentuated, harsh, or annoying. It’s detailed and resolved, but it can be a bit soft. 

I preferred using P2 with Allnic Audio A-2000 25th Anniversary stereo amp in pentode mode. While A-2000 can’t push the same amount of power as PARASOUND A21, Allnic Audio A-2000 25th made the soundstage bigger, clearer, maybe even a little brighter. This amazing tube amp perfectly complemented P2’s ability to create a massive soundstage, fantastic separation, and precise imaging.

The Competition

As discussed earlier, only a few manufacturers have taken the same route as Manger Audio and tried to build their own full-range drivers and integrate them into their speaker designs. Cube Audio and Zu Audio are, in my opinion, Manger Audio’s worthy opponents. 

Comparison Table

Manger P2 VS Cube Audio Nenuphar

Cube Audio Nenuphar

Cube Audio is another European speaker manufacturer. They are from Poland, to be precise. Cube Audio uses whizzer cone full-range drivers. 

Nenuphar is Cube Audio’s best-selling speaker. This is a 1-way speaker featuring a single 10” whizzer cone driver (F10 Neo). Thanks to its high sensitivity of 92dB, the speaker is super-easy to drive. The max recommended amplification is 40W.

For a widebander, Nenuphar goes lower than any other speaker I’ve heard. While the specs of Nenuphar and P2 say they have the same bass floor, I’d say that Nenuphar performs somewhat better than P2 when it comes to bass intensity and the amount of air it can push. P2, on the other hand, is faster and more agile. 

Across the rest of the spectrum, Nenuphar behaves linearly. The sound is neutral and well-resolved but doesn’t match the amount of detail you get from P2. Also, the high-end frequencies on P2 have more sparkle. 

In terms of spatial accuracy and imaging, both speakers offer much better performance than speakers with traditional drivers. When you find the sweet spot, I believe that P2 performs slightly better than Nenuphar. However, Nenuphar is a bit more flexible when it comes to placement, and the sound doesn’t change that much with your listening position.

Manger P2 VS Zu Audio Druid 6

Zu Audio Druid 6

Zu Audio is an American speaker manufacturer, another one that centers its speaker designs around its own full-range drivers.

Druid 6 is a 2-way speaker with a somewhat strange driver arrangement. The Radian-based tweeter is placed below the full-range 11.25″ driver. This kind of arrangement is not seen that often. The speaker has a very high sensitivity of 101dB and can handle up to 200W.

Druid 6 delivers an impressive bass response with a perfect amount of punch. It’s fast, fairly extended, and never gets boomy. Zu Audio’s full-range drivers are actually centered on the human voice, so they also excel when it comes to the reproduction of the vocals and midrange. 

Because the full-range driver sits above the tweeter and slightly above the ear level, the soundstage is wider and more spacious.

Overall, I would say that Druid 6 delivers a deeper bass with a stronger punch than P2. However, P2 is still faster and more dynamic. Also, P2 offers better spatial representation and slightly more detailed reproduction. Druid 6 does have a longer treble extension, but I prefer the softer high-end of the P2.

Conclusion

For more than 40 years, Manger Audio has been in pursuit of perfect audio reproduction, the one that’s not only precise, natural, and pure but can also trigger emotions and cause goosebumps. While this is an eternal journey, with P2, Manger Audio is one step closer to reaching its ideal.

Manger P2’s ability to give you an accurate and spacious sound image is hardly comparable to any speaker in its price range. The overall sound output is neutral and natural, without any artificial elements. If you value these qualities in a speaker, you must hear P2.