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Author Topic: Does anyone have experience with Magnepan MMGs?  (Read 2802 times)

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zephyrre

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Does anyone have experience with Magnepan MMGs?
« on: January 29, 2014, 02:30:11 AM »
I am interested in purchasing a pair of Magnepan MMGs and so have been doing research into them, but despite the pages and pages of praise which meet even the most cursory of inquiries about these speakers I have been unable to ascertain one crucial piece of information: what they sound like. Don't get me wrong, there is certainly no shortage of people willing to wax poetic about the merits of the MMGs and the interwebs abound with technical information  but the only things I have been able discern are that they have an excellent soundstage, not much bass and sound good (natural, clear, open, whatever). No word on frequency response. So I am wondering: what do these speakers sound like? Are they bright? Dark? Lush? Dry? It seems to me that timbral reproduction is top-tier, but do they have the goods when it comes to resolution/detail retrieval? Is the treble rolled, off? Is their a mid bass bump to make up for the lacking bottom octave? If anyone knows anything about these speaker please let me know.

Thanks!
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donunus

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Re: Does anyone have experience with Magnepan MMGs?
« Reply #1 on: January 29, 2014, 09:57:17 AM »
Ive heard the same mmg out of a krell and an adcom and they are chameleons when it comes to brightness. they definitely sound a little dark out of the adcoms but not on the Krell. They sound more natural than any sub 1000 dollar speaker has a right to... except for the bass extension but in the right room with a powerful amp, they will sound adequate in the bass range.

Resolution and detail is as good or better than any 1000 dollar dynamic pair. The downside is the fact that they are power hungry and that they wont give you the deep bass and dynamics of a good floorstander. The sweet spot is also much smaller than average on the MMGs meaning the speakers sound very diffuse if you are not at a good angle. The higher models like the mg1.7(I heard the 1.6) is better in that regard probably due to its upright design.

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zephyrre

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Re: Does anyone have experience with Magnepan MMGs?
« Reply #2 on: January 29, 2014, 02:11:52 PM »
Ah! Thank you for enlightening me. Would you say that the Emotiva upa-200 with 125w into 8 ohms would be sufficient to drive these? I've heard that maggies generally need several times that amount of current to sound their best, but I've also heard that the he-500 requires about the same amount of power, so...
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OJneg

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Re: Does anyone have experience with Magnepan MMGs?
« Reply #3 on: January 29, 2014, 02:45:46 PM »
Look for the amp's spec into 4 ohm instead. More indicative of the amplifier's quality and its ability to drive something like the Maggies.
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donunus

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Re: Does anyone have experience with Magnepan MMGs?
« Reply #4 on: January 29, 2014, 10:37:44 PM »
Ive heard Emotivas to be a good value matchup with maggies. Just make sure that the model you choose has good performance at 4 ohms
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Anaxilus

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Re: Does anyone have experience with Magnepan MMGs?
« Reply #5 on: January 29, 2014, 11:25:34 PM »
Bryston sounds like ass on Maggies.  IME Maggies sound the most natural of the planar type speakers but they still sound like a planar.  Not really my cup of tea.  They just don't transport me anywhere and the signature sound is just too obvious for me.  I just notice it right away.  It sounds like a planar trying not to sound like a planar.
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Marvey

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Re: Does anyone have experience with Magnepan MMGs?
« Reply #6 on: January 30, 2014, 01:56:17 AM »
I considered MMGs but found them too bass lite and impossible to integrate with a traditional sub. 1.7 or 1.6 is where I would start - and this is to start. Other than bass-lite, good response though - that is none of the strange irregularities I have heard in 90% of all other speakers at shows.
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DaveBSC

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Re: Does anyone have experience with Magnepan MMGs?
« Reply #7 on: January 30, 2014, 02:13:06 AM »
I've been hit or miss with Maggies over the years, particularly the lower end models which I've found to be problematic in terms of noticeable tonal shifts - something that obviously doesn't happen with full-range ESLs, but most certainly does with hybrids.

Given the option between a great two-way monitor and a Maggie, I'll take the monitor. Easier to integrate with a sub, easier to place, WAY easier to drive, and you never get that "painted on the panel" sound from monitors, in fact you get the opposite. Decent monitors disappear as sound sources better than just about anything else out there.
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donunus

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Re: Does anyone have experience with Magnepan MMGs?
« Reply #8 on: January 30, 2014, 11:54:24 AM »
Quote from: purrin on January 30, 2014, 01:56:17 AM
I considered MMGs but found them too bass lite and impossible to integrate with a traditional sub. 1.7 or 1.6 is where I would start - and this is to start. Other than bass-lite, good response though - that is none of the strange irregularities I have heard in 90% of all other speakers at shows.

I actually just got to listen to semi-burned in mg1.7s in that same room with the same front end (Oppo/Krell combo) and I found them to be better than the MMGs mostly in bass extension and solidity. The MMGs distort and get congested even at 300 watts per channel when the volume is loud vs the 1.7 which gets louder before any breakup in the sound. The biggest problem I have with the 1.7 though is that I find them to be a bit too forward making the MMG better in that sense. It almost seems like the MMG is more refined sounding than the 1.7 in that same room.

What I am trying to say is that the MMG is a better value than the 1.7 for me overall. The 1.6 however with its slightly more laidback sound was more to my liking. Now if choosing a brand new model since the 1.6 is discontinued, I myself might go for the mg12 if it sounds exactly like an MMG but with more extended bass... or go for the SUPER MMG.

The super MMGs are MMGs with tweaked crossovers and extra bass units. For all around use in different rooms, that would be the model to get among all the new ones. I was also thinking about the mini maggies but its hard for me to imagine them giving a big image like the full sized panels.
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zephyrre

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Re: Does anyone have experience with Magnepan MMGs?
« Reply #9 on: January 31, 2014, 01:36:29 AM »
Thanks for all the replies! The 1.7s are a bit out of my price range right now, though I might go and demo them at a local hifi store, just to get a sense of what maggies sound like. These would be my first loudspeakers after all (pc and tv speakers excluded), and I'm not really sure how they (loudspeakers) sound compared to headphones, specifically image-wise. I think I could live with their subdued bass response, coming as I am from the Q701 which I find to have an ample bottom end, at least with the Schiit Vali. The Super MMG system and MG12s look intriguing, but again they are about twice the price of the MMGs. The 2.1 system also comes with the trouble of finding a 2.1 channel amplifier, and I had just settled on a used Yamaha A-S7000. In the end I think it will come down to import tariffs and what the Canadian dollar does: as it is I'm already looking at an additional 10% on top of USD MSRPs. And I still haven't asked if Magnepan ships internationally... As far as I can tell these are a great value entry level speaker, but I'm certainly open to suggestions if anyone knows of a dynamic at around the six hundred dollar mark which sound as "good" for the money.
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