Magnepan MMG review
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ก.ย. 2024
- These are the entry level in the magnepan line up, before I bought them I wanted to find a video like this and had no luck, so hello world here it is. System Specs:
Project Debut carbon with Shure Sc35c cartridge using an N35X stylus
Emotiva xps 1 phono stage
Schiit Audio SYS passive preamp
Rotel 1080 power amp
PSB Subsonic 5i subwoofer
Blue Jeans Cables 10 AWG speaker wire, Audioquest interconnects
Thank you for coming straight from surgery to do this review, Doctor
lol no problem
As a long-time owner of MMG's (on my second pair), I have my own two cents worth to throw in:
I think the sweet spot is small indeed....but oh, what a sweet spot! Everything sounds so clean and transparent...no coloring from a box cabinet. Ever since I heard my first set of Maggies in college, nothing has sounded as good to me. The fact that the sweet spot is small doesn't really bother me because when I am going to listen to music for enjoyment, I'll be sitting in my chair where the sweet spot is. If I'm going to be up and about doing housework or whatever, I'm not going to be noticing the finer details of the music anyway, my focus is elsewhere. Maybe the small sweet spot will keep you from enjoying the pure awesomeness of these in a group setting, but an individual listener in the sweet spot will be in nirvana.
I don't think you need expensive, esoteric equipment to drive these, but you do need plenty of power. I'm running mine off an old Kenwood Basic M2A amp that's rated at 220W RMS @ 8 ohms, they pump even more power into the 5 ohm Maggies. This amp seems to provide a lot more "punch" than my old 125W RMS/channel Technics receiver. These things like to have lots of headroom.
You really do want a subwoofer with these. While the bass they produce is clean and tight, they just don't have a lot of oomph. I picked up an old Klipsch sub at Goodwill and am amazed by the overall difference. I keep the sub turned down fairly low as I hate that "boomy" sound.
Haven't tried listening to a ton of "rock" since I added the sub, but my experience is that most rock recordings don't necessarily sound all that great on these. Maybe it's the compression in the recordings, but I don't get the same feeling like I could be in a live club listening to the band.
On the other hand, good recordings with acoustic instruments and the human voice sound absolutely amazing! Likewise, well-engineered recordings sound great....almost anything by Steely Dan or Pink Floyd fall into this category.
Great video! I picked up my MMGs used for $300. They were massively difficult to set up in my room and never sounded quite right but there was something about the sound I really enjoyed compared to box speakers. 3 weeks later I bought the 1.7i and was blown away, 2 years later I feel I will never need to upgrade speakers again. I moved the MMGs to my home theatre as surrounds, they really shine in that capacity.
How did you set them up?
Welcome to the club...I've owned a set of MMG's since shortly after they were released. I power them with a Carver M-1.5 t through an Outlaw Audio 990 pre/pro, and a Velodyne sealed 12" 1500w subwoofer. Everything except the MMG's were bought used. I made stands for the MMG's to lift the speakers approximately 10" from the floor and tilts them back a few degrees. I don't have a lot of money in this system, but it sounds amazing to my tired old ears. If I had a bigger house I would upgrade to the 1.6's in a heartbeat...long live Maggies!
Yea man, id love to find an old carver someday!
Great review - you hit all the trademark conversation points for being a Magnepan owner. Power, placement, sub requirement...etc. Once you've got your listening environment set up, you soon realize how inferior anything you've had in the past sounds. And as a reference as I've seen this asked a few times, all music sounds wonderful on these.
Thx!
No need to apologize.
This was a very informative...cut through the BS review of the entry level Maggie loudspeaker.
Your review was totally relevant for me because: (1) You own a pair of these entry level speakers and are speaking from your honest/practical experiences using them.
(2) I have never heard a pair of electrostatic speakers
(3) I'm going to audition the .7 model...which is only 1 step above yours.
Thanks for a great review & keep up the good work!
Hey- nice job! No need to apologize. A “real review “ from a real dude...instead of coming from the paid clowns that get wined n dined by the manufacturers.
Need more of these types of reviews and don’t just play your damn music for a “review” with no comments on pros or cons of ones experience.
Thanks!
I didn't get the holographic sound on my .7s until I pulled them 4 feet from the front wall. Room dimensions are 13x12. Tweeter on the outside just broadened the sweet spot. Thank you for taking the time to create this video!
They work in a room that size?
The 0.7 work in a room that’s 21x18
Thanks, enjoyed viewing your review. I've the 1.7s and in my room the tweeters on the outside sound the best. It took me quite a while to find the best toe-in angle. I ended up to have them not straight to my ears but a little more to the outside. That resulted in a larger sweet spot.
Nice honest review. The planar design minimizes unwanted reflections from walls and ceilings, thus sending the music directly to your ears. This enables us to a "whispers in our ear," even though the speakers are much further away! The sound waves from the flat panel drivers are in phase, which allows us to hear the rich harmonics of female voices, acoustic instruments, etc. Maggies do what they do so well, that I don't mind if they need a little help with is the low bass...that's the easiest part sound reproduction anyway. :)
Thanks…Fantastic down to Earth explanation of what it like to set up and experience the MMG’s. I have the same speakers and yes at first, I thought…did I make a mistake. Then after burn in and adding the capacitor to control the shrillness and a lot of position tweaking later, they are magical.
I run them with a Rogue Sphynx 2 which is class D but with a tube preamp section with 200 watts into the 4 ohm load.
On a side note I recently purchased a VPI Cyclone record cleaning machine. Seems like a splurge item, but it is the best piece of musical equipment I own. It turns my records into mint sound and has made music listening a whole new world. Records that I thought were unplayable sound fantastic. Caveat if a record is scratched or really damaged ain’t nothin’ a record cleaning machine can do about that!
Hahaha nice man, my buddies record cleaning machine is pretty magical also!
Nice speakers, great value. They like current, not watts. They love vinyl. I like how you described living with them. Not many reviewers do that. And hi-fi can be fussy. My only complaint about them is the poor cable jacks; not very secure.
Excellent review. My quick story. I was at Bestbuy today to look at buying a $1000 drone. Not in stock, while waiting, I checked out the 4K tv's, blah. They had a 1080p movie playing, needless to say I wasn't impressed. Turned the corner and was absolutely wowed by an audio setup with Martin Logan speakers and a rack of tube amps. Absolutely blown away. Needless to say, never heard of planar/electrostatic speakers. Got home and started researching and found your review. Now I'm interested. But as a non-audiophile got questions...
Ok, sounds like you have been bitten by the bug lol If you think I can help answer some of your questions feel free to ask.
You will be happier with the pans..
I use an Emotiva UPA-200 which can be had for around $250 used and I have zero want for more power on my Magnepan SMGa. Great review man I'll be upgrading to the MMGs based on your review!
Sweet I hope they work our for you, since you have some maggies im sure you are well aware of their magic lol
This is a good review and explanation of Maggies. I own MG-I's and will soon be installing Tympani 1D's and your explanations of the sound are spot on.
Thanks for the kind words!
I agree with this review. Some points I agree with. keep the original stands. I too had them propped up with diy stands and while it was fun for a month or so I quickly realized there was a significant loss in bass as well as a lateral drop off unless you were sitting down. They really need their space out away from the wall and the imaging is very precise and not a wide dispersion. standing or sitting back 10 ft is really good and makes the room sound full. walk out of the sweet spot and it will sound muffled. The sweet spot is so good though. once you break them in you can expect even better bass from them as well. They loosen up and lose the brightness. I never found them that bright as I think by setup is on the warmer side which I like. My setup is a Rotel RB1582 beast 200x2 ch. 400 into a 4ohm load. people say they don't get that loud as they are 86db sensitivity. I promise if you come over my house and I crank it you will leave with your ears ringing. very very loud. Female vocals and acoustic guitar sound incredible. Put on Adele and your friends will be jealous of how life like it sounds. Magnepans will make you never want to own another box speaker again. Worth every penny. Also recommend Rotel or Emotiva for anplification.
my setup is as follow
MMG
Klipsch 10swi sub
Rotel Rb1582 class AB
Rotel Rc1070 pre amp. punches way above its class and has one of the best phono stages I have ever heard.
Technics Sl1700 with ortofon red. not bright
chromecast audio streaming tidal hifi
Sounds about right lol
How big is the sweet spot? When you say muffled off-axis, how so? Have you ever thrown a listening party and have had more than 2 or 3 people listening?
This is by far, the best review I have ever seen, on anything.
Wow thanks!
Good rambling review. Maggies are all frustrating. I've got a pair of 1.7s that change sound behavior with weather. They have to be out in your room minimum of 35 inches from front wall. place them about 6' apart angled about 30 degrees and sit 8 to 10' back. The further back the better. I also recommend a low backed chair backed off at least 30" from the rear wall. Follow these rules and a good live recording will put you in a place where you almost feel the physical proportions of that music hall. Imaging is as good as it gets with these loudspeakers but realism of the sound of some instruments and top end air is not as good as some other speakers. Some of that actually may be that most conventional loudspeakers dome tweeters seem to display a rising rate of volume as they go up in frequency that builders don't address in order to have them come a little more forward. The Maggies don't do that by design. Good speakers but picky about where they play good.
Your chair should be as far back as the distance between the speakers.
I love how real this dude is, tells it how it is, hysterical, but at the same time, he knows is shit, would love to smoke some quality sour diesel and listen to Floyd on his system...great review, great speakers, hmu if you're actually tryna sesh tho
you are the true and real deal Sir!!! 100 percent with you...
Thanks!
Nice review. I picked my MMG's for $150. A Craigslist steal. I love them and use an Adcom GFA -555 to drive them. The MMG's are definitely hard to drive because the impedance drops below 2 ohms. I'm not sure that I would recommend most high wattage amplifiers. I think it's more about high current and ability to deal with low impedances. Even my Adcom has been sent into thermal protection. But that was me getting carried away with the volume. Maybe some newer class D amps are different but my experiences have been that they cannot supply enough current and I can hear compression on transient bursts.
He got a great deal on the Rotel RB-1080 at $300. 7 years after this video was made, that amp goes for $600-$800 on eBay, Craigslist, Audiogon, etc.
I had a pair and absolutely loved them especially the female vocals were amazing.
How to build speakers with cones, that sound nearly as good (for cheap). It's a two-way, with a conventional woofer/med driver (in a bass reflex enclosure) and an upper-med treble 3" full-range driver (ran out-of-the-box). On mine I also got rid of the centerpiece of the full-range driver and replace it with a 1/4" triangle cut out of (coffee-can-seal) tin foil. And I super glued it into the open center of the speaker. The open center eliminates resonance. Usually the full-range speakers sound bad out-of-the-box, but the crossover compensates for this (if you know how to make it). On mine, I have a 2 mf cap in series with a 4 mf cap and that 4 mf cap is bridged with an 82 ohm resistor. The free-air resonance provides excessive upper med (when ran out-of-the-box) so it has to be resisted that much! So as to get the perfect balance between heavily resisted med and loud free-air med. With the right crossover the free-air speaker crosses over with the woofer properly and sounds great out of the box. With the crossover the med/treble unit (being out-of-the-box) makes the top treble extend higher and top treble is louder cos it comes from both sides of the cone. Also (for the same reason) you get a really sweet open voice sound. A sound that often makes me think there is someone in the room cos sometimes I really do get tricked by the sound quality. Strings are also awesome. Not bad for 3" "surround sound" speakers that I got for nothing. I also have the woofer well accousticated with a double chamber and chokes etc. But that unique open "live" sound is coming from the top speaker (blended with the woofer). Try it if you are into building speakers.
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REPLY
Nice review, IMO your location while doing the review is the sweet spot.
I've owned a pair of the MMG's for about three years now, I change them out often to review other speakers,
My main speakers are a used pair of Vandersteen 2Ci's, about 35 years old and are still very hard for any speaker to beat.
But the MMG's have their place in my listening environment a sizable room and your right the MMG's need to be spaced out into the room and the listening position needs to be a bit further away than most speakers.
the quality of sound is above almost every speaker I've owned, string instruments, piano, vocals are all in the mid-range area are so well reproduced it's almost like live.
I owned a pair of the original magnapans and gave them away to a friend and the sound was very similar to the MMG's.
yeah, you need that sub to compliment the fullness to the music.
lastly, the upper highs are just a bit rolled off, but the roll-off is very slight and not too deeply rolled off.
MMG's are the entry level and I've often wondered if going with the higher level Mag's are worth the effort?
I friend of mine own's a pair of Apogee's, I forget the model, but their big and draw lots of current, we once bridged one Adcom 555 into one and another 555 bridged into the other Apogee and at above normal levels both amps were clipping...that's about 800 watts into each.
but the Apogee's performance was exceptional and they should for the money!
Thanks for the comments, the comment section of this video is becoming like a forum on MMG's thanks to folks like you!
I failed to mention, the MMG's are among the most fatigue-free speakers I've experienced.
so many speakers from the past to the present suffer from high's that are like smeared and screech in place of being symmetrical in sound.
This can be a combination of the electronics as well, but the MMG's proves that a speaker can clean a lot of this harshness out.
I really appreciate the review, I think I will get a pair of these soon. Super excited!
Have fun! Let us know your thoughts
Awesome video mate!!! Keep up the good work. Thanks to you I just might pick these maggies sometime later next year :-)
Dude thanks, happy to help if you have any questions
glowplug007 cheap thrills at Ridgemont High...been an SMG owner, you speak the truth...I used a 25 watt Pass class A to great effect, made magic...would sit there in my boxers in the early am, vocals were beyond amazing, the presence was so good I started feeling inhibited (under dressed) literally had me running for my rob! two of the greatest speakers I've owned in my life for very different reasons were the Maggie's and Avant-garde Unos!
No apologies needed brother, you provided valuable info: an owner's opinion
Great job on the review! I'm running my MMGs through an Onkyo NR656 with two subs (one is a Klipsch 450 and the other an old Peerless) connected directly through the two channel speakers. No complaints here. My only complaint is that my wife won't let me move the couch back to get into the sweet spot but honestly, it's not a deal breaker either.
Keep going with this, it's nice to hear real world reviews on you tube!!
Thanks! Has the onkyo ever acted like the 4ohm load bothered it?
@@glowplug007 glowplug007 not a bit. I generally have the volume around 70 to 80db (small house) for music and movies and never had a hiccup. My current center speaker is a crappy 8ohm and will be replaced with the MMCC5 which is 3ohm. I'll let you know how that works out. I did call Onkyo, but they wouldn't give me a definitive... However, the guy told me to enjoy my new setup before he hung up, so I took that as an "ok".
Good to know. I have more faith an onkyo could survive maggies than some of onkyo's direct competitiors in the home theater market lol
@@glowplug007 I can dig it... I had a Haffler amp/preamp back in the 90s and it constantly quirked out.
Also good to know, I was on the hunt for a vintage Hafler passiv pre-amp back in the day, I guess Im glad I never found one lol
Good review.
The term "passive preamp" cracks me up.
Agreed, its gone now, replaced by a cheap and cheerful emotiva pre
Liked the review. Liked how you just were speaking naturally, unscripted. I didn't like the added music in the background. Too loud imo
Excellent video great review very relaxing with the music back ground....I love female vocals ...
Got mine pretty much NIB for $400. They're powered by an Adcom GFA-555 amp (325w @ 4 ohms iirc) and Adcom 500 series pre amp that I picked up at the same vintage hi fi store. It took about a whole day re-arranging the room/moving them around to get the best sound, but the end result was light years better than any other speakers I've heard. Now, the kicker is you have to sit in a certain spot to get the full experience (not hard, it's a dedicated listening room where I'm the only one who's ever in there), but good Lord, the sound stage feels about 20' wide. And detail...wow. There's a part in a song off of Bill Connor's Of Mist and Melting album where the drummer, Jack DeJonette, is just working the dome of one of the crash cymbals (not a drummer, so can't be sure). It's like he's in the room about 6' away. Never head anything like it in all my years of listening to music (admittedly on pretty bottom tier equipment). IF you've got the power to run them, and IF you can get them in the right set up in your room, the sound is mind blowing. To be fair, I did add an SVS sub to the mix, but that was more for the fact that I do watch movies in that room from time to time; it's almost overkill for music listening.
They take a huge amount of time to break in. I leave them play all day when I’m out of the house.Well broken in mate fantastically with SVS 3000 micro.
This is true
I like review. Wouldn't mind a cluster of these I understand about the way they output sound front and back and that they are power hungry on amplifiers.
This katt is the real deal. He made this video wearing scrubs and no shoes. Just pimpin'!
Really appreciate this. Thank you.
Thank you very much sir for such a great video, I'm sure many people will appreciate such review; I know I certainly do. Two quick questions though:
1-What's the name of that wonderful musical track?
2-Did you assemble it by yourself? it you did, was it easy?
Again, you have done a great review, thank you very much.
I'd be curious to hear you compare /contrast with the new LRS model. Great video btw! 👏
Just got a pair last week and your video review was the deciding factor.
I'll probably never go back to a boxed speaker again....
Wow man thats a huge compliment, thanks!! And welcome to the club:)
How to build speakers with cones, that sound nearly as good (for cheap). It's a two-way, with a conventional woofer/med driver (in a bass reflex enclosure) and an upper-med treble 3" full-range driver (ran out-of-the-box). On mine I also got rid of the centerpiece of the full-range driver and replace it with a 1/4" triangle cut out of (coffee-can-seal) tin foil. And I super glued it into the open center of the speaker. The open center eliminates resonance. Usually the full-range speakers sound bad out-of-the-box, but the crossover compensates for this (if you know how to make it). On mine, I have a 2 mf cap in series with a 4 mf cap and that 4 mf cap is bridged with an 82 ohm resistor. The free-air resonance provides excessive upper med (when ran out-of-the-box) so it has to be resisted that much! So as to get the perfect balance between heavily resisted med and loud free-air med. With the right crossover the free-air speaker crosses over with the woofer properly and sounds great out of the box. With the crossover the med/treble unit (being out-of-the-box) makes the top treble extend higher and top treble is louder cos it comes from both sides of the cone. Also (for the same reason) you get a really sweet open voice sound. A sound that often makes me think there is someone in the room cos sometimes I really do get tricked by the sound quality. Strings are also awesome. Not bad for 3" "surround sound" speakers that I got for nothing. I also have the woofer well accousticated with a double chamber and chokes etc. But that unique open "live" sound is coming from the top speaker (blended with the woofer). Try it if you are into building speakers.
The new LRS is an even better option. Merry Christmas.
Solid review. Maggies need a lot of power. Class 'D' with them is not the best option. Something like the Schiit Vidar (which is a/b) which doubles to about 200 watts into 4 ohms is a solid pick. Using that with my MG.7s in my office system. More than enough power and the room is 33 x 13 x 9. My desk faces them and I'm about 11 feet away. Speakers are 40" from the wall behind them.
Distance to rear wall is key with a dipole!
To be clear, are you saying that you prefer angling your Maggie's?
Approximately how many degrees of angle do you prefer?
Thanks!
@12:00 Nah, this video is great. I have watched like 5 videos on these things and didn't really find what I was looking for until now.
Man I did the same thing before I bought them LOL, thats why I made the video , thanks for the kind words
Thank you, as well.
Go with crown amps xls 2000 great, xti 2002 amazing! Have them and were tried on Apogee stage, Duettas,and now on my Martin Logan Request , just outstanding for the price ! Got the K1 and 2 they even sound better for my taste.
Love my crown. Powered elac carina and lrs
thanks for this review. I've been trying to find an affordable match for my system which consists of Rotel 1090pre, 1080amp, and 1072cd player!
Add a sub and some maggies and rock on lol
BW is a totally different speaker. I like Magnepans but they take up some space and my cats think they are scratching posts. No dice. I like Focals these days and Vandersteens. For amps, Just get a good integrated that doubles down into 4ohms. B&W still makes some excellent speakers.
I found with my 1.6,s is that magies sound better when
Sitting on the floor. Try it,
you may be surprised.
Thanks for the video! Always wanted Maggies, but don't have a workable spot for them.
Yea man, they are particular about placement thats for sure lol
Very nice sir! Enjoyed the setting and the one on one with good description... Back in the mid 80ies, I was at a high end audio shop that carried Maggies... Listening to orchestral music with lots of dynamics presented me with a surprise when I cranked up the volume. There was some very loud 'snapping' like electrical arcing heard! Does this still happen with these? I agree with the limited 'money seat'... I really liked the Apogee when they were in production, the larger models made good bass.
Ok........rambling here.......thanks again......soon I will have another 'Tour video' of 'Music Hall' up, with tubes and Klipschorns oh my! (O:
HAHAHA you know when I first got them I tried powering them with a 4ohm stable NAD amp, unfortunately it was woefully underpowered, that was the only time I heard that loud snapping you are talking about. Very interesting. Since I got a little beefier amp the problem went away but if that happened in a dealer demo room you would think they would have them connected to a capable amp. Maybe for the big hits they really strain the caps?
Yes, you are right about that dealer... I was sure someone would have come running over to shut it or me down from pushing the system a bit lol (O: Well, I am glad that you were able to cure yours with just a more powerful amp.... ! But yeah, it sounded like some kind of static charge!
i would recomend trying a mosfet am...like a adcom.... it will open new doors on your speakers...
All I care about is one thing. If you take that Dave Brubeck record over your right shoulder, and put on Take Five, does the double bass sound REAL and does the Drum solo reproduce the impact and the high overtones of the cymbals as well as a Planar Magnetic headphone? Also, how wide is the sound stage? I love KEF's because of their soundstage that covers a wide area, and narrow soundstage and off axis scared me away from Martin Logan electrostatics.
I have the 45rpm QRP pressed reissue of take five and it sounds incredibly realistic. Its uncanny how lifelike the instrumentation is, however the lowest notes of an upright bass are lower than the 55hz these speakers are capable of, thus the need for a sub. Soundstage is HUGE, seems to extend past the walls of the room easily, I think thats part of the magic of a dipole design, however the "sweet spot" is paper thin and become drastically obvious as soon as you are out of it. This is covered in the video.
Just bought a pair of used MG 1s one of them is making a little noise have to see if I can glue the wires back down. Hope I get to hear them soon.
You are not Rambling. Everything you stated is what they are. I have the MMG's too and yes at first I was oh I do not know if I made the right choice. Must have the resistor in place ....must tweek the room placement maybe even over a long time it took me two years of now and then thinking this could be better. Now they are a breathe off and I ain't changing it because it is so close. PS like the stands!
Thanks man!
Don't know if you'll check the comments or not, but here goes. I'm still using SMGa's from 1989. You're sitting on something and you're higher than the MMG's. Are they shorter than the SMGa's?
Thank you..
Hey bud, not sure if they are or not sadly, im kinda tall but you might find the specs on magnepans website, good luck.
Could you please supply dimensions of your room, speaker placement (distance from walls), seating placement, room treatment, etc.?
I enjoyed your review. It inspired me to put Maggies back into my system and give distant-field listening a shot. So far, it's a winner but I'd like to try to duplicate your setup as closely as possible.
Thanks!
Sure thing, ill try to measure it out
Thanks. I've pretty much been going with this guy's advice since I returned to the Maggies. I've been getting the best results I've ever gotten from them. th-cam.com/video/8b1W7QgqhR8/w-d-xo.html
are these mmgs bi ampable?
I think so but have not tried my elf, as they demand a 4ohm capable amp that could get expensive going that route for possibly not much benefit
Was this review done in jail?
Yes
Good review
LOL
No the E.R. :)
blue is the new black... or orange...
Have this guy just come home from his hospital nursing job or what ? heheheh.. regarding the cloth :)
nice video..
take care buddy
Thank you!
very helpful!
Thanks for providing a much needed review. Question, I have a dedicated 20x22x8h basement theater w/ room treatments & Audyssey X32. How do you feel these would do for L/R movie speakers? Also, thanks for pointing out you don't need a servo sub. I just built a pair of non-servo sealed 12's with very low group delay to pair with my eventual Maggie purchase.
Thats a nice big space, is it mostly going to be movies or music would be my question. Do you plan on doing a full surround system or just 2.1?
I have a 7.2.4 setup now w/ a Denon X4300 coming in September. I'd like to buy the MMG's for L/R duty until I can save up for the .7's late next year. Then I'll try turning one of the MMG'S sideways for a center. If that doesn't work I'll sell them & try the MMGC for $300. I sit 13 feet from the screen wall and 10 feet from my front L/C/R. Thanks
Oh. 80% movies/tv & 20% music. I think i would listen to more music if the wow factor was there.
Ok Marzan, I am being totally honest here. If you are thinking 80% movies I would get the Andrew jones designed Elac B5 or6's. The reason is surround sound tracks in movies rely on localization of sounds, thats why rain can come from just the back left speaker and an exploding car can blow up in the front right speaker-go over your head-and land behind you. Because the maggies are a dipole speaker they sound more "diffuse" than a traditional box speaker does. Also typically in a home theater setup you want all the speakers to be "voice matched", as in having the same tonal characteristics. Having a unique sound is part of what make maggies so special and that could prove difficult blending them with other speakers. Also the Elacs sound amazing for music as well. But if I were you I would keep whatever speakers you are using for the 7.2.4 that you already have, and do a dedicated 2.1 channel setup with the maggies in the same room.If your wife will let you get away with that lol. You can use the subs you already have and would have the best of both worlds.
Hi, I agree the Elac B6's are quite a bargain, more so after modding. However, I'm already set on buying horn loaded LCR's after I pass on my existing fronts to my son. Was just curious how the MMG's work for movie sound tracks. I didn't see a TV in your video, just the acoustic panel. At $600 I can pick these up to hold me over while I save up for the .7's. Thanks
you need a good amp like naim, a luxman wont power these guys... more power scotty
As ive heard the more the better lol
I'm curious to know what turntable you're using, as well as any other gear.
Project debut carbon into an emotiva xps 1 phono pre, into a schit passive preamp, into a rotel 1080 amp- bluejeans cables
a 4 ohm load, so that means i can run these with a vintage sansui g-8000 which is rated at 120 watts rms and is 4 ohm stable.
Correct you should be fine. I will add this tidbit of info as well, for you and anyone else who happens to see this. Keep your amp WELL ventilated. It will run much hotter pushing a 4ohm load than it does with an 8ohm load. Dont stack other gear on top of it. If the amp is rated for a 4ohm load the designers realized this so it should have an appropriate heatsink, dont think you are killing the amp doing this. Just make sure it can breathe.
agreed. I think i'm going to get a pair after Christmas. i cant wait to finally stop chasing the unicorn. and i will post my opinion here.
If you get some please do so! And if you feel like it, make a video with your thoughts.
will do.
now that they are broken in have you tried them again with the tweeters outside? maybe now the soundstage would be wider?
Good question, the answer is no I have not. Perhaps one day i will, for now im happy with them, no desire to tweak LOL
the tweeters are supposed to be on the outside. it's the norm. tweeters on the inside is different
Im not sure I would agree with that. I believe most folks run them on the inside, but the manual doesn't say which is normal, but I think it suggests starting on the inside.
Good man
Would you consider upgrading to the .7? Just curious.
O for sure, who doesnt love upgrades! But seriously the upgrade to .7's would also require an upgrade in power amp, I have found through personal experience I prefer to upgrade in steps. One day i will stumble on a beefy 4ohm happy/capable amp and that could lead to a .7 upgrade. For now these still make me smile and I dont really see myself spending double what they cost for what I surmise would be a very marginal improvement. The larger panel of the .7 adds bass response but I have that covered with my sub already. Since making this video the mids/highs have smoothed out so much I am not sure how the .7 would best them being such a similar design. My audio club met here at our last meeting and a member brought a Rogue tube preamp to try out. Going from my passive preamp to an active one was a big step. Brought vocals more forward and gave the system more "balls" for lack of a better word. I love the phono stage I am using (emotiva xps1) and found out that the BasX Emotiva preamp uses the same phono stage circuit. Its only 300$, and my phono stage is selling for 179$, So I will probably sell it and grab an active pre as my next upgrade. Sorry, I know this was way more than you asked lol
I love my Magenpans. They need power for sure. Power as in High Current. Brilliant speakers to be sure.. As for Rotel... Stay away from Rotel.. Not hard to do since they are out of Business now....Or were..
Appreciate the comments, my Rotel is still running well though so it staying for awhile lol. As far as I know the company itself is in good shape, they are now owned and well funded by Bowers and Wilkins.
how far does the treble extend?
Im sure you could google the specs, but they are kind of bright by nature anyway, especially at first so I doubt you would find them lacking. Over time they smooth out greatly but I dont feel like the extension is any less. They just loose the harsh edge they had initially before burn in.
thanks for the reply. I bought a used pair, tried them out briefly and they sound a little off to me. Did a quick frequency response test off of youtube and found they only go up to 10k. I don't hear anything above that. Is this right in your opinion? Shouldn't they go up above 10k?
Thanks in advance!
O yea, magnepan manual says they should go up to 26k lol. Howeverr, you might try running a freq response test using a tone generator app off your phone and an SPL meter. I've tried some audio tests off you tube and they haven't been accurate. Good luck
I feel like this video could have been 5 minutes. The other 11 was almost non Magnepan MMG related.
Anyway, besides the background noise and loud music, I enjoyed the video
Maybe if I was a movie editor I could shave it down to 5 mins lol :)
Don't worry, if I had to stand there and talk in the video, it would have been much worse then what you did. I'm just busting your chops.
Nice speakers, dipole, I suppose. Gives a nice "airy" voice sound. I bet your B&W's sounded "boxed in" with the voice sound, compared to the mags. I made some speakers and I attempted to make cone speakers sound a bit like panel speakers and also dipol, to some degree. I don't know if they sound like panel speakers, but they have a completely different sound than any cone speakers I've heard. More "airy" in the voice and the voice seems to float in mid air, not "boxed in" at all. Here is a video explaining it for 2 minutes and then a female voice demo. And look at my channel for more (top of the list) demos of it (and skip the rants at the start) including one with a Beethoven string quartet that is worth watching (an experience). But this one is a jazz ballad: th-cam.com/video/5Mi2mP3El-A/w-d-xo.html
Yea, getting rid of "the box" in my experience has been totally worth it lol
I listen to all types of music.. mainly hip hop.. edm.. would these sound good in your opinion
If you add a subwoofer they sound amazing with EDM, but they really really need a good sub to go with them, without it they dont "slam". What bass they have is very good/accurate, but they dont have impact down low. I dont listen to rap but I would think it would have similar requirements to EDM
Good video!
Still own the MMGs?
One of them blew up! I will probably get a big set of magnapans in my next house, right now I am using Revel f35's
@@glowplug007 sorry to hear.
Was it that dramatic?
Maybe we can say you loved them to death.. 😅
I hear that these are pretty tough to power. Is a receiver sufficient or would you recommend separate amps?
Well they are a 4ohm load, most receivers are 8 ohm so if you tried turning it up the amp would probably go into protect mode. They are a stable 4ohm so theoretically they are not hard to drive but finding an amp that likes 4ohms can be. If you are searching used stuff on craigslist or ebay I would look for NAD and some rotel separate amps, at least 100watts, if you dont have luck going that route, try something made for a pa system by Crowm or QSC. often you can get incredible power cheap especially if you go used.
I am actually using a receiver at the moment. I don't have the ability to buy any more components at the moment. School and rent are killing me. However, it is a decent receiver and it actually has a switch on the rear to designate a 8ohm or 4ohm impedance for the speakers. It is a Sony V333ES unit. Got it new-in-box a few months ago for $50. Amazing deal. The remote sells for that much on ebay.
well, if it has a 4ohm switch thats good news, guess you gotta give it a shot :)
I see that there is actually a money back guarantee if you order them and do not like them after X amount of days. I emailed them for a local dealer. Hopefully I will hear from them soon. I will have some cash to put towards my system on the 1st of October and these seem like a future proof set of speakers
Yea man they have a great return policy, if you have a local deal go listen to them for sure, or even a bigger version, the "sound signature" will be simliar and you will probably love or hate them lol
Enough with the introductions. When does the operation start?
Watch and find out, or if you are in that much of a hurry, this probably isnt a video for you.
glowplug007 LOL, OK, fair enough. Will watch it. Thanks.
glowplug007 ok I watched it. This is an excellent review. The fact that it was unscripted is actually good. A user review that doesn't miss anything important and nothing should be thrown out, all relevant.
See, easy surgery, no blood and everyone lived!
I am into high end audio for one reason only- an emotional, uncritical connection to the music.
Do you still have them and enjoy them?
Yes, still have them. They are here for good. The only change I am toying with at the moment is getting an active preamp.
What is underneath the MMG, some kind of marble plate?
Yes just a marble slab because the little feet of the speakers sink into carpet and then they sit at the wrong angle, its covered in the video
I'm buying a pair of 1.7i I will try that set up.
its not about sounding
plenty loud class D amp on that speaker not sure on that
Are these any good for house or techno music without an amp? Meaning, will they afford enough punch and get low enough for that kind of music?
Not without a subwoofer, and they would also need an amp, they are not self powered. But if you can give them those things they are great for EDM
glowplug007 Oh, I obviously meant if I'd need a sub and not an amp :D Didn't check what I wrote. Anyway, thanks!
krax
lol no worries
Skip to @5:15
I have a vintage Sansui 9090DB receiver totally recapped & rated at 125 watts RMS per channel into 8 ohms. Do you think it would be powerful enough to run these Maggies & how is the bass response? Anyone??? Thanks, Tommy
You would have to make sure the Sansui can push a 4ohm load. Not all amps, even good ones, can. Also under 55 hz they have ZERO bass. None at all, so you would need a subwoofer for a full range experience. This is all covered in the video.
Thanks. I decided a while ago to pull the trigger on a pair of Ohm Walsh 2's in mint condition & for a lot less money. Best, Tommy
Would the Magnepan do well for rock or metal?
The truthful answer to that is:"depends on the recording". They are kind of a "bright" speaker, which could sound harsh with heavy distorted guitars, however I just listened to Skuggsja on them last night and it sounded wonderful, that was a collaboration with some guys from "Enslaved" so there was some pretty heavy guitar work and it was glorious. However if that is your main type of music (metal)I would not recommend them for a number of reasons. You are probably better off with something far more efficient, perhaps with a horn. For most rock they sound great though.
Have you heard the Magnepans .7?
I have not! But I really want too lol
They're a significant step forward from the MMGs. More bass/treble extension, more solid imaging. They can sound *scary* real with high fidelity recordings. Best of all they're not imposing like the 3.7i
LRS?
Sorry, just understood what you meant by this, I would imagine they sound very similar to the mmg or mmgi models but have not heard them
You won't find better speakers for what you spent.
#jealous
Why are you saying "mag-ne-pian"?
The only possible explanation I can offer is the fact that I live in Tennessee? lol
glowplug007 haha. Great review!
Very nice search and study you have,thanks. To add little informative please watch on you tube RMAF14 by bob robbin
Music is just too loud
Or you could say it has "impressive dynamic range" ahahahahhah!
Reduce the volume of the background music, STAT.
dude, turn the music down lol.
GET to the POINT!
And stop touching everyplace.
If you don't like it- don't watch it
He’sa touches fellie guy. We love him.
there not tall enough
ed
lose the music
How much are your speakers ?
You can buy them directly from Magnepan for about 600$ U.S
glowplug007 that's not a bad price
You can't buy normal speakers for that, let alone Mags. Did you mean 6 grand?
Seriously bud, 600$, if you give them what they need it becomes woefully obvious there is no competition for the money.
too noisy
the fc - what is this dude wasting 5 min of a viewers time for introduction - what a joke
I wish the best for ya man. Hope you get things figured out.
Damn...I LOVE female vocals, too. It's literally my favorite thing to listen to. I have no care what the language is. Women have amazing voices.