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I think I did ok - Magneplanar MG-1(improved) speakers - $125

SpeakerLabFan

SpeakerLabFan

< speakerlab 7's
I saw these on Seattle CL this morning and went out and picked them up at lunchtime. I think I did OK at $125 for these speakers! :thmbsp: :music::banana::banana::banana:

The seller lives just 10 blocks from me, is moving to NY and didn't want to ship these. His SO is a singer and a big fan of the concert realism of these speakers. It was pretty cool talking audio with her, especially as I looked through their nice Jazz and Folk LPs (I picked up a dozen great condition LPs).

The speakers look and sound great. I asked about whether the speakers had been placed in direct sunlight – and they said that they learned about that issue with these speakers the hard-way (sunlight damages the drivers), and had shipped back to mfg for repairs. The paperwork was attached to the box. So now they are good and they’ve been careful with them.

Thanks to Bloodrock and Klownschool for advice and consulting on these. I'm not familiar with these at all so it was good to have the input guys, and I'm looking forward to giving these a good listen. It'll be fun to see what you think when you stop by this weekend. :thmbsp: It may be sunny and 85' here but it's really raining gear right now. :yes:

Here's a picture of one of the speakers and the original box:

IMAGE_00477.jpg
 
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Congrats on your purchase.

I'd jump for that price too. Since you're new to this kind of speaker, report back on your opinion of their sound compared to the other speakers you have.

I've found MG speakers locally for cheap(not as cheap as you found them), just haven't jumped primarily because I hear they're best in large rooms away from walls and I don't have that luxury.
 
MG-1's

SpeakerLabFan said:
I saw these on Seattle CL this morning and went out and picked them up at lunchtime. I think I did OK at $125 for these speakers! :thmbsp: :music::banana::banana::banana:

The seller lives just 10 blocks from me, is moving to NY and didn't want to ship these. His SO is a singer and a big fan of the concert realism of these speakers. It was pretty cool talking audio with her, especially as I looked through their nice Jazz and Folk LPs (I picked up a dozen great condition LPs).

The speakers look and sound great. I asked about whether the speakers had been placed in direct sunlight – and they said that they learned about that issue with these speakers the hard-way (sunlight damages the drivers), and had shipped back to mfg for repairs. The paperwork was attached to the box. So now they are good and they’ve been careful with them.

Thanks to Bloodrock and Klownschool for advice and consulting on these. I'm not familiar with these at all so it was good to have the input guys, and I'm looking forward to giving these a good listen. It'll be fun to see what you think when you stop by this weekend. :thmbsp: It may be sunny and 85' here but it's really raining gear right now. :yes:

Here's a picture of one of the speakers and the original box:

IMAGE_00477.jpg
Click to expand...

Really nice speakers you got today. Give them plenty of room to breath, and if possible, nothing between them. Do you still have that tube amp you borrowed from a friend IIRC? Try that with these. Great score considering these were fixed at the factory, and you should have years of musical pleasure. :thmbsp:
 
Teron said:
Congrats on your purchase.

I'd jump for that price too. Since you're new to this kind of speaker, report back on your opinion of their sound compared to the other speakers you have.

I've found MG speakers locally for cheap(not as cheap as you found them), just haven't jumped primarily because I hear they're best in large rooms away from walls and I don't have that luxury.
Click to expand...

Thanks Teron, I'm going to give them a listen - right now I'm listening to ELO on the Phase Linear panel speakers I picked up last week which use traditional drivers and a subwoofer. It sounds frigging amazing in my living room so I'll listen to the same title on the Maggies. :music:

I'm using a Pioneer SX-1080 at close to "5" on the volume control. I'm going to be challenged for placement for these also, since my living room is by far the biggest room in the house and it's full of gear and furniture right now. Nice problem to have. :thmbsp:

bloodrock said:
Really nice speakers you got today. Give them plenty of room to breath, and if possible, nothing between them. Do you still have that tube amp you borrowed from a friend IIRC? Try that with these. Great score considering these were fixed at the factory, and you should have years of musical pleasure. :thmbsp:
Click to expand...

Thanks Larry, yeah I heard these respond well to be placed correctly so I'll have to work on that. I don't have that tube amp any more - it was only 35 WPC so wouldn't it come up short in the muscle department for the Maggies? Can I "borrow" your 160 WPC Kenwood? :lmao:
 
MG-1's

SpeakerLabFan said:
Thanks Teron, I'm going to give them a listen - right now I'm listening to ELO on the Phase Linear panel speakers I picked up last week which use traditional drivers and a subwoofer. It sounds frigging amazing in my living room so I'll listen to the same title on the Maggies. :music:

I'm using a Pioneer SX-1080 at close to "5" on the volume control. I'm going to be challenged for placement for these also, since my living room is by far the biggest room in the house and it's full of gear and furniture right now. Nice problem to have. :thmbsp:



Thanks Larry, yeah I heard these respond well to be placed correctly so I'll have to work on that. I don't have that tube amp any more - it was only 35 WPC so wouldn't it come up short in the muscle department for the Maggies? Can I "borrow" your 160 WPC Kenwood? :lmao:
Click to expand...

Hi Dick, Actually you would be surprised on how these would sound with 35 tube watts. Years ago (1993), I had a pair of Martin Logan Quest speakers, and was using a Classe' 15 power amp rated at I think 100 watts per. A friend of mine wanted it and we traded amps. He had a pair of Quicksilver mono tube amps. Something like 60 watts a side?? After we swapped amps, I hooked up the Quicksilvers and these speakers just opened up and disappeared in my room. Front to back and side to side imaging that just extended way past the walls. My room was small, something like 14x18, and the image seemed like it went on forever. Could never get the same effect with the Classe'. If you have a chance to borrow the tube amp from your friend, give it a try. And yes, absolutely you can borrow the Kenwood anytime. You asked about the phono stage in the 9600, well I hooked it up today and it sounds like Rick (klownschool) would say "Crushing" dead quiet and smooth as silk. Hopefully the phono 2 input is a moving coil.
 
Listening to the Magneplanars...

Ok I've listened to the first few tracks from ELO On the Third Day with some A/B switching with the Carver / Phase Linear speakers. The MG-1 sound amazing and I can't wait to throw more titles at them. The PLs have alot more high end presence - they are much more forward sounding as expected with all those drivers and the dual 12"s in the subwoofer, and with this rock material and in this room.

Like anything I need to move things around and try other content.

I'm listening to some jazz now - Paul Desmond & Gerry Mulligan, and wow! Very open sounding and neutral - its a live performance. :music:
 
bloodrock said:
Hi Dick, Actually you would be surprised on how these would sound with 35 tube watts. Years ago (1993), I had a pair of Martin Logan Quest speakers, and was using a Classe' 15 power amp rated at I think 100 watts per. A friend of mine wanted it and we traded amps. He had a pair of Quicksilver mono tube amps. Something like 60 watts a side?? After we swapped amps, I hooked up the Quicksilvers and these speakers just opened up and disappeared in my room. Front to back and side to side imaging that just extended way past the walls. My room was small, something like 14x18, and the image seemed like it went on forever. Could never get the same effect with the Classe'. If you have a chance to borrow the tube amp from your friend, give it a try. And yes, absolutely you can borrow the Kenwood anytime. You asked about the phono stage in the 9600, well I hooked it up today and it sounds like Rick (klownschool) would say "Crushing" dead quiet and smooth as silk. Hopefully the phono 2 input is a moving coil.
Click to expand...

Ok, now that I've listened to the MG-1s a bit, I think I can see how a tube amp could be an interesting addition. glad to hear the phono stage sounds good on the monster Kenny.

Speaking of "crushing" - I'd like to drive the Speakerlab K's with the Kenwood 9600 - hmm how about some Led Zeppelin or Jimi Hendrix???? :yikes::rockon::bash::uzi::guitar:
 
Nice score. I have me some MG-1s I got for a similar price (pristine, cosmetically, with original boxes). I still need to order the VC/adhesive kit from Magnepan before I can sample their sonic wares. I think I'll get that on order tomorrow...

Enjoy,
Rich P
 
pustelniakr said:
Nice score. I have me some MG-1s I got for a similar price (pristine, cosmetically, with original boxes). I still need to order the VC/adhesive kit from Magnepan before I can sample their sonic wares. I think I'll get that on order tomorrow...

Enjoy,
Rich P
Click to expand...

Thanks Rich. I think you'll find these are worth ordering the kit. I'm listening to some Coltrane this morning, and these things were made for Jazz. I imagine that they'll sound even better when I organize my living room and reduce the amount of speakers and gear laying around. :music:
 
I'm frustrated :D I been trying to get through to order the maggie restoration kit for several days, and all I get is voicemail. :gigglemad

Enjoy,
Rich P
 
pustelniakr said:
I'm frustrated :D I been trying to get through to order the maggie restoration kit for several days, and all I get is voicemail. :gigglemad

Enjoy,
Rich P
Click to expand...

Karen will call you back. It may take a day or two. She could be on vacation, given the time of year.

Congrats on your Maggies, SpeakerLabFan. They do have an intoxicating sound on Jazz and female vocals.

Enjoy!
 
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Urizen said:
Congrats on your Maggies, SpeakerLabFan. They do have an intoxicating sound on Jazz and female vocals.

Enjoy!
Click to expand...

thanks Urizen. Yes, even with my current crappy placement in my crowded living room they sound great with jazz and pop, and my vinyl selection has happily expanded in the past week with the Maggies in mind.

Last night I ran across a clean 1968 Sonny and Cher LP from a garage sale bulk buy. Cher sounded amazing on the Maggies. Today I hit the thrifts and picked up a practically new copy of Cher's 1972 Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves LP and a Fifth Dimension LP. Fun stuff. :music:
 
Let's see a picture of the"current crappy placement". The outside picture does them little justice!
 
Chazzer said:
Did you sneak to my house and snap that picture?
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Heh the clutter actually is worse since I took that picture last week...

I needed to get some of the records off the floor to organize them, so I now have a huge table covered with records. ...And a pair of Large Advents followed me home from the thrift store the other night....
 

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