• The move to the new server is done. There are some software and database maintenance updates in process. This has us passing the hat around to help out. We appreciate any donations. Seriously, even a dollar helps. The payment page may be found here - https://www.audiokarma.org/support.html

Its the Magnepan MMG or me

I've had best luck in a large room, which unfortunately for me, means my basement.

I found that in order to sound there best, they need a large room, and space. They will need to be at least 5-6 feet out from your walls. There also extremely directional, so if your out of the sweet spot, your out of luck. My best suggestion to you concerning these speakers, would be to play with positioning.


Edit: Sorry, I just realized the MMG were smaller than what I was picturing. I confused them with an older model that I have. Do to there smaller size, you can forget what I said about a large room. I would assume placement is the key.
 
Last edited:
SMG's are coming up here next week for 38/ch tube sound. If they don't "cut the mustard" they are gone. I have too many vintage DCM speakers lined up.
 
Scram - what sort of tube amp is that at 38 watts per channel?

I have a pair of these speakers that I will be bringing to a friends house in the next few weeks...

He has a pair of Sherwood Recievers that we will Bi aMp them with...
About 38 watts per channel.

I would be interested to know what your impressions are after you are done.

Also - what actually you listened to would be fun to know to.

You could PM me on it if you like -but that would a cool way of finding an independant impression of these.

I have never had the baby Maggies hooked to a tube system.
 
As the others have said, placement is critical. If your room is somewhat normal, try the Cardas golden rule (google their website) for a good starting position.

I have also found that room treatments and a sub are critical. I am running 3.6s and still like a sub for certain music.

One other tweak most folks highly recommend is Mye stands for your speakers. In fact, they are first on the list of recommended tweaks by virtually all Maggie owners.

Good luck and happy listening...
 
billyunderhi said:
Its the Magnepan or me...

Thats what my wife told me when I brought mine home.:D
She softened up for awhile when she heard them.
Click to expand...

Wow, glad to hear I'm not alone. I just snagged a pair of SMGa's last weekend, and boy did the proverbial sh#t hit the fan when I set them up in the livingroom. On a positive note, both my wife and the speakers are still in the house.

As others have noted, they want to be away from the walls. 3' worked for me, but I push them back against the wall when I'm not listening as I don't have a dedicated cathedral-sized room for listening (and I have two kids who periodically run into things). I find the bass more acceptable from these planars on some types of music than others. I do supplement them with a sub which, in my opinion, complements them nicely. dokblues and others can probably comment on external crossovers and enhanced bass... I haven't gotten that far yet.

I've searched in vain for years for speakers like this... wide, deep soundstage, it actually feels like you're there if you close your eyes. Yes, they are big but I haven't heard anything a tenth as real even for many times the money (are the MMG's still $599?). They also just sound right with my other equipment.

Let them break in for awhile and definitely do play with room placement before you write them off. Try them with a sub. You'll never find another speaker that's nearly as good for the price in the midrange.

Dave
 
I have been on an "MMG journey" for about six months, and have finally settled into the way they are supposed to sound. This thread from the Steve Hoffman forum tells the story.

http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=166392

Summary: Be sure you have hooked the positive and negative terminals up correctly (don't laugh, they are reversed from every other speaker ever made), use the resistors, place them according to poster Bdiament's recommendations (he's a well-known engineer and something of a guru on speaker placement) and wait for the bass to break in. Use a subwoofer, although the need will become less and less over the break-in period. After that you are likely to find the magic that so many others have found with these speakers.

Unlike most audio equipment, these babies really do have a "break-in period".
 
Art K. said:
Dead right in my opinion..except for the subwoofer. Unless you're willing to fork over the bucks necessary to buy a sub that can keep up with Maggies (and that's about twice the price of the Maggies, trust me I've owned Maggies and just about every well respected sub there is) then you are better off without one and instead work with room placement. The good folks at Magnepan used to be upfront with folks and tell 'em that you need a high current amp...their line was "the amp needs to be able to double it's power into 4 ohms" and they aren't lying. The better the amp the more the Maggies sing. I had Rotel power and Maggies....not so much. Try Bryston or Mac. This is why I don't own Maggies anymore it's a slippery slope to get the best from them.
Click to expand...

I'll second Art on this one. I also own a pair of MMG's. I run mine with a Hafler DH-110 Preamp and a Hafler DH-500 amplifier. If you bought MMG's, you're probably looking for high end audio on a budget, and you simply are NOT going to get that with a Bryston or McIntosh Amplifier. My advice - Check out the Hafler amps. These things are tanks, they were made throughout the 80's and designed by David Hafler, who was eventually bought out by Rockford-Fosgate (Do not confuse Hafler with RF... it's simply comparing apples to oranges). The Hafler DH-500 will put 255 wpc into 8 Ohm loads, and although Hafler's are VERY efficient, I highly doubt that any amplifier can actually do as Art described and put 4 Ohm wpc = (8 Ohm wpc * 2). The DH-500 should be putting out around 400 wpc into 4 Ohms, which is far more than ample power for comfortable listening levels on even the Maggie 3.6's.
 
location, location, location. way out from the rear wall, away from the side walls, toed in just slightly (for me) is just about perfect.


I bought my 1.6QRs used, so didn't have to worry about break in. cable isn't the problem. I use a rotel 1080 also, it's a perfectly capable amplifier.

no, there is not much bass. what bass there is is accurate. one of the main things about maggies is the larger they get, the better the bass.
 
The Bone said:
Should be getting some Magnepan SMGa's this weekend....:banana:
Click to expand...

I have SMGas and love them. I find the bass to be satisfactory. Very flat down to 70 Hz, with no hump. That, of course, would not satisfy a bass enthusiast.

I find the highs to be muted but satisfactory.

Mostly they are incredibly smooth. Vocals are particularly convincing.
 
EvilWoodchuc said:
I'll second Art on this one. I also own a pair of MMG's. I run mine with a Hafler DH-110 Preamp and a Hafler DH-500 amplifier. If you bought MMG's, you're probably looking for high end audio on a budget, and you simply are NOT going to get that with a Bryston or McIntosh Amplifier. My advice - Check out the Hafler amps. These things are tanks, they were made throughout the 80's and designed by David Hafler, who was eventually bought out by Rockford-Fosgate (Do not confuse Hafler with RF... it's simply comparing apples to oranges). The Hafler DH-500 will put 255 wpc into 8 Ohm loads, and although Hafler's are VERY efficient, I highly doubt that any amplifier can actually do as Art described and put 4 Ohm wpc = (8 Ohm wpc * 2). The DH-500 should be putting out around 400 wpc into 4 Ohms, which is far more than ample power for comfortable listening levels on even the Maggie 3.6's.
Click to expand...

There are many amps that double down as the load is decreased. Start with Krell, then include all Class A and most Class D amplifiers.
 
I have a recapped and modded DH-500 that I tried on my MMGs. Yep, sounded pretty nice, but I found my fully refurbished and modded Soundcraftsmen MA5002 really made them sing. I also have an Emotiva XPA-2 and it too sounds great with the MMG's but doesn't have the warmth or body of the Soundcraftsmen. However, transients were a little faster and overall presentation a little crisper and detailed. My buddy's Emotiva USP-1 pre (that has taken up residence at my place) does an outstanding job with giving percussion great dynaics with lots of "snap", but other than that it's a little cold for my taste. My favorite pre with the MMG's is my recapped and modded Hafer 110...by a long shot. However, I do have an AMC 1030 tube pre I recently picked up and am quite anxious to hear it with the MMGs once I get it back from a good goin' through by my tube gear tech.
 
I know this is an old thread but maybe someone could use my experience. I ordered MMG, as I loved my last speaker, the 1.6QR. Those are gone but I had high hopes for the MMG. First off, don't even think of judging them right out of the box! They sound like cardboard! The first few weeks I had them powered with a cheap HT amp that had 4ohm outputs. I also hooked up a cheap passive sub to help with the bass. It wasn't great but it fleshed out the sound and gave me the missing bass. I tried to leave them playing as much as possible until I had about 100 hrs on them. Then, finally my new Odyssey Khartago SE+ amp arrived and I could use my Audio Research SP9 MK III preamp. The sub I was using would not work with this setup but over the next 100 hrs the speaker opened up and extended it's bass response so that I didn't miss the sub at all. The high frequencies sound smooth and detailed, but never harsh. Yes room placement is important but so is it with any speaker. I have mine 40" out from the short wall in a 12x14 room. It's working out very well. I'm not crazy about the stands. As is, they are much better on carpet than a hard surface. I keep mine leaned back. I'm using Groenburg cables from Odyssey throughout. Every day of break in the SQ goes up. Be patient.
 
Those speakers will NEVER sound the way you want them to. They are obviously junk, you best just box them up and mail them to good ole Funky54 to dispose of them proper.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom