Magnepan SMG Speakers - A Few Questions for Magnepan Owners

[NickDeO]

Hello,

I currently have the opportunity to purchase a pair of Magnepan SMGs from a friend for $250. He says there is no noticeable issues with them and that they‘ve been stored correctly as long as he’s owned them (8 years or so). I know these didn’t fare well in hot/humid environments, but we live in PA where this shouldn’t be a problem.

In looking into these here on AK, I’m sewing a fair bit of concern regarding wires delaminating over time. I suppose I don’t mind restoring them if I have to, but I’m wondering if it’s even worth it at this price point. From what I’ve read, the wires need to separate considerably from the membrane before any distortion is apparent in the sound. My friend says from what he’s read, he has no reason to believe that their age should be of any concern. At this point, let’s just assume they might be “a little tired” at worst, but still functioning well overall… for now.

I haven’t heard these yet, nor have I actually heard any Magnepans before in “real life”. I know these are not flagship models, but I’m intrigued by them for sure. I have heard lots of good and bad reviews about planar speakers and I believe I might have a decent idea of what I’m getting into.

My questions to the Magnepan owners:

• Is $250 a good price for a pair of SMGs? No signs of past repairs, damage, etc.
• Are these going to blow me away in the same sense that electrostatic speakers do (clarity, transparency, soundstage, etc)? I listen mostly to jazz, folk, etc. I’m never looking to rattle the windows, either.
• Are these going to be happy in a 12’x12’ room? I don’t know if I can get much more than 2’ of space between them and the wall.
• Do the older versions like the SMG sound a bit colored, or somewhat accurate? I love my vintage speakers, but many of them still add a bit of coloration to the signal.
• Is a 100wpc Marantz AVR going to provide enough power? It’s the biggest amp I currently have sitting around.

What would you do? Buy the SMGs for $250, or pass on the offer?

Thanks in advance!

 

[RossW]

Not a bad price for a working pair. Repairs (if needed) are a bit finnicky, but not particularly difficult.
Bring a bright flashlight and look through the grill cloth near the top and bottom. The wires should be fully adhered all the way, the classic failure mode is the ends start to come up. If it's particularly bad you can actually feel it by pressing lightly on the grill. Once it has started, that's it, it's only going to get worse until you fix it properly.
Listen to some music with lots of bass (to make sure they don't rattle, another sign of delamination) and some with lots of treble (to make sure the "tweeter" wires are in good shape, if those are bad you usually need to completely replace the wires, which is quite a bit more work than just re-gluing the ends on the bass wires)

I haven't spent much time with electrostatic speakers, but I had a pair of Magnepan MG3.3R for a while that I only sold because of space constraints (if I ever have a bigger listening room I will very strongly consider another pair of Maggies).

You can make them work in a 12 x 12 room, that's about the size I had my MG3.3R in, the SMG is probably a bit better of a fit for a room that size.

Based on what I remember from hearing a pair of SMG a few years back, they're reasonably accurate through the midrange, but roll off in bass (quite a bit) and treble (somewhat).

At reasonable volumes that should be enough to give you a taste, as long as it can handle 4-ohm loads.

 

[Pyrrho]

My questions to the Magnepan owners:

Full disclosure: I am a former Magnepan owner. You can stop reading this if you only want current Magnepan owners to reply.

Is $250 a good price for a pair of SMGs? No signs of past repairs, damage, etc.

In good condition, that is a reasonable price. If they look good and sound good, with no "buzzing" when playing bass heavy music at a reasonably loud volume, that price is okay.

Are these going to blow me away in the same sense that electrostatic speakers do (clarity, transparency, soundstage, etc)?

I don't know how you will feel about them. You should listen to them before parting with your money. You can look at specifications for the SMG here:

http://www.integracoustics.com/MUG/MUG/articles/speakers.html

See also:

https://www.hifiengine.com/manual_library/magnepan/magneplanar-smg.shtml

There is no deep bass and the very high treble drops off (which can be seen from the specifications at the links above). And they have a limited maximum volume. But Magnepan speakers generally have a good sense of clarity about them (I don't recall hearing the SMG, though I did own a pair of SMGa, the model that replaced the SMG, which probably is quite similar; the specifications are almost identical).

Are these going to be happy in a 12’x12’ room?

A square room typically isn't ideal for audio, but the SMG is most suitable for a relatively small room.

I don’t know if I can get much more than 2’ of space between them and the wall.

I am not certain about the SMG, but Magnepan recommended about 3 feet from the wall for the SMGa, though they also recommended some experimentation with placement, both further from the wall, and closer to it. This does not mean that you will not like the sound if you only have them 2 feet from the wall, but it is likely that they will not sound their best that way. Magnepan also recommended some toe-in rather than parallel with the wall behind them. Experimentation also with this is a good idea.

They are not heavy and are easy to move, so you could move them out for listening, and closer to the wall when not listening.

You can also contact Magnepan for advice about placement.

Is a 100wpc Marantz AVR going to provide enough power?

What is its output into 4 ohms? That is what matters, since the Magnepan SMG is a 4 ohm speaker. If it can put out 100 watts into 4 ohms, it should be okay.

What would you do? Buy the SMGs for $250, or pass on the offer?

Since these are offered by a friend, presumably they won't mind if you go listen to them. That is what I recommend, unless your friend won't let you hear them. If you cannot listen to them first, do not buy them.

Whether they are something to buy or not depends on your taste, your finances, and their condition. If you have a lot more you can spend on speakers, then you should not buy them, because better speakers can be had for a lot more money. But if your price point is $300 or less, then listening to them to see if they suit you would be a really good idea. You may love them, or not. There is no way for us to know how you will feel about them.

(To more directly answer your question as asked, I would not buy them, because I have much more expensive speakers that are better. But at that price point, if one is willing to live with their limitations, they would be something one should consider.)

 

[NickDeO]

Full disclosure: I am a former Magnepan owner. You can stop reading this if you only want current Magnepan owners to reply.



In good condition, that is a reasonable price. If they look good and sound good, with no "buzzing" when playing bass heavy music at a reasonably loud volume, that price is okay.



I don't know how you will feel about them. You should listen to them before parting with your money. You can look at specifications for the SMG here:

http://www.integracoustics.com/MUG/MUG/articles/speakers.html

See also:

https://www.hifiengine.com/manual_library/magnepan/magneplanar-smg.shtml

There is no deep bass and the very high treble drops off (which can be seen from the specifications at the links above). And they have a limited maximum volume. But Magnepan speakers generally have a good sense of clarity about them (I don't recall hearing the SMG, though I did own a pair of SMGa, the model that replaced the SMG, which probably is quite similar; the specifications are almost identical).



A square room typically isn't ideal for audio, but the SMG is most suitable for a relatively small room.



I am not certain about the SMG, but Magnepan recommended about 3 feet from the wall for the SMGa, though they also recommended some experimentation with placement, both further from the wall, and closer to it. This does not mean that you will not like the sound if you only have them 2 feet from the wall, but it is likely that they will not sound their best that way. Magnepan also recommended some toe-in rather than parallel with the wall behind them. Experimentation also with this is a good idea.

They are not heavy and are easy to move, so you could move them out for listening, and closer to the wall when not listening.

You can also contact Magnepan for advice about placement.




What is its output into 4 ohms? That is what matters, since the Magnepan SMG is a 4 ohm speaker. If it can put out 100 watts into 4 ohms, it should be okay.




Since these are offered by a friend, presumably they won't mind if you go listen to them. That is what I recommend, unless your friend won't let you hear them. If you cannot listen to them first, do not buy them.

Whether they are something to buy or not depends on your taste, your finances, and their condition. If you have a lot more you can spend on speakers, then you should not buy them, because better speakers can be had for a lot more money. But if your price point is $300 or less, then listening to them to see if they suit you would be a really good idea. You may love them, or not. There is no way for us to know how you will feel about them.

(To more directly answer your question as asked, I would not buy them, because I have much more expensive speakers that are better. But at that price point, if one is willing to live with their limitations, they would be something one should consider.)

Thanks a lot for your detailed answers — this is really helpful. I will have to listen to them before buying. I have a few pairs of speakers that probably sound better than these ever will, but I’ve always been intrigued by Magnepans and always wanted to own a pair. I suppose at worst I can maybe lose a little money and learn a lesson.

 

[Pyrrho]

Just to be clear, my speakers that I never plan on upgrading are similar in concept to Magnepan speakers. These. So I am far from thinking that the general concept is a bad one. The SMG, though, was the bottom of the line for Magnepan. So you should expect almost every other Magnepan speaker to sound better.

Also, life is troublesome, in that one speaker might sound better in some ways, and worse in others, when compared with a different speaker. Sometimes it is a question of which virtues one loves most, and which vices one hates most, when choosing between two different speakers. Magnepan speakers tend to be really good in some ways, and less than ideal in others, particularly with the cheaper models.

 

[Wolverine]

I have owned briefly two pairs of SMG's and currently own a pair of MMG's. One pair of the SMGs was fine and the other had the beginnings of the delamination issue. The buzz caused by the delaminating was only apparent when playing a very low Bass passage so testing with some music that you know goes deep is a must. Having said that you will need a good subwoofer to match up with them unless you plan on playing only Acoustic music or Music that does not utilize much Bass. When paired with a sub I could actually cross the low frequencies over to the sub and eliminate the delamination issue.

Price - If there are no issues then it is an okay price but not a bargain IMO. Depending on the market in your area and your budget I personally would look to pay a couple of hundred more and get a pair of used MMG's which is a better speaker even though there dimensions are similar to the SMG.

Room Size - My current room is a 12x12 which required some room treatment because a perfect square is problem regardless of the speakers used. For my MMGs Magnepan states that the speakers be a minimum of 2 feet from the wall. If you are limited to just 2 feet you will be okay but they will sound better further out in the room. I would recommend an acoustic panel on the wall behind them to eliminate/reduce reflections.

Amplification - Magnepan speakers love power and these are no exception. But the power should not be looked at in terms of watts per channel but in terms of current. If you have a high current amp that can easily drive a 4ohm load then you are good. I don't know the model Marantz you have but in general a AVR receiver is not going to have the kind of power supply needed for a pair of Magnepan speakers so look carefully at the Marantz specs.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[NickDeO]

Not a bad price for a working pair. Repairs (if needed) are a bit finnicky, but not particularly difficult.
Bring a bright flashlight and look through the grill cloth near the top and bottom. The wires should be fully adhered all the way, the classic failure mode is the ends start to come up. If it's particularly bad you can actually feel it by pressing lightly on the grill. Once it has started, that's it, it's only going to get worse until you fix it properly.
Listen to some music with lots of bass (to make sure they don't rattle, another sign of delamination) and some with lots of treble (to make sure the "tweeter" wires are in good shape, if those are bad you usually need to completely replace the wires, which is quite a bit more work than just re-gluing the ends on the bass wires)

I haven't spent much time with electrostatic speakers, but I had a pair of Magnepan MG3.3R for a while that I only sold because of space constraints (if I ever have a bigger listening room I will very strongly consider another pair of Maggies).

You can make them work in a 12 x 12 room, that's about the size I had my MG3.3R in, the SMG is probably a bit better of a fit for a room that size.

Based on what I remember from hearing a pair of SMG a few years back, they're reasonably accurate through the midrange, but roll off in bass (quite a bit) and treble (somewhat).

At reasonable volumes that should be enough to give you a taste, as long as it can handle 4-ohm loads.

Thanks for the input. I will be sure to bring a flashlight when I go to check them out. It does look like the treble wires on these can be prone to breakage. I have a few amps that should be able to power them at a 4ohm load, so I should be in good shape. There’s just something about Magnepans that fascinates me. Who knows - maybe I’ll change my mind after hearing them. It might just be the novelty of their flat shape, although I know a lot of people really seem to like the newer, bigger models.

Just to be clear, my speakers that I never plan on upgrading are similar in concept to Magnepan speakers. These. So I am far from thinking that the general concept is a bad one. The SMG, though, was the bottom of the line for Magnepan. So you should expect almost every other Magnepan speaker to sound better.

Also, life is troublesome, in that one speaker might sound better in some ways, and worse in others, when compared with a different speaker. Sometimes it is a question of which virtues one loves most, and which vices one hates most, when choosing between two different speakers. Magnepan speakers tend to be really good in some ways, and less than ideal in others, particularly with the cheaper models.

I agree, different speakers always seem to have different sets of strengths and weaknesses. I’m not sure if we’ve ever really figured out a way to build a loudspeaker that truly solves all these problems. I like to collect, so I have a few sets that excel in different areas. A few of my speakers have a much bigger list of strengths than others, and these tend to be the ones I listen to most often.

The closest I’ve heard to “perfection” so far was probably an electrostatic speaker, which can produce some of the most crystal-clear sounds to ever grace our ears. Unfortunately, these can only really do so in the higher frequency bands. It can be difficult to seamlessly blend these together with a high performance woofer to fill in the rest of the picture. The newer Janszen speakers seem to be able to do this, but I personally haven’t heard them. According to the website, they are incredibly forgiving with room placement, which is a huge bonus.

I think I’ll probably give the SMGs a try, if anything just as an introduction to Magnepans. If I don’t like them, I’ll just pass them along to someone who will.

 

[NickDeO]

I have owned briefly two pairs of SMG's and currently own a pair of MMG's. One pair of the SMGs was fine and the other had the beginnings of the delamination issue. The buzz caused by the delaminating was only apparent when playing a very low Bass passage so testing with some music that you know goes deep is a must. Having said that you will need a good subwoofer to match up with them unless you plan on playing only Acoustic music or Music that does not utilize much Bass. When paired with a sub I could actually cross the low frequencies over to the sub and eliminate the delamination issue.

Price - If there are no issues then it is an okay price but not a bargain IMO. Depending on the market in your area and your budget I personally would look to pay a couple of hundred more and get a pair of used MMG's which is a better speaker even though there dimensions are similar to the SMG.

Room Size - My current room is a 12x12 which required some room treatment because a perfect square is problem regardless of the speakers used. For my MMGs Magnepan states that the speakers be a minimum of 2 feet from the wall. If you are limited to just 2 feet you will be okay but they will sound better further out in the room. I would recommend an acoustic panel on the wall behind them to eliminate/reduce reflections.

Amplification - Magnepan speakers love power and these are no exception. But the power should not be looked at in terms of watts per channel but in terms of current. If you have a high current amp that can easily drive a 4ohm load then you are good. I don't know the model Marantz you have but in general a AVR receiver is not going to have the kind of power supply needed for a pair of Magnepan speakers so look carefully at the Marantz specs.

Good luck with your decision!

Thanks for your detailed input; it’s very helpful. I agree that MMGs would be the way to go, but I haven’t seen any in my area for quite some time. They seem to sound better and be less prone to the delaminating of wires.

As for the low end, I have a nice 10” SVS subwoofer that should pair nicely. I might need to keep looking for an amp that’ll be better suited to drive a 4 ohm load like this. The Marantz (it’s an SR7001) can probably do it, but most likely not that well. I can’t recall seeing a published current rating at 4ohms, but they are compatible.

Also, I just measured the room and it’s actually 10’x12’. Close to my eyeballed range, but thankfully not square. There’s a good deal of room treatment that should help as well. Either way, I know it’s not the perfect place for Magnepans.

 

[Pyrrho]

Thanks for your detailed input; it’s very helpful. I agree that MMGs would be the way to go, but I haven’t seen any in my area for quite some time. They seem to sound better and be less prone to the delaminating of wires.

As for the low end, I have a nice 10” SVS subwoofer that should pair nicely. I might need to keep looking for an amp that’ll be better suited to drive a 4 ohm load like this. The Marantz (it’s an SR7001) can probably do it, but most likely not that well. I can’t recall seeing a published current rating at 4ohms, but they are compatible.

Also, I just measured the room and it’s actually 10’x12’. Close to my eyeballed range, but thankfully not square. There’s a good deal of room treatment that should help as well. Either way, I know it’s not the perfect place for Magnepans.

One of the good things about using that AVR is that you can use the bass management feature, and filter the bass going to the Magnepan speakers. This will place less of a demand on the amplifiers in the AVR, because they will not be amplifying the bass frequencies, which typically are where most of the power is used. It also puts less of a demand on the Magnepan speakers, because they are not being asked to reproduce deep bass (that they cannot reproduce anyway). And you should be able to get good integration with your SVS. You can experiment with crossover frequencies, but a good place to start would be 80 Hz.

 

[NickDeO]

One of the good things about using that AVR is that you can use the bass management feature, and filter the bass going to the Magnepan speakers. This will place less of a demand on the amplifiers in the AVR, because they will not be amplifying the bass frequencies, which typically are where most of the power is used. It also puts less of a demand on the Magnepan speakers, because they are not being asked to reproduce deep bass (that they cannot reproduce anyway). And you should be able to get good integration with your SVS. You can experiment with crossover frequencies, but a good place to start would be 80 Hz.

That’s a really good idea. I didn’t know that filtering out the lower frequencies would create less strain on the amp itself. It does make sense, though… I’ll have to give this a try. It would definitely be nice if I didn’t have to buy another amp when one is sitting here collecting dust.

 

[Pyrrho]

agree, different speakers always seem to have different sets of strengths and weaknesses. I’m not sure if we’ve ever really figured out a way to build a loudspeaker that truly solves all these problems.

Many problems can be solved with spending more money (if it is well spent). For example, deep bass is expensive, and so most budget speakers don't even try for that. But a few very expensive speakers have been able to produce deep bass. This is not anything new; the old Infinity Quantum Line Source (QLS) was rated as producing 18-32kHz +/-2dB:

Quantum Line Source QLS 1

http://www.infinity-classics.de/technik/manuals/Quantum_Line_Source_1_technical_sheet.pdf

They cost $2600. Back in 1977, $2600 was a lot of money. According to this inflation calculator:

CPI Inflation Calculator : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

www.bls.gov

$2600 in January 1977 is equivalent to $13,707.42 in January 2024. Also, those speakers were very big and very heavy, and were difficult to drive, requiring very powerful amplifiers to properly drive them, which, back then, were relatively rare and quite expensive, making it very expensive to get the full range sound that those speakers produced.

Those speakers were part of a system that a magazine recommended for $10,000:

http://www.infinity-classics.de/models/Quantum-series-1976/Quantum-Line-Source-QLS-1/QLS_1_7_1b.jpg

Using the inflation calculator above, $10,000 in January 1977 is equivalent to $52,720.85 in January 2024. You can get a really nice system in which the speakers have a great deal of strengths for that kind of money, if the components are properly selected. Or you can buy a pretty decent new car with that kind of money.


As an aside, I heard those Infinity QLS speakers in the 1970's at an audio store. At that time, they were the best sounding speakers I had ever heard, with seemingly no limit to the treble or bass, and with those EMIT tweeters, the treble was better than anything I had ever heard before. They seemed perfect, or nearly so, compared with what I was used to. Plus, being line source, you could sit down or stand up and have tweeters near ear level. It has been too long for me to be able to remember what, exactly, they sounded like, and I did not spend a lot of time listening to them, because they were so far out of my price range that there was no way I was ever going to buy them or anything close to them. But they were quite remarkable for that era, and few speakers of any era can boast properly producing bass down that low.

Of course, throwing money at a problem does not guarantee that one will adequately address it. Some expensive things are designed to part fools from their money rather than to be good products. But, with spending enough money well, one can solve a lot of problems that are commonly present with reasonably priced speakers.


In the case of the limitations on the small Magnepan speakers, you could go with the Magnepan 30.7, which would give you considerably deeper bass, higher treble than the SMG, and could play much louder, and likely sound better at all frequencies. They are only $43,995.00 a pair:

Magnepan 30.7

The amazing Magnepan 30.7 floor standing speaker is available for sale at Overture in Sales Tax Free Delaware. We welcome any Trade-Ins!

www.overtureav.com

Of course, then you need to buy a decent amplifier to drive them, and if you want really deep bass, you will need to add a subwoofer, though you might feel that the bass of the 30.7 is deep enough. If you throw enough money at the problems, you can have a system that overcomes many problems that most people live with.

The difficulty is in trying to get that kind of performance on a tight budget. Generally speaking, one makes some compromises to keep the price down. And different people choose to give up different virtues in that tradeoff, because different things matter to different people. Most people give up quite a lot to keep the price very low. But if money is no object, you can have spectacular speakers and a spectacular system.