Magnepan MMG's

[Andrew Pratt]

Okay now that I've had them a little while I think I can comment on these speakers. I love them and can not see myself going back to box speakers again unless they are exotic's etc. What the Maggies excel at is vocals, acoustic instruments and just about anything that gives you the illusion of "air" in a recording. I've got a piece of demo material that has some bells at the start of it on the maggies its truly amazing how real these sound. If there's one thing the MMG's do well its image. The main reason I was looking to upgrade from the Energy's was that in my room with the large entertainment centre inbetween the speakers the C-2's just didn't image as well as I'd hoped. The MMG's certinaly do not have this problem. The mid bass is quite good with male voices coming across cleanly and accurate but low bass is missing with the MMG's rolling off around 50Hz (yet to be measured in my room though) What low bass there is though is very tight with kick drums sounding like kick drums. My big sonosub doesn't sound nearly as convincing on those upper bass notes so I'm looking into an external crossover to lower my crossover point from the fixed 80 on the denon to something a good bit lower. As for the Denon 3300 being able to power the maggies its not having any trouble at all reaching loud levels and the denon isn't getting any warmer then it did with the C-2's so I'm not to worried. Would big amps help...likely they usually do but I don't feel the urgent need to purchase a seperate amp for them. I am currently using the Energy RVSS bi/dipoles as rears and a Energy RVS as a centre. The RVSS actually match quite well with the Maggies with front rear pans sounding even...the centre however is not a good match and will need to be replaced. I have been playing with a phantom centre mode and it works better for some material and worse for others. Generally dialog sounds clean on the RVS centre while in phantom mode it gets a little less focused.
I guess one testiment to these speakers abilities is that before I got the MMG's I though most of my CD's were decent sounding, sure some were better recordings then others but now that the MMG's are in the house i'm quickly discovering what makes or breaks a well recorded disc. The MMG's are brutally honest speakers, they add or take away anything and will reveal the recording for what it is. Good material shines...poor ones are now virutally unlistenable (is that a word!)

If you're looking for more info on these click on my homepage link below then click the MMG image on the homescreen.

[Jeff Kowerchuk]

I've had two opportunities to listen to these new speakers at Andrew's, so I will add my opinions as well.

Visually the MMG's are quite impressive. They are large (though you can get even larger ones), but they are really stiking when you look at them from the side - they are so thin! Quite frankly, the fact that these things produce anything listenable is quite a miracle to me!!

But they are very listenable indeed. The excel at imaging, which has become a great advantage at Andrew's. His speakers are farther apart than they should be, owing to the size and layout of the room. So he needs something that can do some kick-ass imaging, and the MMG's deliver. Despite their proximity from each other, the imagery is spooky - so precise, though there is a bit of a sweet-spot that is prevalent. Still, the image these speakers produce is wonderfully 3 dimensional.

Next to imagery, the next word that best descibes the sound of these speakers is "airy" - they really let the music breathe in the wonderful soundstage they create. The speakers really excel at the high end and playing acoustic instruments. The high end is unbelievably high, and yet unbelievably easy to listen to. It does not grate at all and I doubt if listener fatigue would be an issue with the MMG's. They are partnered with Andrew's Denon 3300, which I've always thought was a bit bright and clinical. The MMG's are great match with the 3300 and any criticism's of the Denon's sound are tempered by the MMG's.

Bass is not the strong point of the MMG's and you will definitely need a sub to fill in the low end. Having said that, the fact that these things produce any bass is a mystery to me. And they do, and considering what they are, they produce a lot of bass! It is very impressive. Still, you'll need a sub for true low-frequency extension.

I don't think I can really find much to criticise with the MMG's. One observation (and for now I will leave it as an observation, rather than a criticism), is some chestiness in the midband at times. The feeling sort of comes and goes, so I wouldn't say it's a serious problem, but I did notice it on occasion. I'd put it down more to the character of the speaker than saying it was an obvious fault.

So there you have it. Considering the price, the MMG's are certainly excellent performers. I know Andrew is extremely happy with them...and he should be! So now Andrew, it is time for the MMG Centre and Surrounds!!! Get crackin' boy!

____
Jeff

[Andrew Pratt]

Jeff I have noticed that mid band hump as well on some material so I began the experiments this weekend. First i tried lifting them up 10 inchs (more then needed but that was the height of the box's i used) and this helpped to move the soundstage up vertically which I liked. The second involved moving the speakers out a little further into the room. This virtually eliminated that chesty mid bass so I think its a matter or room placement not the MMG's fault.

[Lexman]

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[Lex]

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