The best speaker I've had in my life. And still working perfectly since 2000. Since I have these speakers, I've never been able to hear speakers box anymore.
The reviews of this speaker, and the thousands of posting by its passionate fan base, all agree: you simply can’t come close to this level of sound production anywhere near this price with any other speaker. They rave on about its clarity, its resolution, the way it brings the musicians into the room with you, and contrast it with those awful box speakers, you know, the ones encased in wood or, even worse, today encased in MDF and vinyl – yuck. So, for $600 you can be in audio heaven. Surely the best speaker $600 or even $1,000 can buy.
So I bought a pair and was underwhelmed. Yes there was clarity, and resolution, but the impact of a full symphony orchestra was just not there, and a strong high voice, like Luciano Pavarotti’s or Joan Sutherland’s, was painfully shrill. Worse, on even the best recordings of small groups, where the MMGs excelled, you had to put your head in a vise to get the best results – move an inch to the left or the right and the sound changed markedly; a speaker for one person sitting dead center and never moving. I did not keep them.
And yet the hymns of praise continue. Then I noticed something really strange. The very people who sing the MMG’s praises most loudly, and insist they are the bargain of the century, then say you have to send the MMGs to a guy named Peter Gunn (not his real name, which he says is unpronounceable, but the name he works under) and pay him $2,000 or more to fix everything that’s wrong with the MMGs. Indeed, if you order a really nice wood for the frame, and his upgraded crossover, you’re pushing $2,400 – that is, those MMG bargains just hit $3,000! Of course that puts you in an entirely different cost-zone with many respected speakers you should be comparing the MMGs with, including Magnepan’s larger models, but if you did the fans would be charging you with comparing apples and oranges. Very strange indeed.
Anyway, are the MMGs a valid choice at $600? I think they are, but I was not comparing them with $600 speakers but with my Paradigm Monitor 11s from 2003 which then cost $1,050 – there was no comparison. (The new iteration of that Paradigm speaker, I have been told, has been severely de-contented; but I wouldn’t know, as Paradigm speakers are no longer sold in Tucson, Arizona, where I live, and if you buy them from a distant retailer, online or by telephone, Paradigm warns you there will be no warranty. Of course there are many other speakers – Salk, Zu, Ohm, Gallo, Wharfedale, Tannoy, Harbeth – and what do they all have in common? You can’t hear any of them in Tucson, an MSA of a million people. The audio industry is committing commercial suicide, but that’s a different subject.)
I'm writing for ordinary folks like me dumb enough not to understand all the language audiophiles sipt out and love music to death. Having retired recently and listening to music is a significant daily task, I just couldn't stand the distorted sound of my cheap Sony stereo and speakers. Money is a big objection for the pensioners with fixed income. MMG was the final compromising resolution to improve my toy after surfing all the web sites.
It took quite a while to find the right combination to satisfy my ears. Mid and high was very clear and impressive but the ansence of bass obvious. Got another identical amp and did vertical bi-amped with mono bridged mode. Now enough power to fire the bass but I could feel still something missing. Couldn't figure that out, so tried seperating the bass with actual crossover connecting through additional amp to old PO$hit Sony speakers. It took more than four days playing around all the knobs and control, and cutting all the wires except the bass driver of Sony. With multiple combination of A/B switches to compare the different sounds for each set-up, I caught the beautiful sound all of sudden in one click. Clarity and distortion was not every thing for the beauty of the sound. It is the balance of mix and match of every single sound. Exuberating joy. MMG itself is flat with no colour of the music even though the quality is excellent.
I was comparing the play of Mahler's 'Resurrection' SACD with the local philharmonis performance last night, wow the CD play was better than the live performance. I'm impressed with my MMG with cheap equipment from ebay. Sorry to the conductor.
The only flaw I still hear is the distortion on extreme high end. From the chorus and Beethoven's full blast sound when every instruments go fortissimo I still hear the discomforting distortion for which I like to bi-amp the MMG horizontally also but I decided to wait until the warranty expires. It is bearable though.
For the expense of 640 bucks I'm very satisfied with the outcome. I believe the speaker is the most critical monster for the audio system.
I got my pair of MMG about 1.5 yrs ago (or may be a little more). It is hooked up to a NAD 325BEE integrated amp with an old Sony DVD/CD player that I had for over 10 years. In another words, my system is not the most fancy type but it does it job. In addition to the MMGs, I have a Definitive Technology ProSub 60 hooked up to the NAD using speaker wires from the speaker post of the NAD to the high input to the sub. The sub crossover is set to a frequency little less than 50Hz. This setting is absolutely 'sweet'. The sound stage is clear, high, mid, and low responses are wonderful. If you are in the market to get a L/R floor standing speakers, take a serious look at the MMG itself. Happy Listening...
I have listened to many a box speakers and I am still baffeled why the MMG panel sounds so very good with the 2 way Quasi ribbon system. I use a Raysonic cd 128 on a wall mount with 4 Gold lion 6922 tubes in the back section. I have a Cardas Golden reference power cord between the Raysonic and my Blue Circle MR-1200 power conditioner. I have another Golden reference power cord between the conditioner and the wall socket. I have a AQ1001DT intregated tube amp at 50 watts per channel. I gutted the tube amp and replaced with many parts including Audio Note wiring and capacitors. The remote is non exisdent as I bipassed the volume control. I use a Cardas Cross power cord between the amp and the conditioner. I run Golden Cross Cardas speaker cables to the MMGs. Let me tell you folks, For 600 dollars I have not listened to a better speaker. These speakers drop out of site in the bottom end with the right components. Don't go stingy on the power cords to your components. All before is so much more important than the speakers themself. The MMGs are the best speaker in the world in their price range if you give them a good window of components. They have the ability to take places I have never been in musicality. Thank you so much for reading my review, Andy.
