390amx

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $300.00 from audiogon

Summary:
Even before these speakers were refurbished by Magnepan (for less than $200) these SMGa's really sing...one word realism...everything sounds like they should, the kick drum,snares, guitar and bass all sound real and palpable. They really shine with jazz and vocals but holds up well even with head bangin rock n roll. I've tried many speakers in the past and nothing comes close at this price point. It is a wonderful and inexpensive way to get into true "Hi Fi".

Strengths:
Clarity and realism...hard to go back to "boxed" speakers

Good company support of an older line...will repair and return in a timely fashion

Network of modifications available (ie stands, tweeks and cross overs units) with a growing fan base

Weaknesses:
Needs a large amp to really sing, found solid state amps to work the best (ie adcom 545II)

Sweet spot is small need to play with speaker placement more so than other speakers i've owned also needs space to really breathe

Stands are a bit cheep and an after thought

Similar Products Used:
vandersteen 1c's, totem aero, snell type Q's, epos,

david sundby

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Price Paid:  $330.00 from ebay

Summary:
very clear and accurate speaker;best i have owned. not for a small or large room. best to be 12' away or more for the drivers to integrate best to have 4'away from rear wall or more. not for headbangers but plenty loud for me

a great bargain on the used market i trie a 70 w 4 ohm amp and it did not cut it
300 watts worked alot better; again, i am not a headbanger and seldomly exceed 85 dbaverage levels.

good for all types of music and upgradable with mods. mine did not buzz or rattle despite thier age

Strengths:
detail great timbre and tightness to the bass good integration from range to range
if you can get far enough away soundstage is great

i want to like box speakers but will never go back; these are much better

some day i will hunt down some old appogees

Weaknesses:
voice is a bit recessed; god how i wish i could afford a couple hundred watts of tube power speaker connections suck alot the std legs are a joke

i doubt that these will be repairable if i blow the tweeters ( i have bypassed the fuse protecting them to great sonic advantage)

Similar Products Used:
none

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Price Paid:  $330.00 from ebay

Summary:
very clear and accurate speaker;best i have owned. not for a small or large room. best to be 12' away or more for the drivers to integrate best to have 4'away from rear wall or more. not for headbangers but plenty loud for me

a great bargain on the used market i trie a 70 w 4 ohm amp and it did not cut it
300 watts worked alot better; again, i am not a headbanger and seldomly exceed 85 dbaverage levels.

good for all types of music and upgradable with mods. mine did not buzz or rattle despite thier age

Strengths:
detail great timbre and tightness to the bass good integration from range to range
if you can get far enough away soundstage is great

i want to like box speakers but will never go back; these are much better

some day i will hunt down some old appogees

Weaknesses:
voice is a bit recessed; god how i wish i could afford a couple hundred watts of tube power speaker connections suck alot the std legs are a joke

i doubt that these will be repairable if i blow the tweeters ( i have bypassed the fuse protecting them to great sonic advantage)

Similar Products Used:
none

Price Paid:  $330.00 from ebay

Summary:
these are the best speakrers i have owned i have not heard a box speaker that will match them i find they get plenty loud enough but i am not a headbager
i half expected problems of the coils separating from the mylar but they seem to be in good shape after all these years and what i am sure was a rough jouney here. i am so glad fedex did not harm these speakers more than the little cosmrtic damage they inflicted. the sound is open and pure. detail is good. mostly i like the accuracy and timbre of the bass.

Strengths:
great soundstage. even frequency response low cost upgradable with mods

Weaknesses:
flimsy frame complete crap terminals

berndt

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $200.00 from SF craigslist

Summary:
I purchased these on a whim, while I was waiting for some cabinets to be made for my diy line arrays. I found MUG(magnepan users group) and the lists of mods for these amazing speakers. Fuse removal is the first thing I did, just bypassing the fuse enhanced the upper registers. I then replaced the crossover components with sonicaps and a 12ga aircore inductor. The magic really started to pour out of these speakers. Next I sent my speakers to Peter Gunn, http://www.indiespinzone.com/other/smga.html, he built new frames and crossover boxes in addition to reworking the internal wiring. His work is top notch and these speakers just came back and the new frames make the stereo imaging most amazing. The lower octaves are also much reinforced by the use of PG's frames. This speaker become a true world class audiophile element after the modifications, for my near field listening and condominium(neighbors) I don't think there is a better choice.
If you see a set come up used they are repairable and tweakable.
These speakers changed the course of my audio journey 180 degrees.

Strengths:
The tone and the texture these present still leaves me listening long into the night.
With modifications maggies do rock.

Weaknesses:
power hungry, I think they need at least 200wpc into 8ohms to play open and detailed about 95db. The transients really need power to sound clean.

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mapletree ultra se4 preamp
conrad johnson mf200 modded by musictechknowledgy
olive music server
luxman tuner
B&O TT