Clean crisp sound at under $1000.

A sub is recommended for rock, and a fair amount of power if you are not using a tube amp.

I have had these pared up with an old Carver 100wpc amp and they sound incredible, but I still need a bit more power. I'm looking to get an Outlaw amp to really see what these can do with the extra power. Even without the power, these have amazing detail. Bass response is also decent, though I would go with a sub for rock (NOTE: these speakers do need to be broken in a bit, otherwise you don't get quite the same base response). Another note, placement is critical, with a good spot (away from the wall), you can get a good sweet spot (much larger than any electrostat I have listened to). If you enjoy vocals or jazz, these are the speakers for you. The only bad note: I had to get a new center channel after buying these. The quality of that poor center channel just couldn't keep up with the maggies.

Similar Products Used:

Magnepan MMG's - I upgraded from these a little over a year ago.

Transparent sound, overall quality, and value

None, but my wife says the speakers are still too large

This review may express more of journey than a moment in time. A travel down an audio road to the "Emerald City" looking for a Wizard to provide that special gift.

It began with a simple post by me to audioayslum.com/speakers called, Magneplanar tip. "Of all things, overnight I installed Radio Shack gold banana plugs on each end of the 10ga generic speaker wire we are using between a Denon 3300 and MG12 Magneplanar speakers. This was done for convenience, but there is actually an audible improvement in detail. Perhaps gold surface improves contact."

To that thread Mart posted, "indeed, but if you're using those steel bypass juncture bars instead of the resistors try some 10ga wire with gold plugs there too." It was a thoughtful challenge.

About the same time I received a recording of unusual merits. "Nature's Realm" of The Philadelphia Orchestra (Water Lily WLA-WS-66-CD) is the first recording with all tube equipment in 20 years. The warmth of valves carries the detail of instruments to the musical ambiance of the Academy of Music hall. It is a recording of special note.

This warm and detailed recording provides sonic measure to evaluate the considerable audio qualities of the MG12. But a bit of personal history may provide meaning.

To confess age, my audio ears were developed in the early 1970's on tube equipment. It was a fortunate time that brought a Marantz 8b amplifier, a pair of Dynaco Stereo 70 amplifiers, and a Marantz 7c preamplifier. Used in a triamp arrangement these sonic wonders were able produce bass slam, as well as extended, detailed treble. This equipment was combined with Jantzen electrostatic midrange/tweeters with custom passive crossover and Bozak woofers. It was very high quality that delivered 40hz to 25khz without effort.

Some say this was the golden age of audio. But there were elements that escaped control. Even with the warm glow of tubes, the electrostats exhibited a harsh edge with many recordings. They were wonderful speakers, but ear fatigue became a companion and I eventually sold parts in bits and pieces. The Marantz equipment I hope continues to bring joy to a listener in the Far East.

The Magneplanar MG12 speakers are a step above the MMG and a step below the Stereophile magazine recommended Model 1.6. For me, the 1.6 failed to pass the wife acceptance test and it became a MG12 for our home.

The MMG is a great value, but the MG12 has considerably better panels with enhanced performance in all respects. It is worth double the price of the MMG with only a slight increase in size.

This speaker creates a smooth, open, and delicate sound picture with the "stock" steel tweeter crossover juncture bars. But Mart piqued curiosity and changed my perception of what is possible. The connection at the rear of the speaker, listed as "Tweeter Attenuator," controls the character of the MG12.

Initially, replacing the bar with twelve gauge copper wire connected with gold banana plugs increased "large" detail. Ten gauge raised "fine, inner" detail - instrument resonances, etc. I went so far to locate banana plugs accepting double ten gauge wire. Dual wires improved dynamics.

In testing different wire combinations it became clear these speakers could be configured to suit preferences in room acoustics and amplification. It was possible to vary all the way from "too edgy bright" with tons of air to a very warm, damped high end.

You may wonder what is the optimal wire combination. Well, that is for your experimentation. But envision this; stop by your local high-end audio shop and say, "I would like to purchase six inches of your most exotic speaker wire." You might even purchase a whole foot if you make a double run for the pair of speakers.

As I began this journey I would not believe 3 inches of wire could alter the sound of this speaker, but that is the point of this review. The MG12s are so transparent, so high quality, that even a minor alteration alters the lucidity of the sound.

The MG12s embody a smooth, continuity of audio that was never available with the old Jantzen/Bozaks. Think of it as a sound window that builds a picture between the speakers. They are musical instruments.

Over the years I listened to a variety of systems, many into the tens of thousands of dollars. I imagine there may be something magical out there, but my Wizard is Jim Winey of White Bear Lake, Minnesota. Thank you for delivering the gems of the Emerald City to my home.

Similar Products Used:

Electrostatic speakers

Transparency, quality of sound

Slightly laid back

Magnepan MG12 speakers have graced our home for the past year. We have worked to improve the quality of sound from these speakers and now is a good time to build on my previous review.

I noted in my previous review the MG12 speakers are transparent. They create an audible link to each alteration of the signal path. Here are some of my possibilities for this planar wonder.

The CAT5 speaker wire recipe of Chris VenHaus is terrific. The sound through this speaker wire is neutral, robust, and open. From my experience, use the Belden wire he recommends only.

The steel speaker attenuator bar controls the character of the speaker. By changing various wire in place of the bar you can alter the treble output from very soft to very bright. After many, many changes of wire in banana plugs, I found 15 strands (each slightly less than 3 inches long) of Kimber 4TC/8TC (same wire) is our best combination.

Replacing the attenuator bar is an easy project. As I said in my previous review, imagine going into a high end audio store and ask for a foot of their most exclusive wire. Just the reaction will make the project fun.

Then there are the fuses for the MG12. You’re into a warranty issue here, but purchase a pair of replacement fuses and induce current to blow the fuse wire. Take 6 strands of the quality Belden CAT5 wire and solder them across the ends of the fuses. Replace the factory speaker fuses with the new homebuilt fuses for a wonderful increase in detail. Remember, you now have no speaker protection. Practice safe audio and play at reasonable volume.

It is also quite easy to bypass both the fuse and attenuator bar. Remove the speaker binding cover, study the connections, move the upper fuse wire from the speaker binding connection and replace it with the lower wire at the end of the attenuator bar circuit.

The sound is very clean, more dynamic, adds soundstage depth and perhaps provides a little less sense of openness. It may boost the lower midrange, as I turned down the subwoofer after this change. Grand piano truly sounds robustly grand. Massed choir is impressive. This is the point where I have left the speakers.

My experimentation extended to the CD music source. Most CDs are well-engineered products, but the CD is a lens. It is an inexpensive plastic lens that can be improved.

MapleShade < http://www.mapleshaderecords.com/> sells a polish called, MicroSmooth, which removes very small ripples in the plastic that interfere with reading by the laser in a CD player. This simple polish will add music detail.

Occasionally a CD will have an irritating high end. Some audio enthusiasts describe this as “bright” sounding. There is a cure.

Office supply and discount stores sell a permanent green marker called a Sharpie.

On the majority of CDs I do not use the marker. On the offending recordings I make one pass around the outside edge of the CD. It is very rare to make a second pass and I never use the green marker on the center hole. Too much green with make the CD sound dead.

Oops, overdid the green? This is easy to correct. Use a product called, Goo Gone, also commonly available at discount stores to reduce or remove the green film.

With these two products, Mikro-Smooth and a green Sharpie, it is possible to tune CDs. Take your time in experimenting and begin with recordings of that you may find the most irritating for pleasurable listening. These CDs will hone your skills in tuning. With these products perhaps you will add more CDs to your choice listening collection.

All of the above have made great improvements to the quality of the home audio system. They are inexpensive, add dimension to the audio experience, and are just fun.

We have no urge to change speakers. The MG12 is very high fidelity at a low cost. It is a gift from the wonderful people at Magnepan.

Similar Products Used:

Electrostatic speakers

I had the previous model - 0.5 for more than 7 years now. I've changed every component in the system except the speakers! Actually - there is no compononet that doesn't cost more than the speakers (about $900).Recommendations:
What ever music you like, if you preffer musicality/details/transperancy over all - choose a medium/low powered tube amp (30w - 50w) 2 tubes per channel at the most!
DON'T BUY THE HYPE THAT MAGGIES NEED HIGH POWER SOLID-STATE. If you try the suggestions bellow, you'll save money (electric bill too ;) ) and great sound.
Once you add more tubes per channel, you may get some more dynamics and bass but than you loose on purity/details etc (I use Jadis DA-30 power section only but I'm sure you'll get great results with other amps as well).
If you crave for bass - I would go for a good active sub with a good crossover (active too) such as velodyne's (I use one HGS-12 that should do for most rooms). Try to lower the cutoff freq. at 40-50 hz. You'll get superb integration. The improvement in dynamics alone is worth it. It would be far better than "upgrading" for a larger maggie! unless this system should be placed in a hall...
This would make the task of amplifing the rest of the frequency (above 40hz) much easier and you'll hear that your amp may be able to play much louder (some where in the area of 6-10 db). It's like replacing the amp for double the power or more! quite a bit of money to save on the amps and on tube replacement.
Now to the hard pard - it took me about 3 weeks to optimize the placement of these speakers in the room. I'm afraid that the best results will be heard once the speakers are far from the rear wall and prefferably with far away side walls. It might be usefull to sit away from the wall as well.
I prefer a large sound stage so the degree between the speakers and me is about 60 degrees. A good point to start would be when the speakers are so far the stereo illusion is lost - than start moving them closer.
Also, if your room is hard (bricks/hard floor etc) try to have carpets in front of the speakers. Foam absorbers behind the speakers will help much reducing the hard sound, especially with solid-state electronics. With the 12 and the 0.5/6 you shoud try to tilt them so the speakers stand vertical to the floor - this is very important for having a much fuller sound (not edgy and bright).
Last recommendation - if you find that the sound is still hard and not so musical, try to put each and even all the electronics on hard floor. It may be your rack degrading the sound as these speakers are so sensitive.
Ok, that's my last one for sure - cables - don't buy anything just because someone else found them great - experiment. In any case - biwiring should be a must. I went as far as installing double run Nordost Red dawn speaker cables. I bet Goertz sounds great too. (Maggies are spoiled in this regard as the differnece between cables can be heard easily)
After comparing the 0.x, 1.5, 2.7, 3.5, MG-20 I belive that they're all the same quality but for different room sizes and listner destination.
Also, I heard Wilson Maxx, B&W 80x, Sonus and more and I still can't quite bring myself to like their sound. Still its subjective and some people like to hear much higher SPL (Sound Pressure Level) where the maggies won't do.

I tried not to get overboard with complimenting my system as it would be obvious. All I know is that coming back from the concert hall and turning on my system, I feel pretty sure (I'm in the mood for understatements...).
I hope you'll try these suggestions at the store and hear for your self what any maggie can do. It doesn't have to be extremely expensive either.
Enjoy.

Natural sound, incredible detail as per recording

Haven't found any.

If you also play music, listen to these. Position them to your liking, put on something familiar, then get up, walk forward half way between the two speakers until you can lean forward and your head will go slightly past the front of the speakers. Then turn around and walk slowly back to your listening position (chair or whatever). I know that at this point you just had the strangest feeling that you were on stage with this group and just walked between them and then leaned slightly behind where they were standing as they played. This translates into all those beautiful, natural sound scapes that you will listen when you own these speakers. Jazz sets will sound like they are playing for you, right there, the Four Seasons are being performed for you in that hall where they recorded live. WARNING, that pop, over produced stuff you used to listened to will sound just like that, over produced and a you will hear very thing they tried to make out of nothing in the studio. The good side is that if it was recorded well in 2001 or 1965 with Oscar P. and his piano, it will sound better than you have ever heard it.

Similar Products Used:

Tried Martin Logans, older Magnepans

Open, transparent, and natrually detailed sound

Very deepest bass

I've been a musicaholic for my whole adult life and have gone through numerous audio systems. Since purchasing these
MG12's, six months ago, I can't recall a better sounding system. Although its a modest one consisting of a Parasound
HCA 1000A power amp, McCormack TLC-1 pre amp, Sony SCD CE775
sacd/cd player, using Kimber 8TC speaker cables w/WBT banana
plugs, Kimber Hero and Transparent Cable interconects. The
natural timbres and tonal qualities of acoustic instruments
and voices are life like. The sound stage is large and open
sounding with excellent separation and presence. Bass, while not extremely deep, is articulate and convincing.

I have had speaker systems ranging from Thiel, Soliloqy, Totem, Vandersteen, Monitor Audio, B&W, Celestion, and
electronics ranging from Audio Research, Theta, Classe, Rotel, B&K, Micro Omega, and NAD. All these systems gave
me musical pleasure to a certain degree, but the Magneplanar
MG12QR's are a classic. True High End (HIGH QUALITY) sound
for very little money!!!

Similar Products Used:

Thiel, Soliloqy, Totem, Vandersteen, Monitor Audio, B&W, Celestion

Coherence, soundstage, musicality, what everbody else has said here

Deepest bass, WAF, low sensitivity

I bought a used pair of SMGa's a couple years back, they're about 10 years old, and for the price (~$300) they're untouchable. Well, I was trying to recreate King Crimson live sound pressure levels outdoors one Saturday and ripped the ribbons from whatever they were attached to. D'oh!

What to do? I had spent a fair amount of time with my brother's 1.6 QRs and while I admire their presentation, they're just too big in size and cost. I thought about shipping the SMGa's back to Magnepan for a refit (and still might do it) but, while looking at their website for instructions, I came across the MG12, which looked to be the descendant of the SMGa, but with much of the 1.6 technology. And the price seemed about right. BAM!

So, after a nice break-in period what do I think?

First, a couple of drawbacks:

Their low impedance and low sensitivity really demand a powerful, refined amplifier - even my hardy Bryston 3B flashes its warning lights when I try to get medieval with the 'Gladiator' soundtrack. Also, to really extract the Maggie magic and make them 'sing', you've got to play the music at more than 'background' levels. So, if you're looking to build a budget audiophile system, you can't skimp on amplification. (BTW, despite toasting the SMGas and getting medieval with the Gladiator, I'm not usually a head-banging speaker abuser. I listen mostly to jazz and acoustic music, which is why I'm a Maggie guy)


My wife doesn't like them five feet out in the room, four feet from either side wall, which means they mostly sit right next to the back wall and get pulled out for listening. The SMGa's had nice fat oak rails which made them easy to handle. These panels just just have a decorative strip, which means you have to handle the fabric when you move them. I know over time, they'll accumulate stains from the handling. I also don't like the sheen synthetic fabric, I miss the natural fibre on the SMGas. But, I'm sure it's more acoustically transparent.

They are a little bit finicky about placement, the sweet spot is a bit elusive, but much less so than the SMGa's. But this only relates to squeezing the very last degree of sweetness from them. Even standing right next to the wall, they sound very pleasant for casual listening.

ON THE OTHER HAND,

Properly set up, broken in, and amplified, THEY SOUND FANTASTIC on all but the heaviest, deep-bass-intensive music. And even that sounds pretty good. The smaller Maggies don't go all the way down, but as far as they go, the quality of the low end unsurpassed, and the mid-bass is spectacular. Listening to Edgar Meyer and Dave Holland is revelatory. Any acoustic instrument sounds wonderful, stringed instruments, in particular.

I've gone on a bit, and I'll second all the favorable comnments that have preceded this posting. Here's the bottom line:

The $1,695 1.6 QRs are widely aclaimed as being the best speakers under 2, 3, 4 or even $5,000 depending on who you read. I haven't done a side by side comparison, but I'd have to say that I'm getting roughly 95% of the wonderful performance my brother is getting, for 2/3 the price. If money is an issue, and your room is mid-sized (the MG12s do need some room, both for placement and the waveforms to dissapate), and you like musical instruments to sound REAL, you should seriously consider these speakers. If you can find a used pair, for say, $700, I can't imagine a better bargain.

Similar Products Used:

Magnepan SMGA, Magnepan 1.6 QR

Price/performance ratio, timbral accuracy, resolving ability, accurate bass, attack and decay of music is uncanny, aesthetically beautiful to behold... the list goes on.

None, really. The only drawback I can think of is all those many hours you will spend immersed in your music, possibly shunning, or at least postponing your responsibilities to others (i.e. wife, kids, etc.).

What can I say about this highly musical speaker? It is a sonic godsend from the magicians at Magnepan, and delivers goosebumps in spades! There is something truly magical in using the planar magnetic approach to reproducing music accurately, and the MG12QR is an example of how years of refinement and technology have culminated in a product that compares to or surpasses speakers costing several times its asking price. In fact, I am learning fast that Magneplanars are probably the best bang-per-buck speaker value in all of high end audio, period! Mega kudos to Jim Winey and everyone at Magnepan, Inc. for their years of devotion, passion, and dedication to their art and craft. They have brought untold joy and emotion to those music fans who have listened to their favorite artists via their speakers!!

The MG12QR's will transport your favorite artist into your listening space with jaw-dropping realism. They have incredible coherence, presence, spaciousness, and inner detail, and will truly expose your best recordings, and alas, your worst. Their soundstaging abilities are unreal, and your music will seem like it is coming from way beyond the speakers themselves, much like a stage or recording space in a studio. You will be able to pinpoint individual types of instruments and their locations with proper separation in space, and a natural sense of their true sound without the colorations you would get from most box speakers. The bass is very accurate and lifelike as well down to about 45Hz, which is more than adequate for most. For even lower bass, you can go with a sub.

If you love music the way it was meant to be heard, and you don't want to spend 'mucho dinero', you owe it to yourself to audition (preferably at your home, but I realize this is hard to setup with some dealers) the 12QR's with your favorite CD's or LP's. You WILL be moved!

My listening gear:

Magnepan MG12QR
Velodyne CT-100
McIntosh MC162 amplifier
Parasound P/HP-850
Denon DCM-370 HDCD player
DH Labs T-14 speaker wires
Straightwire Encore II and Symphony interconnects

Similar Products Used:

Dynaudio Audience, Thiel, Joseph Audio, MMG

depth of soundstage, smooth linearity

none

The MG-12's were a tremendous step up from my MMG's. The MG-12's are IMHO, Magnepan's best-kept secret. Much is made of the MG 1.6's and rightfully so. The MG-12's are a tremendous speaker though, given a smaller sound room, a tougher WAF and a smaller budget. While I liked my MMG's, as I upgraded my system and got into SACD, I began to realize their limitations. While a tremendous value for an entry level speaker, the MMG's still were limited at higher volume levels and generally more strident with digital material than I was comfortable with.

I could never convince the wife to move up to the 1.6's both for their price but also their size. I've tried them in my sound room and at the distance from my listening position they created too large of a soundstage. THe MG-12's, however, have the sonic richness, refinement and build quality of the 1.6's without the size and price. The midrange is much smoother and less "honky" than the MMG's, the bass deeper and smoother (I've turned my subwoofer down significantly since my MMG days.) The soundstage is wider and deeper and fills my soundroom better than the MMG's. As others have said below, the sound is simply richer and more refined than the MMG's. I highly recommend them to those wishing to upgrade from the MMG's. They are IMO, much closer to the 1.6's in sound quality than the MMG's and trust me, there are some sound rooms that are too small for the 1.6's but just right for the MG-12's.

I salute Magnepan for not only producing tremendous audiophile speakers for a reasonable price but also for truly producing a line of speakers that have something great to offer at each size/price break.

Now if only they'd make an MG-12 true ribbon model...

Similar Products Used:

Magnepan MMG's

Incredible detail and "You are there" presence. Not as hard to set up as one is led to believe. Sweet spot was found fairly easily. Just give 'em 5 good days of constant play before listening critically. You'll be wowed at how they blossom when burned in...it's audio heaven!!

Maybe a little bright at high volume level in upper treble, but wouldn't want to compromise the clarity in any way. These babies are pretty goosebump capable! I'll just get some Cardas cable and forget it!

Get an amp with at least 100 watts to drive 'em, and get a well reviewed amp at that. The rewards are total involvement in your listening experience. I've never sat for so long during listening sessions with any other speaker ever, and they sound better the more they burn in. I've just had them 2 weeks...imagine 2 months when Magnepan claims the bass specs settle in! I have a subwoofer but won't need it and don't intend to use it. Even though it's an award winning Paradigm PDR 12, it's not fast enough to mate with the speed of Maggies. The Maggies give plenty of bass anyway for jazz and classical in my opinion, and that's my listening preference. A PHENOMENAL SPEAKER and at a most reasonable price! Thanks Mr. Winey!! -Brian Nadeau.

Similar Products Used:

Bryston 3B NRB amp, Bryston BP-20 Preamp, Cambridge Audio D 500 CD player, Cardas Cross interconnects, and transparent Audio Music link plus speaker cable.