naturalness, large wave launch

needs amperage, not bi-wireable

These MG-12's needs amperage outta an amp, otherwise, dynamics suffer. Stand the speakers to the vertical position (cone under end of metal stand, weight on top). Toe in 1°- 2°, I prefer the tweeters on outside per owners manual. My amp is an conrad-johnson MF-2100...nice drive~ A Musical Fidelity XAS-100 served well prior. The metal jumper is okay but play with wire,..I like Gortz. A previous poster recommends 15 strands of Kimber 4 or 8TC, I have some, so I'll try it. I run the speakers full range, augmented by a DCM Sub (two 6 1/2 woofers, downfiring with folded slot to top), low cut at 40hz (MG-12 cuts at 40hz)....this intergrates seamlessly. Be careful of woofer sizes larger than 6 1/2" each (unless you spend BIG bucks on a sub), lest the sub fails keep up with the truly dynamic slam these Maggie's create above the lower bass . For me, a sub helps flesh out the bottom nicely. My search for a speaker stopped here (finally)....now for that new preamp !!!

Similar Products Used:

martin logan SL-2

Maggies MG 12 are fine speakers, however, they require a very powerful amp.I tried them successfully with Krell KAV 300i and Classe amps: they sounded
very transparently and with great imaging. However, they were much less
successful with the Musical Fidelity X-A1 amp: the imaging and transparency remained, however, the drive was lacking and they sounded somewhat electric.
So, I give them 2 stars for system compatibility (they require a warm sounding HIGH POWER amp, preferably >100W/8 ohms to work really well), and 5 stars for the sound with the right amp.

in one word - the MG12 are AWESOME !!!!The natural sound and the detail are amazing !!!
As for the Price !!! unbelievable !!! This product shows that you do not have to spend a fortune to get excellent Quality !!!
I love it - the Best Father's day Gift - truly gratefull to my Wife and Kids
Thanks !!!

Tim
Minnesosta

Well, it is difficult to add to what has already been stated. These speakers are the most realistic sounding speakers that I have heard in their price range. They sound good even when they are not optimally placed (though obviously one should be careful about such things in order to get the best possible sound). At the dealership where I auditioned these magnificent speakers, the salesperson kept moving them while I was listening to them, and no matter where they were placed, they sounded more real than any other speaker I have ever heard for this amount of money.

As has been mentioned by others, they produce less bass than many other speakers, so a subwoofer will be needed for anyone who loves a lot of bass. Life is full of trade-offs -- would you rather have very deep bass or very realistic sound? If you want the former, I suggest you look elsewhere (unless you plan on adding a subwoofer). But if you want sound like the musicians are in the room with you, these are a great choice.

Most detailed I have heard
Classical, jazz, blues all sound incredible

Hard to get proper speaker placement
Sounds best with an abundance of power

The first thing I listened to was the Reference Recording of Moonlight Sonata (g-friend's favorite). I was very impressed by the sound stage and the feeling of "being there". I have never heard a piano come to life like that before through speakers. If you listen to any detail-oriented music, do yourself a favor, go listen to a pair of Magnepans. You won't be disappointed.

BTW if you like rap, these speakers will make most of the music sound horrible. They will bring out all of the details that probably should not be heard.

Very detailed. Looks sharp

Placement is critical

There's really nothing more to add to such a great sounding speaker that hasn't already been said. Sound is very detailed, clean and uncolored.Speaker looks and sound more expensive that what they cost. I would recommend to listen to these speakers if you are ready to upgrade and you are ready to move on up to a different class of speakers.

Well, She Who Must Be Obeyed allowed me to spend the extra money and upgrade to these fine speakers from the MMGs I had auditioned (and reviewed a few weeks ago). To say that I'm happy is an understatement! The wonderful highs and perfectly natural voices I heard from the MMGs now are joined by deep, crisp bass, and all the minor weaknesses that the MMGs demonstrated in my listening room have disappeared. Best example: the occasional hardness that I attributed to the MMGs' bias toward the top end is gone. All that's left is music.
You truly listen through these speakers rather than to them. Pure magic.

Five stars on both absolute and value-for-money scales!

I check into Audioreview regularly, and I think it is a valuable site, as the product reviews allow a wide community to share their evaluations of equiptment. I can pick up on when people have an ax to grind, or simply want to ratify their most recent purchase decision. I've gradually purchased budget but decent equiptment over the last two years( Rega, Grado, Acurus, Parasound),. The speakers (old KEF K120's) were the last to g).. I listened to meadowlark Kestrels, Vandersteen 1's and 2's, PSB Stratus Bronze, Alon Petite, and a pair of Dynaudio's whose model I can't remember. I decided on the MG 12/QR. My room is not theoretically ideal for these bipolars, but I can honestly say that they were the most honest thing I heard at this price point. My tastes are very eclectic..Miles to Massive Attack , Shostakovich to Devo, Marley to Hiatt..you get the idea. The lowest bass is missing, but I decided that wasn't a bad thing in my room, and the bass that is there is absolutely solid. I risk simply repeating review cliches regarding Magnaplanars, but the fact is, they do everyting right, and the panel source seems to create a room filling soundstage that preserves very precise spatial definition. I could be second-guessed on my selection, as I'm sure that my selection process didnt resemble some white-coat scientists' double blind test. But I strongly urge anyone looking to get close to the music to listen to these for a weekend.. Whether you agree with my selection or not, you owe it to yourself to discount the dissing this technology receives from dealers that don't have the franchise. Ratings..are they absolute or value-driven? Don't know, but I am sufficiently enthusiastic that nothing less than a FIVE would be fair.

Price - Performance: The folks at Magnepan have figured out how to deliver a lot of performance for not much of your money - thats important as you will see in my review.

Even though most reviews oblige you to say the bass - I don't think so. I don't use the speakers for Home Theater, just listening to music.

I set out to build a listening system for my new study (13X14). I was budgeting $3500 for speakers then would match the components based on my speaker decision. I spent 6 months listening to everything in the price range - including the Magnepan line. One day while surfing the web for yet more speaker info I just decided to order the MMGs from the factory - no worries, you get 90 days to try them. I hooked them up to my existing Tandberg 3500 equipment and was overtaken by their sound. Cut to the chase, I ended up buying the MG12s - they fit my room, they sound great, and I am glad I found such a great audio bargain. Now I can spend all the money I saved on equipment on CDs. My library has grown from 500 to over 1500 titles in the last 10 months. The point - I am really enjoying listening to the music. Everything too. No audio equipment has ever engaged me like this. Just listen to the music.

Equipment:

MG12s
Arcam Alpha 10 Integrated Amp
Arcam Alpha 8SE CD
MIT Speaker Cables
DHLabs - Silver Sonic Cables

I gave 5 stars because they do what they do better then anything else in their price range. They are not better than MLs, they just do the same thing for 150 CDs less. Thanks Magnepan!

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First planar speakers.

Got a chance to listen to these new speakers from Magnepan and with one word...Wow ! I put on a Vince Guaraldi CD and just was transported to musical bliss. The soundstage was wide and deep giving that 3-D perception other speakers wish they had at this price range. At just under $1000 dollars they are a steal. I have never heard Karen Carpenter's voice be recreated better than on these Maggies. Yes there may be better, but nothing I can afford. The sources used were a Rotel intergrated and a Rotel CD player. I can't wait to try these a home, but alas they didn't fit in my car. (They are about 52 inches tall.) Next week I hope to listen to them again but with my source equipment. (Creek 4330R intergrated and Marantz CD-67SE CD player.) If I can now beg my wife for an early Christmas present !!