Excellent imaging. Realistic sound. Warm tonal balance. No box resonance.

Crossover design gives a slight "smiley face" response (frequency response hump at 100Hz and slight dip in the mid band) - almost like having a loudness compensation circuit engaged. This can be a major problem in some (small) rooms where the bass resonance excites the room too much. Changing this would, however, rob the speakers of their warm character. Not childproof. Cat tip: get the black ones. Cats don't like black things!

This is my 3rd pair of MMG's. One of the new pairs I purchased had channel balance issues (9dB difference between left & right) and the other had a driver panel "popped out" of the frame and boomed like crazy. These (used) speakers worked great out of the box. It has taken some time to figure out optimum placement for them, but I now have them set up 8' from the listening position, 1' from the side walls and 7.5' from the rear wall of the room. The room is 25' long by 9.5' wide. I use 2" thick acoustic foam at the primary reflection point of each speaker along the side wall. The speakers are slightly toed in with tweeters on the outside. I have two amplification sources: An ODL HT-2 power amp (260 watts RMS per channel into 4 ohms) driven by an AMC CVT-1030s tube preamp; and a Cayin TA-30 tube amp (35 watts per side). I found that having tubes in the audio chain really improved the sound a lot - the added warmth helps the apparent bass response and smooths the extreme high frequencies. These speakers sound real. The mid and upper bass is wonderful. The low bass rolls off very fast. Midrange is excellent, especially on vocals and percussion. The treble is fairly extended, but very very clean (NOT harsh). I do not use the resistors to attenuate treble. The overall sound is warm and smooth. Bad recordings sound bright, but not harsh. Good recordings are not bright. The Cayin amp does the best job of delivering a sweet, focussed sound with nice bass, but I find myself wanting another 6dB of volume. With the other setup, I get more volume than I need, but the sound is less musical. I found that the poor imaging some people refer to (image wandering from side to side) was cured in my setup by adding a good DAC (Adcom GDA-600) to my CD player (Denon DCM370) and treating the side walls. The DAC made the largest improvement. One caveat: If you achieve sonic "perfection" using these in a relatively small room, DON'T get the bug to upgrade to larger Maggies unless you have a larger room to play with. Even MG-12's are too much for my room - the sound becomes very forward and bright with the larger tweeter panels. I would even say that the MMG's are the only speakers in the Maggie line that are suitable for near field listening (listener 7'-8' from speakers). Also, the MMG's need to be far from rear walls to tame brightness. Overall, a great buy. If you have the balance issue with these speakers, return them and get a replacement pair. Spend a lot of time experimenting with room placement. You will be rewarded.

Similar Products Used:

NHT Super Ones (yuk), Wharfedale Diamond 8.1's (double yuk), Axiom M-40Ti, Tannoy Sensys DC-2, Mission M-72, Mission M-71, Magnepan MG-12.

soundstage magic.Mid to uppers mid highs are just as good as the more expensive models.Lack of tbbiness that is sometimes associated with box speakers.

Roll off at the upper and lower regions restricts some source materials.

Hype?.We dont need any fricking hype.I dear anyone to find a sub $1000 or even sub $2000 speaker that matches the MMG midrange smoothness and imaging,the level of transpancy is slightly lower than the 1.6QR and the older Quad 63's which cost 4x..5x more money.Very tight sounding speakers that offers many strong soundstaging levels.Very wide,very tall but a little weak on depth.Excells on vocals,strings,piano..doesnt create a realistic bang for rock or pop though.Best suited for smaller essembles and smooth jazz.

Brings the "Magnepan magic" to a price point that everyone can afford.

Lacks the feeling of a substantial speaker. The MG12 has that feel, which is closer to the 1.6.

Wonderful little speaker. I had bought a pair of SMGa's 2nd hand through the local newspaper and was hooked immediately. The SMGa's rolled off at 18khz and sounded a bit muffled. As an audiophile on a tight budget I sought the lovely open sound of the SMGa with a bit more frequency response. I checked this site as I often do and was convinced that the MMG's might just be the ticket so I ordered them direct from Magnepan. I might add that Magnepan is an outstanding company to work with. Very friendly and knowledgable service. I'm not going to go through a complete description of their sound. Let it suffice to say that they worth every last cent of that 550.00 plus some. After I owned them for about a month I emailed "The Absolute Sound" and asked them to please explain why the MMG's were not their recommended speaker in the price range. Still waiting for a response. If you have 550 bucks, plenty of good clean power, and a sub, this is the speaker for you. In the end I returned the speakers to Magnepan (actually they will be in the UPS to Magnepan tommorrow). I have bought and am currently listening to the glorious MG12. If you have the extra dough the MG12 is worth the difference.

Similar Products Used:

Planar speakers. I have listened to the entire line with exeception of the 20.1. I have owned the SMGa's and teh MMG's.

Clarity, definition, VOICE reproduction, awesome soundstage

Bass is very natural, but doesn't have the "punch" that box speakers have (nor the resonance associated with this punch!!)

Everything I'd hoped they would be, and more! Believe the hype!! System: MMG's NAD C350 integrated amp NAD C541i CD player KimberKable 8's

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PSB Image 4T's

Imaging, quick response, openness.

Demand a lot of clean power, but if you have it you're rewarded.

These babies have to be the best bargain in audio. I've owned these for four years and never cease to be amazed at the clarity and response. My musical preference is classical and I have not had any objections to the bass produced. I'm finally getting around to budgeting for matching center and rear Maggies to complete my HT. I don't think I'll ever be able to go back to conventional speakers.

Width, height, and depth of soundstage; transparency and detail.

Limited dispersion/small "sweet spot"; possibly placement restrictions depending on your listening room.

I am delighted with the MMGs. No audiophile with a speaker budget of US$1200 should overlook them. In critical ways they are superior to almost all speakers at that price or more, (excepting the larger Magnepans, MG12 and MG1.6, of course). Note: the price a the top is Magnepan's US$ including shipment to Canada; UPS charge me an additional Cdn$115 for customs brokerage and GST. The MMGs recently replace my Paradigm MiniMontors, (US$350): these are very good speakers in their range, but I wanted more! I listened to several other stand-mount speakers, notably the B&W CDM 1NTs, (US$1200). The latter are better than the MiniMonitors but are really just "more of the same" at 3X the price. In transparency, inner detail, and soundstage, (height, width, and depth), the MMGs beat the CDMs easily. Of course, these are qualities for which Magneplanars are renowned. The CDMs might have had slightly better mid-range balance and a bit better upper mid-range resolution; at the same time I found them unacceptably sharp playing bright-sounding recordings. The supposed shortcomings of the Magneplanars are also well-known but often exaggerated. 1) Difficult placement: I found at less than 2.5' from a wall, highs were a rather course and bright; 3' or more is recommended and a good idea. Then again most speaker makers recommend 1.5 - 2 feet anyway 2) Weak base, especially at high volume: the MMGs are good to 50Hz at reasonable volumes, which is as about as deep as the CDMs and better than the MiniMonitors, i.e. MMGs are as good as most stand-mounters. That said, I'm using a subwoofer for frequencies below 80Hz. 3) High power req't into 4 ohms: MMG's spec calls for 50 watts, so say you really need 70-80 watts; there are many receivers/amps today that do that easily, especially "high current" design, e.g. NAD C350. 4) Poor high frequency dispersion; small "sweet spot": Well, this will be a problem depending on your needs. The way I listen to music, I just plunk it down in the sweet spot and enjoy. If you want a system to deafen a dozen buddies while you party down, forget the MMGs. On the other hand if you're an audiophile, especially one interested in classical and/or jazz, look no further anywhere under twice the price. By the way, I suggest you don't use the supplied resistors to reduce the high frequency output; I found they reduced air and transparency. For my too-bright recordings, I use the treble tone control on my pre-amp which works much better. I built a set of legs to replace the supports supplied by Magnepan. These raise the MMGs 8.5" above the floor and keep them at vertical; this raises the soundstage to head level. Some say legs reduce bass and/or brighten the upper range but I haven't noticed these effects. My system: - Sony SCD-CE775 SACD player - APT Holman pre-amp - Phase Linear 400 power amp - Monster and Ixos interconnects - Nordost Flatline speaker cable - PSB Subsonic 6 subwoofer; I use its line-level 80 Hz high-pass crossover to feed my main amp and hence the MMGs.

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Paradigm MiniMonitor V3, B&W DM7, Ohm F, Braun 710, AR 5, Dynaco 25

Astonishing staging, true to life reproduction of vocals. Unmatched midrange/midbass; tonal balance was maintained at all volume levels.

Frequencies below 50hz become weak and overtaken by the speakers strengths. Nothing a good subwoofer couldn't fix (not that its terribly needed). I set my Velodyne subwoofer at 40hz to make up for this.

Out of the container, these speakers were awe inspiring. Beautiful in their design, the visage promised a life long relationship full of emotional ebbs. Wired to my Sunfire amplifer, I was brought to tears. They became the muse as Diana Krall's "The Look of Love" engulfed me. I have owned many fine speakers, but these are, without a doubt, superior. Directed by my Music Hall MMF CD-25 Transport, Michael Franks transformed me into a veritable master of romance. Is it obvious that I am simply breath taken by the MMG. If you own a pair, you know the feeling.

Similar Products Used:

Other Magneplanar Speakers.

I've had my set of MMGs since they first came out, and previously owned a pair of MGIIs back in the 70's. I've used them with various upstream components, all solid state. ESS, A&E Technical Research, Harman-Kardon. Although I still spin vinyl, and own lots of equipment, my primary music system is comprised at present, and for the foreseeable future, of a Philips 921 CD player, which has remote volume control facility, feeding it's signal, through a .5 meter pair of AudioQuest Turquoise interconnects, to an AMC 2100 power amplifier, connected to the MMGs by a six foot pair of AudioQuest GR8 10ga litz cables. Minimalist, to be sure. Including shipping, the cost for this portion of my system was $1015.00. My listening room is 14x25 with 8 ft. ceilings, normally furnished. I'm well-familiar with the positioning of dipolar loudspeakers. I've read many, if not all, of the foregoing reviews over the last few months. The good, the bad, and the ugly. I have listened, over many weeks, to the sound system of a well-known audiogoner, which system cost, at retail, exceeds $200,000.00, and many others over many years. I have never heard any system that, overall, sounds more like real music than the one described above. No, my ears are not made of lead. It is fast. It is detailed. The subwoofers have been retired. If you will set up a system like this, you won't notice alleged problems with high frequency dispersion, a reticent midrange, or insufficient low end. Buy yourself a few Mapleshade or Wildchild CDs, like Mojo, or Bluiett's Barbeque band, and listen. The bass is there, the midrange is there, and the highs are there, but they are there as components of a musical experience that will likely cause you to catch your breath, or bring tears to your eyes, as it did me. Get rid of the superfluity and complexity. Don't worry about how little it costs. Nothing brings music to life the way a set of decently-motivated magneplanars do - regardless of their size or cost, and the MMG's are no exception.

clarity - open non-boomy

low end

these are remarkable speakers for the price. Certainly they can not be considered perfect, but for $500 a pair I do not believe there many peers for clarity. These speakers are not 'barkers' like horn loaded can be. They can take a lot of power and reach sound levels higher than I like. They may lack a robust low end, but for jazz and light classical these are delightful.

Excellent transient response, very good imaging.

Very limited vertical dispersion. Very critical of room placement.

I have owned the MMG's for a little over a year. At first, I was distracted by their high frequency dispersion characteristics. Once I got used to having sit in a certain spot, and not move my head, they sounded very good for a $550 loudspeaker. Bass was better than I expected. High frequency and transient response is about the best I've heard. While this might have something to do with room acoustics, the midrange sounds depressed in comparison to the bass and treble. This gives the speakers a somewhat muted, or veiled tonal balance. To me, it is like sitting in the last row of the concert hall. No doubt, there many people who like this tonal balance. And, with Magnepan's liberal return policy, anyone with a high quality amplifier cannot go wrong in giving these unique speakers a try.