Value

Lack of low bass

I've replaced the old speakers in the bedroom a few times but I think that this is the last one. I use the MMGs mainly for backround sounds to assist sleep and other celestial activities. I use a Nakamichi CA5 pre amp, a Parasound HCA2200 II and an el cheapo Sony disc player. The disc player will be replaced with my he man rig player when an SACD player becomes reasonably priced.

I can't at this time, fall all over them about their resolution but that may be blamed on the $100 USD disc player. Time will tell if that is the weakness now. I will, however state that for the intended purpose, these are the best speaker that can be had. Especially at the used price of $300 Yankee Bucks. To the guy that likes them in his living room, check out the 1600 MG1.6 (I believe). Everything that these speakers do, they do it better (and lower). Take care, happy listening and remember not to take this hobby to seriously. 'tis the musical experience that matters.

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JBL L36, Dinky JBL...

Magneplaner MMgThese are just truly incredible speakers. I dont know how they can sell thier other speakers that they make.500 dollors you CANT go wrong no way.Ive had em for 4 years and they need time to break in. After that watch out. You are in for the sonic time of your life.

Are you kidding what planet are you from. NO WEAKNESS>

You cant get better but you can sure WASTE your money on others.

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Infinities over the years.

Nice to look at, "you are there" sound and pretty much what everyone else has said. 60 day money-back in-home audition.

Can be unforgiving on poor recordings, fragile (see my
1-17-00 review)

I placed my first review 1-17-00. At that time, I was having problems with the shipments getting to me in working order. The first two pairs went back do to quality control issues and damage during shipping. Luckily, I decided to give them a third chance. The head of shipping and quality control for the company got involved and the third pair got to me in perfect condition.

There isn't much I can say about these speakers that hasn't already been said. They are the best value in speakers in the world. For 500.00 you get to taste hi-end sound.

There has been a lot of mention about the lack of bass with these speakers. Well, in my 13x16' basement home-theater, these speakers pack plenty of punch for music. Perhaps too many people are used to the boom of other speakers and these seem to lack bass. Granted, these speakers don't go much below 50 Hz (about 44Hz is the usable limit in my room), but what is there is the cleanest bass I've heard from a loudspeaker. True, I did add a seperate Klipsch KSW-12 subwoofer (an incredible sub by the way- see the reviews,including mine, on this site), but only for the impact of the explosions and train-wrecks of movies. I've watched several movies without the sub and the MMG's did a spectacular job on their own. Pink Floyd's "The Wall" has never sounded better. The bass drum and guitar vibrate my gut with clean bass WITHOUT the sub.

One other area I'd like to touch on IS the performance of these speakers for movies. These speakers are incredibly revealing and spacious for movies. The sound is so natural that I no longer want to watch a movie in a theater. My 100 wpc Sherwood Newcastle receiver can blast these speakers lounder than I care to listen (about 102db on music/movie peaks according to my SPL meter). Be advised, however, that these speakers need CLEAN power and 60 wpc into 8 ohms would be the least wattage I'd want to use with these speakers.

Ok, so one more thing- these speakers love to be played loud. The louder you play them, the better they sound. They are so smooth that they appear as though they could handle unlimited power. They are the one of only an hand-full of speakers that can do this- most start to break-up at high volumes.

I chose not to dampen the treble with the resistors. I tried it and something was missing from the sound. The hi-end just wasn't as spacious or natural. I removed the resistors and voila, the intoxicating sound was back. These are the only speakers I've ever been able to listen to for hours on end. There is no "listener's fatigue" and the sound is so natural and captivating. From top to bottom, they are the most linear speaker I've ever listened to including some over 20 times the price of the MMG's.

Definitely 5 stars and definitely recommended. You can't go wrong with these speakers and hopefully, like most, you won't have initial shipping problems as I did.

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No similar products, but about 50 different "conventional" speakers

Great speakers for all the reasons ennumerated in dozens of posts.

The sweet spot is small although it improves noticeably with better wire (which I didn't believe in until I heard this change!).

Unfortunately, these speakers made my tinnitus (basically ringing in the ears) considerably worse (I was a fool to get them but I adore music). My only point is that I had to return my MMGs. I packed them carefully in the original box. The company was pleasant, fully co-operative and repaid me promptly. Superb service. Thank you Magnepan.

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Still loving my mmg's, perhaps i would get more accomplished if i didn't own a pair. Oh well... I am in much need of advice. Can anyone out there recommend an appropriate wire for these speakers for around/under $4-5 per foot? I have been shopping around, and have seen several wires that would cost as much as my entire system. If anyone can help me get the most out of g's without spending a fortune i would be very glad. Thank you...

Open, airy, spacious sound.

Needs to be in a large room away from walls
Very low sensitivity

This is a great deal for $500. However, there are some things to be considered before buying it. A large, relatively live room is a must. This really brings out the best the Maggies can do. The speakers must be positioned well out from the walls. Once set up properly, these things are amazing. It has that live feeling as if you are listening to the real thing.

Piano recordings are the best they can reproduce. I was playing "I remember Bill Evans" by David Benoit. This is the closest to the real thing I have heard. There is more openess, body and naturalness than conventional box speakers.

However, with other recordings that are more complex and have huge dynamic range, the Maggies seemed to be compressed at high levels. They also don't image as well as conventional tweeters.

About its bass, I measured that it responded well to about 60 Hz. At about 55 Hz, output dropped and below that, plop!, nada. It is best to have stereo subs that go down to 25 Hz, cross it over at 55, to acheive the smoothest response in the low end.

A great speaker for the money, only if you have the power amp requirement (at least 150 watts per channel at 4 ohms) and the room requirement.

If you have a mid sized room or perhaps even a small room, Dynamic 2 way speakers are a better choice.

Everything

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See full review under Magnepan MMG (not Magneplanar MMG). But for the few words here I would like to say that these speakers are simply wonderful and pure magic. They are the best 500$ speaker ever. And the sound is rich and beautiful. These magneplanar (like electrostatic) speakers are the best way to reproduce music.

Realism! Easy to move around. Bass quality alone worth the price.

Touchy positioning for serious listening

The night I first listened to these MMGs, I wanted to jump on this review page and write, “buy these!” One thing stopped me; the computer was eight feet from my listening chair and I couldn’t move for hours, finally collapsing into bed, stunned and delighted, sometime in the early morning.

Some months ago, an audio salesman told me their speakers, Vandersteens, had clarity and imaging similar to planar speakers, although at the time I didn't know what he meant. With research, I found Magnepan and their planar speakers, but was worried by reviews saying they need a high power amp. With my classic Marantz 1077 integrated rated 38 watts at 4 ohms, it seemed the Maggies might be useless. Finally deciding to risk the cost of a large pizza in return shipping fees, I ordered the MMGs. After first hooking them up, and slowly turning the volume up from zero, the speakers made . . . sound. No smoke or sparks. What a relief. I kept turning it up and it kept getting louder. With the volume about 15 degrees higher than usual, they reached a normal listening level...and sounded fine. Big sigh of relief.

Then something hit me - the music. Everything was right in front of me. The band and voices were right there - front, left, right, up and down - wider and taller than the speaker limits. Instruments had their positions and blended and resonated naturally. With eyes closed, the speakers vanished, and musicians and singers appeared in completely different, but specific, locations. Detail was amazing and soundstage astounding yet effortless and natural. While my system was due for a speaker upgrade, I never expected the difference to be so dramatic.

When Mark Knofler slid his pick across the strings and I could tell where his guitar was in the room and the direction of movement, I just smiled, shook my head, and sighed. Later, Joni Mitchell's voice was about a foot above and slightly left of the pick on her guitar strings, both naturally in front of me. Frankie Goes to Hollywood didn't have the slam of big dynamic drivers, but I could hear the difference between bass strings and even visualize them vibrating. The realism is uncanny, at first even spooky.

Over the first month, I made various other improvements. I rearranged the room to get the speakers and listening positions closer to optimum, bought new speaker cable and some different upstream components including a used 100w H/K Citation amp and M&K subwoofer. The final test (before Magnepan’s 60 day trial was over) was to home audition the Vandersteens that got me started on this quest. One weekend, I borrowed Vandy 1Ce’s from a local dealer. These are great speakers that I would eagerly buy at $800 if not for the MMGs. The Vandersteens are pure, rich, and reproduce bass with authority. The 1Ce’s are the best dynamic speaker in the sub-$1000 range that I’ve heard (B&W, NHT, and Meadowlark).

Comparing the Magnepans and Vandersteens, I found that the Vandersteens have a smooth, familiar sound and successfully eliminate much of the cabinet resonance with their “boxless” design. The MMGs sound very different from box speakers with no resonance characteristics of their own, lending higher purity to the music.

The 1C’s go deeper with beautiful bass and provide more visceral impact on rock and orchestra crescendos. Sometimes, though, the deep bass seems to be a bit disconnected from the rest of the music, as if some frequencies in between are missing or the bass is artificially extended. The MMGs are smooth, full, and tight right through their bottom limit, which doesn’t get to floor-vibrating notes.

The MMGs create a wider and taller soundstage. Neither pair offers much depth, but the MMGs have an edge here, too. Both pairs image well, but again the MMGs are superior, with instruments and vocals being sharp and focused, almost crystalline. In comparison, images from the 1C’s are blurred making it harder to locate and visualize them. The 1C’s have a wider sweet spot and they do a better job of filling the room with sound. The MMGs have a very tight sweet spot, almost telegraphing treble and midrange to the listening seat. They don’t fill the room with sound as much as create a convincing impression of the performance.

For rock, heavy metal, pipe organ, and other music where deep, strong bass carries much of the message, the Vandersteens may be the better choice. They also should work better with lower powered amps and, in my 13’ x 16’ x 9’ room, don’t need a subwoofer to make a powerful impression. For vocals (including Pat Benatar, Jennifer Warnes, and Sarah MacLaughlin), jazz, classical, and any other acoustic music, the Magnepans are more musical being almost scary in their realism. Vocalists on good recordings sound like they’re in the room singing to you; instruments are natural and equally “there.” While I could easily live with either speaker pair for many years, I kept the MMGs for their dazzling realism.

Over later months I added an MSB Link DAC (improving resolution and depth on CDs - now I know what timbre and air mean), bought a better used tuner, and have been experimenting with cables. The subwoofer helps with deep bass and blends well provided the sub’s volume is fairly low so as to not muddy the MMGs clean, agile mid and upper bass. Complaints on other reviews that the MMGs don’t play loudly enough baffle me. Even with 38 watts, sound level was more than adequate, though additional power smoothed and flattened the response. While time and familiarity have mellowed my initial fanaticism, I still find the MMGs to be stunningly good after six months.

Five big stars to both the 1C’s and the MMGs for performance. The fact that Magnepan could do this and leave you $300 to buy CDs, cables, or pay rent earns the MMGs a bonus in value.

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Vandersteen 1Ce’s, B&W, NHT, and Meadowlark

Excellent imaging, beautiful clarity, fast transient response.

Will make recording quality apparent

When I first heard the reviews for this speaker, my hopes were very high. I didn't quite think they could meet my expectations. Well, they didn't. They EXCEEDED my expectations.
You can't get a better speaker for the money than these. I was amazed at everything I listened to. As a fan of acoustic music, they recreated an acoustic guitar better than anything I've ever listened to. As others have said, you can close your eyes and almost believe the person is performing right in front of you.
There are two problems with these speakers. One is that you need to be near or close to the "sweet spot" to get the best representation. Unfortunately, in my apartment it is hard to set the speakers up to give a big enough sweet spot. Second, if the recording is not of high quality, you notice. These speakers are so precise that a static sound will come through more readily. Of course, that's a plus on a good recording.
When all is said and done, though, these speakers are 5-star. Those problems are not the speakers' fault, they're listening room/recording quality problems.
If you have $500 to spend on a pair of speakers, BUY THESE. You will NOT be disappointed. I had a pair of $700 Cerwin Vegas, and although those would pump more bass, these blow the doors off them. And the bass these put out is nothing to scoff at.

excellent buy for the money, awesome sound reproduction

soundstage is low compared to taller maggies..must elevate, not biwireable, small sweet spot

The imaging & clarity on these puppies are amazing. Surprisingly the bass extension was very decent w/ the sub off. However, since these spkrs are short, don't expect to walk around the room and expect a great soundstage, since
they wouldn't be at ear height (unless you are 5' tall or so). Highly recommended if you are on a budget or want best bang for the buck on mid fi system.

Still an excellent buy, forces you to relisten to allyour CDs, not as power hungry as people claim them to be.
check my setup:

Mains: Mag 2.5r
Rears: Mag 1.4
Center: MGCC1
Receiver: Nakamichi AV-10 (100w/ch)
Sub: HSU Research VTF-2

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