Detail, exquisite high's and mid's, very cohesive sound

A little thin on the bass on some music, difficult to set up

I just recently bought a pair of these after seeing the 60 day money back deal. Out of the box, they were quite different than anything else I have heard. These are not the ultimate in resolution, but they are very good. I have been toying around with the set-up in my listening room. After 3 day's I had to put on the 1 ohm tweeter attenuator. This made a huge difference. Now the high's are smooth, almost liquid in their presentation. I still need to spend some time with the set up to get a better soundstage. Any suggestions from you experienced "maggi-philes" would be appreciated. I think these speakers are one of the best values in audio today.

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none

natural overall sound quality, amazing detail, price-value, service

none as far as I'm concerned, maybe their size ?

There's not much to say that hasn't been said in previous reviews. To put it simply; no other speakers in this price range even come close to reproducing music as well as MMG's. Actually, they sound better than many speakers costing several times their modest $500. I am hearing information on my CD's that I never new was even there. The openness, the detail, especially on vocals and strings are truly amazing(listen to "Acoustic Disc" by Jerry Garcia & David Grisman - you'll swear they're in the room with you!). And, there is PLENTY of bass. True it's not bone-rattling, if you want that by a Sub! The bass that's there is accurate and tight.

It's true they require a bit more power, but it's nothing that any high-quality amp or receiver can't deliver. I run mine with a SONY ES receiver and I have plenty of power to spare. Also, setting them up was simple.

As far as Magnepan's service I have this to add: after
5-months one of my speakers' ribbon tweeters quit working. I called MAG and they had be send both speakers to the factory to be repaired. About a week later they called to tell me that they found some defects in both speakers and that they were sending me a new pair. Sounds like perfect service to me!

A few weeks ago out of curiosity I visited a couple of high-end shops to listen to box speakers in the $500-1500 range. I can honestly say that none of these speakers sounded anywhere near as good as my MMG's. And most of these speakers were being run with very high-end amps. The detail wasn't there and to me the bass sounded muddy and unnatural.

I bought these speakers based on what others said and I was able to audition their big brothers. I'm not sure about rap, dance, hard rock and metal, but if you listen to anything else(they also work great for HT); do yourself a favor and take Magnepan up on their 60-day no risk trial. It'll be the best $500 you've ever spent on audio gear.

I am positive that I will never use box speakers again. Magnepan deserves 5-stars for creating these babies!

-Chris D

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various box speakers

The glorious transparent sound of voice and piano

Limited bass

OK, I admit it, I've loved the sound of Maggies since I first heard them when I was about 15 years old. Too bad I couldn't afford $500 speakers then. As almost everyone says, these are great sounding speakers. OK, they take up a lot of space especially with the almost mandatory sub-woofer. I can listen to them for hours without tiring. Even my music major spouse loves them!

I using a Denon AVR-3300 receiver and a B&K 1250MX II sub-woofer in a large room. I listen at low and moderate sound levels.

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Lots of speakers

Quality Product

Same as everybody here has already stated

I love these speakers. If you like boxes, go buy B& whaterver.(is the "B" for box, ha). If you like music buy these speakers. I think for the price you will be hard pressed to find anything in it's class. Yes there will be a wait, but what does that tell you about the damand. When I ordered these MMG speakers, I was a little disapointed because I was told there would be a four week wait till they would be shipped. When I called two and a half weeks later to find out the shipping date, I was told that it was shipping that day. I was pleasantly surprised. I have been nothing but happy about dealing with Magnepan.

No colorations; very detailed and transparent; seem to dissapear; miraculous pricetag for a speaker this serious

None really. A small 'weakness' may be the somewhat small 'sweet spot' BUT when you're in it, you will achieve EARGASM.

These are one of the most revealing and natural sounding transducers i've heard. If your source material and electronics are good (as well as your listening room's acoustics), the MMG's will transport you to audio bliss in seconds, BUT you must be patient with placement. A bit of 'toe in' is necessary IMHO, and you may even want to add a sub (I went with the Velodyne CT100 for about $400... this sub is a great match for the MMG's... read the reviews on it). The bass goes down to about 50Hz, which sounds ample, but if you really want to go down low, get a sub. Even if you spend 5 bills on the MMG's, and another 4 to 5 on a good sub, you are still under 1K, which is an inexpensive way to get true high end audiophile quality sound. This speaker is a godsend, period! Happy listening folks!

superb timbre, imaging in the sweet spot, warmth, richness

extremely limited dynamics, terribly inefficient, limited low frequency capability, tiny sweet spot

I have had two pairs of MMGs. They caused me great anguish. Thats because when they were setup right, when I was sitting in the right spot, when the music was natural (voices and acoustic instruments), when the recording was good, they would take me to audio heaven. The rich, sweet sound was so good that I used to sit in my chaor and listen with my eyes closed to whole CD at a time. BUT. If all those things weren't right, they were no good. The sweet spot is tiny. Bass is non existant. If the music is dynamic such as symphonic music, they fall flat on their face because they can't open their throats and SING! Inefficiency will have your amp clipping vicously well before the speakers reach their limits (except in the bass). And that will blow out your tweeter fuses in no time.

So. If you don't listen to music that can get loud, or that has a wide dynamic range, or is not very bassy, and you are willing to live within the positioning restraints these will place on you, you can't do better for $500. If you want a well rounded speaker that does everything well, stay as far away from the MMGs as you can. You'd be better off looking at B&W, NHT, and Paradigm.

What happens to the MMGs that people return when they trade up to bigger maggies? Magnepan sells them factory-direct for $450 with the same return policy and full warranty as new MMGs. Even without this extra savings, the MMG is the best value on the market. If you want to know what the high end is all about, this speaker is a great place to start. (But probably not if you still have a receiver.)

No coloration, excellent detail and extremely transparent, price

placement and required room treatment, small sweet-spot

You can't get a better pair of speakers for acoustic or small jazz music for anywhere near the price of the MMGs. Period. I have SMGc's, which are basically the same as the MMG, for mains and SMGa's for surrounds in my home theater with an ACI Titan subwoofer. The Titan and the SMGc's(MMGs) are an excellent match and I highly recommend the Titan for anyone who is considering the MMGs. Go to www.audioc.com and see the reviews. I use DH labs cables which are also available at www.audioc.com and I recommend them highly for the maggies. Maggies like as much power as you can give them. I have moved up in amps from a Harmon Kardon AVR 20MKII receiver to an Acurus A80 amp to my present Carver 753X amp and each increase in power led to a corresponding increase in transparency and detail from the maggies. The Carver puts out over 400W@4ohms and the speakers are simply stunning. Magnepans do not have pinpoint imaging but they sound the most lifelike of any speakers I've heard. With good electronics and recordings they don't sound like speakers, but it's as if the performers are in the room with you. If you like female voices you owe it to yourself to try the maggies. I just wish there were more stars to give these speakers.

Many

Few

Because this forum helped me so much in making my purchase, i though i would contribute: I received my MMG's, black on black (they look amazing) about two weeks ago. I beleive the only complaint that i have about them is that i can not get rid of the stupid grin on my face every time i fire them up. People that complain about lack of bass: they did not experiment with placement, or they are using a low powered amp. I am using a Yamaha 595a with 75W of *relatively* clean power. My room is medium (17x15) and the bass is incredible. Extremely accurate with plenty of oomph. Especially electric bass lines, i am a bass player and the tone of many riffs are dead on with what i dial my bass amp to. Some stereo junkie somewhere said "laser sharp holographic imaging" yup... he was right on about that. The percieved soundstage with my eyes closed is easily 1.5-2X larger than the actual room size. You can almost "see" the synth bass notes (from some undetermined track from a Front 242 album) radiating from the top of the speaker, curving around the listeners ear, and flowing like a current back into the bottom of the speaker. WOW. All frequencies produce a (perceived?) pressure on the ear, kind of like riding in a car with a bunch of subs and lots of power, but more subtle and realistic. You can not only sense the forward wave of the music, but you can feel the air leaving your ear as the beat/note decays. Am i just crazy? Maybe... i wish i had the $$ to buy a pair of these for rears and get a planar center channel for my HT setup. ONly complaint about these for home theatre: they bring out the weaknesses in your box speakers (center, rears), even good ones. Buy these now. Get a loan if you have to. My next upgrade: seperates with monoblock tube amps.. Wish me luck!

Transparent, Accurate, colorless, etc.
Will amaze your friends

Read below

After reading reviews of MMG speakers and owning them myself, I agree with all the pros and cons owners write about their MMG's. I will not repeat all the pros because they are well known. I will, however, emphasize the cons because I have a solution to MMG and MG12 owners that will make your little Maggis sound almost as good as the big Maggis.

When comparing the MMG to the 1.6 and above, the main thing you will notice is smaller sound stage. You will also notice that when sitting 12 feet or more from the speakers the high frequency flies as high as 1.5 feet above your head. The reason for both problems is because the MMG are shorter then the 1.6 (What, really? We didnÕt know, ha, ha!) and they lean back whereas the 1.6 and above stand straight up (Yes, we know that, too.).

SoÉI went to my computer and designed what I call ÒMaggiÕs LegsÓ . MaggiÕs Legs are speaker stands specially design for the MMG Maggis and possibly even the MG12. They are 15Ó tall and will elevate the Maggis from 0Ó to 10Ó up off the floor in 2Ó steps, all at 90¡.

Now my review of the MMG with the MaggiÕs Legs.

Speakers: Magnepan MMG
Stands: MaggiÕs legs at 8Ó high

I first put the legs on the right speaker, and sat about 14Õ from the speakers (my casual listening positioning) and clicked play on the CD remote. The first thing I noticed was that almost the entire sound moved to the right of where the MMG is elevated. The difference was so much that I was sure that the balance on the amp was offset or the interconnect was loose or something. It wasn't. WOW!

I could not wait any longer. I shut down everything and installed the second pair on the left speaker, elevating it 8Ó, the same as the right speaker. I turned everything on, sat down and pushed play on the CD remote. WOW! The sound is now back in the middle but LARGER. You now hear the voice coming from the front and not from the floor, the bass is tighter, pleasant and more accurate. Remember, moving the Maggis from the back wall is a must if you want good and not boomy bass. Moving it up from the floor makes it even better.

After listening to the new setup I could NOT go back to the original legs leaning back! I decided to make ÒMaggiÕs LegsÓ and try to sell them commercially so that every MMG owner will get the full potential out of their speakers. IÕm so sure you will agree with me, I will back them with full 30 day money back guarantee.

My only concern is that I hope that Magnepan will not feel threatened by ÒMaggiÕs LegsÓ and cancel that incredible deal on the MMG.
If you or someone you know are interested or wants more information, please E-mail me at heruty@pacbell.net. By your response I will decide if their is a market for it or no. If yes I would like you to write what price you will be willing to pay for that (no risk, love it or toss it!).
please be fair.

Thank you

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Non (at that price)