Maggie MMG

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virtue

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Maggie MMG
« on: 26 May 2014, 07:51 pm »
Who has the Maggie MMGs?  Thoughts?

geowak

Re: Maggie MMG
« Reply #1 on: 26 May 2014, 09:32 pm »
I have MMGs. They are the baby Maggies, but for the money you pay, you'd be hard pressed to find a better speaker. Keep in mind, they are not a speaker for all kinds of music. If you like music like metal or rock that is loud and kicks you in the face, maybe some older JBLs or Cerwin Vegas will work better. The strengths of the speaker are an open musical presentation of sound. Jazz, blues, classical, chamber music, acoustical guitar, sax, piano and vocalists. These are the genres and sounds that allow MMGs to shine. Bass can go low, but it will not present as "authoritative bass".
The ones I have replaced some standmount speakers, and the soundstage really opened up with MMGs. I have run 300wpc of SS power and 38wpc of tube power and they still sounded great.

jarcher

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Re: Maggie MMG
« Reply #2 on: 26 May 2014, 10:10 pm »
I have them.  First used as L/R before moving up to 1.7's, and now doing duty as side surround channels.  They don't have quite the resolution / clarity / detail of the 1.7's, which is a high par comparatively, but otherwise sound great.  I think they sound best in a small to medium sized room listening no more than about 8 feet away and toed in a bit.  They really are mostly a one-man / seat listening device.

I like heavy metal and was pretty happy with them even for that.  Metal fans like good tone, speed, and detail as well : not just big bass impact & ear piercing volume.  While they don't have the bass impact of a big cone, they can put out a big image, and more importantly, super quick tight bass with the right amplification, even if they can't hit the lowest sub 45khz registers of the drums / bass. 

Still the greatest value in speakers I can think of.  They are so light that you can just move them off to the side when not listening if there looks offends others.  Or even put them on hinges like I did. 

I think if anyone feels the sound suffers significantly, it's probably because they are pairing them with sub-par front end components…..

virtue

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Re: Maggie MMG
« Reply #3 on: 27 May 2014, 05:01 am »
What's the MSRP on the MMGs?  How do they pair with subs?  What cut-off frequency?

jarcher

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Re: Maggie MMG
« Reply #4 on: 27 May 2014, 05:27 am »
$599. Works best with a smaller fast sealed sub : e.g a REL T-5. I'd put the crossover probably no lower than 60hz. Maybe even higher. Magnepan would say you should use their DWM bass panel down to 40hz, then maybe a regular subwoofer below that if needed.

virtue

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Re: Maggie MMG
« Reply #5 on: 27 May 2014, 05:32 am »
Anything below 100hz is omni-directional... so why make the panels struggle?  Sounds like the sweet spot is above that, right?

NIGHTFALL1970

Re: Maggie MMG
« Reply #6 on: 27 May 2014, 10:02 am »
I used my MMG's for metal and hard rock and loved them.

SteveFord

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Re: Maggie MMG
« Reply #7 on: 27 May 2014, 10:46 am »
I've had my pair for around 20 years so I'd say that I like them.
For the price you really can't go wrong.

I.Greyhound Fan

Re: Maggie MMG
« Reply #8 on: 27 May 2014, 12:31 pm »
I have had a pair for 15 years.  While they don't compare to my 1.6's, they sound great.  If you can push them out to the corners of the room, bass becomes a little deeper.  I run mine crossed over at 50Hz with a sealed sub with a cheap tube preamp and a Class D Audio amp.  I have tried higher crossover points but I prefer the sound at their full frequency range.

rif

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Re: Maggie MMG
« Reply #9 on: 27 May 2014, 07:29 pm »
I had a pair years ago and they sounded great ... If I had them set up well and I sat in the right position. What I'm saying is I found them finicky to get great sound.

But I eventually had to get rid of them - despite being the baby Maggie's, they are still large and require additional space since they use the wall behind them to produce sound. I just didn't have the space they demand.

I don't mean to be a downer, just letting you know what your getting into.

jarcher

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Re: Maggie MMG
« Reply #10 on: 27 May 2014, 09:41 pm »
Anything below 100hz is omni-directional... so why make the panels struggle?  Sounds like the sweet spot is above that, right?

I wouldn't be surprised if that's what Magnepan is doing with the "Super MMG" with the DWM bass panel.  Nonetheless I think with a conventional subwoofer it's generally frowned on with planars to set the crossover point so high as it overlaps too much with the planars bass panel causing discontinuity with it's tonality and speed.

SteveFord

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Re: Maggie MMG
« Reply #11 on: 28 May 2014, 12:11 am »
I would go the route I.Greyhound Fan did and just add enough volume to the sub to get it to blend in without calling too much attention to itself.
I'd also raise them up in the air to get the center of the panel at ear height.

virtue

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Re: Maggie MMG
« Reply #12 on: 28 May 2014, 04:22 am »
Can someone send me a PM with an email contact for Magnepan?

I.Greyhound Fan

Re: Maggie MMG
« Reply #13 on: 28 May 2014, 04:28 am »
Here is the link to the magnepan web site with their contact info-

http://www.magnepan.com/

http://www.magnepan.com/contact

It looks like they do not have an email contact. 

I.Greyhound Fan

Re: Maggie MMG
« Reply #14 on: 28 May 2014, 04:36 am »
I would go the route I.Greyhound Fan did and just add enough volume to the sub to get it to blend in without calling too much attention to itself.
I'd also raise them up in the air to get the center of the panel at ear height.

I have never found Maggies to be strained when run full range.  They require good amplification and blend well with non ported subs that are not turned up too loud as Steve suggested.  I run my 1.6's with a Martin Logan sub crossed over at 40-45hz and it integrates seamlessly.