Wowed by MMGs

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nocrapman

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Wowed by MMGs
« on: 25 Apr 2012, 02:14 pm »
Just received my MMGs and hooked them up last night. Had an extended listening session in my HT setup... was left speechless. I was afraid I was going to find them anemic and bassless... I did not. And this is after replacing ONIX rockets' 760s. Surprisingly the bass response in my room was adequate without turning on the sub.
I am powering them with a Emotiva XPA-3.
They are 7 feet apart and 12feet away from the primary listening position.
They are 3 feet from the back wall and 2.5' from the side walls in a HT room (acoustically untreated).

I guess I have never experienced planars in my setup before or maybe its the fact that they cost so little and the bang for buck factor is altering my perception.

They sound open, dynamic with superb imaging. Was re-listening to so many of my favorite songs.

I am kicking myself in the head about why I did not get these earlier?

A couple of questions from folks who have been here before me -

how much better do the MG 12 or the 3.7s sounds or are they different in the sound signature?
Or will I not notice much difference? I am already thinking of when/where to upgrade?

Will they sound better with my Bryston 4B SST2 which are setup in a different system?

Thanks everyone!


Davey

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Re: Wowed by MMGs
« Reply #1 on: 25 Apr 2012, 03:00 pm »
Well, when you transition away from simple, box speakers you've made a significant change.  I've never heard a set of RS760's, but there's only so much that can be done with a "traditional" speaker like that.  The inherent problems can not be overcome with superior crossover design or box tuning or whatever.

The MMG's are fine speakers....especially for the money.  They don't have much bass, but in a smaller space (like you apparently have) they can yield really good "full range" performance.

I haven't auditioned MG12's or 3.7's, but some of the fellas who have can probably chime in with their relative evaluations.

Cheers,

Dave.

josh358

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Re: Wowed by MMGs
« Reply #2 on: 25 Apr 2012, 04:53 pm »
Just received my MMGs and hooked them up last night. Had an extended listening session in my HT setup... was left speechless. I was afraid I was going to find them anemic and bassless... I did not. And this is after replacing ONIX rockets' 760s. Surprisingly the bass response in my room was adequate without turning on the sub.
I am powering them with a Emotiva XPA-3.
They are 7 feet apart and 12feet away from the primary listening position.
They are 3 feet from the back wall and 2.5' from the side walls in a HT room (acoustically untreated).

I guess I have never experienced planars in my setup before or maybe its the fact that they cost so little and the bang for buck factor is altering my perception.

They sound open, dynamic with superb imaging. Was re-listening to so many of my favorite songs.

I am kicking myself in the head about why I did not get these earlier?

A couple of questions from folks who have been here before me -

how much better do the MG 12 or the 3.7s sounds or are they different in the sound signature?
Or will I not notice much difference? I am already thinking of when/where to upgrade?

Will they sound better with my Bryston 4B SST2 which are setup in a different system?

Thanks everyone!

Amazing, aren't they? I'd had bigger Maggies for years, but even so, when I ordered a pair of MMG's for my home office I was blown away by how good they were for $600. In fact they were so good that I ended up using them as my main speakers for a couple of years, while I looked for another pair of big Maggies (my old ones were too big for my current listening room). And, really, I could have listened to them happily for the rest of my life.

What's more, they're going to sound even better -- over the next few days, the midrange will open up and they'll play cleanly at louder levels. You'll also find that planars are very sensitive to placement, as you experiment you'll find a position at which everything sort of "clicks" and they sound spectacular.

So, the bigger ones -- basically, you begin with the planar magic you hear in the MMG's, that uncanny true-to-life quality, and then each model up adds deeper bass, more clarity and resolution, the ability to play at higher levels, and more spectacular imaging. As Davey points out, the bass on the MMG's goes down to maybe 50 Hz, a lot of people put subs on them for that reason. But the subs have to be carefully chosen (Davey made his own, which is the best way to go since nobody sells a dipole sub).

You can also tweak the MMG's to get more out of them. The mod that I did was to raise them up abut 8" and make them vertical. It makes them image more like their bigger cousins, but you really want to do this only if you have a sub because it reduces bass extension. Once you're used to them you can try putting them on some books or boxes to see what it does for the sound, I did that and was immediately convinced.


SteveFord

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Re: Wowed by MMGs
« Reply #3 on: 25 Apr 2012, 08:46 pm »
The 12s will be the same but a bit more, the 3.7s will astonish you.
I think that the Brystons will be better than the Emotiva.
Welcome to the world of planars!
P.S.
Don't overlook the 1.7s as in the right size room they're really good.
« Last Edit: 26 Apr 2012, 01:18 am by SteveFord »

geowak

Re: Wowed by MMGs
« Reply #4 on: 26 Apr 2012, 02:39 am »
I am looking long and hard at the MMG.

Listened to the 1.7's about the 1st of the year and they sounded very sweet with big powerful McIntosh amps. But I went with Vandersteen speakers and a tube amp, since I did not have the extra cash to get a powerful amp. That rig does sound very nice in a dedicated room.  I have since built a second system with a Parasound A21 (abandoned the idea of a HT) and think it would have the oompth to drive these.

DOES THE QUEST EVER END???

kevin360

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Re: Wowed by MMGs
« Reply #5 on: 26 Apr 2012, 03:21 am »
The A21 and 1.7 combination is a good one. I heard a pair in my dealer's sound-room on numerous occasions driven by that amp. I always wanted to hear that system with a pair of really good subs, but that bird has flown (the dealer moved and currently hasn't a single showroom :(). Aside from being comparatively shallow in the bass (I'm accustomed to a different sound), I loved that system.

MMGs are shockingly good - as the OP discovered (congrats, by the way :D). One of the cool things about the MMGs is that they are so cheap that they make great project speakers - get a pair and hotrod the heck out of them (if you get a kick of doing stuff like that). There's nothing wrong with getting a pair and just enjoying what you bought either.

ajzepp

Re: Wowed by MMGs
« Reply #6 on: 26 Apr 2012, 03:27 am »
I always love hearing about when people first hear MMGs...my first time was a very memorable experience, as well  :thumb:

And like Steve said, as good as the MMGs are, especially for the money, the 3.6s will truly amaze you.

Rclark

Re: Wowed by MMGs
« Reply #7 on: 26 Apr 2012, 05:57 am »
 
 Congrats on the MMGs! Many people here love them so much they get them modded too, which unlocks quite a lot of hidden performance. I have them too and they are outrageously good, modded. So as good as they are now stock, when you're ready, they can be brought up into a whole different realm.

 Improvements will be had in resolution and bass. If you think they are adequate now stock, in terms of bass output, putting them into hardwood frames will blow your mind with how much output you get. Not house party levels, but definitely will rock the listening couch with that figure 8 (for those who don't know, planar speakers radiate in a unique, front to back, (no vertical output to speak of) pattern and don't resonate the room like box speakers) And it's that fast, with large image, planar kind of output, that is, some of the finest bass possible.

 But if you keep them stock, that's fine too, just keep the sub turned on and you have engaging, dreamy, goosebump inducing, definite audiophile level sound that blows away a lot of box speakers.

 The MMG's should cost a lot more than they do.
« Last Edit: 26 Apr 2012, 09:33 am by Rclark »