Recently Auditioned MMG
I have a pair of MMGs that I have been auditioning and comparing with Ascend CMT-340 SE. Magnepan's return policy is 60 days and my audition period is about up. My listening observations are:
- I found the sound quality between the Magnepan MMGs and Ascend CMT-340s to be very close. The MMGs seemed to have slightly more lower bass extension than the Ascends. The Ascends seemed slightly better in the high frequency response.
- These speakers have different sound characteristics, however, both produced great sound and were a pleasure to listen to on a wide range of music and HT soundtracks.
- I did find the sweet spot for the MMGs to be very limited. Vertical dispersion characteristics caused the sound timbre to quickly change as you go from sitting to standing. The sound becomes noticeably more muted if you are doing critical listening. However, for casual listening and parties, you'd likely never notice this difference. And if you always sit in the sweet spot, then no problem - the MMGs sounded exceptional.
- I also experienced some odd sound stage behavior with the MMGs. 1) When I moved my head slightly off center axis to the left in one particular audition room/set-up, I passed through a point where the center vocals shifted from the front center to my left side. Very odd. Moving my head further left caused the image to move back to center. This soundstage anomaly, I'm certain is very setup dependent. 2) On some material (such as female Jazz vocals) the sound image (vocalist or instrument) appeared "supersized" compared to the image produced by the Ascends. While this supersized sound image still sounded great, the effect caused the MMGs to be perceived by me to be less "natural" or "live performance" like at times. The Ascend's seemed to give a better "live" performance illusion.
Regarding receivers:
- I tested the MMGs with both a Yamaha 5960 (equivalent to 659) and Denon 1907. I thought qualitatively that the Yamaha sounded "strained" when driving the MMGs. I too spoke to Yamaha tech support and they did not recommend the 5960 (or 659) for 4 ohm speakers. In particular, they said that the center channel and surround amplifiers were different than for the front mains and that these were not really designed for driving 4 ohm speakers. So, if you're planning an all Magnepan 5 speaker HT configuration, consider other amps.
- I also felt that the MMGs sounded better with the Denon 1907 (and my older Harman Kardon AVR-130) than with the Yamaha. (The Denon had the added benefit that s-video signals looked better on screen than with the Yamaha. I also liked the Denon's OSD menu system better than the Yamaha's.)
Relative to my overall speaker evaluation, I concluded that the Ascends offered the better value because:
- Similar sound quality to MMGs.
- Had no sound stage "anomlies" like what I experienced with the MMGs.
- Much easier to work with from a room placement / sound optimization perspective.
- They sounded more like a live performance to me and had better off axis response.
- Lower estimated cost for a 5 speaker HT configuration (based on Ascend CMT-340s for front L/R and center and CBM-170s for surrounds versus Magnepan MMGs for front L/R and CC3 center and MMG-Ws for surrounds).
Ultimately, which sounds best will depend on your room/setup and listening preferences. The Magnepan MMGs do sound great. I will really hate to send them back in a about a week. If you plan to implement just a stereo setup for music and have a room that can accommodate the Magnepans optimal placement, then I would highly recommend the MMGs. Also, if you are considering upgrading to higher-end Magnepans (e.g. 1.6s) within the year, then Magnepan's refund upgrade policy can't be beat. By the way, I did test the MMGs as surrounds with 1.6s as front L/R and a CC3 for the center (HSU VTF 3.3 Subwoofer). It was spectacular on 5.1 channel music.
Hope this helps.
