Magnepan thoughts?

[desmo900rider]

Does anyone here have any experience with Mangnepans in general? Specifically I am looking at the MMW/MMC set they have on their website, you can get 4 of the MMWs and a MMC center for about $900 shipped...seems like a pretty good deal. I'm wondering if a nice (Yamaha, Denon, Etc.) would be sufficient to power them. Magnepan is pretty closed mouthed about receivers...

FYI, the other set I am looking at is the KEF 2005.2 system...

Thoughts/Experience?

 

[markw]

They are low impedance speakers and are fairly inefficient.

Make sure that whatever receiver you choose is rated for four ohms. But, the good news is that they do present a fairly stable load and, if you play their game, they provide a wonderful sound, IMNSHO.

Having owned MMG's and currently owning 1.6's, I can say without a doubt that the more clean power you have available for these, the better off you are.

Your listening levels will be the ultimate determination of how much power you really need. I used a NAD 214 for the MMG's and use a Rotel RB-991 for the 1.6's

 

[p38]

Maggies

Friend has MMG's. Uses a 2205 Mac to power them. They like the juice. They lack the bass extension, you'll need a sub, theirs a narrow sweet spot to listen from, with the small ones, otherwise their a great deal, a whole new listening experience for sure.

 

[desmo900rider]

How defined is the "sweet spot" in terms of listening? What I mean is, of course when you are sitting in just the right spot with the speakers placed correctly they should sound great, but do you find that you lose those speakers when you are in other areas of the room? Thats one complaint that I have heard about planer speakers...

Obviously this would be my first venture into planar type speakers so I'm trying to get as much first hand advice as possible...

 

[desmo900rider]

Friend has MMG's. Uses a 2205 Mac to power them. They like the juice. They lack the bass extension, you'll need a sub, theirs a narrow sweet spot to listen from, with the small ones, otherwise their a great deal, a whole new listening experience for sure.

Thanks, I must have been posting as you were, I just saw that...

 

[p38]

I dont want to discourage you, but from my limited experience in front of them in stereo mode you really have to be seated in one spot with the speakers angled correctly to get the proper imageing. I dont believe that they are a speaker to get the most out of in a party situation. Their for sitting down and enjoying music in my opinion, of course there are people that would say different. You have to be the judge. I came close to getting them myself, and still might. I like the sound of ribbons. Some will say that they may not be responsive enough for rock music. I heard SRV vinyl over them and it sounded like he's right in front of you, I dont believe that you'll be sorry that you invested in them, certainly not at their cost.

 

[markw]

If this is your first venture into the world of planars...

...I would suggest going slowly before making a 5 channel commitment.

I believe they offer the MMG's on a 90 day money back trial basis. Few other manufacturers have the conficence to offer that. At worst, you can return them and say "no thanks"

Pick up a pair, live with them a while, and then decide where you want to go from there. I did just that and would up trading them in for larger ones. Your experience might lead you in a totally different direction.

 

[p38]

I'd like to hear a set of the larger Maggies. I would guess that the image field is larger also. I'd probutly like them, but the wife... I dont think so. Too much stuff now she says.

 

[zildjian]

Friend of mine has the MG20.1's, they are huge & look like doors standing in his listening room, but they sound great. They do need a sub, he doesn't run one, but I think it could really use one, but there is enough bass to get by. The mid's & high's however are wonderfully reproduced! Give them a try and see if you like them if you can get a trial period. The set up / sweet spot does make a pretty big difference, when I walk around the room there are response changes, but the sweet spot in this set up is large enough to not be problematic, might be in part due to the larger drivers in the MG20.1's, but also the entire room is just set up as a critical listening room with only speakers/electronics, acoustic treatment, and two low back sofa chairs for listening relaxation. It's easy to spend hours on end there. Give the maggie's a try, and post back & let us know what you think.

 

[dfischer]

They MMG-W's are a bit limited in their highs, but I too am thinking about them.

Still, if the WAF factor isn't a problem the MMG is MUCH more speaker and will sound lots better.

I used to own some MG-II's and always felt the image and sound quality was unmatched. Not quite the top of a ribbon tweeter (nothing is), nor the bottom of a std woofer. But close, and simply so open and clear they're just great.

I've selected a yamaha AVR because they are rated for 4 ohm, but be aware thats 4 front and rear, 6 on the center.

Maggies do like power, and I'm open comfortable thinking about them w/an AVR because I have real amps around.

Be aware the "like power" is really more "are so effortless sounding you will be pouring power into them. Of course if you want LOUD then maggies are kinda a problem, but you'll be able to generate sound levels beyond any sane listening level needs.

 

[desmo900rider]

This may be a silly question, but some of the receivers I am looking at are as follows...I can only afford under $500 for one right now, and I have sound some GREAT options in that range to power the KEF system (2005.2) that I was looking at...I'm just wondering if any of these will be OK for the Magnepans...

Denon 1907
Yamaha RX-V659
NAD T743/753 (if I can find a deal on one used or a refurb...otherwise too much $$$)

and just because it getting such great reviews everywhere, though I never would have thought of it...

Panasonic XR55/57

Will any of these work to make the Maggies sound good?

 

[p38]

Dont know about the Yammy. Denon does about 85 watts into 7.1 I believe. The Nad 743 is a 5.1 unit around 50 or 55 watts a channel. At 4 ohm probutly a little over a 100. Maybe someone has a better grasp on this. On a 200watt Mac I've noticed the needles straight up under normal listening levels with spikes every now and then. Although my friend runs his with my Gas amp which is 80 watts into 8 ohm. Or 150 to 160 into 4 ohm. i dont know enough about the choices you made to even chance a quess. You better find someone with more knowledge then myself before you shell out the cash.

 

[dfischer]

The yamaha AVR I mentioned I bought is the RXV-659. It will handle the 4 ohm load fine. It's a bit light on power (you don't really believe the power ratings they put on these amps do you?) But it will be fine for most listening.

I don't know about today's NAD's but the old ones would drive about anything fairly well.

The denon's I looked at were not rated below 6 ohms...

 

[highfihoney]

Magnepan makes fantastic sounding speakers but as pointed out in other posts they are not the easiest speakers to run,maggies are very placement specific & unforgiving where the slightest movement in the speaker can have drastic effects, if you do end up buying maggies i'd reccomend bumping your reciever budget up alot getting one of the higher end recievers.

The biggest problems i experienced when i had maggies was the lack of a meaningfull bass response & the small sweet spot,i have quite a few different amps to choose from so powering them wasn't an issue.

I think MARKW offered the best advise,go slow before making a huge commitment.

 

[desmo900rider]

Well, a friend got a pair of MMG Ws this week and I went over today and listened to them...wow. Just wow.

So open, so clear, vocals sound amazing. He was driving them with a VERY old 50 wpc amp, and they sounded great. Yes, they need a sub, but my main concern was the sweet spot. if we put them at the proper angle (39 degrees), they sounded perfect, when they come in or flatten out to the wall they do fall apart. But what I liked about them is that once they were putting out good sound, you could move around the room and they still sounded great.

I think my mind is made up, I just need to find a bargin sub and probably just use a bargin amp for now, until I find a deal on a used or refurb that I like...

 

[JoeE SP9]

The Dayton series of sub woofers from Part*express is reasonably priced comes in three sizes (10", 12" 15") and are available as kits that even a "caveman" could assemble in an hour or so. The MMG's are my favorite inexpensive speaker. I regularly recommend them to friends and neighbors. Several of my audio buddies own various Maggy's from the MMG all the way up to the MG-20. They are all extremely happy.
Maggy's were my first high end speakers. I bought a pair of MG-1's in 1976 and have owned nothing but panels of one type or another since.

 

[desmo900rider]

After hearing them I think I am going to try them with the Yamaha RX-V659...I spoke with Yamaha today and that receiver is rated to be stable at 4 ohms, although they do not have a continuous power rating at 4 ohms...all they were able to tell me was that it is rated at 100 wpc @ 8 ohms continuouos for all channels, and 4 ohms put it at 200 wpc dynamic...After talking again with Magnepan, they feel that this should get me where those speakers like to be...

FYI, in case anybody cares, Magnepan likes to see higher current in those speakers, and the example they gave is that if a amp is rated at 100 wpc @ 8 ohms, then to have enough current output to drive the Magnepans well, they like to see that wpc # increase by 50% under a 4 ohm load, so they would recommend a 100 wpc amp @ 8 ohms that goes to 150 wpc at 4 ohms...putting the Yamaha most likely in that range...

That all may be common knowledge to most in this forum, but it was all new to me so I though i would share...

 

[Peter Nielsen]

FYI, in case anybody cares, Magnepan likes to see higher current in those speakers, and the example they gave is that if a amp is rated at 100 wpc @ 8 ohms, then to have enough current output to drive the Magnepans well, they like to see that wpc # increase by 50% under a 4 ohm load, so they would recommend a 100 wpc amp @ 8 ohms that goes to 150 wpc at 4 ohms...putting the Yamaha most likely in that range...

Wrong. The power should DOUBLE in 4 ohms. If it's 100W in 8 ohms, it should be 200W in 4 ohms. Physical fact. Ohm's law tells you P=R*I^2 which yields 2P=0.5R*I^2.

A "good" amp will double its power in 4 ohms, and those are the ones that work well with Maggies...

Said by an owner of 20.1, 3.6, CC3, and MG1...

Peter

 

[desmo900rider]

Wrong. The power should DOUBLE in 4 ohms. If it's 100W in 8 ohms, it should be 200W in 4 ohms. Physical fact. Ohm's law tells you P=R*I^2 which yields 2P=0.5R*I^2.

A "good" amp will double its power in 4 ohms, and those are the ones that work well with Maggies...

Said by an owner of 20.1, 3.6, CC3, and MG1...

Peter

Well, I'm not going to argue with your formula there, mostly because I have no idea what it means...

But, what I posted is exactly what the person I spoke with at Magnepan told me that those speakers like. Either way, I am hoping that the Yamaha I have in mind will work well.

Since you seem to be a fan of Magnepan, do you have any experience with their MMGW/MMGC series of speakers? I do know that they are actually 5 ohm speakers, not 4 ohm if that makes much of a difference as far as power needed...

 

[p38]

maggies

Do yourself a big favor and save for a good two channel amp. Your Maggies will thank you.