Good inexpensive temporary speakers

Spendor 3/5r2

I've tried the KEF LS50s and wasn't thrilled with them but then again I found my speaker wires I was using were fried. But overall I'm not really looking for the revealing monitor kind of sound. I'd probably go with the Maggie MMG's if I had to chose between them.

I will be listening to them for a year so I want something I'm reasonably happy with. I'm still thinking Boxers just because they have a reputation for being musical and a bit on the warm side.

I think this is a great opportunity to have some fun trying different speakers. For
instance, there is a set of the amazing Totem Hawks on here for $1,500. They
are fantastic speakers, and the Rainmaker is a great stand mount for half the
price. I was smitten by them both.

Do some surfing on the speakers for sale here and I bet you can find something
great, that you may not have thought of. I even saw a pair of Magnepan 1.7s
around $1,500. Also check out Music Direct, as they have some great deals on
Focal speakers. Also, depending on which speaker you select, they have the
Wadia 151 Amp-DAC for $500. Not as much power, but it sounded great on my
Tannoy Definition DC8s.

Enjoy man!
Mot

If you can go with Maggie MMGs, why not MG 12s? Their external dimensions aren't that much more imposing while adding a significant amount of radiating area. They're still under budget, so maybe you could add a compact powered subwoofer to add some low end punch and bass extension below 45 Hz.

I have 1.7s plus a pair of very vast and compact sealed subs, and it's a golden combination. Fast powered subs are handy for condo living because you can dial in the amount of bass that will work for the circumstances.

Magnepan detractors are always complaining about power requirements, in-room size, imaging in some cases, and rolled off bass. Most of these things are pretty easy to fix with more amplifier power (or quality), thoughtful room placement, and small, fast subs or Mag's own DWM panels. What Magnepan gets right, however, otherwise only comes from very expensive speakers such as WIlson, YG, Focal Utopia and Magico, and that is a total absence of boxy colorations. Furthermore, the x.7 series are more coherent and more dynamic without needing mega-sized amplifiers. I run my 1.7s in an open architecture living room with an amp making 100/200 watts into 8/4 ohms, Since Maggies are 4 ohms, I'm getting 200 wpc and that's plenty. When Absolute Sound reviewed the 1.s, they powered them with a Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum making around 90 wpc and it was a rave review, so I guess the amp power was fine.

Magnepan speakers exude a very natural presentation, where the sound floats out in space without any sense of coming from boxes, with a natural soundstage and dispersion pattern. Tonal balance is excellent and presentation is effortless with large, low-excursion diaphragms devoid of overshoot and ringing so typical of pistonic drivers (especially tweeters). This goes a long way in making the music sound more natural and less reproduced.

I had the impression the MG 12 was basically the MMG plus their bass module. A Mag dealer told me the MG 12 usually still needs a subwoofer, so it's a better deal to get the MMG with a REL sub and have more versatility and bass response. Not true?