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Anyone send back Magnepan MMG's?

I'm currently trying out some MMG's under their 60-day money-back trial period. I'm two weeks into it and I've already made up my mind that they're going back. The presentation is interesting, but the soundstaging is no better (perhaps even worse) than my trusty Audio Physic Tempo's. There is a problem in cohesion from midrange to bass, and this manifests itself quite frequently when I play 80's rock and pop (Pat Benatar especially). And they get congested with complex orchestral music. Granted, with simple chamber music or guitar solos, they sound pretty good. But they just can't handle the gamut of music that I play like my Audio Physic speakers.

There are those who may claim that perhaps my amp isn't up to the task of powering the Maggies. I have an Innersound ESL 300 which is designed for planars and electrostats, being able to double down twice to 2 ohms, and still stable at 1/3 ohm impedance. It should be more than enough to drive the Maggies.

And some will claim that the MMG's don't adequately represent the abilities of Magnepan's higher-end offerings. I've heard a 3.6 previously, driven by Classe electronics, and while it sounded OK, I wasn't thrilled with it. Which surprises me, because I tend to gravitate toward electrostatics, and I thought I'd gravitate towards planars as well.

And I will admit, my old Audio Physic Tempo's originally retailed for $4000, which is substantially more than the MMG's $550. But still, even at their entry level, the Magnepan's should be hinting at something that those box speakers can't quite do. But I'm not hearing it. I came into this with a very open mind, and I'm somewhat surprised that the speakers are likely getting shipped back to Magnepan.

Has anyone else come to this conclusion?

Michael
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mapman's avatar
mapman
21,823 posts
 
Maggies are a unique breed. Not all will take to them.

One of their most endearing qualities for me is that they are most easy on the ear at both low and high volumes compared to almost anything else. You can listen to them for hours and they sound better the longer you listen and make you not want to stop.

Some will scoff at this and say its because of limited dynamics compared to live, which may be true, but the easy on the ear factor is the most endearing and unique quality of Maggies for many who just want to listen to music in an unobtrusive manner for long periods of time, IMHO.

Here are the caveats:

- They are not the ultimate in dynamic range
- They are very sensitive to placement and room acoustics
- they often work best away from rear and side walls
- They have a very focused (ie small) sweet spot (but background music compared to detailed listening can still sound very good elsewhere)
- the bass extension is reasonably competitive at the various price points but dynamic range and impact often seems limited in comparison to better dynamic designs and may not please some bass lovers (I tend to fall into this category myself)
magfan
1,583 posts
 
In about '82 or '83 I bought a pair of MG-1s. I have never looked back. Room placement is KEY. You must EXPERIMENT around, since even a few inches can and will make a difference. Toe in? Yes...but how much? Tweeters in/out?
In my case, Tweeters IN, in very small rooms, otherwise out.
Let 'em breathe

I had them rebuilt in about '01 or '02, sold them last year and bought some 1.6's.

And, it also seems to be true that you can't have too much 4ohm power.
stringreen's avatar
stringreen
6,366 posts
 
My take on the MMG's is they are a wonderful midrange speakers with compressed dynamics that you have to sit directly on axis for. If you can live with the things it doesn't do, and appreciate what it does so well, then these speakers are for you. If however their inabilities overcome their riches, then you must look elsewhere.
aptquark
99 posts
 
Just bought a used pair from JBPimp...nice guy btw, and they sound wonderful. I am also using theil 2.4's and I can offer this advice/opinion: dont try to compare apples to oranges. This is in regard to any piece of equipment. The MMG's do a great service in some areas that my theil's cannot do and visa versa. I was not looking to replace my theil's...just wanted to try maggies for the first time. I guess if your looking to replace a component with another, then obviously one will be very critical in their assesment of the piece.
sthomas12321
408 posts
 
I would say the MMg's are more musically enjoyable, and less acurate, or typical audiophile like speakers. This is not a bad thing at all. The first thing I look for in a speaker is how musical they are. I also like the MMG's in small rooms, actually with a EQ(extremely rarely the case with me)to enhance the bottom end a little, and in some cases tweak the treble a little.

This is probably do to the fact the mmg's sound seams sort of dead or flat when left alone to me. While they do have a sound of there own for sure, I dont feel its in the tone they produce as much, the EQ helped a lot at least for me and some excitement to them.
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