Sounds like another musical instrument, not a "speaker"

Directional nature of the speakers

OK, so forget about break-in, forget the expensive interconnects, forget about the nth-degree speaker placement, forget about the 4 Ohm load hype, forget it all. (I'll worry about that stuff later. Maybe.) Just unpack them, place them as suggested by Magnepan using the "quick" method (described in the instructions), hook them up and listen! The idea of listening to a speaker quickly fades, and does not return even after prolonged listening sessions. A few quick comments: I use an Ah! Njoe Tjoeb 4000 (nee Marantz 4000) CD player with direct connect to a David Hafler DH200 amp, and they seem to be a good match for each other. The amp actually runs cooler than it did with my old 4 Ohm ADS speakers. While the speaker placement is somewhat critical in that they need to be away from the walls, it was easy for me to do this and get great sound with a minimum of adjustment. While not having gobs of very deep bass, what is there is just fine and as with the rest of the tonal range very realistic. The one criticism I have is the extremely directional nature of these speakers - they won't be the best for parties. But if you like to sit in a comfortable chair and listen they are truly fantastic.

Similar Products Used:

ADS L810

air, detail, soundstage, excellent reproduction of instrument transients

no earthshaking bass, need good power amp

Just for context, I'm pretty deep into the pro audio world, and not much of an audiophile. Kind of like the difference between being a butcher and eating in a fine restaurant. Anywho, I decided to get a set of MGMs for my new living room as speakers for music listening and sound for video. Normally, I listen to near field monitors in my recording studio, which are small bookshelf speakers pointed one at each ear about five feet from my head. Good for hearing small changes made to mixes, not the most fun in the world.

I've had the magnepans for about a week, put a CD on loop for a day or so to blow off the rust, and have really enjoyed them ever since. I'm NOT looking for absolute reproduction, I want an enjoyable listening experience, and the Maggies serve that up in quantity.

Other people have covered most of the basics here, but I'd not a few things. If you get these, at some point in the first day, you will have some "magnepan moments" where sounds you've never heard before will floor you, or something will come from a direction that seems physically impossible with two speakers. On one of my favorite Kenny Burrell CDs from the early 60's, I heard the drummer pick up his sticks during the head, something I've never heard and I've listened to this CD hundreds of times. Next, these speakers will reveal shortcomings in some recordings. A lot of current pop and rock sounds horribly squashed and undynamic on these because, well, it's horribly squashed and undynamic. Not everything, of course, but a lot of stuff. One rock record that sounds incredible, for whatever reason, is Back in Black by AC/DC, the Maggies let the listener place each cymbal in the drum kit to within a few inches, it's uncanny, and the guitars sound unbelieveable. A lot of ambient/electronica/lounge also sounds great; the textures and use of the soundstage in this music comes of wonderfully with the Maggies.

A word about bass. Yes, the Maggies roll off after about 50 Hz, and there are sounds down there that are lost. However, not many and not much. Stand up bass sounds are one of the strengths of the Maggies, those Blue Note records from the 60's generate gorgeous bass sounds through these speakers. Not a lot of rooms can really deal with bass below 40 Hz anyway, and while I plan to get a sub to pair with my Maggies, it's NOT needed to get very realistic bass. No super low booms, no cannon shots or sine wave bass sounds from hip hop records, but don't think automatically that you'll need a sub. Get them in the room and see how they sound.

One last note, I was surprised how close together the sweet spot was with these speakers. I also didn't like my toe in at all, maybe 5 degrees from the back wall, and that may sound good just because it should cause less of a standing wave.

For this amount of money, it's hard to buy anything else.

air, detail, soundstage, excellent reproduction of instrument transients

no earthshaking bass, need good power amp

Just for context, I'm pretty deep into the pro audio world, and not much of an audiophile. Kind of like the difference between being a butcher and eating in a fine restaurant. Anywho, I decided to get a set of MGMs for my new living room as speakers for music listening and sound for video. Normally, I listen to near field monitors in my recording studio, which are small bookshelf speakers pointed one at each ear about five feet from my head. Good for hearing small changes made to mixes, not the most fun in the world.

I've had the magnepans for about a week, put a CD on loop for a day or so to blow off the rust, and have really enjoyed them ever since. I'm NOT looking for absolute reproduction, I want an enjoyable listening experience, and the Maggies serve that up in quantity.

Other people have covered most of the basics here, but I'd not a few things. If you get these, at some point in the first day, you will have some "magnepan moments" where sounds you've never heard before will floor you, or something will come from a direction that seems physically impossible with two speakers. On one of my favorite Kenny Burrell CDs from the early 60's, I heard the drummer pick up his sticks during the head, something I've never heard and I've listened to this CD hundreds of times. Next, these speakers will reveal shortcomings in some recordings. A lot of current pop and rock sounds horribly squashed and undynamic on these because, well, it's horribly squashed and undynamic. Not everything, of course, but a lot of stuff. One rock record that sounds incredible, for whatever reason, is Back in Black by AC/DC, the Maggies let the listener place each cymbal in the drum kit to within a few inches, it's uncanny, and the guitars sound unbelieveable. A lot of ambient/electronica/lounge also sounds great; the textures and use of the soundstage in this music comes of wonderfully with the Maggies.

A word about bass. Yes, the Maggies roll off after about 50 Hz, and there are sounds down there that are lost. However, not many and not much. Stand up bass sounds are one of the strengths of the Maggies, those Blue Note records from the 60's generate gorgeous bass sounds through these speakers. Not a lot of rooms can really deal with bass below 40 Hz anyway, and while I plan to get a sub to pair with my Maggies, it's NOT needed to get very realistic bass. No super low booms, no cannon shots or sine wave bass sounds from hip hop records, but don't think automatically that you'll need a sub. Get them in the room and see how they sound.

One last note, I was surprised how close together the sweet spot was with these speakers. I also didn't like my toe in at all, maybe 5 degrees from the back wall, and that may sound good just because it should cause less of a standing wave.

For this amount of money, it's hard to buy anything else.

Smoothness, Clarity, Imaging, Looks.....to name a few.

As mentioned earlier, lack of deep bass (you cant have everything!)

Lets see...what can I tell you about these imposing beauties that has not been mentioned! I'll try and not be too redundant.
I had been wanting to get these speakers for a while now, but had resisted getting them since I lived in a TINY dorm room until a few months back. So I finally got them a few weeks back. The service was excellent, I ordered it on a Wednesday and received it in one piece on Friday. Connected them to my Sony DB-930 (90 W * 2 @4ohms) and began the listening experience!
I was a little wary of the "hype" about these speakers thats seen here and elsewhere. My first thoughts on listening these were..."good", but nothing that great. Initially they sounded slightly bright, and lacked any bass. Of course, all that changed only after a few hours and I love these speakers more everyday. They are supposed to have about 150-200 hours of break-in to sound they way they are intended to.
Just a few hours of playing and the bass was measurably louder. Now, after about 150 hours on them, they sound incredibly smooth, for the bass thats there, incredibly accurate and tight and lets not forget the midrange. Sometimes when I listen to my music, I just have this smile, because I hear notes that I haven't heard on ANY speaker that I've listened to. The accuracy is truly uncanny. Badly recorded CD's WILL sound bad, great recordings will sound amazing.
Besides break-in(150+ hours), another reason the sound improved considerably was an amp upgrade. I bought a used B&K ST-1400 II (modified) to power these. The Sony DB sounded good, but since I knew the extra (and clean) power would improve the sound even more, I went for it.
The placement (as mentioned by everyone) is important, even a few inches can make a difference. Once the placement is right, there is a REAL soundstage! There are no two point sources emanating music, there is "wall" of music.

To conclude, is it worth it? In my opinion, a resounding YES! Certainly no question about it in my mind. I had a larger alloted budget for a speaker upgrade and was very serious about the Monitor Audio 8i which can be found for about $1200 ($1400 list?). So even with an amp upgrade, I'm under the budget and the sound is better.

At the risk of sounding cliched, I think I can safely say that I'm not going back to box speakers anytime soon!

My Equipment:
Magnepan MMG (fromts)
Energy Take 1 (centre)
Energy Take 2 (surrounds)
Energy E:xlS-8 (sub)
Sony DB-930 as Pre/Pro
B&K ST-1400 II (for fronts only)
Panasonic RV-31S as Transport (and DVD player)
DIY ChrisVH speaker cable with Belkin banana plugs (gold plated) for fronts (supposed to be like Kimber 8TC)
Scosche Platinum and Gold plated IC's.
Philips Optical Cable (gold series)
El-cheapo 16 gauge(?) speaker wire for surrounds.

Similar Products Used:

No other planars or ESL's just box speakers :Energy Take 5, Energy C-2's, B&W 602, PSB Titans(?), Monitor Audio 8i & 5i, NHT Super 2. These are speakers that I've done some critical listening on, besides these, I've auditioned MANY other speakers, but for short periods and therefore don't warrant a mention here.

natural, full-bodied aroma

My first real leap into audio

I was experiencing my mid-life crisis and decided since I could not afford a red Porsche, I'd better find something else to spend my money on. I had a beginners sound system. Through much skulking on this web site, I came upon the reviews of MMG. I had actually heard some larger Maggie's 15-20 years ago in Washington, D.C. Did not think much of them at the time.

I'm glad my constant skulking paid off. These are quite wonderfully sounding speakers as has been expressed in many reviews. The other day I purchased an Anthem MCA 5 and a Cambridge Audio 500SE CD-player. **Now** I've got soundstage... wow!

Being slightly guilt ridden about the current troubles of the world, I am so happy to be able to purchase these for such a song. I'd hate to label myself as selfish by spending tons of money on speakers.

Therefore, I have been recommending to myself that I should donate any monies saved buying these beauties to some worthwhile charity. But what about good cables, home theater equipment, and the requisite surround and center speakers. When does it end?

Thanks to everyone who has submitted their reviews. It has made my musical life much more enjoyable.

P.S. Any recommendations on favorite, great-sounding CD's appreciated. The gentleman who recommended "Songo" by Andrea Bocelli was right on.

Smooth presentation, laid back, great soundstage, looks

Power hungry, require a lot of experimentation to place correctly, no bass below 50 hertz

I don't have much to add to the innumerable rave reviews below, but I recently switched from MIT wire to Alpha Core Goertz, and it made a huge difference. I was skeptical about making the switch since my MIT wire was more expensive, but the Alpha Core really opened up the soundstage and gave me a little more detail in the treble. I'm thinking about upgrading to even higher end Alpha Core now. The rest of my system is:

ODL HT-2 amp
Monolithic Sound PA-1 pre with PS-1 power supply
Rega Planet cd player

The MMGs don't seem to be the limiting factor in my system yet. They are pretty incredible speakers.

Articulate high's and mid range

Nothing below 50HZ

I would like to state that these speakers are wonderful, and the only reason I purchsed them without hearing them first was this forum. I was not dissappointed. These speakers took a little while to find the sweet spot, but they really come alive when positioned properly. I have mine 6 feet apart and 3 feet from the walls, toed in. My listening stage is an average apartment living room. I have them hooked up to a ATI-1505, and the sound is unbelievable and plenty loud. The only weakness is the shoddy stands that make them tilt back. I am going to build new stands to make them completely vertical because it helps the accoustics tremendously when facing you standing straight up.

The first thing I noticed was the unbelievable sound stage that these produced. All generes of music are well defined on these babies, but acoustic and blues/jazz really shine. The musicians seems to imminating from somewhere in the room, and you can hear just where they are in the mix. Really nice.

The weakness is the lack of bass under 50Hz. The bass that there is something i could choose to live with if I had to, very detailed and accurate, but I don't fortunately and i am buying the HSU TN1220's really soon. I will let you know in the future how these dound together.

Finally, if you are trying to decide between speakers, amp and subs, I recommend these highly. I must recommend these highly because I am high right now, and the speakers make pot smoking great. Now I can enoy Red Wine and Green Buds in the compnay of friends, and put on some music that moves all our souls in unison. A wonderful feeling that is only exacerbated by these unique speakers. Give them a try, you will not be dissappointed. Best bang for the dollar on the planet...my Highest recommendation. Cheers!

Similar Products Used:

Regular cone speakers

Simply spectacular on vocals - Wonderful mid and highs, may be better than anything else I've ever heard.

Good mid-bass but no lower octives at all. Can't be pushed much without strain but needs plenty of power to come to life. These are acceptable tradeoffs considering the sound.

For fans of vocal muic, jazz and the like that don't require gobs of volume, these speakers simply can't be beat. Try listening to Andrea Bocelli's "Songo" album and feel the hair on your arms raise (buy this album - it's audiophile grade A).

I've listened to 7-10K+ speakers that can't come close to matching the presentation of vocals from the MMG's and that includes Magnepan's own 1.6QR (which I also own) and 3.6 QR. The presentation is so good that I suspect the factory has "tuned" these little panels to be a bit hot in the midrange and highs. You will need to run them hard for 6-8 weeks minimum to break them in. In the begining, you'll need the resistors to tame the highs but all that will fade away as they break-in, then you can remove them.

Once broken in, you'll find it difficult to do anything else while the MMG's are playing. I recently had some company and I put on the Andrea Bocelli "Songo" album, letting it play quietly in the background during dinner. After a minute or so the normal table conversation just drifted to a stop while everyone listened. One of my guests asked how much it would cost to buy a music system that sounded like this.

You will want to marry these with a small sub. A large sub really isn't necessary considering the limited volume levels available. Right now I'm getting away with a Cambridge 10" bass cube that I opened up and braced internally with 2" x 2" X braces. While I had it open I also added additional stuffing and a pair of input jacks that bypass the internal amp so I could use an AudioSource One power amp (200 watts bridged) that I had. With the internal braces and the external amp it performs more like a $700-$800 sub. It can be found on ebay for less than $150.00. The AudioSource One amp is $249.00 new.

Buy these little panels, set them up right, break them in and forget about upgrading.

Associated equipment:

Musical Fidelity A3 Preamp
Luxman 363 Power amp (225/wps/@4ohms)
Cambridge 10" BassCube externally powered - 200 watts
Marantz CD63SE CD player

Similar Products Used:

Magnepan MGII, Magnepan 1.6QR, PSB Stratus Mini

Detail, Speed, Value, and that non-boxy sound.

Small sweet spot(not a problem once you know where it is)
Not a lot of low frequency information (you can't have everything for $500)

I bought these used and had them in my system for about 3 weeks. The MMGs are set up about 7 ft apart and 2.5 ft from the back wall (I didn't hear much difference by moving them out further, neither do I have much room to). I have them sitting atop of two DIY 16" X 14" x 8" rectangular boxes made of plywood (significantly better bass and a more realistic sound stage).

After listening to a number of CDs (mostly Jazz, Classical and Soft Rock). I can only say that these are by far the best $500 speakers I've ever heard. The Maggies are better than my beloved Mini Monitors in almost every way (No they won't go to 20K Hz like the Mini's metal tweeters but nobody can hear them anyway, neither do they have as much bass extention, but who cares at this point). Everything sounded more REAL, more DETAILED, especially piano notes. On some recordings they just simply disappear. The Solos are excellent in these areas and have a fuller sound (still boxy though), but they cost $1700 a pair. The MMGs revealed every change I made to the upstream equipments and cables, bad recordings sounded, well, bad (the Minis are more forgiving).

I've tried to add a sub running parallel with these, but failed miserably because they just couldn't keep up with MMGs' speed. Maybe I have to spend more than twice just for the Sub (Rel Strata III?)

Rating: 6 stars for value, 5 stars overall.
A true giant killer!


Associate Equipment: (2 ch set-up)
Yamaha CDC 775 as transport
Creek OBH 14 24 bit DAC/Passive Pre
Musical Fidelity HT 600 (awesome 5ch amp @ 160W/ch 4ohms, other 3 ch are used for HT)
Speaker Cables: AudioQuest Type 4+
Interconnects: DYI Canare GS-6

Similar Products Used:

Own Paradigm Minis, Atoms. Heard many others incl Maggie's 1.6QR, Platinum Audio Solo, Proac Tablette 50, etc

Good lord, EVERYTHING! These are easily the most realistic, revealing, airy, timbrally precise speakers i've heard in their price class and even three times their price (have not heard the 12's or the 1.6 yet). Looks are just beautiful as well. Quite a conversation piece, but elegant.

Be real. I can't hear any.

The only reason I purchased this speaker sight unseen, was because of Magnepan's (and Jim Winey's) reputation, engineering, and the VERY passionate and heartfelt reviews given here. I knew listeners 'were onto something'. This was proven correct when I first hooked them up. They sounded stunning from the get-go, but even better when I let them play for 24 hours while I kept my listening room door closed until I was ready to really hear them, slightly broken in. What I heard was a sonic treat! These speakers just dissapeared, leaving only breathtakingly lush, airy, and detailed music with a great soundstage!! Voices and instruments sound SO convincingly real, with timbral accuracy, attack and decay time that is mindblowing!! Having owned Thiels and Joseph Audio speakers as well, I immediately preferred the planar sound, and am now a 'convert'. Don't get me wrong, I love the Joseph's and the Thiels, BUT the baby Maggies are more CONVINCING and unveiled, and allow the music to flow forth in a detailed and accurate fashion. These speakers are, by far, the audiophile STEAL OF THE CENTURY!!! If your amp can drive 4 ohms, you MUST buy a pair of MMG's for yourself and at least experience the sound. I give this product not 5 stars, but 5 GALAXIES!!!

Similar Products Used:

Joseph Audio, B&W, KEF, Mission, Dynaudio, Thiel