Magnepan $700 Budget

I'd be inclined to go with bigger, used panels, or make sure I had a store near me that applied the MMG's purchase to an upgrade.

I ain't scared of the repairs though.

Ask in the Magnepan thread too - those people know things...

Ron

I would go for the 1.6. Though, you will have to increase your budget by 2 or 3 hundred. Look over at audiogon.com. Buy from those that have good feedback and you will find a very nice pair.

what size is your room,,??

here is the maggie site,, http://www.audioasylum.com/forums/MUG/bbs.html

Derry

You really need to look at your room & acoustics when you consider any of the Magnepans. I have the MMG's working in a difficult livingroom set-up along with the MMG-W's & MMG-C, and i don't think any other speakers will touch them (within my budget).
If you already have a subwoofer & a decent amp, they will change the way you listen to music & movies...

Just don't stand up.

Ron

Out of curiosity, does anybody have pics of their home systems with the MMG series? I see some on their website but I could not get a good feel of they would be used in real world.

THE VERY BEST OF THE SMALLEST DECENT FULL RANGE MAGNEPAN IS THE OLDER SMG C VERSION. IVE HAD THE MMGS AND THEY JUST DONT COMPAIR ANYWHERE TO THIS OLDER SMG C. IF I WAS LOOKING FOR THE BEST SYSTEM FOR THE MONEY I WOULD BUY USED MG 10S FOR FRONT AND REARS AND A PAIR OF THEM FOR THE CENTER CHANNEL RUNNING A GOOD FIVE OR SEVEN CHANNEL AMP. A GOOD AMP FOR THE MONEY IS A USED NAD T973. IVE OWNED ONE FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS AND THEY HAVE ENOUGH TO RUN SIX MG 10s A SEPERATE SUB AND THATS IT. A EMOTIVA PROCESSOR OR ONKYO UNIT WOULD BE A GREAT SYSTEM FOR A SYSTEM.

I would look for a pair of used 1.6's, the model before the 1.7's. Better frequency response and both high and low end. That said, as others have stated, you'd probably have to up your budget to get them, even used. Since you can try and return the MMGs you could give them a shot, but the 1.6/1.7 are a significant step up. I have a pair of ca. 1988 MG-IIIa's that are still OK, but yes many older models may have delamination issues as well as blown ribbon tweeters. Magnepan rebuilds them fairly inexpensively, but a $500 deal with a $500 rebuild may not be what you want (though MG-II or III series rebuilt in that price range would blow away the MMG's). I would not worry about an amp in that size room.
Edited by DonH50 - 2/23/13 at 10:05am

I just bought a pair of MMG's @ $599 plus shipping a week ago and could not be happier. They have a great program on right now that you have a sixty-day in home trial along with a one year opportunity to upgrade to a larger model with a full refund. See their site for details. This program is direct with Magnepan, it's unavailable through their dealers. I think it's a good way to stay within your budget AND have something under warranty - which you will not get if you buy used equipment.

I've drunk the Maggie kool-aid - these are easily the best sounding speakers I have owned. I will suggest purchasing some decent stands to lift them off the floor around six inches, it does make a difference.

Allot of people find Ribbon tweeters especially the RAAL a good run for the money without allot of the negatives associated with Maggies. Not trying to sway you against this..and RAALs are NOT cheap..but something to keep in mind. Phil 2's are a great option from Dennis there are also other options but don't think you will find anything as good as a Phil 2 with a Raal at that price range. Of course, look on other sites for used and you may

Can you use them for surround sound?

About four years ago , I had a full Maggie HT. MMG fronts,MMGC center and MMGW rears. I had seen a number of folks stating that the MMG's sounded much better , when mounted vertical,rather then with the tilted stands the factory sends them out with.
At that point,I built custom stands stands for my MMG's, and they did sound much ( clarity vastly improved).

As you can tell from the TV in the photo,This was a number of years ago Anyway,here is a photo of the MMG's in an HT as the OP requested.

Yes, many of us have all-Maggie 5.x or 7.x systems. My system uses seven Magnepan speakers plus two Rythmic subwoofers.

How do they play with other speakers or box speakers as Maggies calls them, my fronts are B&W 800Diamonds

Their soundstage is quite different and the backwave, like ESLs and other planer speakers, gives them a different "character". If I had 800D's I would be looking at the B&W center and surrounds.

I currently have the following: 

 

3 B&W 800Diamonds (L/C/R)

4 B&W 802D1 (RS/LS/RSB/LSB)

 

I am thinking that the 802Ds are two much for the surround and also have my eyes on something else!

Seems a bit outside the scope of a thread on "$700 Magnepans"...

While I bet that sounds great, quite honestly I do not think you would be happy with Magnepans in that system. Going from 802's to smaller Magnepans (MMGW, MC1, MC2) would be a huge change, and if you get floor models (MMG, 1.7, etc.) you would need a lot of room behind them (at least 2', preferably 3') and/or treatment to prevent significant signal FR ripples due to the back wave adding and subtracting from the front wave. And the floor models still would not match the bass of the 802's. I would suggest going to 804's or the B&W wall surrounds (heard them, friend has them, don't recall the model) if you are looking to downgrade. Or consider other, conventional, speakers (too many for me to track, and I have not heard a lot of the latest favorites).

Yes, again I like to experiment so I ordered a pair of MMG, I will cross them over at 80HZ and we will se how and if I like them?  If i don't I guess I will just send them back and get my money back minus a $100 for shipping :(

Make sure you play something punchy through them for about 100 hours. Maggies really need to be broken in, it's just the way they are. They are basically a large stiff film when you get them, you need to loosen it up.

I agree. My Maggies(still have 3.7's for a stereo setup in the bedroom) Sounded harsh until about the 50 hour mark , and didnt fully open up until the 100 hour mark.

Alan

That's strange. Way back in the 80's we ran controlled tests I am pretty sure all measurable and noticeable changes were done by ~20 hours or so, maybe 50 max. I would have expected the QR designs to settle more quickly. Don't know, wonder what Magnepan says? I suspect after 100 hours it's as much "us" as speakers settling in, though maybe the ribbons are taking longer? The most obvious difference I saw back then was bass, almost no change in treble. Of course, what is used for the breaking in period probably matters as well (we used pink noise, probably more stressful than random music).

What you say makes perfect sense DonH50.

I would think the material used for the break in ,would make a substantial difference. I tend use music at a low level( below the level where my neighbors think I'm home ) for a few days.

I tend to treat new speakers like a car. I never jump in,start the engine up and floor the gas pedal

Alan