Anybody using Magnepan speakers then switch to box speakers

One of my best friends sold off his Magnaplanar Tympani's a few decades back and never looked back. The limit to the loudness of Maggies is the fuses, and if you cheat on the fuses you get to buy new panels.

I have never blown a fuse on any of my Mags when the amp wasn't clipping. They can take an awful lot of power but your amp has to be able to deliver it cleanly.

I went from Mags to box speakers and back. I had to switch to box speakers because I moved and had no room for my old 3.6's. The only box speakers I've found that come close to the sound of the Mags were some Philharmonics but they use a ribbon tweeter and planar mid.

That said, the $500/pair MMG's are a decent way to test the Magnepan water but the 1 and 3 series Mags are much better.

I'm about to give some Tekton Enzo's a try. I just sold off my 1.7's and MMG's. I'll let you know what I think, but it might be a few days or early next week before I get a chance to hear them well-enough to respond honestly.

I had a full Magnepan 5.1 system in my HT for a number of years(well,minus the .1 ). Loudness was never a problem. A few of the guys from the local AVS group came over to watch movies a few times and they will tell you,they got plenty loud .

I switched over a few years ago to box speakers. Not because of loudness,but I did miss the midrange slam of cone speakers for movies.
Sadly,the speakers I have are no longer made, Martin Logan Prefaces and Encore.Both use ribbon tweeters(folded).

My Maggies are now in my bedroom in a 2.1 setup.

If I had to make a choice today,I dont know what I would do,as the motion series by Martin Logan just doesnt cut the mustard for me.

Good luck on your search.

Alan

I have gone back and forth though currently have a full Maggie 7.x system. The clarity and "expansive" soundstage has always led me back, though for pure dynamics and simpler set-up with less floor space a good dynamic is hard to beat. They also will not play deep bass, unless you get the 20's, so a good sub is a must for movies and a lot of music.

If you do not have the space, especially considering they need to be about 3' from the back wall, or do not have (or are willing to purchase and place) good room treatment, then don't waste your time. Space is the main reason I switched back to box for a while, certainly not sound. To me a lot of conventional speakers initially sound impressive but I always end up liking my Maggies more over time. And, mine play louder than I can stand and I have yet to blow a fuse, albeit in a smaller room than they have lived before (about 2000'cu). Never blew a fuse in much larger rooms they lived in before, however.

YMMV - Don

I would stick with what you've got. I don't think the Mags will have enough room to breathe in that set up.

I used to have mmg's for my front 3. I liked them a lot but after awhile it started bugging me that the good sound fell apart when I would move from the sweet spot and I wanted a more dynamic speaker.

I went from this










To this Elemental Designs Cinema speakers. I liked the better than the Maggie's for overall sound and of course no contest in dynamics, these are 98 db sensitivity.





To this. JTR Noesis. No comparison, they sound so good. All time favorite speaker I've heard and it's not close. Music is so addictive, sweet, smooth, etc, crazy huge soundstage.

However it's not fair to compare the Noesis to the Maggie's, the Noesis are 7 times the cost!! I will always say that the mmg's are one of the best deals in audio. The Noesis sound far better to me than the Maggie's but they should for that difference. I've heard the 1.6 Maggie's and liked them better than the mmg's.







Ha, sorry for going overboard on pics...

I did notice a significant improvement when I moved my old mmg's 3 feet or more from the front wall so mrlittlejeans is probably right.

I ended up with a pair after living with a pair(owned by room mate at the time) and VERY MUCH enjoyed them. Back then(80s) we were much more concerned about music then watching TV through the Stereo...Holy crap...TV...through the stereo...WHAT WERE WE THINKING!! If the pic above is what space you have to work with, I would keep a traditional box type speaker....I do remember my Maggies liked to have a bit or room around them to really make them shine....Of course, back then, our living room had almost nothing in it...except a Sony 27"XBR,(which was HUGE then) an Adcom 750 pre, a 5802 amp and a Cal Audio CD player...and a pair of Maggies....oh, and 2 nice patio chairs...LOL...Furniture was NOT the priority back then! Ahhh. life was much simpler then...we only had to deal with 2 channels...

Carp,
Just think of this, The MMG's are one of their lowest models and you never had a proper matched MMG system. When I had 8 MMG's with 3 SVS 16-46cs+ subs it was an awesome sound theater. I almost reached reference and it never ever sound harsh, even when compressing. Now say you get the 20's, their best and have all the same speakers around, I wonder how that would compare since they handle more power and sound much better. Now I am sure you don't have to go to the 20's but I wonder myself as I still love the sound of maggies.

What do you mean a proper matched mmg system? I had 3 MMG's for my LCR and the surrounds in the back. However I'm mostly talking about 2 channel music when I compare speakers. You wouldn't know it to look at my room but music is my priority over movies.

Back when I listened to the Maggies for the first time in a local store I heard them compared to all kinds of speakers ranging from 2000 a pair to 12,000 a pair and I liked the 1.6's better than anything and the mmg's were my second favorite. I wasn't as into the hobby back then so I didn't even take a mental note of all the speakers I was hearing that day... ugh... ticked at myself now for not knowing what they all were.

So yeah I'm a Maggie fan too - great speakers.

I haven't heard the MG12, if it's anything like the 1.6's then it's a significant step up from the MMG's. Not enough for me to pay the difference at the time though (this was back in 2010), for me the MMG's were too good to pass up - the store owner sold me a demo pair he had for 575!! Crazy sound for that price. I later ordered a single MMG and surrounds direct from Magnepan.

I just wanted to try something different. I really loved the 1.7s, but when I moved, I had to put them in a smaller room, and I'm addicted to trying new gear...soooo...figured I'd give a 98dB speaker a try.