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
128x128Ag insider logo xs@2xsufentanil
Do MMG's get toed in at all? ...while on this thread? Any/more setup comments are appreciated!
Thanks and good listening!


Typically they do like a little toe in. Set up with these things can be rough. A lot of trial and error. The biggest thing is a minimum of 36 in behind them. Followed closely second by plenty of space to their left and right.

They should always be straight up and down, no tilt. Raising them is also a huge improvement, but I trypically would get them dialed in before raising them.

All of this coupled with a small sweet sopt is why I no longer own these. They sound ohh soo good under the right circumstances- but getting the circumstances just right is a PITA.

-Rob
thanks for all the suggestions.

Fishcat1, that's exactly the adjective that I've been looking for to describe the MMG's: Flat! They're very lacking in dynamics.

I do have the speakers pulled out pretty far into the room (about 4 feet), and I've discovered that I like it better when they're straight forward rather than toed in. I'm playing with having them fully vertical, but I haven't tried lifting them off the floor yet.

I'm not saying that I expected the MMG's to wipe the floors with my solid, and considerably more expensive Audio Physic's. But given my general listening preferences (transparent, detailed, extended sound with an excellent soundstage) I thought the MMG's would provide a unique presentation that I would find very intriguing.

I'll continue listening, but at the moment it's not looking good for the poor MMG's.

Michael
Hi Michael,
I really wanted to fall in love with the maggie sound, too. The people who state that they need massive current and wattage might be on to something. If I have to take out a second mortgage to purchase amps for any speaker, that said speaker is flawed. I think I could have gotten them to sound right, but I would have had to throw a lot of money at amps, and rebuild the damn crossovers. I wasn't about to start over from scratch, as I like the AP sound, which is really a good all around sound for most all genres.
-Fishcat