[KR...]

cool, I am looking forward to reading about them.

 

[kelly]

Quote:

Originally posted by Tuberoller I just met the guy with the 3.6 today and he has these installed with a Pass Labs crossover network and two custom built subwoofers using four 15" drivers.All this is driven by Four VTL MB750 reference Monoblocs.This is an all analog system that uses a VPI TNT table and a Linn LP12 table as well as two Reel-to-Reel decks.

Now that's what I'm talkin' about.

 

[jim]

Thanks for the info Fred! Even if the dealer doesn't have any MMG's, I'd still like to get a taste for the magnepan sound. Maybe they'll have a pair of 12's or 1.6s or something. Hmmm, maybe that's a bad idea since I just might actually want those after a listen.

Man, I really wanted to meet up with you guys again at the last chicago meet, but I was swamped with work here at school. Hopefully I can make it to the next one!

 

[RobertR]

tuberoller; what is the crossover freq. of the subs to maggie.
When i got the velotdyne sub I had the crossover point to the mgiii changed from 6db at 85hz to 85 at 12db resulting in less strain on the planar diaphram.
Yes the maggies will bottom out on certain passages.
Now I can" throw anything at them "and they can handle it.

 

[Tuberoller]

Jim,I thought the Maggie sound might be "an acquired taste" but I found that not to be true.Horns and Electrostats are a bit different sounding but I think Magnepans are unique in that the sound is not a huge leap from what you are accustomed to.It is just articulated in a different way.

The next meet will be better planned and take place over two days at my house.Of course there will be lots of gear,but this time we will do some direct comparisons as a group.I have informed Doug Schneider of Soundstage about the meetings that take place and about how they are organized here.He has been wanting to come back to Chicago and said he will most likely attend the meeting.posts will be made a least a month ahead of time and the meet will take place in April.

 

[Tuberoller]

Quote:

Originally posted by RobertR tuberoller; what is the crossover freq. of the subs to maggie. When i got the velotdyne sub I had the crossover point to the mgiii changed from 6db at 85hz to 85 at 12db resulting in less strain on the planar diaphram. Yes the maggies will bottom out on certain passages. Now I can" throw anything at them "and they can handle it.

Rob,

I am not currently using a sub on mine,but the guy who has the 3.6 is coming by later tonight with a complete gear list from his amazing systems and I will ask him then.

 

[Andrew Pielet]

Tuberoller, I remember the time I talked to you on the phone, and told you of my Audio Valve tube mono/ MMG setup. The first thing you said was "how's the bass"? I couldn't give you a straight answer, due to the fact I knew there was improved bass everyday for about 3 months while breaking them in. You will surely be trippin' when you hear them in 2 months, VERY different speakers, just as revealing. It's good you have that many amps to play with.
kelly, Linn is definetly not compatible with MMG's. They make them too sterile, and MMG's need a little bit of warmth and coloring to smooth out the detail of the clear high mids. I think the british sounding equipment just doesn't color maggies (or add a realistic tone) properly because indeed they need an amp to balance their sound. I still am extremely happy with my purchase, and I almost feel like I would miss out on the "raw" flavor of the MMG's if I change to the 12's or 1.6's.

 

[Tuberoller]

Quote:

Originally posted by Andrew Pielet Tuberoller, I remember the time I talked to you on the phone, and told you of my Audio Valve tube mono/ MMG setup. The first thing you said was "how's the bass"? I couldn't give you a straight answer, due to the fact I knew there was improved bass everyday for about 3 months while breaking them in. You will surely be trippin' when you hear them in 2 months, VERY different speakers, just as revealing. It's good you have that many amps to play with. kelly, Linn is definetly not compatible with MMG's. They make them too sterile, and MMG's need a little bit of warmth and coloring to smooth out the detail of the clear high mids. I think the british sounding equipment just doesn't color maggies (or add a realistic tone) properly because indeed they need an amp to balance their sound. I still am extremely happy with my purchase, and I almost feel like I would miss out on the "raw" flavor of the MMG's if I change to the 12's or 1.6's.

Yeah,I remember that conversation.Talking with you kinda spurred my curiosity a bit more and I ordered them right after that.There was a waiting list but I hear production has been ramped and the list is short and orders are filled very fast.Actuallly I have not stopped playing them.They are playing now as we speak.I am going to audition a digital amp I have been hearing about that comes highly recommended by the folks at Magnepan,Innersound and Martin Logan.I'm gonna pick it up today from Music Direct,who also say it is the best amp they have ever heard.We'll see.......

I acknowledge that the sound has indeed changed dramatically since first hooking them up and I feel that a longer break-in will be beneficial.Please feel free to comment on my thoughts and offer yours as well,I am very interested.

 

[Andrew Pielet]

Tuberoller, people say that SS amps work with Maggies very well do to the power behind them, and tube preamp would give the warmth and color I was speaking of. My system is somewhat opposite, I have a SS Preamp (Angstrom 200 Mike Moffat) and the tubes powering. The thing that is lacking is the deep chest bass. The SOUND of the bass is the prettiest I have heard. Now that I have my sub at 50hz, they roam free (see last sentence), and the lower end isn't sloppy, or muffled. Really, I still have no idea what sub to be using. I am borrowing a Paradigm 1000 15" from a buddy, since when I first hooked up the MMG's it seemed like the bass was non-existant. Cables for the amps were pretty difficult to find. Silver ovals sounded ok to my ears, but others really thought they made the vocals too airy and really, the high mids/highs needed no extra push. Siltech G-3 put a veil over most of the music, but the sounstage got wider, and the vocals became too pronounced. I actually couldn't believe the veil over everything. Twisted 89259 were average, with the highs coming down quite a bit, but very balanced tones. nothing stuck out at all, but we had nothing bad to say either. I couldn't tell about the bass, cause the MMG's were only a month old. The first cables I bought were Homegrown Audio Super Silvers, and those really didn't work at all. (Actually my friend took these to use in his Classe/Martin Logan system, for the amp/preamp connection. They are the best we have found so far for him, besides Nordost, Cardas, and Acoustic Zen, which we are both trying to get our hands on.)
So, finally, the cable of chioice for my amps are....the CIR's. Local midwest company, copper, with wrapped ferrite ends. You really have to hear these, (sorry for not making it to the Head-fi meet) they are full sounding, balanced, colored beautifully for a match made in heaven. It was like a needle in a haystack. these were I think $300 for a meter pair, and I traded my buddy for the Homegrown I got used $55!! He knows, he is just stoked we both have found acceptable cables. I was using DIY 1509 for a digital cable that was VERY good in my opinion, and I just switched it to the Fineline Stealth MK2. The fineline has extended highs and lows, the cymbals were way more crisp present and upfront, but the vocals have less presence (yet more subtle detail and clarity abounds). I definitely need to try more digital cables once I have a new CD player. It is good you have the Maggies now. You will also see how difficult it is to build a system around them, since every piece make a HUGE difference, especially cables. If you have any ideas for a CD player, I am all ears. The Music Hall would probably be to bright, but I am curious what you think. I am looking at the Anthem, Rotel, and the Arcam Diva. Top priority is that it has Track remaiing and disc remaining info, and HDCD. Oh yeah, when the sub is hooked up (always) The angstrom cuts off the speakers at 80hz. this might be why the sloooow sub finally sounded good turned way down. How can I make the speakers run full range w/ keeping the sub hooked up through the preamp?? There, mywhole system thought in one post!!

 

[FCJ]

I'm a loyal Maggie user since 1985, when I bought my SMGa's (unfortunately, they're now in storage but that's another story). When I first got them, I remember being extremely disapointed at how lackluster they sounded (I was using, and still use, a B&K ST-140 amp). However, after they were broken in about a month or so they became glorious. Midrange and the overall "size" of the sound is incredible. Placement is tough, though. Once you get that right, they sing. I don't think I could ever go back to a "box" speaker, given the choice.

 

[jim]

Well, I just got back from Glenn Poor's Audio, my local high end audio shop. They had a set of Maggie 1.6's connected to a primare integrated amp and primare cd player. They did sound somewhat polite, but that was probably because I didn't really want to turn the volume up real load. They weren't set up in the most ideal room, as the left channel was reinforced by the back and left wall whereas the right only had a small portion of back wall, and the the right opened up to the rest of the shop. Even so, they were nothing short of amazing. I listened to some tracks of the Classic Yo-Yo Ma cd, and edgar meyer's acoustic bass was reproduced with the most amazing realism I've ever heard in a pair of speakers. Acoustic bass through most speakers I've heard sounds muffled and kind of woofy, but the magnepans reproduced them with the same detail as the midrange. Fred, what you said about the piano reproduction is absolutely right! I play a 7' Kawai RX-6 grand piano at home, one that I picked among literally dozens of pianos we looked at over a span of a year and a half. So of all real live instruments, I know what a piano should sound like best, and after listening to a few tracks from Murray Periah's new Chopin Etude cd, I have to admit I'm extremely impressed. They're very convincing! Too bad there isn't any way I can fit a pair of 1.6's in my room. However, I think my wallet is going to feel about $550 lighter pretty soon.

Hey, I also got to hear a sweet analog setup for the very first time today! It was a Linn Sondek LP12, BAT VK-50se preamp, BAT monoblocs, nordost valhalla throughout, and Avant Garde Duos. I listened to parts of Holst's The Planets performed by Andre Previn and the LSO, and all I have to say is OMG! I better stay away from that place lest I develop a taste for their reference system!

edit:
Oh btw, the one weakness that I did hear in the magnepans is that their bass was indeed rolled off quite a bit at the very bottom. Not much of a concern to me though, since my music tastes don't have have too much stuff in the low low end of the spectrum.

 

[gerG]

Dangit you! The real reason you got thrown off those other sites is that everybody else went broke because of you, right?

This is intriguing. I have been looking for a ribbon tweeter, and these might qualify. I will bet that if mounted in a cabinet they might even develop some decent bass response. I'm serious! I don't like bipolar (or even di-polar) speakers, but I've always liked what comes out of the front of the electrostatics. These might be a lower risk mod.

How are the dynamics? Last time I listened to maggies they were very disappointing in this area. Even with a sub they sounded sluggish. Maybe the amp makes all the difference.


gerG

 

[Hirsch]

Quote:

Originally posted by jim Well, I just got back from Glenn Poor's Audio, my local high end audio shop.

Wild! That's where I first heard the Maggies, in the early 80's.

 

[jim]

Hirsch, that's really cool! Were there any other audio shops you went to? The only ones I know of are GP's and Champaign Audio, and also good vibes, but they're mostly A/V stuff these days. Maybe they'll have that new Philips SACD/DVD player that Tuberoller was raving about... hmm..... oh no! what am I thinking?! He really is making us all broke!

Greg, obviously my short listen to them can't do them full justice, but it seemed the maggies didn't have huge bowl-you-over slam, like say, the Avant Gardes did. As I mentioned they seemed fairly polite, but that could have been for a number of reasons, the acoustics of the room being a big one. Even so, the bass detail and imaging/soundstage was so phenomenal that I'm rather willing to give up a little slam in exchange. I think my only real beef against them is that they are so stinking big!

 

[Tuberoller]

You guys are gonna hate me for this and I admit to not really knowing what I'm trying to do here.I gotta back-track and say that the best amplifier for the Maggies is the PS Audio HCA2 .It is indeed one of the very best amps I have ever heard.I was not sold on digital amplification....I am now.This amp seems to have been designed with loudspeakers like Maggies and Electrostats in mind.It makes them sound so sweet.The MMG are just one of those loudspeakers that seem to sound better with each improvement or change that you make to the system.I am getting the feeling that I could throw anything at the Maggies and they will make it sound great.this is just amazing to me.I am so impressed by these speakers.

I think I am going to build a system around the Maggies.I am going to pull a few components from my main system but they will become part(for now) of the Maggie based system.I will not add a subwoofer to the system at this time but I will have digital and analog sources.I am going to place this sytem in my wife's office which measures 18x24 and has modest acoustic treatments(diffuser panels on the rear walls,small lateral bass traps,and DIY corner mounts).The room has plaster walls and uncarpeted hardwood floors with one large rug.There is one window at the wall facing opposite of the wall the Maggies will be placed nearest.I will place them 9 feet apart which will position them about 3 feet from the side walls.They will be positioned 5 feet from the back wall.All gear will be placed on a side wall and nothing will be directly behind the Maggies.The bass traps are 36 inches tall and will be placed to the sides and rear of the speakers but not directly in the corners.the diffusers are simply acoustic foam panels with painted silk coverings that I mounted to studio grade ceiling tiles.The complete diffuser assembly measures 2 feet square and 5.35 inches thick,there are two panels on the rear wall (on opposite sides of the window)and two panels on the wall behind the speakers.I will add or move panels to the side walls based on listening and suggestions from you guys and friends that drop by.
The system will be as follows:

Source 1: VPI Scout Turntable /Dynavector 10X4 cartridge
Source 2:Musichall MMFCD25 CDplayer(possibly the Sony NS500V SACD player as well)
Preamp:Van Alstine Transdecence 5 tubed with phono stage
AmpS Audio HCA2 Digital amp
Interconnects:Synergistic Research Alpha Sterling with active shielding
Speaker Cables:Kimber 8VS
Loudspeakers:Magnepan MMG
Line conditioner:Monster HTS-3500/PS audio outlets.

There is a small couch that will be placed 10 feet from the front panels of the speakers.I will toe the speakers in slightly (or not) as listening progresses.There is about six feet of space behind the couch occupied by my wife's desk,chair, file cabinets and knitting table.There are two small trees along the right side wall which are not in the path of the speaker panels.The equipment and rack are also along the right side wall and out of the panels' way.there is a small credenza on the left wall that also does not interfere with the panels' projectory.the room has 9 foot ceilings and is lit by lamps only.

The reason I am providing so much info about the set-up is because I am really not sure about it and need some input.If/when I have a problem we can all refer back to this post,which I will edit as needed with any specifics or changes.I want to try the system in it's own room to see how the sonics flesh out.Please let me know what you think guys.I should have this system set up by the end of the week.