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Magnepan MMG Speakers?

Having not been in a position to build a proper stereo system the last few years, I'm finally ready and I'm about 90% sure I'm buying a pair of Magnepan MMG speakers. My speaker budget is approximately $600-$700. I have a PS Audio IV stereo pre-amp and am also in the market for an amp, so please feel free to make recommendations (approx. $400 budgeted.) If it matters, I prefer listening to CD's of live shows (Dead, Widespread Panic, The Clash, Burning Spear, The Meters etc.) and have thousands of soundboard, matrix, etc. recordings of random music acts, but I would also like to utilize Bluetooth aptX technology to play Sirius radio via my Android phone. I've been out of the loop and it's kind of overwhelming. Thanks!
jmaclr
9 responses Add your response
polarin
73 posts
 
Maggies need current, more so than watts, so look at amps accordingly. Also, as good as the little MMG's are, they don't do much bass so you may want to consider a small sub to pair them with.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,203 posts
 
They need watts for sure as well if you want to go louder. They are not very efficient.

I ran mine for years off a Carver m4.0t amp that was high power 360 w/ch but not high current (Carver transfer curve to sound like a CJ tube amp I believe). It was a good pairing.

I sold my Carver m4.0t on ebay a few years back for around $450. So an amp like that if available might fit the bill.
schubert
7,386 posts
 
MMG for your music need 300 watts a side @ 4 ohms AND an amp that is stable to 2 ohms to sound their best.
martykl
3,578 posts
 
MMGs plus properly integrated subs (Audyssey helps) would be my pick as best value full range speaker. Just a great speaker system - within its limitations. As noted above by Polarin, the bottom octave and a half of bass are essentially MIA, and they lack some punch in the kick drum fundamental range, so I'm not sure how satisfying they'll be for Reggae or Clash style rock.

They're a great speaker and a great value IMO but - unless you can wait out the purchase of a subwoofer - I'm not sure that they're the best choice for your application.
zd542
5,339 posts
 
I had the 1.7's and didn't find them too difficult to power. One of the amps I tried was a Cambridge Audio 640 integrated and it worked fine. If you go with something similar to that, you shouldn't have any problems. The 1.7's are harder to drive than the MMG's.
jmaclr OP
3 posts
 
Thanks, everybody, for the feedback and recommendations. I called Magnepan today and their rep recommended using an amp that was at least 100w per channel and 4 ohms, so I guess that will be my starting point. All other responses are greatly appreciated.
timrhu
2,779 posts
 
I drove a pair of MG12s with an 18 watt tube amp very satisfactorily to my ear. They were in a small room and I rarely listen at loud levels but still was amazed at how good they sounded with 18 watts.
When I sold them the buyer auditioned with my 100 watt Harman Kardon PA2200 amp driven by a Bottlehead tube preamp. That's how I used them most of the time and they really did sound nice.
chrisr's avatar
chrisr
543 posts
 
I have had the mmgs and the mg12. Yes ;they need watts and the bass is good down to 45-50 with watts. I could not buy lots of good watts so I paired them with a pro amp qsc 1400; and you could get very very loud without distortion... very clean. I would look into pro or NAD 150x2 for better quality. The mmg are great only if you sit in the narrow sweet spot.
phasecorrect's avatar
phasecorrect
2,013 posts
 
For your musical tastes...I would go with a speaker with a better low end...mmgs simply don't have the bass needed for your desired tastes...very good with vocals, acoustic guitars, strings, etc...they also are fairly unforgiving of the recordings you mentioned...some might argue adding a sub would alleviate said issue...but planar bass can be tricky to mate with...just my .02
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