MMG 2.1 setup

The good news is that you don't need a separate amp to drive the DWM! Basically what you do when using the DWM's with the MMG's is to feed your two channel amp to the DWM's inputs, then the DWM's outputs to the left and right MMG. This feeds the MMG's off the DWM's internal crossover.

The clever thing that makes this possible is that the DWM has two separate voice coils, so a single DWM can handle both channels.

I still haven't head the DWM's, but when I had MMG's I used them with an XPA-2 and it was an excellent match. I imagine you could also use the XPA-3 arrangement using the USP-1's bass management. In that case, you just hook up one of the inputs of the DWM.

Hi Stat33,

I did get a sub for my MMG's, a Martin-Logan Dynamo, but soon right after I got it I scored a pair of Tympani IVa's here on Audiogon and my sub was too small to do any good with them so I actually never got to try it out.

I can tell you though that if I were doing it today, I would have gone for the DWM rather than the sub. The DWM is just going to sound a lot purer than a dynamic sub and sometimes it can go all the way down to 25 Hz. That's setup and room dependent so Magnepan only states the low limit as 40 Hz. But with the 30 day trial, you can try it out and see how well it works for you. Definitely the way I'd go unless my main priority was big explosions and such and I could budget for a sub that was big enough to go significantly lower and louder than the DWM but also clean enough to blend with the MMG's for music (which usually means a sealed sub).

I'm not a big believer in esoteric cables, because I think they make a subtle difference at best and for most of us, the money can buy more sound if spent on speakers, amps, and acoustical treatment. But I know there are those who feel differently. Maybe they'll chime in with some suggestions.

Anyway, for small subs on a budget, I'd recommend the same Martin Logan Dynamo I got, but you have to find it used since the newer ones are bass reflex. Among bigger subs, the REL's have an excellent reputation for blending well with Maggies. Two subs are better than one.

The DWM has been around for a while and was originally sold for use with the on-wall speakers, the Mini Maggies, and the centers. But at some point Wendell Diller at Magnepan decided to see what would happen if he tried one with the MMG's and was amazed by the results. So now they're being marketed as a DWM + MMG package. This is so recent that I only know of one person who's tried the combo, Steve Ford over at the Planar Circle.

I really love the MMG's. I bought them as second-system speakers for my home office and couldn't believe what they do for $600.

One caution, they take a while to break in -- you'll hear a big improvement after the first few days and then the bass will continue to get deeper. This should be true of the DWM's as well as the MMG's. Also, dipoles are really sensitive to placement! Experimentation will pay off.

Hi Stat33,

The MMG's are good down to 55 Hz or so, and the DWM's should go down to 40 Hz or even lower. Deep bass fundamentals aren't all that common in music so it just may be that the material you're playing doesn't go that deep. Click on the chart in the lower right hand corner of this page to see just how scarce those fundamentals are, and which instruments are likely to play them. Even when they can, e.g., the piano, the lowest notes may not be played very often:

http://renegademinds.com/Products/GuitarDrumTrainer/FilteringInstrumentsfromSongs/tabid/111/Default.aspx

Another thing I think you may find is that the DWM takes some load off the MMG so you can play music louder without distortion, but this may not matter to you, a lot of people never push their systems to levels where it does.

Also, I don't know how long you've burned the speakers in but bass will get deeper in both the DWM and MMG's as you play them.

In theory, the XPA-2 would be a better choice than two channels of an XPA-3, but in practice I don't think you'd notice that much of a difference unless you're really pushing the levels. But you could check on the Emotiva forum to see what others think.

The MMG's really are special, aren't they. I'm glad you're enjoying them.