MMG or Vandersteen

How much space can you give he MMG, as that will play an important role? For the price I think you will be hard pressed to find another speaker that will equal it's Folk/Classical/Jazz performance.

I don't know much about the Vandersteen (other than the fact they have horrible customer service).

Right now my Front speakers are about 2 Feet off the wall to allow the speaker to be in front of the TV stand. And they are about 8 feet apart. I also have a VMPS sub run by a Rotel RB-980BX bridged mono for the low end especially in Home Theater.

Is that 2 feet to the back of the speaker or the front?
Because Maggies need at least 30" minimum (but 40"+ is better) behind them.

If you can give them the space, and you have the power, I think it's an easy choice. Since you have a sub, I think as long as you can meet the first two requirements you should go for them.

You can try them for 60 days and if you don't like them send them back.
Here is two other tips.

1. Magnepan offers slightly used (returned from demo) speakers for $500. All speakers are inspected and still come with full warranty. According to Margaret (the girl that always answers the phone), most people can't even tell they are used. She recommends them.

2. If you mention you are an audioreview.com reader there is another $10 off.

That brings the price of the speaker down to $490 with a money back guarantee. So I would say order a pair. Then once you have some extra money get some good stands for them.

My TV stand is exactly 28" away from the wall, so the front on the MMG would be around 29-30 inches. They should be getting @180 watts of power in 4 ohm. Is there a decent say $250-$300 new or used Center that would work as a temp until I can buy a Magnepan one? I currently have a Axiom VP-150 I would like to replace. I hear Magnepans are great at imaging, But I still think in HT the Center is the most important speaker!

I built the stands for my current speakers so I am sure I could easily build MMG stands.

with 29 or 30" you should be good.
Magnepan also sells the MMGC (C for center) for $299. I am not sure how good it is? From what reviews say it's great. I just have not heard one.

You may be able to get a MMGC cheaper as a returned one, the audioreview.com discount might even apply to it as well.

Vandy's pure and simple. I recently suffered the Maggie disease. First the MMG does not have the feel of a substantial speaker. I owned them followed by the MG12's which were a considerable improvement. I now am using Paradigm Monitor 5's and about to climb the upgrade ladder again to either Proacs or Vandy's. The best way I know of to explain it is like this. The day after I saw Cassandra Wilson in concert at a lovely intimate venue (with great acoustics) I went to one of my favorite audio stores Bradford's Home Entertainment in Eugene, Oregon and auditioned Vandy 2ce vs Maggie 1.6's. The store owner Geoff thought that Cassandra sounded better on the Maggies and indeed she souded more colorful but she didn't like Cassandra. See this is where the problem lies with Maggies. Their presentation can be so impressive that we convince ourselves that because thay have that spooky there "in the room" presence that they are more accurate. That simply is not the case. Geoff doesn't see live music very often, I do. The Vandy's sounded like listening to Cassandra live. The entire presentation was like seeing Cassandra. The richness of her voice was particlarly convincing. If you have any questions feel free to email me.

I have owned both. IMHO the Vandersteens are much better. The MMG is a toy to introduce what you can do with the Magnepans. On about 10% of my recordings the MMG's sound nice. The rest just fell apart. I believe the hype is way over the top on the MMG speaker.

I'll take the Saranwrapapans over Vandersteen any day of the week. Especially on voacals.

Just to show you, to each his own. I'll take Zep over any Vocal LP any day.

I A-B'd the MMGs and 2Cis in my living room about 9 months ago and, while they both sounded nice, I don't think there was any question which had more detail and realism. The MMGs are, as previously mentioned, an inexpensive way to get into their product line, but in no way come close to their better models. The Vandersteens disappear and you just hear the music, not the speakers playing music. However there are always other considerations, and some may opt for the modern, flat panel look of the MMGs over the very clean but plain looking Vandersteens.

I also, surprisingly, found the most noticable difference to be in the upper ranges. The Vandersteen theory of putting the money into the speakers instead of the cabinets really became apparent. The Maggies rolled off and did not convey the details in the music in the high end. They were auditioned using both tube and solid state amplification, a Bryston 4B-ST and a pair of Quicksilver 60 watt monos.

Another thing to consider is that the MMGs are about $550 new, while the comparible Vandersteen model, the 2Ce, is close to $1500. I know you mentioned used, which places them in the same ballpark price, but I have to tell you you'll be getting much more for your money, sound-wise, with the 2Cis. Now, if you were compareing 1.6s and 2Cis, it might be different...

Whatever way you choose to go, you'll have fun. - Jim

Has anyone tried these with the wall brackets ? The WAF thing .

Do the 30 day "free" at home trial of the MMG's. Then, if you're not convinced, return them. Then pick up a pair of used Vandys. If you like it less, resell them. You'll know what you're after when you've heard them both.
If you're not willing to go to that much trouble, it won't matter enough to you which you own.

OR, BETTER, Buy the Vandys and do the demo of the MMG's so that you have both on hand. Return or sell the loser. Worth the extra 10% or so added to cost to determine your preference.

Sorry all, I gave up on this after further thought, and am going to wait untill I can play if the $1000-$1500 speaker field. I feel this is better time spent then switching from average speakers for average speakers.

Been there done that. It all depends on what sound you are looking for. I am convinced that we all have in our heads the perfect sound we are looking for within reason. I spent $4000.00 on a pair of speakers I didn't like in the end. I am now using a pair of $400.00 speakers that I have modified a little. I much more appreciate these speakers than the $4000.00 pair. This is the sound I have been chasing.

Good choice.

I humed and hawed over buying MMG as well.
In the end I got the MG12 and have not looked back.
If I had the space I would of got the MG1.6, but in my 10x12 the MG12 is it.

A used pair of 1.6 can be had for $1000-$1200 and MG12s for $700-$900

Happy Hunting,