The NEW Magnepan MMGs??

I have the chrome rail MMG's and have been pleased so far. The only thing I have to do is wipe off the fingerprints. I cannot comment on whether mine are more rigid than the wood framed models but I can assure you that there has been no compromise in quality. Thanks for the resistor tip Carl, I have a bright untreated room and will slip in the small resistor as soon as I get home. I am listening to some new Homegrown Audio silver interconnects and need to tame the sound until they break in anyway. Once I treat the room I will try the silver wire/fuse swap as well.

I've had the oak ones for over 4 years. I'm not sure how the aluminum would affect the sound quality, but I can tell you this: They are not a "rigid-high mass" speaker to begin with. When music is playing at lifelike levels, you can feel a lot of vibration in the wood frame (both the MDF, and the oak trim). Ideally, they would be mounted on a high mass, non resonant frame, but this would destroy the reason for making an entry level Maggie like this in the first place (that reason being affordablility, and IMO the best value in specialty audio today, too). I know you'll like them, they're still my favorite speaker for a small room, even after trying other more costly ones. They do need 200 hours of playing music with a powerful amp before they're adequately broken in, and this may take more than the 60 days, but you'll have decided to keep them by then anyway. I think I threw the boxes for these away, because I knew I was never going to part with them. You do need rectangular ASC traps behind them, to really unleash the beast that these little babies can be, and they'll cost more than the speakers...but then, so will the rest of your system...if not now, then later. If you have NO acoustic treatments at all, you'll want to use the smallest resistor on the tweeters...

Magnepan has one of the best customer relation reputations in the business. I can't imagine the company offering this option if it in any way takes away from the sound quality of their product. It certainly is just an asthetic preference allowing customers a "more modern look" if they prefer. Just to verify the nature of this response, it is indeed an uneducated one. However, Magnepan does offer an exceptional sound at truly bargain prices. Enjoy your new speakers!