Yep. Kind of a small room for maggies. Totem arros might be a better deal for that matter or a pair of meadowlark kestrels which can be usually had for a bargain price. I have mmgs with modded crossovers which I have used for my computer system and my main rig in the living room. I have the kestrels in my bedroom now. Maggies do need at least two feet behind them to sound their best. mm1bs? is that the surround speaker? |
Nice system!
I agree the room is too small for Maggies (unless you stick them in the middle somewhere)
I imagine the PSBs are quite nice, what is it that you do not like about them? |
Upon further research, it seems MMGs need an amp with 4 ohm load stability. My music hall is only stable for 2 ohms loads. I like my PSBs, but I was very intrigued by what I've read about Maggies and there were a couple of good deals available to me locally. Unless I can get an inexpensive, 4 ohm stable amp I will have to reconsider this particular upgrade. |
If your amp is stable for 2 ohms, it's stable for 4. |
So this spec implies stability ABOVE 2 ohms?:
Output: 50Wpc @ 8Ω / 100Wpc @ 4Ω
Minimum impedance: 2Ω (Stable)
Frequency Response: 10Hz - 50kHz (± 0.5dB) |
Yes, absolutely. What it tells you is that the amp may not be stable BELOW 2 ohms, but as the power ratings at 4 and 8 ohms indicate, you are good to go for anything above 2 ohms. Which is just about every speaker ever made, although there are some whose impedance dips below 2 ohms at certain frequencies. |
I would give the maggies a shot, probably the MMG's. They are great speakers, even if they are not set up perfectly they are still going to sound great. Only you can decide if they sound good in your room, if you really like them and you think the room size may be an issue you can always move... |
go to their web site and do the mmg's. they have a money back guarantee on them. your room size should be fine for these. |
I'm gonna audition a pair of MMGs from a local private seller tomorrow. It sounds like my amp should be sufficient to drive them. Thanks for the advice. |
Here's a quote from a thread I started when I tried out a pair of Magnepan 12s. My room is small also and they just did not work for me. I would advise anyone thinking about Maggies to audition them in their room. 12-12-09: Timrhu
Thought I'd finish this thread off.
After careful evaluation the Magnepan 12s went back to the dealer. I tried all of the suggestions that were possible in the week that I auditioned them but they never got me there. I spent about two solid hours Wednesday evening listening to various music, some well recorded and some not so well recorded. On Thursday I swapped my Kestrels back in and listened to the same music. The Kestrels were truly better for me.
I won't spend time critiquing the Maggies but they just did not work in my small room. Thanks for all the suggestions. |
The biggest mistake with Magies is some just folks dont realize that simply installing the correct resistor for the tweeter output for the given room is a must.
When properly adjusted with either nothing,a 1/2 ohm a 1.2 ohm or 2 ohm resistors I have rarely had an issue dialing them in I remember them working in a a 9.5 x 15 with great results.
Could it be that these well intended mis guided information volunteers and self appointed expert know betters are also
non manual readers as well.
Cheers Johnny
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I've got the 1.6 Maggies. Love'em. I will say this, positioning them properly is everything. When we're not listening to them my wife likes to keep them about 2' away from and parallel to the wall. Ok for background music but not serious listening. In our case they need to at least 3' from the wall and tilted in about 15 degrees toward the listener. Also, we found having the ribbon tweeters on the inside rather than the outside sounds better....fishing555 |
Get the MMGs and a sub.
Thanx, Russ |
I agree about the tweeter resistors. In most average rooms, I feel maggies will produce too much treble energy, and needs to be balanced out. The purists will tell you to use positioning and room treatments to balance out the response, but that's not always feasable. I feel Magnepan purposely makes the treble a bit hot, to account for dead rooms, as it's always better to have to attenuate a tweeter, as opposed to trying to attenuate a power hungry woofer.
MMG's should be fine in your small room, but you will need to consider break-in and room matching (tweeter resistor), for best results. Cable choice can also play an important role. Adding a smallish, good quality sub (or two) would be icing on the cake. |
01-28-10: AudioconnectionThe biggest mistake with Magies is some just folks dont realize that simply installing the correct resistor for the tweeter output for the given room is a must.When properly adjusted with either nothing,a 1/2 ohm a 1.2 ohm or 2 ohm resistors I have rarely had an issue dialing them in I remember them working in a a 9.5 x 15 with great results.Could it be that these well intended mis guided information volunteers and self appointed expert know betters are also non manual readers as well.Cheers Johnny
He is right. The right resistor is everything. I bought every resistor from .22 t 3ohm from parts express. Dialed in at .27 in my room. (Only $12 for every size!). Then I ordered the Mills .27 resistor, so I had a high quality version. This is the way to try them all. |
I ran MMGs for a while in a room that size with excellent results. It sounds like you have a dedicated room which is key and actually gives you better options than a larger shared space.
I would (did) run them in the nearfield with a sub well away from the room boundaries. You will get a wide an craaaazy deep soundstage with good imaging and tone. Plus nearfield will take your almost square (bad) room mostly out of the equation. I am thinking speakers 3-4 for apart and you the same distance away. Keep speakers pulled well into the room.
I think you would be in for a real treat. |
Nearfield Magnepans is where its at. An incredible sound. |
I am about to take delivery on a pair of Magnepan 0.7s. I had been using SETs with the 45 which is not powerful enough for their 86 db sensitivity so I rebuilt my amplifiers to let the 45s drive the grids, through an innerstage step-down transformer, of the 833-As which take only 1kV through a Hammond 1642SE transformer which has speaker outputs for 4 Ohms.
When I auditioned the 0.7s they sounded more beautiful and clear than any $50,000+ speakers I ever heard when the store selling Magnepans held a public demonstration and seminar. I live in a small house 26 feet in diameter but the Magnepans will have more than 7 feet space behind them.
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I used 1.7i with a sub in a room 11-5 x 15 and the sound was totally amazing. Most listeners seemed to prefer the sound without resistors. The room had plenty of lp storage , curtains and carpeting which tamed the high end. |
Only type of speakers I haven't bought . |
