Maggie MMG versus Ls3/5a


Hi all,

I've been running British Stirling Ls3/5a V2 with the additional two bass extenders for a number of years, with great satisfaction. They are here to stay.

But, I've always been curious about the Magnepan MMG and SMGa speakers and I wonder if anyone has compared them with Ls3/5a? As an additional flavor to swap in and out with my Ls3/5a, would they be a rewarding contrast? I have the required muscle amps.
sumaato
I see my response has garnered some comments... First of all if I could have numerous systems throughout my home I would undoubtedly have a dedicated room for Maggies, for late night Jazz listening I can think of no speaker I would prefer over them. That said I am not in a position to realize that pipe dream so my family room speakers need to perform well with all types of fare (including movies) and for me Ohm Walsh 3's fit that bill nicely.

Maggies possess a magic about them that is hard to compare to a dynamic speaker, I've seen lifelong audiophiles come unglued from hearing them for the first time. They have such a naturalness and uncolored way of projecting sound that other speakers will sometimes sound "broken" after hearing a well setup pair of Mag's. However their limitaions are distinct, a VERY small sweet spot, the need for gobs of current, correct placement is critical and again they will simply not blow your hair back on hardcore rock.

Those willing to give these speakers what they need in terms of upstream components, a proper room setup and the right genre of music will be rewarded with a sublime musical experience.
I have had 4 pairs of Maggies over last 30 years.Enrty models
to be sure, but have heard bigger ones a lot as well.

To my ears, they are unable to reproduce the uppper base-lower mid harmonics of strings that give classical music its beauty.
Plus massed strings sound muddy or smeared IMO.

Could well be a fault of my ears I know.
But then why do KEF, Totem , PSB etc cure them?
I've owned a lot of LS3/5a's and a lot of Magnepans, including MMG's.

I'd take the LS3/5a any day over the MMG. But tell us more about the Stirling bass extenders - I've never heard a woofer that works well with the LS3/5a.