Welcome! Need support, you got it. Or share your ideas and experiences.
Return to Planar Speaker Asylum
71.101.7.12
My vote goes to the "lowly" SMGA's ...
I have owned Tympany 4A's, and MG 3A's before, but none make me tap my toes, and start singing like the little SMGA's.The MG 3A's midrange isn't bad, but it's ribbon tweeter spoils the party.
Yes, it has more detail and speed, but it is so much faster, and different sounding then the Magnepan driver, it ruins the illusion of music.The SMGA is all Magnepan, tweeter and all, so music sounds like it is all cut from the same sonic cloth.
Piano, and strings seem to change pitch or something on the MG 3a's as they go up the scale, not so on SMG A.
Maybe it is the SMG A's first order crossover, or it's having the same standard Magnepan drivers, but whatever it is, these forgotten little guys just simply sound like music.
I just picked up an old Luxman M 117 amp, and they are so musical and 3 dimensional with this amp it's almost silly.
My vote for the most musical Maggie goes to the forgotten SMG A's, hands down.
That is, of the three I have owned.
I have heard the 1.6 and the MMG's, but not in my home ....
Peter Gunn is right, SMG A's rule, IF the sound of music is that which you seek.
Follow Ups:
I had the good fortune to have heard Peter Gunn's SMGAs, with modded crossovers and beautifully built stands (the guy's got talent I can only dream of) and I have to agree that the SMG is one "musical" little speaker. Some of the best bass I've heard on a Magnepan, or any speaker for that matter. The midrange and lower midrange warmth created an incredibly engaging and involving musical experience. The top end was more than adequately extended and silky smooth. It may not have been as sharp and detailed as some of the current Magnepan line, but it never sounded veiled or compromising. I couldn't agree more that the SMG gets one's toes tapping and pulls one into the music with plenty of pace and rythm. Although they are pretty small in size as far as Maggies go, they still punch out that deep and open soundstage. For reference, I have owned the MG 12s, the 1.6s, and the 3.6s. I have also heard the MG I and the 20.1s. In fact, before visiting with Mr. Gunn, I had just sold my 3.6s and was having some Maggie remorse. I knew the 3.6s were not going to be back in my future any time soon (for reasons not related to the speaker) and was fretting over whether or not my life without Maggies was permanent. I will not say that I left Mr. Gunn's home with that question answered, but the experience did open the door to the realization that the sound of the system I've been seeking does exist and is possible (he has a very very nice system). As my quest continues to obtain the most musical system I can, the SMGs could easliy be part of that without hesitation.
used in this speaker is that the woofer and tweeter sections would damp each other for resonances near the crossover frequency.I found that adding R-C filters to the outputs of the bass low-pass crossover sections on my MG-20s improved the midrange smoothness.
Not only do I agree with what you said, I think a lot of it has to do with size. They do everything right and on top of that size wise are not too big or too small, but the proverbial "just right". When you solve some of there inherent problems like I did with my stand and C/O mods there was no point buying any other model. They're not just musical, but intimate.A friend who recently owned 3.6's came up the other weekend to hear them and agreed they were much more enjoyable than his 3.6's ever were, and he thought the bass was better as well.
I did modify my friends MG-I along the same line as SMGa's and while it made them sound far more alike the size difference still effects the outcome. His MG-I's were "grander" while losing a little musicality, an apples or oranges difference but it showed promise.
People have been asking so I'll use this time to make an announcement. My "site" is a little late (owing to the fact people keep buying my speakers and asking for work before I get the chance to go public) but it will go live this month and I'll be calling my modifications Magnestands. The design is now tweaked to perfection and ready to go.
Right now I am finishing a pair for someone and when he gets them he is going to ship me his 1.6's. I am going to try to remake them in the image of the smg as well because so many people have asked about that too already. If it goes good it will get added to the models I can mod. When it happens I will announce it here.
I agree, the bigger Magnepans may impress audiophiles with more detail, speed, and presence, but to my ears they lack the sheer musicality of the SMG A's.
My SMGA's image like my old MG3A's could only dream of, in the same room.I think the secret of the Saga musicality is that all drivers are almost exactly the same, except for size.
No "Quasi or true Ribbons" used, and so no huge difference in speed or driver material and configuration.
My ONLY objection to the SMGA's was Home Theatre, they sounded a little lifeless with the previous amp I was using.
But the Luxman M 117 has brought new life to them, and they are fine for Home Theatre as well now.
Not many speakers make me start singing, and tapping my toes, but these do!
Too bad when these finally break, Magnepan will not fix them ....
I shall have to learn how!
My professional musician friend Kurt will freak when he hears these.
He went to Vandersteen 5'A's to get what he wanted.
Like me, he listens for musical timbre and coherence.
Wait till he hears these, he is gonna freak.
no mention , what happened?
I will be doing a write up on them.
Suffice to say they did not like my room, and did not really sound that great.
My room is a converted carport, with really thin paneling walls instead of sheetrock.The 901's simply involved my room to much, and I could hear the colorations of my room.
I do not think it fair to the 901's to pass judgement on them in this room.
Hi ka7niq, ma man ...I don't know I would necessarily say the SMGs are the "most musical" Maggies but I heard some for the first time a few days ago and was mightily impressed!! :-))
Now I must say that I think my highly tweaked, 3-way active IIIAs don't exhibit the brightness and "different cloth" sonics that you heard with your IIIAs but I think the magic of the SMGs is due to the fact that they're 2-way, with 1st order crossovers.
However, they ARE small ... maybe a "bigger" Maggie model (if it exists!!) which is also 2-way but with bigger area drivers AND STILL 1st order crossovers would go deeper and sound better? :-))
Regards,
Owned a set of these(my first Maggies) but they didn't cut it for the music I listen to. My Tympani 4a's make me happy now.
Mmmm ... from the "Specs" page, the IVa is a similar age to my IIIa with, I suspect the same ribbon and mid-range but twice the area of bass panel! Wow!! :-))You have 3 panels a side, don't you? How are the drivers arranged within these 3 panels?
Regards,
I too have a pair of Tympani IVa's, that have been highly modded including the crossovers, binding posts, etc. I previously owned a pair of Tympani IV's.The driver arrangement is ribbon tweeter and midrange in one panel, with the two bass panels are hinged together. It has the best bass I have ever heard from a planer speaker. As far as bass goes, size does matter, and the Tympani series has the surface area needed to produce it.
These are the best sounding Maggies I have ever heard, and in some areas beat big speakers like the Wilson MAXX 2 hands down.
Pitbull: I see where you do not accept emails. Can you contact me at martylemons@yahoo.com on your modifications to your IVa's?
Hi pitbull,Thanks for your post - I'm envious (although I think if I bought some home, my long-suffering wife would probably divorce me! :-(( ).
I'd certainly love to hear some but I suspect there ain't a pair anywhere in Oz! So d'ya think they would best 20.1s?
Please tell me what you did to modify your xovers (best to email me direct). From my work with my own IIIAs, I suspect it would be possible to considerably flatten the overall frequency response of your IVAs to good effect (using lspCAD) and I could help you with this, if you're interested.
Regards,
It will have to be all Magnepan drivers, no true of quasi ribbons for me.I am sorry,, but the aluminum in the ribbon tweeter, and the Mylar have a different sound.
At least on my old MG 3A's.The SMG A is cut from one sonic cloth, I think that is why I like it so much ?
Umm ..."bigger" Maggie model (if it exists!!) which is also 2-way but with bigger area drivers AND STILL 1st order crossovers????
On 2.6Rs, a 'large' 2 way model.
First owned the MG-1i and it was as you say a very musical speaker but rolled off on the highs and bass was limited.
Auditioned the 3.6's and the 2.6's and liked the 2 way 2.6's better-
more transparent in the mids ,more dynamic in the mids ,more immediate in the mids.
In a medium sized room the bass is very good and the 2.6's are easier to drive and were cheaper to buy.
Now that I am driving them with tubes,can't imagine a better more musical speaker.
Imagine a push pull ribbon for the midrange frequencies and there you have the 2.6.
Would love to go active but am enjoying the music so much there is little motivation..
Scott 2.6/R,
Can you tell us what was our source and amplification when you compared them?
Maybe the 3.6 showed the weakness of the other components of the system.
I can tell you that there is a big difference between the 2.6 and the 3.6.....and it's not the 2.6 that wins in my tests.
pure magical they are. Very few speakers I've ever heard can invoke so many emotions; to and from-
____________ // ________________
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors: