Planar Speaker Asylum: REVIEW: Magnestand MMG with Magnestand Mods (Peter Gunn) Speakers by DragonEars

Model:	MMG with Magnestand Mods (Peter Gunn)
Category:	Speakers
Suggested Retail Price:	$1,395 + Shipping for full mod
Description:	Full wooden frame, stand and strut ensemble and upgraded crossover
Manufacturer URL:	Magnestand
Model Picture:	View

Review by DragonEars on June 29, 2007 at 15:50:38
IP Address: 66.248.100.147 Add Your Review
for the MMG with Magnestand Mods (Peter Gunn)

I've loved the sound of Maggies since the first time hearing them twenty years ago. When I got mine two years ago it was love at first listen. But... from the very start I hated the binding posts, wanted to change the crossover components and wanted different stands. I have very limited vision, no DIY projects for me (no "honey do" list from the wife either! :-) ). We've been following PG's mods on the Asylum for a while and were going to send an email to him inquiring about his willingness to do the mods for a fee. As fortune would have it, someone outed PG's new website and we immediately sent him a note. After an email exchange, we decided which mods we wanted and when to send the MMGs to him.

Packaging - Plinths and crossovers came double boxed and well padded. The panels and struts come back in the original box with extra padding.
Assembly and instructions - Fit and finish is excellent, instructions are clear, detailed and well written.

We chose to have our MMGs get the Full Frame modification, which is finished stands plus finished crossover boxes and full wooden frames. The drivers are turned around, pole pieces in front. The only thing retained from the stock speakers is the drivers and the original metal stands which are rebent, drilled and attached to the plinths. No more MDF, staples, unstable stands, crappy binding posts, fuse, attenuator or cheap crossover components. The new frames are all solid hardwood on hardwood plinths with hardwood struts. The crossovers are built from top grade components in a delightfully attractive external wooden box with Edison Price binding posts.

Peter Gunn is a Joiner (woodworker) and audiophile who is a true craftsman and a critical listener. The wood and finish are very pretty. They are a stunning compliment to our room. The finish we chose is a real pain in the ass, so a special thanks to PG for the extra time and effort to make these so gorgeous. You can see photos of our model on his website.

PG is a perfectionist and wants his modded speakers to sound their best. During prototyping of my crossovers (mine were his first MMG mods) he sent me updates and his impressions as the break-in progressed. Some of PG's attributes are his directness and unfaltering pursuit of perfection. Several times I requested a brighter top end with more sizzle, mistakenly believing it was my amp and room making my system sound too warm for my tastes. Many thanks to PG for standing his perfectionist ground. His modifications brought out extended, clear, crystalline highs, but without being bright, harsh or edgy. His "ear" is true and the balance and timbre are right.

Sorry, I'm not a writer for an audio magazine, so I can't generate the glowing prose with the requisite buzzwords you'd see in TAS or Stereophile (well... maybe a few buzzwords). I'm just an audiophile (35 years enjoying HiFi gear and music) who listens to a lot of music. I am retired and live in a quiet neighborhood, so I am fortunate to be able to listen at length and with full and critical attention. I listen in a dedicated room, double isolated walls, no distractions. See equipment notes for gear and room treatments.

The drivers were well broken in when I sent them to PG. He did enough critical listening of them to get the new crossovers well on their way to break-in. I've listened to them for 2-6 hours per day for 25 days.

First of all, that wonderful Maggie sound that we love so much, is all still there, but there is now more of it, more of everything. The bass was a surprise. I guess I just didn't believe the small Maggies could actually do bass, but it is punchier and it reaches much lower now. PG's mods have made the midrange even more lush and real. The famous sweet vocals are even more glorious. I've never heard any other speaker that can do vocals like this pair can now. It's astonishing. The highs are also more detailed, with more clarity, but there is no harshness or glare. Everyone loves the way properly setup Maggies project an image in a room. I could not have imagined that characteristic would improve so much. The sweetspot is wider now and the image is more focused. I always ran my MMGs with the tweeters inside because I like the image focus, and the price for that was a narrower soundstage. Now the tweeters are outside and I get the best of both worlds, tight image focus, wide soundstage and wider sweetspot. My listening room has three chairs. I could only listen in the center before the mods. When family or a friend wanted to listen too, I would sit in one of the outside chairs and not enjoy the music. Now the sweetspot is wide enough to bring the correct image and soundstage to the outside seats. It is shifted of course, but still holds a nice image at the outside seats. PG's mods have made the MMGs image startlingly real. I was listening to Stacey Kent "Dreamsville" and had the hair stand up on the back of my neck. On Matt Haimovitz's "Bach: 6 Suites for Cello Solo" the recording venue is a church. There is a bird in the church and it sounds like it's in my room, very real. I can hear the size and height of the venue. This and other good recordings project an uncanny sense of space through the modded MMGs.

My thoughts on turning the drivers around: I am not sure why this works so well. Several people on the Asylum have posted their thoughts on the acoustics of turning the drivers around (pole pieces to front). PG says part of it is how the bass is projected out the back and part is the highs through the pole pieces (Apologies to PG for not doing justice to his explanation. Please do a search on the Planar Asylum for his explanations). I'm sure he's right, but I have additional ideas :-). I think that the proximity of the drivers' wires to the pole pieces give more control to one side of the drivers' excursion than the other. On Magnepan drivers, the pole pieces are all on one side. Audio signals are alternating current. The wires glued on the mylar diaphragm are attracted and repelled, causing the diaphragm to produce sound waves. The forces are governed by the "inverse square law". When the diaphragm's oscillation brings it near the pole pieces, the attracting/repelling forces are much stronger than when the diaphragm is away from the pole pieces. This means that the side of the oscillation/mylar travel closest to the pole piece is going to have more power and more control. The side of travel away from the pole pieces will have less power and less control. Having the pole pieces in front give the diaphragm more control on the front side of the speaker for the compression/rarefaction of air toward the listener. I am no acoustic engineer (obviously), just my thoughts. The gap between the pole pieces may be affecting the sound by slit dispersion. I don't know what frequencies are affected by that size of gap. Ah... probably the rantings of an obsessed audiophile :-). None of that matters as much as the fact that the music sounds better. Whatever the reason, they do sound better with the pole pieces in the front. It must be magic (Arthur C. Clarke - "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.").

I had owned MyeSound stands for eighteen months previous to getting my MMGs "Gunned" and some of you may be wondering how they compare to those stands. Well, it's not a fair comparison. The Mye stands raise MMGs up and straighten them to vertical, and my Mye stands did not have struts. PG's Magnestands are a complete reframe with struts, crossover replacement and the drivers turned around. Tweak vs Full Mod. The Mye stands brought focus to the MMGs. PG's Magnestand mods brought more focus, better and wider soundstage, wider sweetspot, more and deeper bass, much more detail and clarity without harshness, better midrange, and they are beautiful too. I mean no offense to Grant VanderMye and his MyeSound stands. I enjoyed them and they did improve the sound of my MMGs. But, Peter Gunn's Magnestands full frame and crossover mods really are a whole new level of sonic bliss.

WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor) - I don't know about most wives, but mine ignored the stock MMGs. They were in the music room and were utilitarian "Things". She would listen to music, but the speakers were just tools. She loves my "New" speakers. She says they are "very pretty" and "They sound more real than before.". Well, there you have it, a review by my wife the budding audiophile.

My "Gunned" MMGs sound so much more musical and real than they did before modifications. I am VERY pleased with the improved sound and we are enjoying their finely crafted beauty.

I don't want to gush. Nobody believes gushers. Critical readers are more likely to put stock in a sober and objective report, but our system sounds better than it ever has, better than anyone elses' home system I have ever heard (I feel very lucky), and better than any system I've heard in a high end audio store (which is sad because great gear sounds like crap in a poor setup). I am so pleased, I could $hit Krugerrands.

Thank you,
DragonEars

Product Weakness:	Didn't exist years ago.
Product Strengths:	Wider and deeper soundstage. More focused image. Wider sweetspot. Deeper punchier bass. Sweeter midrange. Highs have more detail and clarity, without harshness or glare. Very beautiful wood and finish.

Associated Equipment for this Review:

Amplifier: Jolida JD 1000RC
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): None
Sources (CDP/Turntable): Oppo DV-970HD and Denon DCD815
Speakers: Magnepan MMGs with Peter Gunn Mods (Magnestand - full mods in full frames), Hsu Research VTF-3 MK2 sub
Cables/Interconnects: Kimber 4TC, Kimber Hero
Music Used (Genre/Selections): Rock, Classical(especially Cello), Crooners, Blues, Jazz
Room Size (LxWxH): 13 x 12 x 8
Room Comments/Treatments: 4 bass tube traps in corners, diffusion on front wall.
Time Period/Length of Audition: 25 days
Other (Power Conditioner etc.): Dedicated circuits
Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner

Amplifier:	Jolida JD 1000RC
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	None
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Oppo DV-970HD and Denon DCD815
Speakers:	Magnepan MMGs with Peter Gunn Mods (Magnestand - full mods in full frames), Hsu Research VTF-3 MK2 sub
Cables/Interconnects:	Kimber 4TC, Kimber Hero
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Rock, Classical(especially Cello), Crooners, Blues, Jazz
Room Size (LxWxH):	13 x 12 x 8
Room Comments/Treatments:	4 bass tube traps in corners, diffusion on front wall.
Time Period/Length of Audition:	25 days
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	Dedicated circuits
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner