Welcome! Need support, you got it. Or share your ideas and experiences.
Return to Planar Speaker Asylum
[ Support Our Asylum ] [ Forum Rules ] |
Model: | MMG-W |
Category: | Speakers |
Suggested Retail Price: | $299 |
Description: | wall-hinged single (100Hz-16kHz) magneplanar driver |
Manufacturer URL: | Magnepan |
Model Picture: | View |
Review by slbenz (A) on March 25, 2004 at 14:14:38 IP Address: 24.6.36.152 | Add Your Review for the MMG-W |
Had a chance to audition this speaker at a relative's house. The speakers were attached to the wall by the supplies hinge mounts that came with the speakers. Very slick and innovative idea having the speakers swing into and out of position like a door. Brought out classical and jazz CDs to determine the sound quality of these speakers. Listening to Natalie Cole's Unforgettable CD, her voice had an open, forward presence that only box speakers costly much more can duplicate. Cymbals, piano and horn instruments were rendered with some realism at the same time, positioning and depth of each instrument can be perceived in space. Going to a CD like B.B. King Live, his voice did not sound chesty or hollow. Listening to soundtracks that simulate a concert hall, the ambient echo sounds can be heard. These speakers lack the highest octave and lowest octave which means you will need a subwoofer that can crossover at or above 100Hz and an accessory tweeter to capture that feeling of "air" in the highest octave. These speakers cannot stand alone in a 2-channel stereo system. You will need to bring additional components to complete the picture. But for home theater, these speakers are more than adequate in a 5.1 home system. Dialog is clear and present, sounds from the movie is very involving and dynamic impact is surprisingly there as well. For $300, they compare equally in terms of soundstaging, detail, positioning and life-like reproduction to box speakers in the $1000 range. Just be prepared to purchase two pairs of wire nuts to splice your speaker cables to these speakers. There are no binding posts attached to these speakers, only two wires that are bare at their ends. For a budget home theater, I would definitely audition this speaker. For two-channel stereo, you will need a subwoofer and probably an external tweeter to extend the highs. Sounds like a normal Magnepan tweek in the making.
Product Weakness: | Missing the lowest and highest octave of the musical range. |
Product Strengths: | Forward soundstaging, life-like sound reproduction for voice, strings, piano and brass. |
Associated Equipment for this Review: | |
Amplifier: | Yamaha RX-495 Receiver |
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): | None |
Sources (CDP/Turntable): | Panasonic |
Speakers: | Magnepan MMG-W |
Cables/Interconnects: | Radio Shack |
Music Used (Genre/Selections): | Classical and Jazz |
Room Size (LxWxH): | 20 x 14 x 10 |
Room Comments/Treatments: | None |
Time Period/Length of Audition: | Two Hours |
Type of Audition/Review: | Friend's System |
Follow Ups:
Mine came this morning (after anxiously waiting four weeks for these pups). I have been a maggie fan since the 70's, but this is the first offering I have heard that has truly left me dissapointed.I probably should have known better as this whole wall mounted thing sounded just too good to be true. The fact is, these, like all other maggies, need space to breathe. I figured since they were designed to be on a wall, they would perform well near a wall, but this is not the case.
And the high frequencies (at least what they have) beams significantly. It is near impossible to be in the sweet spot of this speaker.
Having said all of this, the midrange is nice, and as surrounds, they definitely match the middle timber of my full range maggies better than my little Infinitys, but I find the beaming and the lack of openess (due I think both to the wall placement, and the rolled off top end) less than satisfying, and too minimal an improvement to be a keeper. While I was hoping the MMG-W would be a more cost effective solution to surround channels than buying another pair of full range maggies, it is not. If you are used to the sound of your QR's, these will disappoint.
________________________________________
quote:
Now on to SACD music, these are the best sounding $300 per pair speakers I have ever heard or "heard of" (period)! No they don't sound as good as the Magnepan MG 20.1's but then again you can buy the MMG-W's for about half of what the sales tax would be on the 20.1's." The Magnepan MMG-W speakers are a cost effective way to truly peer into high quality sound reproduction".
My initial thoughts are... if you use your system more for HT than music, you just have to give these an audition. You, your partner, your HT system and your wallet will greatly appreciate the accomplishment Magnepan has achieved with the MMG-W's.
_________________________________________
Well after owning the MMG-W's for many weeks now, I definitely stand by by my previous statements! (I just love that wave launch sound)
Should the more expensive Magnepan speakers sound better, YES! If not I would imagine there would be a group of Magnepan dealers at the factory door to do physical harm to them! We personally are going with the MGMC1's for better stereo sound in one application, but it's going to cost us $750 per pair vs $300 per pair.
I believe, we should compare the MMG-W's with other speakers in their price range. I can't imagine a better bargain than what Magnepan has accomplished, $300 per pair for all of that sound!
I would imagine, that a person that owns more expensive Magnepan speakers that listens to the W's would pretty much go through the same reverse technology thing you go through, when watching HDTV all day and then going back to standard TV. You are just use to better quality.
Let's look at it this way, Lexus makes many cars, they have the top of the line LS430, and the entree level ES330. Both of these cars are a better than most, can they basically do the same thing, yes. Does the more expensive LS 430 do everything better, yes. BUT there is a dear price to pay. Same with high end speakers, going up the quality ladder price points you pay for those changes and the higher you go on that ladder the more you pay for subtle improvements!
In our situation "we will not live around our system" anymore! So, we looked at speakers that would fit into our decor. I believe that is the way it's going to be for many people. When we started (many months ago) we never thought we would get this high quality sound from on the wall speakers let alone at this price point.
I see the sales figures for "high end" stereo systems have dropped like a rock over the years. I read, the sales of after market car sound systems out pace the sales of home stereo systems (not HT). Dear God, most cars come with a sound system. I think Magnepan is on to something big with the "hookem on the maggie sound and then move them up the "brand loyalty" ladder business plan"!
I would agree, if you were to listen to the MMG-Ws own their own, they are lacking the lowest and highest octaves but when a subwoofer and external tweeter are added, they present a nice midrange presence. This, provided if we were to look at them for a strict 2-channel stereo setup. For home theater, most people I would think would be fine with their performance provided a subwoofer is in place. If you are comparing them to your higher priced Magnepans, these are not is the same league, even when I had a chance to hear the Magnepan MGMC1s, the MGMC1s had more "air" and went deeper for a smoother transition with the subwoofer that was used in the demo. My relatives are quite satisfied with these speakers and that's what counts. It is another story when my relatives had a chance to listen to my Eminent Technology, Martin Logan and Velodyne subwoofer home theater setup. It was their first taste of a high-end AV setup. Let's just say that their jaws dropped. Take care.
For the money they are really nice. I have 1.6's, Regular MMG's, and the new MMGW. The Wife Acceptance Factor is excellent and they look much more expensive then $299/Pr. I auditioned them head to head 2 Ch. with the 1.6 and Regular MMG and even though they have the beautiful boxless Maggie sound they are inadequate for serious 2 ch (Remember the price!). For Theater they are highly recommended for the surround effect if you are running other Maggies up front. For front theater they are very good but I would prefer a floorstanding MMG at $550, just my opinion.
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors: