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I initially had contact with Peter several months back when he had his modified Alon v's up for sale on Agon, I didn't end up purchasing them but I recently happened to notice a thread in the agon forums stating that Peter was now doing mods on 1.6's and SMGA's - something alot of people on this forum probably already knew but since I never owned own a pair of planars or electrostats I rarely visited this particular asylum and only found out rather recently. I exchanged several emails with Peter and since I live within reasonable driving distance he invited me over for an audition last Saturday and even suggested I bring my amps with me. He was very confident in his mods and mentioned that a prev cust of his with his modded SMGA's was smoking much more expensive speakers in shootouts. Peter first had me listen to a pair of 1.6's he just finished up for a cust in South Carolina with his amp a Pass Labs 250 which is a pretty hefty ss amp. He played some music I wasn't familiar with, English techno rock for lack of a better description and everything he played sounded great; open, detailed and dynamic. I then played a few tracks of material I had brought over from Elton John's Tumbleweed connection album, Well known gun and The Mission. (why I didn't listen to Madman across the water I'll never know) and the speakers handled rock music just as well, I'm pretty sure the person getting these back should be more then happy. He then hooked up his own pair of modifed SMGA's which are considerable smaller but certainly didn't sound it, these certainly seemed to equal and possibly surpass the 1.6's for sheer musicality as well as imaging and soundstage. (I suspect the 1.6's would sound better in a bigger room) I then listened to a few tracks from Waiting for Colombus by Little Feat and again these sounded like champs playing rock. I then put on a couple of songs by Traffic, John Barleycorn must die and 40,00 Headmen, both songs feature flute playing and they didn't disappoint, I heard details and nuances I never heard before. I then hooked up my Tad 1000's and they sounded great as well with tubes. (I'm glad you liked the amps as well pete) If you're getting the idea I liked these speakers I really did. Unfortunately I never heard the stock version of either speaker so I can't quantify how much of a difference the mods actually make but Peter assured me it was quite signifigant and how could I argue with that. I have not heard a great variety of speakers but I do know what I like when I hear it and I honestly feel you would have to spend considerably more $ to approach sound like this. All in all these are both great speakers, at least with the mods. I would like to say I could live with either of one of these but the 1.6's are just too big for me as I don't have a dedicated listening room, but this is strictly from an aestetics standpoint and not a sonic one. The SMGA's would be a better fit for me, but I Don't think you could go wrong with either one though.
Follow Ups:
I too appreciate you sharing your impressions, but I wonder at the usefulness of it as a review of Peter’s modification if you’ve never before listened to planars, let alone Magnepans. Perhaps you’d be equally pleased with a stock pair.
SMGs and Gunn's modded SMG. I was able to A/B them at Gunn's house. There is "almost" no comparison. The stock still had good balance, cohesion and the Maggie sound, but Gunn's mods expotentially add to the resolution, soundstage depth and solid imaging. These changes were not subtle. The clarity of the modded SMG was stunning in comparison. I hate to say it, but the modded version sounded like the proverbial "veil" had been lifted from the stock. I'm also tempted to say that there was an increase in PRAT and musicality, but those are so subjective and can be defined differently by different people that I can only speak for myself in that finding. And, I mean no disrespect to the stock SMG for it certainly has a charm and musicaltiy of its own. Both the stock and the modded SMG has the strongest bass presence I've heard on any of the Maggie line (though I've never heard the Tympanis which is supposed to have pretty powerful bass presence). I have not heard Gunn's modded 1.6s so I cannot comment on that one.
Sorry for the "run on review" I was a little sleep deprived when I wrote it last night, hope it didn't detract too much from the review.
Although paragraph breaks would have made it an easier read, it was still enjoyable to read someone else's impressions of PG's mods. I can judge aesthetics by looking at the pictures, but that tells me nothing about the sound. For that we need good people like you. I'm happy, though not in the least surprised, to read about your enjoyment of the "Gunned" 1.6 and SMGa.Your taste in music, as the Green Lantern mentioned, is very good indeed. I like your amps too - @ $1500 for the pair used, they look like a great bargain.
Thanks for posting your impressions - I'm in line for a pair of Peter's modded SMGA's myself. Nope I haven't heard 'em yet, but it looks to me like his is the ubermod as far as bringing out the potential in Maggie technology.I really like Peter's business model. Instead of developing and manufacturing his own ideal version of planar magnetic technology and probably winding up in court, he's improving an already excellent existing speaker. So he's not reinventing the wheel - just making it roll better. Very efficient and cost-effective. The fact that he can do his mods on 1.6's opens up a lot of opportunities for him and for Maggie lovers.
Duke, I hope I like your subs as much as I think you will like these smgas.
What will you be trying for amps?
Hi Duke,Unfortunately there seems to be very little "revolution" going on in hi-end audio today...but hey "evolution" ain't that bad either, it just takes us longer to get it right. :)
Enjoy your new & improved Gunn Maggies!
That should be übermod. :^ )I like the sound of that too. I should have called them Übermags.
It is true I owe it all to the fact that Magnepan is a great sleeping bear who is content to chew the same bone. I suppose it's also true it works out to everyone elses benefit as well because if they did what I do, new maggies would cost 5 grand. So everybody wins.
I found it interesting he preferred the smga's over the 1.6's too. However the 1.6's XO boxes are not broken in yet, but I think I'd agree with him anyway. I have them to the point that the sound is identical, it's just a slight treble difference with the quasi ribbon and the 1.6's increased size effects the presentation. Many would probably like the bigger 1.6 presentation more, so any absolute verdict is probably pointless. Each speaker will always have its' pundits. If anyone was thinking the 1.6 would have more bass etc... it doesn't. It has as much as the modded smga does now, (which is a hell of a lot for those who haven't heard it) but their "tonal" outputs are very identical. I'm looking forward to modding my first MG-12's which are essentially modern smga's with quasi ribbons to see how close they sound to the older ones.
Now Duke, you still wanted your frames paper mached with cutouts from old Playboys, right? (and red velvet fabric)
Hey PG!!! You never told me I could have naked ladies and red velvet. Do the naked ladies improve the sound? The naked ladies would be superfluous in a DBT, but you could feel the velvet. I'm not sure about the WAF.
This mod is only for singles, so the WAF factor doesn't apply. And while it doesn't improve the sound it does improve your chances of "getting some".Oh, and for $200 more you can get a lotion dispenser on the back. Here's one of our first dry run models......
The hell with the dispenser, I'm headed to the closet for a raincoat.
not to mention great taste in music-
"Live life as if you'll die tomorrow... -Gandhi
Learn life as if you'll live forever..."
Have you ever heard of a paragraph?
While it's true that formating his initial impressions into paragraphs would have make them easier to read, I am grateful that he took the time to share his opiniion of PG's modifcations with the rest of us.
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