best small speakers for NAD (maggie mmgw's?) [Archive] - Audio & Video Forums

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some guy
01-14-2008, 10:03 PM
ok ive been checkin around alot and ive found conflicting answers...

this is my 1st post, and it sounds like many of you are experts, so i will ask what may be another stupid question and hope for the best advice you can give...

just for fun, will a pair of mmgw's be ok with my nad t761, or should i not bother?

they are 5 ohm and i think the nad can do that fine, especially at low volumes. i may want to crank up metallica every once in awhile, but i plan on keeping my b&w 601's for that. i have a decent sub, which will be upgraded within a few months, but i want to choose a nice pair of L/R's 1st.

mainly, i just want to try it out, ill be in an apartment so they wont need to be loud. i mostly listen to music with a movie here and there. i just want a small, awesome sounding pair of speakers in the $500 or less category and i think these may do it.

i have an itch to buy a new pair of speakers, i am open to suggestions, but obviously leaning towards the mmgw's for now. thanks for your help!!!

Feanor
01-15-2008, 03:27 AM
ok ive been checkin around alot and ive found conflicting answers...

this is my 1st post, and it sounds like many of you are experts, so i will ask what may be another stupid question and hope for the best advice you can give...

just for fun, will a pair of mmgw's be ok with my nad t761, or should i not bother?

they are 5 ohm and i think the nad can do that fine, especially at low volumes. i may want to crank up metallica every once in awhile, but i plan on keeping my b&w 601's for that. i have a decent sub, which will be upgraded within a few months, but i want to choose a nice pair of L/R's 1st.

mainly, i just want to try it out, ill be in an apartment so they wont need to be loud. i mostly listen to music with a movie here and there. i just want a small, awesome sounding pair of speakers in the $500 or less category and i think these may do it.

i have an itch to buy a new pair of speakers, i am open to suggestions, but obviously leaning towards the mmgw's for now. thanks for your help!!!

Welcome to AR, some guy.

I have owned MMGs and loved them. If you like metalica, do keep you B&Ws as you intend, but for any sort of accoustic music the MMG will cobber them.

The T761, I guess 75-80 wpc, will do the job in a small room, especially if driving the only the two speakers. Do use your subwoofer with the MMGs. If the T761 provides it, use a high-pass filter to limit the MMGs to above 80Hz and let the sub carry the bass below that -- if you can do that, you won't have to go back to the 601s very often.

E-Stat
01-15-2008, 01:11 PM
just for fun, will a pair of mmgw's be ok with my nad t761, or should i not bother?
What Feanor said. I use a T763 in my HT - you should have both sub outs and a high pass filter for the main speakers. I use that approach with powered subs and small Polk satellite speakers.

Another word about dipolar speakers like Maggies - since they radiate half their power to the rear, you need to set them away from the wall behind them far more than box speakers. A foot or two is ok, but more is usually better. The distance affects both the spaciousness of the sound as well as the bass response.

Magnepan offers a money back guarantee, so that gives you an out if you don't like them. I vividly remember first hearing Magneplanar Tympanis back in 1974 and have been a planar fan ever since.

rw

RoyY51
01-16-2008, 04:53 PM
I, too, use a Nad T763 for my HT system. I auditioned about a dozen different speakers before deciding on the Monitor Audio B2's. They had a better combination of musical finesse and theater "slam" than any of the other systems. Plus, I paid less than I was expecting to spend on most of the other speakers.

The MA line, coupled with Nad electronics is definitely worth an audition.

Vardo
01-16-2008, 06:12 PM
All good suggestions so far. I've been tempted to try the Maggie MMGs
at $500 a pair. The only reason I haven't is because they have a very
small "sweet spot" from what I've been told (somebody correct me on
this if I'm wrong). I have Mirage M5si's for over ten years and
being bipolar, they through off a huge soundstage, and are a smooth,
sort of laid back speaker but still very detailed and balanced.

Anyways the x-series from AV123 have been upgraded to
the x-encore series, with a better tweeter and better crossover network.
I've have the "classic" (origonal x series speakers) in a second,
smaller home theater...and for the money to me they sound great.
They put out some very nice real veneer speakers, in rosewood,
birch, etc.....link:

http://www.av123.com/products_product.php?section=speakers&product=111.1

Worth a look. They may be AV123 entry speakers, but they are
by no means an entry level speaker at all. I've had lots of speakers,
Klipsch LaScalls, Altec 19's, Mirage 790's, Mirage M5si's (current)
Mission, Jamo, Axiom, and so on. The x-series speaker from AV!23
are an excellent speaker for the money, IMO......good luck, vardo

blackraven
01-16-2008, 07:03 PM
Yes the MMG's have a small sweet spot. Buy a used pair of MG12's. The step up in performance is huge.

jim goulding
01-16-2008, 07:36 PM
Dude- Get a look at these 5 driver quasi open baffle small tower speakers that got rolled out at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest earlier this year: www.av123.com/rmaf2007_2.php

$799.00 too strong? Then look at them in black for $699.00. They are made in the AV123 factory in Columbia is how they can offer them this reasonably (that might not be a bad job!). I see a lot of advantages to this design and know people who swear by their top of the line Strata. This looks like a better design than the Strata.

some guy
01-23-2008, 02:00 PM
sorry it took so long for me to thank you for your time guys, so, thanks!!!

anyways, looks like ive got some checkin around to do, if i get this new job im lookin into, than maybe i can afford to go nuts. buy a pair of mmgw's (my living room is to small for mmgs) and a pair of bookshelfs somewhat larger and louder than my b&w's for when i wanna rock, we'll see...

although i still want to get a small tube amp & speaker combo too, thats a question for another time.

well thanks again and ill let you know how it turns out (hold your breath)

blackraven
01-23-2008, 05:15 PM
I don't think you would want the MMGW's for you main speakers. They are meant to be surround sound speakers only for HT use, not 2ch music. You want the MMG's.

some guy
01-27-2008, 08:24 PM
would the mmgs perform decent in a small living room, even at low volumes? thats all im really hoping for, because i wont have room for the mmgs. maybe ill get the mmgws, then trade up just before the 1 year exchange policy is over, well see, thanks again!!!

blackraven
01-27-2008, 09:38 PM
Magnepans dont sound very good at low volume. They like to be turned up. This is one of the complaints about Magnepans. The MMG's will do well in a small room. Heck, I have the Q1.6's in a 17X17' room. If you dont have the room for the MMG's then go with another speaker. Check out the B&W 685's.
I think you'l reget it if you buy the MGW's for main speakers. They are really made for HT use, not 2ch stereo.

kappclark
03-22-2008, 01:47 PM
This is first post to forum - have been "lurking"

I have a fairly small room (12 x 15) and am using a 12 yr old pair of PSB Alphas and a diy subwoofer..

It works pretty well, but was thinking of moving up to the MMG's ...

Wld they be too big for my small room ? I was also thinking of B&W 685's

(My power comes from a HK 3380 stereo receiver, which I understand is stable @ 4 ohms)

Thx friends !

Bill Clark
Windham, VT

blackraven
03-22-2008, 02:40 PM
The MMG's will do just fine in that size room. They are actually too small for larger rooms.
If your into hard rock then go with the B&W's.

kappclark
03-23-2008, 06:05 AM
Thx for the advice ...

NOT into hard rock - occaisional visit there, but very much into classical, bluegrass and folk ..

auditioned B&W vs Paradigm mini monitor... close, but the B&W's were superior overall..

Also - is there anyway to audition MMG's anywhere else but my home ? I have never heard Maggies, and am intrigued by the idea ..

Thx in advance !

StevenSurprenant
03-23-2008, 06:52 AM
My surround system is all Maggies and I am very happy with them, but...

I bought a pair of MMGW's to try them and found them lacking if the highs. However, what they did well was soundstaging and midrange. The bass was also lacking, but that is where a sub takes up the slack.

I then bought another pair of MMGW's and the MMGC and set up a complete surround system. I sounded very nice, but I still missed the highs so I bought a pair of C1's that had tweeters in them. It was much better now. I kept the MMGC for the center channel and use the Presence feature of my receiver to drive a pair of System Audio's to accent the center with very good results. They help increase the amount of high frequency information in the center channel.

My take on the MMGW's / sub is that it sounds very nice with good soundstaging, but for just music, I would go with another speaker or a Maggie with a tweeter. It's also true that Maggies do sound much better when played louder.

Also keep in mind that the MMGW's are meant to be hung on the wall.

If you listen to Maggies in a store you might be dissapointed. Most stores do not take the time or have the room to set them up correctly and under those conditions, they sound very lack luster.

Also, they sound very different than box speakers and so it takes time to adjust to that difference. To me, their strongest attribute is their soundstaging and midrange. Their weakest attribute is that they seem to have a slight haze over the sound. About that, once you adjust to this haze you will not notice it and what the maggies do well will amaze you. Don't confuse this haze as lack of transparency. It's not that at all. They are very transparent and very balanced.

About the small sweet spot. I can't say, because I always use surround mode and the imaging is seamless.

I am very happy with the Maggy system for surround.

One last thing...

Most of the time I play my system at very low levels and I am still very happy with them. It's just that when I turn it up a bit they really shine.

blackraven
03-23-2008, 10:52 AM
Jump up to the larger Magnepans and you will find a world of difference between the MMG's and their larger brother's.