Magnepan MMG with ICEPower amplifiers

[Dawnrazor]

Thank you all for your comments. I went to the Magnepan dealer today and connected my ICEpower amp and Benchmark DAC to the 1.6 speakers. I had taken along a selection of music on a CD-R and played the tracks using a Naim CD player (used just as a transport). I spent over an hour listening to my music.

The session was really interesting. Everything sounded much more musical and 'real' than it does through my Dynaudio Audience 50s. I was also able to hear low level detail on familiar tracks that has previously been indistinct. The centre image was solid across all the tracks.

But I also discovered that on a few tracks (Indian film music from the mid nineties) all the instruments seemed bunched together at the centre. Other tracks that most of you may have heard ('Tears in heaven' by Eric Clapton and a track called 'Bali Run' by Fourplay) were brilliant. Also, Indian film tracks of more recent vintage sounded brilliant. I guess the point is that if a track is poorly engineered, you notice it immediately.

At my preferred (moderate) listening levels, the ICEpower amp didn't have a problem driving the 1.6 speakers. I assume that it will be capable of driving the MMGs too. I'm not very fussy about bass and felt that the bass output of the 1.6 speakers was quite adequate. Incidentally, the speakers were on their stock stands, with the panels vertical and without any toe-in.

I'm pretty much convinced that MMGs would be a good investment, given my limited budget and the fact that the 1.6 would be far too big in my living room. The only downside is the cost of shipping the MMGs halfway around the world - USD 350! This is quite steep, given that the speakers themselves cost only USD 600. C'est la vie!

I've also been reading about various ways of getting the MMGs to sound even better, by changing the angle of tilt, raising them off the floor by six inches or so, upgrading the crossover and so on. At this point, I can't afford Mye stands or the Peter Gunn mods. Fortunately, a dear friend and classmate has been a hi-fi nut for as long as I can remember (we were at university together 40 years ago). He's promised to come over and help. Any suggestions in this area would be very welcome - thanks in advance.

One option is to see if your dealer can get you some MG12s...the model between the mmgs and the 1.6s. Perhaps that will end up cheaper than the mmgs direct.

SImple things to do :get them vertical.

Then start with the tweeter inside and slowly move them apart till you find there is no center image (after you break them in of course). Line up the tweeters and mark their position some how. This is the max distance the tweeters can be. Now if your room is small, then you can do this with the tweeters outboard...the thing alot of people miss is that it is the tweeter distance that is key not whether they are inside or outside.

If you have short runs, say 8ft or shorter, try some 24g magnet wire as speaker cables. Super cheap and way better than most store bought cables. Dress them up in some techflex or pvc tubes.

Another simple and cheap tweak, but very impactful is to "Razor" them as the recent post I did here explains. THis may be the best one of all.

ALso you can try some rf chokes in series with the tweeter...J Miller 5502 or 5522 should do it and are very inexpensive.

D

[krishna]

Yes, I did read your post about 'razoring' the MMGs. I will probably summon the courage to do it sometime, but not right away. Does anyone have drawings or sketches of DIY stands that can get the MMGs upright and also raise them 6-8 inches off the floor? I can probably use them as a starting point and check if someone here can fabricate them for me.

A related question: should the stands be designed such that there is no gap between the bottom of the speaker panel and the stand itself, i.e. should the panel rest on some kind of rectangular wood piece? The reason I ask is because of your comments on the need to reduce vibrations.

[Feanor]

Yes, I did read your post about 'razoring' the MMGs. I will probably summon the courage to do it sometime, but not right away. Does anyone have drawings or sketches of DIY stands that can get the MMGs upright and also raise them 6-8 inches off the floor? I can probably use them as a starting point and check if someone here can fabricate them for me.

A related question: should the stands be designed such that there is no gap between the bottom of the speaker panel and the stand itself, i.e. should the panel rest on some kind of rectangular wood piece? The reason I ask is because of your comments on the need to reduce vibrations.

Here is a picture of my former MMGs raised perpendicular to the floor about 8-9". I made these stands myself out of scrap 3/4" MDF. They are bolted directly in place of the stock metal "L" stands.

[Dawnrazor]

Yes, I did read your post about 'razoring' the MMGs. I will probably summon the courage to do it sometime, but not right away. Does anyone have drawings or sketches of DIY stands that can get the MMGs upright and also raise them 6-8 inches off the floor? I can probably use them as a starting point and check if someone here can fabricate them for me.

A related question: should the stands be designed such that there is no gap between the bottom of the speaker panel and the stand itself, i.e. should the panel rest on some kind of rectangular wood piece? The reason I ask is because of your comments on the need to reduce vibrations.

Hey K,

Feanors stands are nice and easy. Here are a few more with the 1st one being the easiest because you should be able to buy the parts at a hardware store since they are pretty common:

http://www.integracoustics.com/MUG/M.../richardh.html
http://www.integracoustics.com/MUG/MUG/tweaks/BrandonB/
http://www.integracoustics.com/MUG/MUG/tweaks/RodH/

The key is to get the MIDDLE of the panel to be at ear height.

There will be some trade off as you raise them you may lose a bit of bass which you could get back if you had a stand that had a solid base around the speakers, kind of like the floor just raised...like if your stand had a cutting board the maggies sat on.

You may not be bothered by this as the imaging and sound will be better in most cases.

HTH.

[JoeE SP9]

I'll add this again. Any single ended Maggy will sound better listening to it from the rear. It's the ultimate cheap tweak. FREE!! If you don't like the results turn the speakers around and keep going. You get better mid range and treble dispersion and clarity when the sound doesn't have to go through a slotted panel with magnets on it.

Try it, you guys!!! You've got nothing to loose.

[Dawnrazor]

I'll add this again. Any single ended Maggy will sound better listening to it from the rear. It's the ultimate cheap tweak. FREE!! If you don't like the results turn the speakers around and keep going. You get better mid range and treble dispersion and clarity when the sound doesn't have to go through a slotted panel with magnets on it.

Try it, you guys!!! You've got nothing to loose.

Hey Joe,

Thanks for explaining things. I agree with you in that it is free and easy to do and worth the effort!

But I think things are different these days. My mmgs for one came with the MYLAR on the front and I think all the current single ended ones do too...so you are really saying to leave them alone??

FWIW I have listened both ways and it is a long long story and probably one that doesnt relate since I ditched a "normal" set up like 10 years ago. FOr the longest time though I had listened to the pole pieces and enjoyed that (and thought that was what you originally were saying). Originally that is how mags were designed not with the mylar in the front. HT changed them IMHO. Any how I use the ROOZE setup now and suppose I am listening to the mylar now.

Do note that if you do turn the speaker around, you should swap your cables +, and - connections on BOTH speakers to adjust for the difference in polarity when listening to the back wave vs. the front wave. Or engage a polarity switch if your pre or cdp has one.