Magnepan MMG & DSP

[RolfNoot]

Hi all,

I recently found a pair of Magnepan MMG's listed for not a lot of money and I bought them just to get an idea why some people are so lyrical about Magnepan. I hooked them up and I have to say they sound amazing! It's not to be compared with a box speaker. Although the measurements and specifications of the Magnepans are not quite a big deal, they put an amazing soundstage on. I can't describe really what the characterizes these speakers, it's not the frequency flatness or clear mids. It's just that all signals are in phase and you can definitely hear the sound is not coming from a cabinet. It may be the distribution of the soundwaves which is different for these dipoles. They have to be placed well though and the more-less have a 'sweet spot'. By the way, I am always the 'good specs'-man but now I am sure just good specs don't mean all when it comes to audio.

The disadvantage of these speakers is that you really hear a LOT of details, even small impurities in the recording and/or the amp. Another disadvantage is the lack of body in the lows, that's where one really need cabinet speakers. I also hear some kind of intermodulation distortion in the mids when they have to eat some lows.

I want to add some subwoofers and feed the Maggies with a high-pass. Can someone suggest a good DSP which I can use for this setup? I found the MiniDSP and I was wondering if this is a good choice.

Greetings,
Rolf

 

[Ordin Aryguy]

The MiniDSP is indeed a good choice. The MiniDSP 2x4HD will give all the flexibility you need for what you want to do.

I’ve never heard MMG’s as I have the baby Maggie’s (LRS’s) but I can say that the addition of a sub made a wonderful difference for me.

Enjoy the experimenting!

 

[XDM]

It seems Magnepan speakers, at least the LRS, measure quite badly: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/magnepan-lrs-speaker-review.16068/

Also based on a video of how Magnepan produces speakers https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-america-ie-video-of-how-a-lrs-is-made.31131/ other users have noted "lack of regard for employee health and safety with many lacking hearing protection when operating machinery and respiratory protection when spraying chemicals and machining MDF" and "no COVID precautions in place either"

 

[DVDdoug]

Or you could buy an active crossover for around $100 USD. Or, AVRs have "bass management" which is an optional crossover for the subwoofer that mixes the regular bass with the "point one" LFE channel (when you are listing to surround sound and there is an LFE channel). But an AVR might not allow a high-enough crossover point.

 

[HoJ76]

Trying here... I have mg12qr, and struggle with q-sound. Tried with "Amused to death" by Roger Waters, nothing happens. Then I test another speaker in the same room, same equipment and same location - the sound is "everywhere". How should these be placed to make it work?

 

[Rip City Dave]

I have Magnepan 1.7 speakers with dual Von Schweikert powered subs and It sounds amazing.

 

[HoJ76]

I have Magnepan 1.7 speakers with dual Von Schweikert powered subs and It sounds amazing.

How far from the back wall are the loudspeakers? How far apart and how far from center to listening position is it with you?

 

[Curvature]

Magnepans have inescapable problems because of design choices. A large flat radiating panel will have terrible resonances and cannot have good directivity (these aren't BMRs).

You have to position these speakers such that the back wave bounces off the walls back to the listening position. They are extremely sensitive to placement because of poor directivity.

IMO, not worth the struggle or the investment. EQ can only ameliorate but not fix their problems.

 

[Rip City Dave]

How far from the back wall are the loudspeakers? How far apart and how far from center to listening position is it with you?

4 -5 ft from the back wall. 8ft apart; 8ft to listening position. 4ft to the left side wall; right speaker no wall to open pool table area. 20'x30' room with asymmetrically placed listening area occupying 18' of the long 30' wall. My guess is my room favors these speakers, yours does not.