Maggie update

Its been 2 weeks now since I've had my Maggie ht set up working(MMG's for fronts,MMGW's for surrounds and MMGC for center).Here are changes I've made and changes the Maggies have made themselves.

First and foremost,The brightness I mentioned in my 1st post has disappeared.The Maggies have really changed.No,thats not the right term,been reborn would be more appropriate.At the 45 hour mark,I have noticed a huge change,more open even then before and without any brightness issues what so ever.A fuller,richer sound, now comes forth.

Second change,this one I made myself.The MMG's come with metal feet that tilt the speakers to lean back.Although there are metal rings on the end of the feet to tilt the speakers to a more upright position,its still doesnt bring the MMG's vertical.On the MUG site someone(dont remember who)posted pics of oak stands they made that raise the MMG's off the floor(about 6 inches) and hold them vertical.This brings the speakers midpoint even with my ears.

This has made a dramatic difference.Midrange seems cleaner ,and the sound no longer seems like its coming off the floor.

Thats the good news,now for the not so good news.The MMGC center has given me some problems.1st off,this thing is huge,3 feet across.It looks very impressive on my rptv(not a good point or a bad point).In regards to the sound of the MMGC,thats a different story.To hear dialogue properly,I have had to tune the center 1 db hot compared to the rest of the system.This has not degraded my front soundstage and speech, female or male is very clear and easy to understand.
Although the MMGC is a bowed planar speaker,it just doesnt seem to have the open airy quality of the MMGs' or the MMGW's.Dont get me wrong,the MMGC matches well in tone.I guess the term understated or subdued(SP?) seems to fit.

I plan on giving the MMGC more time to break in to see if this changes.Magnepan will give me full credit towards their higher end center for up to 1 year if I decide to upgrade.I also have the option of running in phantom mode for a center.

Overall,I am extremely pleased with my Maggies and would recommend them to anyone looking for a precise(does the phrase"knock your socks off clarity"ring a bell?),uncolored HT speaker system.

Hey Alan:

That's funny you mention the stands.....did you just build your own based on someone's description, or did you buy them from someone? The reason I ask is because there is a guy on Ebay selling them in both oak and black. I keep hearing people say that putting them vertical and 6" higher makes a heck of a difference, so I'm very tempted.

As far as the MMGC goes, you may end up liking it better in phantom mode. There is no QR tweeter in the MMGC, so that could be part of why you feel it's lacking. You may find things improved with just the MMGs.

I'm actually still going back and forth between upgrading to the 1.6s or keeping the MMGs and adding a CC3 to the mix.
Anyway, I'm glad you are diggin' the MMGs

Hello Alan & Alan, this is Alan!!

Give that center plenty of time to break in. It will make a difference!!

Hope it works out for you!!

Alan

Funny how the three of us keep showing up in the same threads

Alan P: Any decisions on the 3.6s yet?

Howdy Alan's,

Alan Z,
Yes,I made my own stands using oak and poplar from home depot.I believe it was Rod or Ron who posted pics of his stands made from oak.They are in the tweaks section on the MUG site.Cost was about $30 in wood.I rounded all the corners on mine(the stands on the mug site arent rounded).It took about three days to make them,glued, screwed and stained.They match the oak trim on the MMG's really well.Not the best picture in the world ,but heres the link to my stands.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6.../speakersm.jpg

Alan P,
Thanks for the well wishes.I do plan on giving the MMGC time to break in.Thats one of the nice things about the Maggie credit towards upgrade policy I like.30,60 days or 6 months down the road,I can still exchange it for the CC3(BTW,I hear the CC3 is an amazing center channel speaker).

I'd love to own some Maggies too, but my name isn't Alan.

Oh well, guess I'm out of luck

Tis ok Joe,we accept Alan converts also

Hey man, there's always room for a Joe or two

Alan M: Nice job, bro! So you noticed quite a difference in sound after getting them up and vertical, huh? I think I may have to try this...... Oh, and as far as the CC3 goes, I don't remember if I mentioned it before but I've seen two professional reviewers refer to it as the best center they've ever heard at any price. Well, actually only one of them said "at any price" and one of them was referring to the CC2. But still......sure sounds like a great center

Alan Z,

Thanks,glad you like my stands.
I have read two or three different reviews on the CC3,and all of them heaped lots of praise on the CC3 center.Best center channel they've heard etc.,etc.I'm very tempted but I'll wait and see what the MMGC does.

Of course now,I'm in upgrade mode.After reading Jason's post on the IB sub,I'm seriously considering making an IB to try.Does the madness never end,lol.

If I ever went the DIY route, it would definitely be the IB. I'd love to hear one of those

And I know what you mean about it never ending......with me, I've been able to fend off the upgrade bug with my electronics much more successfully than I have with speakers lol. I've had my Outlaw gear and Denon 2900 for nearly two years, and I'm hoping to make it to at least four or five. With speakers I tend to do much worse lol.....Though I have to admit that the Maggies are holding up pretty well so far

Quote:
"I have read two or three different reviews on the CC3,and all of them heaped lots of praise on the CC3 center.Best center channel they've heard etc.,etc.I'm very tempted but I'll wait and see what the MMGC does."

FWIW, I'm using the CC3 as a center with the MC1s, and it's the best center speaker that I've ever heard. I've been so impressed with it that I'm ordering another one to use as a back center (for a 6.1 set-up). Of course, my opinion probably isn't worth much since my name isn't Alan.

Dean

Thanks for the post Dean(your an honorary Alan member )

I was searching through some old posts here at HTF, was it you that posted a thread on the MMGC? If it was,I guess you decided to trade up to the CC3.

Gah,now you've pushed me even closer to getting the CC3.Thanks for the reply.

O,BTW,which speakers did you decide to go with for surrounds Dean?(from your previous thread)

Don't sell yourself short, Dean......that was a brilliant post Excellent choice of speakers, might I add!

I actually thought about going with a CC3 in back, too.....initially thought about just an MMG-C, but they said the CC3 is a better choice for wall mounting. You'll have to let us know how it works out for ya, Dean!

Alan M,
It could have been me that posted about the MGMC, but I don't remember (I can hide my own Easter eggs too ) I talked with the folks at Magnepan at length about what I wanted, and they told me that I would be much happier with the CC3 over the MGMC when used with the MC1's. So, I bit the bullet and bought two pair of the MC1's and the CC3 with no regrets so far.
Although, I'm remodeling my entire living room to get them decently placed - moving ceiling fans and A/C vents, patching the old holes, building my own stands, etc..

AlanZ,
I'll keep you all posted once I get the rear CC3 installed. I'm not mounting mine against the back wall. I'm going to be mounting it out about a foot from the rear wall and near the ceiling so that it will be at about the same height as my MC1 surrounds (which are mounted horizontally from the ceiling).

After starting this thread and calling it a night,I recieved this in the mail and was so impressed,I had to post it.

A large envelope arrived with the Maggie logo.I figured this to be my invoice and maybe some advertisements on other Maggie models.All of this was in the envelope along with a cover letter telling me it was designed to be mailed about 1 week after I recieved my Maggies.
The cover letter also stated that on my invoice was hand written 3 different dates next to each purchase I made from Maggie.The 1st date is my 60 day satisfaction guarantee.I can return my Maggies no questions asked.
The 2nd date is my 120 day upgrade for full purchase price guarantee.The 3rd date is a 1 year upgrade date for full(or partial) credit on my current Maggies towards certain higher end Maggies(looked like most models are listed).
I'm even more impressed with Maggies way of keeping the end user happy.Customer service at its best.
P.S. This isnt news to other Maggie owners ,but I thought it might be of interest to folks contemplating buying Maggies.

News flash,

Sorry I had to say that.My prepro allows me to set different xovers for mains,surrounds and center .My mains are at 60,surrounds at 100.My center was at 100(as per Maggie instructions).Today I tried 120,and 150 for the center channel.150 transformed my center,much clearer,no muddiness at all.Woot.

Quote:
"Sorry I had to say that.My prepro allows me to set different xovers for mains,surrounds and center .My mains are at 60,surrounds at 100.My center was at 100(as per Maggie instructions).Today I tried 120,and 150 for the center channel.150 transformed my center,much clearer,no muddiness at all."

That's interesting. The Denon 3802 that I'm using as a pre/pro with Outlaw M200s only allows 80, 100, and 120 Hz crossovers for all channels all of which I've tried. I found my speakers to start sounding a little thin at 120 Hz, but I didn't notice a lot of difference between the 80 and 100 Hz settings. Although, I finally settled on 100 Hz.
What sub are you using with your set-up?

Hi Dean,

Im running an older Athena sub.I dont think they are made anymore,the P-2.Its an 8" sub that goes down to 25hz(Athena's specs).Its quick and in my HT,does nicely.Of course I'm also running tactile transducers for seat of your pants viewing .
BTW,my prepro is the Outlaw 950.

Alan M:

So are you still liking the Outlaw gear, too? I love the triple crossover feature you mentioned.....of course, it was much more useful back when I actually had a friggin subwoofer in the system lol. Hopefully I'll remedy that very soon.....although I've been saying that for like three months now lol. At least I know that SVS will be there when I'm ready

Hey guys could you give me a link or an address to the
"MUG site" Thanks

You guys are getting me all hot 'n bothered to get grab MMG's again...with a CC3. If I do, you can call me Al (if I can call you Betty, of course).

Jack, we'll make you an honorary 'Al' and we'll make Alan P be 'Betty' since he has the best Maggies of the three Alans

Dan:
Here you go, bro....

www.integracoustics.com/MUG/MUG/

AlanM, (There are entirely too many Alans in here! ) How do you like the Outlaw 950? I'm planning on upgrading my Denon 3802 to a pre/pro. I want something that's good with music, but I would also like to take advantage of some of the newer sound processing like PLIIx. I'm hoping that Outlaw comes out with their new pre/pro soon, so that I can get a chance to compare it to the Sherwood P-965 which seems to be very popular.

Howdy Dean,
We Alan's are a growing group,I'll show you our secret handshake .

I purchased the Outlaw 950/7100 combo and have been very pleased with both.The 950 has some very nice features that I havent had before(yammi 5760),but find myself using often.

The triple xover is a win win feature.I also find myself using the stereo bypass feature for music quite often.The test tone mode can be used two different ways,in sequence or each speaker individually.

The sound is very natural and seems to match the Maggies well.DTS,DD,PL2,Neo 6,Cirrus Logic 6(havent used this mode myself,but lots of folks on the Outlaw forum say its the best sounding out of PL2,neo6 and cirrus) are all on the 950.I'm using it in 5.1 mode but it can do 6.1 or 7.1 for DTS and DD.
BTW,I believe Alan Z is using the 950 with his Maggies also.

Alan M:
I use stereo bypass almost exclusively for 2-channel listening. I find that the only real drawback is when you have a disc that's poorly recorded. Otherwise I like the DACs in my Denon 2900 better than the 950s.

I also use stereo bypass on my 950 with my maggies!! But I want to upgrade both my CD player and preamp!!

Thanks for the input, AlanM. Perhaps I'll get a chance to listen to a 950 before I cave in to my need for instant gratification and buy the Sherwood.

Well,
The beast is finally subdued.
After reading about the ICBM that Maggie has made by Outlaw(xovers are double value on the Maggie version),I started to fool around with the xovers on my MMGC center.120 and 150 make a huge difference.
Its now sitting at the 150 xover(center channel only)( I may try the 120 again).The MMGC is now clear, precise,and still gives me that Maggie sound that I treasure so much.The open air quality that I just couldnt seem to get from the MMGC is now present.
Is it the best center money can buy? I'd have to say nope,it isnt.Is it a good sounding center that matches the MMG's and still provides that Maggie sound at a value price? Yes and yes,it is.
The MMGC is a $300 speaker,Maggies next center is the CC3 at $950.At this point I'd have to say,for a budget center with that Maggie sound,MMGC is a bargain. If your electronics gives you options for center channel xover and your on a budget,I'd vote for the MMGC.