AlanZ
Screenwriter
Okay, when I upgraded my electronics from a Denon 1603 to the Outlaw 1050, and then to the Outlaw 950 with M200 monoblocks, it was really great. When my first SVS arrived and I saw how much more impactful it was, it was really great, too.
I'm not sure how I feel about today, though.......
I've been a loyal Paradigm speaker person for the past four or five years. It's not that I never listened to other stuff, I just never found anything that I thought I liked better, especially for the money I was spending. I found new homes for my Paradigm studio/100s and 20s just recently, and figured I'd merrily go along my way, earning dollar after dollar until I could go and adopt a new pair of Paradigm Signatures. Well......I dunno lol
I just hooked up some Magnepan MMGs about three hours ago. I'm trying to find things wrong, and have been somewhat successful, but overall I can't believe what these things are doing. I'm going to start with the negative because I still don't know if I even want to like them yet....they are lousy when you are off-axis. Yeah, that's really about it. I can't say they are ugly, cause they are actually really cool looking (mine are all black). I can't say they are poorly built, because it appears the construction is pretty sound. I can't say they don't have bass, cause they do (go play Radiohead 'Amnesiac' and tell me they don't have enough bass). I can't say the soundstage is small, cause it's quite large. The hardest thing I can't say, though, is that my Paradigms were better. They weren't. In fact, when I think about the fact that these MMGs a little over 1/4 the price of the studio/100s, I don't know what to think.
I started off with some music that I was familiar with.....I invited Don Henly, some Mapleshade artists, Norah Jones, The Police, Elvis, Whitney, Josh Groban, etc......heck, even 50 cent had a turn. At first I was like, "um, no.....something isn't right". But then I remembered that these are less sensitive than my Paradigms, so I turned up the volume and voila - Norah was in the room. Usually I have the volume around -15 for music, but I had to crank it to around -5 for these guys. I found the same thing with movies. I tossed in Star Wars Episode I and after the first few mins I was saying "A-HA!!!! I FOUND YOUR WEAKNESS!!"......but then I remembered the volume thing and was proven wrong yet again. Same thing happened with Saving Private Ryan. And this is over only two speakers.....no center, no surrounds, no SVS, no dts/dd. Just stereo.
So now, here I sit......watching the NFL Network on cable over the Magnepan MMGs, giving in to the realization that even after a few hours these speakers have already begun to open themselves up from how they sounded out of the box. So, I'll give them the time they need to really show me what they're all about, even though I'm pretty sure I can already tell. They're about more open, natural sounding music. They are about detail. They are about presentation. And they are sure as hell about value.
I think I like them better than Paradigms and I'm not sure how to deal with it lol......I'm hoping that the Signatures will be able to understand and move on with their lives......I'd even like to stay friends.
I'm not sure how I feel about today, though.......
I've been a loyal Paradigm speaker person for the past four or five years. It's not that I never listened to other stuff, I just never found anything that I thought I liked better, especially for the money I was spending. I found new homes for my Paradigm studio/100s and 20s just recently, and figured I'd merrily go along my way, earning dollar after dollar until I could go and adopt a new pair of Paradigm Signatures. Well......I dunno lol
I just hooked up some Magnepan MMGs about three hours ago. I'm trying to find things wrong, and have been somewhat successful, but overall I can't believe what these things are doing. I'm going to start with the negative because I still don't know if I even want to like them yet....they are lousy when you are off-axis. Yeah, that's really about it. I can't say they are ugly, cause they are actually really cool looking (mine are all black). I can't say they are poorly built, because it appears the construction is pretty sound. I can't say they don't have bass, cause they do (go play Radiohead 'Amnesiac' and tell me they don't have enough bass). I can't say the soundstage is small, cause it's quite large. The hardest thing I can't say, though, is that my Paradigms were better. They weren't. In fact, when I think about the fact that these MMGs a little over 1/4 the price of the studio/100s, I don't know what to think.
I started off with some music that I was familiar with.....I invited Don Henly, some Mapleshade artists, Norah Jones, The Police, Elvis, Whitney, Josh Groban, etc......heck, even 50 cent had a turn. At first I was like, "um, no.....something isn't right". But then I remembered that these are less sensitive than my Paradigms, so I turned up the volume and voila - Norah was in the room. Usually I have the volume around -15 for music, but I had to crank it to around -5 for these guys. I found the same thing with movies. I tossed in Star Wars Episode I and after the first few mins I was saying "A-HA!!!! I FOUND YOUR WEAKNESS!!"......but then I remembered the volume thing and was proven wrong yet again. Same thing happened with Saving Private Ryan. And this is over only two speakers.....no center, no surrounds, no SVS, no dts/dd. Just stereo.
So now, here I sit......watching the NFL Network on cable over the Magnepan MMGs, giving in to the realization that even after a few hours these speakers have already begun to open themselves up from how they sounded out of the box. So, I'll give them the time they need to really show me what they're all about, even though I'm pretty sure I can already tell. They're about more open, natural sounding music. They are about detail. They are about presentation. And they are sure as hell about value.
I think I like them better than Paradigms and I'm not sure how to deal with it lol......I'm hoping that the Signatures will be able to understand and move on with their lives......I'd even like to stay friends.
