Author Topic: Mixing Maggies? (Read 7077 times)

jpschust · « **on:** May 23, 2004, 11:03:15 AM »

well im thinking, just thinking at this point, about going to a 5.1 surround system to take full advantage of sacds and dvd audio. I've got a great set of Magnepan 10.1 QR's in front (the 10.1s later became the Maggie MG12s). So I'm looking into rears, centers, and still at subs. Do you think that my sound will be strange if I put MMG's in the rear? The reason I want to do this is because a- the 12's are very very expensive and the 10.1s are very hard to come by, and b- the MMG's are wall mountable whereas the 10's are not.

LMK what you all think

Brian Skalinder · « **Reply #1 on:** May 23, 2004, 08:51:31 PM »

Interesting, Jonny - I've been considering doing the same lately as well: move my MMGs to the back and get some 1.6QR's and replacing my current sub with a new sub (or two) up front. I haven't the foggiest idea what I'd do for the center channel, though. Have you sorted out what you'd like to do for the center channel?

I've been running my B&W 601s (or some such, don't remember the specific model right now) as my rears, and it's a bit of an odd combo - the Maggies aren't nearly as dynamic and in-your-face as the B&Ws. I bet as long as you have planars all around, it'd be an okay match, but...don't know for certain.

I do think if you want slam-in-your-face surround, planar's probably aren't the way to go. But for my tastes, and since my primary listening is 2-channel audio, I love the planar sound.

How would you wall-mount the MMGs? And why are the MMGs wall-mountable but the 10.1's aren't?

jpschust · « **Reply #2 on:** May 23, 2004, 09:45:29 PM »

ok, let's go backwards- as per the wall mounting options take a look on magnepan's site (http://www.magnepan.com) and look through things- they have a section in there about hanging the maggies. the 10.1s are different from the maggies in that for the maggies you must attach stands to the bottom if you want them to stand up- the 10.1s have a built in stand and some circuitry in the base.

as per the center channel im pretty sure im going to use an mmg c at this point. the idea is that all the maggie stuff is made to generally the same sound ideal so things shouldnt be too odd i hope

jjjewett · « **Reply #3 on:** May 24, 2004, 01:13:38 AM »

why not go for the mmg-c for the center channel

im thinking of doing it with mmg's as the other 4

http://www.magnepan.com/1-800-474-1646/magazines/mmgw_mmgc.htm

ps anyone know of a good power amp for mmg's

john

jpschust · « **Reply #4 on:** May 24, 2004, 01:47:47 AM »

how much are you looking at spending on your amp? i looked really heavily into this when looking at the maggies to begin with

jjjewett · « **Reply #5 on:** May 24, 2004, 03:21:48 AM »

well,

im going to buy a nice amp real soon. and i have to decide if I want a 2 channel or multi channel. I just bought dustin's firewire 410 so could I could use that to send 5.0 to and amp?? Or do I need a preamp. I also have a lucid 2496 DA, so do I need a preamp with that too??

It would be real cool if I could go:

Computer>firewire 410>5 channel amp>mmg's

if not then I guess I gotta get an integrated.

but to answer your question, i could spend like 450 on an amp, beit just a power amp, or an integrated.

john

Brian Skalinder · « **Reply #6 on:** May 24, 2004, 08:09:02 AM »

Quote from: jpschust on May 23, 2004, 09:45:29 PM

as per the wall mounting options take a look on magnepan's site (http://www.magnepan.com)

Duh.

Quote from: jpschust on May 23, 2004, 09:45:29 PM

as per the center channel im pretty sure im going to use an mmg c at this point. the idea is that all the maggie stuff is made to generally the same sound ideal so things shouldnt be too odd i hope

Duh.

Thanks, Jonny. I'm a little fried after 16-hours of volleyball tournaments the last two days.

jpschust · « **Reply #7 on:** May 24, 2004, 08:27:14 AM »

Quote from: jjjewett on May 24, 2004, 03:21:48 AM

well,

im going to buy a nice amp real soon. and i have to decide if I want a 2 channel or multi channel. I just bought dustin's firewire 410 so could I could use that to send 5.0 to and amp?? Or do I need a preamp. I also have a lucid 2496 DA, so do I need a preamp with that too??

It would be real cool if I could go:

Computer>firewire 410>5 channel amp>mmg's

if not then I guess I gotta get an integrated.

but to answer your question, i could spend like 450 on an amp, beit just a power amp, or an integrated.

john

John,

you need a preamp. for a stereo amp in that price range (approximately) i might look at the Belles 150A. It sends a lot of power and can definately push the maggies. Another, less expensive amp to look at is the BK-ST140. That will run you half the price of the Belles, is a great starter amp, but i feel lacks some of the push and smoothness the belles has.

I'm sending my tube pre in for a bit of an upgrade and it will be back in about a week. If you hang on for a bit it may come up for sale right here :-)

jjjewett · « **Reply #8 on:** May 24, 2004, 10:56:02 AM »

damm, i figured i would need a preamp

ive been thinking about either the rotel 971/972 or the nad c350/370

john

jpschust · « **Reply #9 on:** May 24, 2004, 11:15:30 AM »

both make great pres and amps

jjjewett · « **Reply #10 on:** May 24, 2004, 11:20:17 AM »

why do i need a preamp if both the fire 410 and my lucid have an output level knob??

john

Tim · « **Reply #11 on:** May 24, 2004, 11:28:28 AM »

I run a NAD 370, love it!

jjjewett · « **Reply #12 on:** May 24, 2004, 11:39:47 AM »

now someone here on the list has to sell me their mmg's

john

jpschust · « **Reply #13 on:** May 24, 2004, 02:49:57 PM »

john, the mmg w's are really cheap directly from maggie brand new, even cheaper on audiogon.com

jjjewett · « **Reply #14 on:** May 24, 2004, 03:24:41 PM »

yeah, i know. can you tell me the difference between the mmg-w and the last generation of mmg's. also, why do i need a preamp if my 410 and lucid have an output level knob?

john

jpschust · « **Reply #15 on:** May 24, 2004, 05:40:34 PM »

i want to find you the exact answer to this before i go straight to answering this (meaning i know the answer but i cant phrase it properly at the moment)- give me a touch of time

jpschust · « **Reply #16 on:** May 24, 2004, 09:52:45 PM »

you CAN indeed run straight into your amp.

Brian Skalinder · « **Reply #17 on:** May 24, 2004, 10:08:22 PM »

Ooooo...I hadn't been to the Magnepan site in a while. They now have the MMG surround system. Very interesting. Still want some bigger Maggies for the front, but adding the MMG-Ws to the rear and the -C to the front could be sweet. And I'll just have to keep my regular MMGs to put in the home office.

jpschust · « **Reply #18 on:** May 24, 2004, 10:45:14 PM »

Brian, check out some of the other quasi ribbons for your fronts- you can get away from using the MMG's and go to something a bit bigger. I really dig my 10.1QRs. you can come over and take a listen any time you like (well once my system is out of constant flux)

jjjewett · « **Reply #19 on:** May 24, 2004, 11:32:04 PM »

so i CAN just go straight from my D/A or firewire 410 to a power amp. That will be sweet. I am gonna get a SKB case and mount the poweramp, 410 and route the cables in the back, then mabey down the road add a motherboard, lcd screen, and dvd player in it to have a fully capable dvd-a playback system in one rack. drool

so can you guys recomment a good 2/5/8 channel power amp that will drive the maggies for under 400??

thanks in advance.

john

jpschust · « **Reply #20 on:** May 24, 2004, 11:54:33 PM »

as long as you have some form of control over the analog volume, yes.

like i reccomended before i think the B&K ST-140 will drive your maggies nicely and it comes in at like 250ish. You need to be careful about mounting consumer power amps into racks- they need a lot of room to shed heat.

jjjewett · « **Reply #21 on:** May 24, 2004, 11:59:49 PM »

Quote from: jpschust on May 24, 2004, 11:54:33 PM

You need to be careful about mounting consumer power amps into racks- they need a lot of room to shed heat.

good to know. Is there any rack-mounted poweramps out there for speakers??

john

jpschust · « **Reply #22 on:** May 25, 2004, 12:08:21 AM »

there are but they are for PA's primarily. why do you want to rackmount in specific?

jjjewett · « **Reply #23 on:** May 25, 2004, 01:14:06 AM »

ok, my idea is to get a skb rack (4 to 8 high) and then in it mount my firewire 410, my lucid D/A, and my mindprint A/D. Then i also want to mount an amp for speakers one the bottom. Then in the middle, hidden behind a grate rack plate, mount a motherboard in it, I could also have a dvd drive in it to and a lcd if i really wanted. That way i would have everything in my stereo for playback and recording in one place. I could just wire my speakers to it and also have a wifi card in it to get tunes from my audio server.

what do you think??

jpschust · « **Reply #24 on:** May 25, 2004, 07:41:56 AM »

i think as nice of an idea as it sounds you should look into getting some audio shelving instead. first off, racks don't provide the best isolation from vibration, second they aren't the best at keeping things cool.

Brian Skalinder · « **Reply #25 on:** May 25, 2004, 08:32:16 AM »

Quote from: jpschust on May 24, 2004, 10:45:14 PM

Brian, check out some of the other quasi ribbons for your fronts- you can get away from using the MMG's and go to something a bit bigger. I really dig my 10.1QRs. you can come over and take a listen any time you like (well once my system is out of constant flux)

Thanks for the offer, Jonny. I'm definitely gonna replace the MMGs up front one of these days. Trying to save a bit of cash for the move back to Chicago in September, so it'll likely be sometime this fall.

Nick Culbreth · « **Reply #26 on:** May 25, 2004, 11:19:09 AM »

Quote from: jpschust on May 24, 2004, 11:54:33 PM

as long as you have some form of control over the analog volume, yes.

like i reccomended before i think the B&K ST-140 will drive your maggies nicely and it comes in at like 250ish. You need to be careful about mounting consumer power amps into racks- they need a lot of room to shed heat.

i'd second this reccomendation, i power my maggies with a st-140 and i'm very happy with the combination.

Nick's Picks · « **Reply #27 on:** May 31, 2004, 07:45:10 AM »

while I love (and started a trend on this list?) the ST-140>MMG combo, I wouldn't go that route for a home theatre. That old B&K is 2 channels.
what I would do, is look for the the 3 channel B&K ...whos model number escapes me, but I know it exists. And then maybe use the 140 as a cheap amp for the rears.

the $1000 maggie home theatre kit has been on my wish list for a home theatre system ever since I read the first glowing review of them (w/the ICBM bass controll system in place as well) in stereophile.

I often think back to my maggies....and miss their open, detailed sound. I hated being confined to a 10" sweet spot where all the emotion lived.