|   Maggie MG-1s' - 1st impressions... | piece-it pete
Jul 24, 2002 11:03 AM | | Hello everyone!
After weeks of waiting w/ bated breath I finally received my MG-1s' yesterday. Fedex brought them in to my shop about 3:00 - I was outta there!
I'm not giving them a full review yet - but want to get my 1st thoughts down b-4 I forget.
1st, my system:
sony STR-245 receiver (100wpc/5 ch)(no decoder)
philips 951 DVD/CD (on-board decoder, 96/24)
crummy sony turntable
ancient rat shack cassette
pioneer CS-F9000 mains
Rat shack nova-8b (speakers for life?!) surrounds
M&K S-100 center
Now:
MG-1s'. 1st impression visually: Jeez they look like midget designer doors from the 70s'! LOL! (but SO likes them! :)
Sound: 1st hookup- at low volume they sound OK (but not great!), but no low notes (50hz bottom), when I turn it up everything gets real muddy/murky, confusing.
So here's one for the break-in arguement: as I'm moving them around, I continue to play music at higher levels. I'm worried about my receiver - MG-1 says 5 ohm & sony says 8! The sony gets almost hot to the touch (far warmer than ever before). Then - incredible. The sony gets cooler & suddenly I notice clarity!
Now I know the placement is, by this time, much better but cannot account totally for this difference. Also, I believe my brain also contributed by "learning" the sound of these speakers. But could not totally explain this!
Wow - what a tangent. Back to MGs':
I know the MG-1s are limited - 50 hz to 16 khz - so yes, this model needs a sub. But the bass that's there is "clean & tight" (whoa).
The strength of these seem to be the incredible way they reproduce the mids to lo-highs - violins are almost there, in the room - vocals are EXCELLENT - & the "surround" effect is breathtaking.
On Miles Davis - Live around the world - you can hear the sound guys screwups clearly (lol) but the SOUND - it's like THERE man -
But on David Bowies' little earthling they sound bad. But of course this music was designed to play box speakers....
In closing I'll basically reserve judgement. I can see why maggies have a die-hard following but of course I have old, limited ones - that still show maggies are great - so at this point I'll certainly go to a dealer b-4 my next speaker purchase.
Don't get me wrong - I love what I'm hearing (remember, I replaced pioneers!)& can't wait for placement & possible tweaks!
A more in-depth review to follow soon - all comments welcomed & appreciated -
Pete
P.S.
I've found a couple easy tweaks in this (AA Planar) boards history but want to make sure - I just take the screws out, right? This won't kill it?
O and fellow ARs' - was I wrong not to get Bose? :) |
| re: Maggie MG-1s' - 1st impressions... | RGA
Jul 24, 2002 3:04 PM | | All I an say is congrats on your purchase...and for heaven sake PLEASE get a REAL amplifier and dump that Sony Piece of doggy doo. If your speakers were a person it would be like being fed dog food...give them some Lobster bisque(SP?).
And amp that's stable at 4 ohms would be good...think Arcam! |
| re: Maggie MG-1s' - 1st impressions... | raindance
Jul 26, 2002 11:26 AM | | Get rid of the Sony receiver if you can. If not, does it have preamp outputs? If so, get yourself a Parasound HCA-1000 power amplifier to drive the Maggies. It does 200wpc into 4 ohms and you can pick it up for a good price. This will tide you over until you can get a decent receiver.
The Sony will never get much volume out of the speakers and may even damage them - this is because definitions of 100 watts vary...another subject..
If the Maggies still don't sound great, get 'em away from the back wall about 2-4 feet, side wall a couple of feet and toe them in slightly. The distance from the rear and side walls must NOT be equal. If they still don't sound great, check that the amplifier is connected to them in phase.
If they still don't sound great, they may be faulty. Do they sound much the same when you pan the balance over to one side or the other?
These speakers should have plenty bass output, but you'll only hear it on recordings that actually have bass on them. Anything by Diana Krall or Michael Franks should be a good test, or even the new CD by Eric Clapton, which is horribly bright but has plenty bass too.
I advise you not to do any tweaks until you are happy with the sound. How about posting a picture of your setup?
PS: I can repair Maggies (this is not a business - I am a hobbyist) - so if they are faulty and you are pepared to ship them and wait a while, I may be able to help... |
| Thanks RGA, Rainman - | piece-it pete
Jul 29, 2002 5:41 AM | | Well it seems I have to move an amp up my upgrade list!!
I don't want to feed my maggies dogfood!
How could my amp damage my speakers? Clipping?
They pan side to side OK. I'm thinking I still need to mess around w/ placement to get them right - however w/ the low freq. of 50 htz I doubt I'll ever get great bass. I've played Ray Brown presents: the piano players & again, there is some clean bass there but 50 htz....
Rainman, thanks for the "Mr. Fixit" offer. If you e-mail me at gltpete@hotmail.com I will keep your info.
Also, can I just remove the screws?
Pete |
| Sorry raindance :) - it's been a bad monday :( nt | piece-it pete
Jul 29, 2002 10:04 AM | | |
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