Phone camera shot of new setup.

[jackfish]

I've been farting around with this for a while. The DAC is in this weekend so the computer and DAC will sit to the left where I have the headphones piled up.

Attachments:

[pitbullmike]

Sweet, Looks fantastic..

[lvdude]

Is that stand available to purchase somewhere? I will be in the market for one very soon!

[jamscape]

Looking.VERY nice. I've got 1.6s and have been thinking about the Rythmik 12 for a long time. Could you give your impression of how the Rythmik and the maggies marry up? Is it totally seamless? Also, how are you crossing over to the sub? Sorry for all the questions, the altar looks great though!

[Porscheguy]

All those halo's. So many angels in your rack :-)

[jackfish]

Stand: Ikea Besta, however it looks like they don't offer that configuration anymore.

Sub: Rythmik is the best sub you will find under $1000 which works well with the Magnepans.

Crossover: HP to Magnestands - 50 Hz, LP to sub - 50 hz

[harri009]

do you pull your maggies out from the wall when listening? I tried pushing mine closer to the wall during christmas and it killed the sound.

[jackfish]

Feb 20, 2012 15:48:29 GMT -5 harri009 said:

do you pull your maggies out from the wall when listening?

Sometimes, yes. They definitely sound better when out from the wall a bit.

[paintedklown]

Beautiful setup.

For a while now I have been dreaming of getting some Magnepans and giving them a go.

Also, it almost seems that Rythmik subs are the "go to" option for mating with them.

You have the magnestand upgrade as well, very cool.

May I ask your honest opinion on how much of a difference there is between "gunned" maggies, and their stock counterparts. Did it help the bass response greatly?

I am seriously interested as the testimonials and description on their website lead you to believe that it's nearly a "night and day" difference.

Sorry for all of the questions, but I am "feinding" to break down and go for it and want to be sure it's worth it before I (save forever and) drop the coin. ;D

[harri009]

I am sure Jack will have positive comments about "gunned", but I just couldn't bring myself to pay that kind of dough for a rebuild. You can get the 3.6 for $2000 now used. I would go for a used pair either way though. From the "gunned" website he seems to suggest the 1.6's make the best upgrade pair and you can get them used for about $1000.

[paintedklown]

Feb 20, 2012 20:58:53 GMT -5 harri009 said:

I am sure Jack will have positive comments about "gunned", but I just couldn't bring myself to pay that kind of dough for a rebuild. You can get the 3.6 for $2000 now used. I would go for a used pair either way though. From the "gunned" website he seems to suggest the 1.6's make the best upgrade pair and you can get them used for about $1000.

Actually, it is the 1.6s that I had planned on tracking down, as I had read the same on their site. In the end, I think it will be the best course to take.

It is still very tempting to get the stock MMGs for $600.00. It's a great low cost way to get into that "maggie sound" without too much sacrifice. ;D

[harri009]

I think once you get the 1.6's hooked up your desire to send them off to be gunned I believe will lessen.

[paintedklown]

Feb 20, 2012 21:33:09 GMT -5 harri009 said:

I think once you get the 1.6's hooked up your desire to send them off to be gunned I believe will lessen.

Really...are the 1.6s seriously that good? I am not trying to be a wise axe either, I have heard great things about them, before and after being "gunned".

How is the bass response on these? That is what I am always wondering. I would be powering them with Emotive XPA-1 mono blocks, so I feel that should be sufficient enough to really open them up, so to speak.

Prior to some recent life changes, I was eyeing Audiogon and e-bay every day, waiting for a deal to pop up. I was "this close" to getting a pair from Audiogon, but they were snapped up (literally) within an hour of me spotting some nice ones (at a good price), I actually ended up talking to the owner of them a couple of times on the telephone in case the other deal happened to fall through...it didn't. Great for the seller...not so great for me.

[harri009]

I personally love mine. I am currently driving my 1.6's with 185 watts so if a 1000 does not make them sing nothing is gonna. I don't feel as though I am missing anything with my power but will be upgrading when funds allow. In fact both times I heard the maggies at dealers they were being driven by tube amps. As far as bass is concerned Maggies bass is know to be tight but not all that deep or forceful as a dome speaker. If you like jazz, vocals, acoustical instruments they are for you. If Metallica is your flavor I would suggest you look elsewhere. Not to say rock does not still sound good. A good sub crossed over at about 60 would fix all the low end issues.

[paintedklown]

Feb 20, 2012 23:26:49 GMT -5 harri009 said:

I personally love mine. I am currently driving my 1.6's with 185 watts so if a 1000 does not make them sing nothing is gonna. I don't feel as though I am missing anything with my power but will be upgrading when funds allow. In fact both times I heard the maggies at dealers they were being driven by tube amps. As far as bass is concerned Maggies bass is know to be tight but not all that deep or forceful as a dome speaker. If you like jazz, vocals, acoustical instruments they are for you. If Metallica is your flavor I would suggest you look elsewhere. Not to say rock does not still sound good. A good sub crossed over at about 60 would fix all the low end issues.

Thanks for the info.

Oddly enough, I have only heard Maggies with either tube amps, or small solid state amps. For some reason, the local dealer almost insists on using small amps on these things. It's like "C'mon man, I need to hear what these things sound like when being driven hard, because that is what I am going to be doing to them at home" These guys just don't get it. When they ask what amps I use, and I say Emotiva XPA-1s, they get this puzzled look on their faces and act like I have no idea of what I am talking about! I should just lie and say I am using some Rotel or something, just so the guy understands that I am serious when I say I need to hear these with a large SS amp, and not some 10w tube amp, nothing against tube amps (I really want one) but that is not at all what I own at the moment.

Needless to say, I feel I really haven't given them a "fair day in court" to really evaluate how I feel about the Maggie sound. That's why I am constantly thinking that the MMGs just might be the best way to really know how I feel about them, without getting in too deep.

[harri009]

The great thing about used is you can go as high up the ladder as you want and can probably resell for the same amount local. I listed my 1.6's On Craigslist and in 3 days had 2 buyers. Only prob was I ended up not winning the 3.6's I was going for, lost by $20 oh well I still love my current ones just thought it would be nice to try the 3.6's

[paintedklown]

Feb 21, 2012 0:16:52 GMT -5 harri009 said:

The great thing about used is you can go as high up the ladder as you want and can probably resell for the same amount local. I listed my 1.6's On Craigslist and in 3 days had 2 buyers. Only prob was I ended up not winning the 3.6's I was going for, lost by $20 oh well I still love my current ones just thought it would be nice to try the 3.6's

$20 bucks man, that's too bad.

Well if you ever decide that you want to sell your 1.6s, I know a guy who is wanting to try them! ;D

[jackfish]

May I ask your honest opinion on how much of a difference there is between "gunned" maggies, and their stock counterparts. Did it help the bass response greatly?

At first, I wasn't sure how much difference there was. They sounded very good right immediately. However, one is not able to consider the before and after in close proximity. But as I continued listening to familiar music I was often startled by things I heard which were not apparent before. I don't know if they dig much deeper, but the quality of the bass definitely improved. The one thing that was immediately apparent was an increase in sensitivity. It took much less power to drive them to my usual listening levels. Peter Gunn estimates that Magnestands have about 92dB/1w/1m sensitivity. I believe you would be hard pressed to find new loudspeakers up to $10,000 (maybe more) that could run with Magnestand MMGs with a Rythmik subwoofer.

Also, it almost seems that Rythmik subs are the "go to" option for mating with them.

Yes, for a sub under $1000, Rythmik is the only way to go for planar/quasi-ribbon speakers in my opinion.

I am seriously interested as the testimonials and description on their website lead you to believe that it's nearly a "night and day" difference.

I concur with the assessment of Magnestands expressed in the feedback on the website. I am continually amazed that I got loudspeakers that sound this good for $2,700.

Peter Gunn contends that a pair of SMGs in good condition makes for the best sounding Magnestand for small to medium sized rooms. Gunned 3.6s with a pair of Rythmik F15 subwoofers would likely blow the socks off many speakers in the $100,000 range.

If you want a taste of the Maggie sound, go ahead and get a pair of MMGs. You can always return them within 60 days if you don't want them. If you like them and you had budgeted $10,000 for your next pair of speakers, you might as well have them "Gunned."

[bleekgill]

Feb 20, 2012 19:47:01 GMT -5 jackfish said:

Feb 20, 2012 15:48:29 GMT -5 harri009 said:

do you pull your maggies out from the wall when listening?

Sometimes, yes. They definitely sound better when out from the wall a bit.

I keep my MMGs about 4 feet from the back wall, 7 feet from the outer edges apart, and 8 feet from my ears. Any closer to an untreated wall makes the soundstage of my system somewhat shallow and congested. The vocals get a little hard and "shouty" too. On the other hand, those back wall reflections can be an important part of the experience. Mine sounded pretty lifeless when in front of windows with cellular shades.