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Magnepan SMGc - $500 (Chanhassen)
550 Indian Hill Rd near Plesantview
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Revisiting the Magnepan SMGa Vintage Flat Panel Speaker
I recently retrieved my Magnepan SMGa’s from a friend, whom I sold them to about 10 years ago. He had moved to a smaller house and could not fit them in to his lifestyle. So, I bought them back from him. I was skeptical about fitting them into my Near-Field Nirvana set up down stairs sound space. In my previous article, I had identified Bi-Pole and Di-Pole speakers as a not the best choice for the Nirvana set-up.
Well, guess what? They worked amazingly well! I always had loved Magnepan speakers and had owned the Tympani IV A’s and the 3.7’s. They flourished like large Rhododendrons in my large sound spaces. The SMGa’s, which were the precursors to the MMG’s and newly launched LRS’s from Magnepan, are still more than viable today. Now, I have a Bonsai garden of mini-monitor loudspeakers in my Nirvana set up. The SMGa’s are quite more like Azaleas in the Nirvana setup.
Positioning: Tweeters are on the outside of the panels. Speakers are six feet apart measured from the inside edges. Twenty-six inches from the sidewalls and 24 inches from the back wall. SMGa’s are angled in roughly four inches (30 degrees) to the listening position, which is six feet away from the speakers. I have custom granite stands, 1.5″ high, with slider feet on the bottoms. I find it really helps to get the speaker off the carpet or hardwood floor.
Magnepan recommends using a good class AB solid-state amplifier to use with their speakers. For this listening session I used the Rogue Audio Pharaoh integrated amp, which is class D output with a tube front end in the preamp section. It was a good match. I will be trying to get the new Parasound Halo class AB integrated amp to review soon, hopefully, along with the new Magnepan LRS speakers.
The magic of Magnepan’s or other good flat panel designs is the absence of any box colorations. It’s an open sound field, most like listening to a concert outdoors. I find that Maggie’s work well in the most hostile sound environments. Windows, Glass and brick hard surfaces, it doesn’t matter! Box speaker’s, which launch the sound forward, need room treatment to tame reflections and positioning for accurate bass levels. SMGA’s not finicky about bass suck-outs regarding sitting position.
Now, of course, nothing is ever perfect and there are some listening constraints with Magnepan speakers.
Need 100 watts of power or more!