This is a big improvement for me comming from a crappy DIY speakers and an Optimus HT receiver. The sound is pretty good, not as good as I want it to be, but with a few tweaks it should be sounding better. Im in college so my pocket cant handle any more upgrades for a couple of weeks. My current speaker wires are cheap Acoustic Research. My next move will be some good speaker wires, then a better amplifier.
I need to know what to do to make my MMGs sing. I did an A/B test with some Bose 201s and I didnt hear much difference.
I think your current power Amp is under power for the Maggie's. I hope MMG do not still sound like Bose 201s something is wrong with your amp or pre if they do.
System edited: I just added the Anthem Amp 1 to my system. Its not too bad. It has strong midrange. The overall system is still a bit on the dark side, I think my preamp (DIY BOSOZ by Nelson Pass) is the problem. I am in the process of building a tube line stage (the Aikido by John Broskie). I cant afford to buy so I build :-) The other contributor to the dark sound, I think, is the output transformers which are Hammonds. Hammond is the cheapest that you can get. So after saving up some money I will buy some good outputs (stupid campus only pays $7 an hour). In the near future I will add some Blackgate capacitors to the power supply, that should help out a bit. What do you guys think of my system? All comments are welcome. Lawrence
The Maggies sould sound much better then bose if set up right get them a bit away from the walls like 2 feet and stand them straight up or almost like the bigger maggies do make sure you don't have to much stuff in the middle like big entertainment centers ect..they really mess the sound stage up. and the biggy if your a maggie owner go to www.audioasylum.com to the Planer forum were the best!! Also a Small tight sub really helps the MMGs if used very lightly to much sub really effectes the sound of the maggies becouse of the speed differance of the maggie's and the sub Mark
Sounds like you've got a really nice start. In college, my first "audiophile" system was a Marantz integrated that I used as a pre-amp. It fed an early Hafler DH-200 (built it from a kit - still working as the subwoofer amp in my second system). Of course the only worthwhile source at the time was analogue. Connoiseur TT with Grado cartridge. Speakers were DIY with KEF drivers. Placement was not too much of an issue. These were replaced a couple of years later by Magneplanars. Creeper is right. Placement is hugely important and it took me awhile to figure it out. You have to be willing to move them into the room and experiment with placement. Sometimes hard to dedicate that much space, especially in a room that has to serve multiple functions.
PS: Don't blow too much money on wires. They make a difference, but nothing's more discouraging than spending a bunch of cash on wire only to bring it home and find the effect on your amp/speaker combo is minimal. See if you can find a shop that will let you try-before-you-buy. Good luck . . with system and school.
Looks to me like you're off to a good start. The number one way to improve any system - be it starter or megabuck - is speaker placement. Maggies are tricky to place, but when you get it right, you'll love them. Plus, they'll surely outperform those 201s. Happy listening.
