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Magnepan Mini Maggie Loudspeaker System (TAS 223)

Magnepan Mini Maggie Loudspeaker System (TAS 223)

Without a doubt the White Bear Lake, Minnesota-based firm Magnepan has been on a roll over the past few years. First came the 1.7 floorstanders ($1995/pair), which Jonathan Valin described as “the most lifelike speakers I’ve heard in their price range—or anywhere near it.” Next came the even more impressive 3.7 floorstanders ($5500/pair), which Mr. Valin described as “the best buy in hi-fi at the moment,” and that our founder Harry Pearson called “the best buy in hi-fi of all time.” Now, Magnepan has rolled out its new flagship 20.7 floorstander ($13,850/pair), of which TAS’ Jacob Heilbrunn has written, “I defy you to find (a speaker) at up to five times the cost with the scale and realism of the 20.7.” All three of these tall, thin, dipolar loudspeakers are capable of delivering a big, pure, life-like sound that is eerily coherent, and of doing so while delivering exceptional value for money. But strangely enough, the firm has also recently released a fourth new model—the compact, three-piece Mini Maggie desktop speaker system ($1490), which for some reason has gone largely unnoticed. This review will explore the strengths and weaknesses of the Mini Maggie system and explain why—for certain listening scenarios—it just might be the most desirable Magnepan of all.

Magnepan Mini Maggie Loudspeaker System (TAS 223)

At the heart of the Mini Maggie system are a pair of small (9.625″ x 14.25″), two-way “satellite” dipole speakers, each featuring a 4.5″ x 8.5″ planar magnetic midrange driver and a .8″ x 6.7″ ribbon tweeter (a shortened version of the very same tweeter used in the more costly 3.7 and 20.7). Like the large Magnepans, the Mini Maggie satellites are built as a mirrorimaged pair, so that listeners have the options of listening with tweeters oriented outward or inward. Then, to complete the package, Magnepan includes its moderately sized (19.25″ x 22.5″) DWM single-panel, dual-channel, dipolar mid/bass module. The DWM includes built-in crossovers that enable it to work with the Mini Maggie (and several other Magnepan products), so that the game plan is to connect both your left- and right-channel speaker cables to the DWM, and then run “stub” cables out from the DWM modules to the left and right satellites.

One key point to understand is that, from Day One, the entire system was designed specifically for ultra-high-performance desktop listening applications. In practice this means the satellites would be placed on the desktop and toed-in toward the listener, while the DWM panel would be placed on the floor below the satellites, within the footwell of the desk. In short, the Mini Maggie rig is meant for near-field listening environments, where the listener would be seated roughly two-to-four feet away. Some listeners (and Magnepan dealers) have wondered whether the Mini Maggie package might also be used as sat/woofer system for whole-room listening scenarios and we will tackle that question later on. But for now, let’s focus on tips for getting best results from the system on desktops.

Set-up requirements for the system are very simple, but there are some practical guidelines listeners will want to bear in mind. First, note that the Mini Maggie satellites, like Magnepan’s larger dipole speakers, need a fair amount of “breathing room” to sound their best, meaning it’s best to avoid scenarios where the satellite panels are backed up to within a few inches of nearby walls. Ideally, the Mini Maggie satellites should have several feet of open air space behind them for best sonic results. If, however, your room/desk arrangement is such that near-wall placement is necessary, contact Magnepan beforehand to seek advice. The firm may be able to recommend (or perhaps supply) suitable damping materials that could be placed on the walls behind the satellites to help tame early reflections.

Next, note that the compact, floor-standing DWM mid/ bass module is more than just a “woofer” and that, as a dipole speaker, it absolutely does not behave the way a box-type woofer would. Because the DWM contributes a significant amount of discrete left- and right-channel midrange information to support the system’s satellites, you’ll want to make a point of positioning the DWM in a central location, so that it is equidistant from the two Mini Maggie satellites. I’ve heard anecdotal reports of some listeners (and even dealers) trying to push the DWM off to one side of the room or the other—an approach that in my experience gives unsatisfactory (indeed, unacceptable) results. Remember, then, that the DWM must go in the center and below the satellites (any other location can cause imaging to become skewed and incoherent).

Finally, let me point out that while the Mini Maggie system is small and relatively affordable, it is a very serious high-end speaker that should be driven by powerful, high-quality electronics. How much power you’ll need will be a function of how loudly you like to listen, but with the Mini Maggies as with any other Magnepan speakers, you’ll want to choose an amp that can drive 4-ohm loads in a muscular way (wimpy integrated amps need not apply). But feed the Mini Maggie system “the good stuff,” and you can and should expect spectacular results.

I do not use the word “spectacular” lightly here, because the fact is that the Mini Maggie package is a $1490 desktop speaker system that sounds uncannily similar to the award-winning Magnepan 3.7 floorstander. I know this claim sounds like hyperbole, but it’s not (I know this because I spent hours at the Magnepan factory comparing the two systems). The key differences between the two, as you might expect, are that the Mini Maggie package offers less deeply extended bass, a less expansive dynamic envelope, and shows somewhat less ability to convey image height. But in all other essential respects—including detail, resolution, purity, freedom from grain, soundstage width and depth, and above all, coherence—the Mini Maggie rig sounds for all the world like a pair of 3.7’s rendered on a slightly smaller scale.

When I first sat down to listen to a properly set-up Mini Maggie system, I was struck by three sonic characteristics in particular. First, the system exhibited remarkably realistic and convincing spatial properties, producing huge, spacious, and yet precisely defined soundstages of a type few speaker systems of any size or price could match. Second, the system offered unusually lifelike reproduction of musical textures, timbres, and low-level details, conveying a terrific sense of focus. Third, and I admit I didn’t see this one coming, the system offered unexpectedly expressive dynamics. By this I do not mean to suggest that the Mini Maggie could hold forth at Klipschorn-like levels because that isn’t the case. But what it can and does do is to handle both abrupt dynamic shifts in emphasis as well as subtle shadings of expression in the music with terrific speed, energy, and nuance— in the process making the presentation sound believable and alive. Let me supply some musical examples.

One of my favorite test tracks is the Astor Piazzolla composition “Kicho” as performed by the Blue Chamber Quartet on First Impressions [Stockfisch, SACD]. “Kicho” opens with an elaborate solo played on acoustic bass, which ranges so high up in pitch that the initial illusion is of hearing a cello—until, that is, the bass suddenly plunges down into its lowest register, revealing tremendous depth and weight as it does. Later, as the piece unfolds, the bass is joined by a vibraphone, harp, and piano, which together create a delicious interplay of tonalities and textures—all unfolding within a moderately sized space. Each instrument enjoys its “moment in the spotlight,” until the piece reaches its exuberant finale, driven forward with propulsive force by vigorous and powerful piano lines.

Taking each instrument by turn, I noted that the Mini Maggie rig gave the bass an appropriately light, breathy, and warm treatment as it initially played in its upper registers, while later revealing the instrument’s darker, punchier, and more full-bodied side as it descended into its powerful, but never overblown, lower registers. You would expect the Mini Maggie to sound fine in the upper range of the bass and it did, but it was breathtaking to hear the system tackle the descent into the lowlands, capturing the way those low-pitched strings energized first the large wooden body of the instrument, and then—a split-second later—the entire room. Through the little Maggies, the harp sounded positively luminous, as did the vibraphones, while the attack of the piano sounded lifelike, articulate, sharply focused, and riveting. In short, timbres and tonalities sounded spot on through the Mini Maggie system, which did a beautiful job of capturing not just the sound but also the “personalities” of the each of the instruments.

The Mini Maggie system reproduced “Kicho,” which is beautifully recorded with exceptionally low levels of grain and terrific focus, so that the system sounded, as I wrote in my notebook, much “like a great headphone, but with killer 3-D imaging.” The system offered truly remarkable spatial coherence, too, meaning that it effortlessly conveyed low-level sonic cues that showed subtle interactions between the instruments and the acoustics of the recording venue. Finally, the system exhibited surprisingly gutsy dynamics throughout, especially in those moments where the piano urged the other instruments in the ensemble toward a swirl of energy near the composition’s finale. Again, this wasn’t so much a matter of the system playing loudly in an absolute sense (though it did reach pretty high levels on this track), but rather a matter of the speed and authority with which it unleashed brief concentrated bursts of energy from the piano, the vibraphones, and even the harp, as they spoke in unison.

The spatial characteristics of the system were perhaps even more clearly in evidence on the Michael Tilson-Thomas/San Francisco recording of the Copland Organ Symphony [SFS Media, SACD], where I observed that “this tiny system creates a huge sense of space, complete with depth, width, and precise instrument localization—the works.” While it is true that the larger floorstanding Magnepans can do an even better job of conveying the size and scale of the hall on this piece (especially image height), the Mini Maggie system is not far off, largely because it reproduces stage depth and width so well.

On well-made recordings such as the Copland Organ Symphony, it can sometimes be a bit unnerving to listen to the Mini Maggie system, because your eyes and ears can’t seem to agree on what they are experiencing. Your eyes register the fact that the Mini Maggie satellites are positioned roughly at arm’s length from you upon your desk, while your ears confront a giant soundscape that suggest you are seated in a large concert hall with a broad stage spread out before you, perhaps forty or fifty feet away (talk about a “split-brain” experience!). As when listening to the Piazzola piece referenced above, I couldn’t help but jot down this observation: “This system is almost headphone-like in its intensity, focus, and detail, but at the same time it offers the precision imaging and soundstaging of a more traditional full-size speaker.”

The Mini Maggies did a wonderful job with string tones on the Organ Symphony, finding that just-right sweet spot between clarity and incisiveness on the one hand, and a buttery golden tonality on the other. The pipe organ’s reed sounds and pipe resonances were also very believable. While the organ’s lowest bass pitches did not have quite the weight or authority that some full-size speakers (or subwoofer-equipped systems) might provide, the bass the system was able to reproduce seemed so realistic that I noted, “Generally, you won’t miss the really low stuff.” Although very low bass frequencies (down below the 40-45Hz range) were either missing or a bit too lightly weighted, the Mini Maggie’s foundational midbass above that point was in some respects more self-evident and appropriately balanced than in some of the bigger Magnepan speakers.

On the very loudest passages of the Organ Symphony, which I had perhaps turned up to unrealistically high levels, I observed that the system occasionally became a bit strained on full-bore orchestral swells. In fairness, though, this might have been a case where the speaker system would have been fine with big crescendos, but where the amplifier I was using at the time was not quite up to the task. Even so, it was amazing to hear the Mini Maggie package tackle very demanding orchestral material with so much gusto.

The system is no slouch when handling modern pop recordings, either, as I discovered when I put on Imogen Heap’s “Bad Body Double” from Ellipse [RCA]. Part of what makes this track work, apart from Heap’s catchy hooks and sly, wryly humorous vocals, is the sheer richness of the techno-pop textures, details, and effects it employs. I was so impressed with the Mini Maggie’s handling of these elements that I simply jotted this note: “The ‘atmospherics’ on this track are phenomenal,” rich in their layering and detail, yet well integrated with the musical whole. About the only area where I found the Mini Maggie system’s performance underwhelming involved some of the downright subterranean synth-bass washes found on this track, which either went missing or sounded overly subdued.

But the overarching point I hope to make is that the Mini Maggie not only asks but also frankly demands to be evaluated by the very same standards you would normally use to judge large and extremely expensive top-tier high-end speakers. That it not only survives but also stands tall in such comparisons is a credit to Magnepan and is what makes the Mini Maggie system a worldclass desktop speaker system—quite possibility the best one that has ever been offered.

Will It Work As a Whole-Room System?

Even though the Mini Maggie system was explicitly created for desktop use, some listeners will inevitably ask whether the it might also be used as a near-full-range satellite/woofer-type system in smaller rooms. I discussed this possibility with Magnepan’s Wendell Diller and his initial response was to say that, while the Mini Maggies can work in some small-room settings, his opinion was that listeners might be better off choosing one of Magnepan’s larger floorstanding models for those applications. I discussed this question in a review I wrote for our sister on-line publication Playback, where I wrote, “There are two reasons why the Mini Maggie system is best used in a desktop context. First, as Diller points out, the phase response of the Mini Maggie system is “incredibly easy to get right” in a desktop setting, but much harder to get right when it is set up as a whole-room system. Second, the power response characteristics of the Mini Maggie system are geared specifically for near-field listening, whereas the power response characteristics of the bigger, floorstanding Maggies typically work out better in a whole-room context.”

Nevertheless, there has been a quiet groundswell of interest in using the Mini Maggie system as a traditional sat/woofer package for whole-room applications. Listeners are understandably drawn to the idea of a compact sat/woofer system that sounds much like Magnepan’s stellar 3.7, but sells for a fraction of the price. Long after I had finished my review of the Mini Maggie system, I got a call from Wendell Diller, asking, “Would you consider doing a follow-up review of the Mini Maggie desktop system for whole-room applications? I agreed, not knowing exactly where the project might lead. What follows are my observations on using the Mini Maggie system in a small-room environment.

Understanding the Rules of the Road

To cut straight to the chase, let me say that the Mini-Maggie system can work well, actually very well, in small-room applications, provided that you are willing to accept certain setup requirements and also willing to accept a few performance caveats. Let’s discuss requirements, guidelines, and caveats first, and then talk about the benefits, so that you can realistically weigh pro’s and con’s of using Mini Maggies for your wholeroom application.

Requirements: To get the Mini-Maggie system to work well in whole-room applications, you’ll first need to address several basic equipment and room requirements. Specifically, you will need: 1) A good pair of speaker stands on which to place the Mini-Maggie satellites—ideally stands that will position the speakers at or near ear-level for seated listeners; 2) a powerful, high-quality amplifier (note that the power requirements for the system tend, as a rule, to increase for whole-room applications); 3) a reasonably small and appropriately shaped small room (rooms in the range of 120–200 square feet); 4) in almost cases, you will need to add a second DWM mid/bass module ($795) to the system in order to get adequate bass performance and optimal overall tonal balance.

It is important to understand that the DWM module normally benefits from a significant amount of bass reinforcement when place in the footwell of a typical desk. The under-desk placement also helps roll-off some of the midrange output of the DWM—a factor Magnepan designers have taken into account when voicing their desktop system. When you move the DWM out into an open room, however, you typically encounter two problems: Bass reinforcement falls off significantly, while effective midrange output increases—making the system sound midrange forward and somewhat bass-shy. The best method I’ve found to combat these problems is to add a second DWM module.

So How Does It Sound?

When properly dialed-in, the Mini Maggie system as used in whole-room applications exhibits similar sonic benefits to those conferred on listeners by the Mini Maggie desktop system—but with three caveats that are worth noting.

First, the system’s dynamic envelope, if you will, becomes narrower in whole-room applications, because you typically will need to turn up the volume to higher levels to get adequate output for whole-room listening. In other words, you are essentially using up a good bit of the speaker system’s dynamic headroom simply to get it to play loudly enough for whole-room use (which means you may also need a more powerful amp).

Second, the Mini Maggie system’s overall tonal balance, and in particular its bass performance, tends to become at least somewhat room-dependent—a problem that really never arises when using the system in a desktop audio context. Potential users should be aware that it might take considerable trial-and-error to get adequate bass extension and weight (and frankly, some rooms are ill-suited for dipole woofers in the first place).

Third, the system’s limitation in image scale, and especially image height, become more noticeable in whole-room applications. Even so, I would say the Mini Maggie system is at least as good an imager as other systems of its size and price, but it doesn’t sound as big or expansive out in the middle of a room.

Having noted these caveats, let’s also consider the system’s benefits. Once again, you have a modestly priced speaker system that, for all intents and purposes, matches the detail and timbral purity of Magnepan’s exceptional 3.7, which is saying a mouthful. Does this mean, then, that the Mini Maggie rig is capable of higher levels of resolution and freedom from grain than the full-size Magnepan 1.7? Yes, it does. The tradeoff, however, is that the power-response characteristics of the 1.7 (and of the 3.7) are much better suited for most whole-room applications, and their bass performance is much easier to tap in more kinds of rooms than that of the Mini Maggie system. For many listeners, just as Wendell Diller had predicted, the fullsize Maggies would probably be the better choice overall. Still, there’s real magic in the resolving power of the Mini Maggie system.

One afternoon, I put on “Joe Turner’s Blues” from Wynton Marsalis & Eric Clapton Play the Blues—Live from Jazz at the Lincoln Center [Reprise Records Jazz] as a demonstration for an audiophile colleague. This live recording is noteworthy not only for the masterful playing of the key soloists, but also for the uncannily realistic manner in which it captures the sound and feel of a jazz ensemble performing live on stage. My colleague listened to the Mini Maggies almost slack-jawed in disbelief and then blurted out, “Their soundstaging is so believable and their imaging so precise that I can tell exactly—and I mean exactly—how big the stage is and where each ensemble member is seated. Most $2k speakers I’ve heard could never do this.” My colleague’s reactions neatly summarize the appeal of a $2285 speaker system that sounds much like its more capable big brother, the Magnepan 3.7—itself one of the greatest bargains in high-end audio.

But let me supply just one further anecdote,. One day I played a very realistic drum recording, “Drum Solo by Dirk Sengotta” from the Henrik Freischlader Band Live [XYZ/Pepper]. Suddenly, there was a knock on my listening room door. A relatively shy, quiet member of our office staff poked his head in the door and said, “Forgive me, but I just had make sure you hadn’t moved a real drum kit into the office, because from just outside the door it certainly sounds like you’ve got the real thing in here.”

He was right; the drum kit on the recording really did sound almost real through the Mini Maggies, with the kind of tautness, snap, and definition that only very fine speaker systems possess. But what was even more important was that the Mini Maggies had proven their ability to win friends the old-fashioned way: namely, by making music sound so real that people can’t help but stop and listen. Isn’t that something we can all appreciate?

SPECS & PRICING

Magnepan Mini Maggie desktop speaker system
Type: 3-way planar magnetic/true ribbon speaker system
Frequency response: 40Hz–40kHz
Sensitivity: Desktop satellite modules: 86dB 500Hz/2.83V; mid/bass module: 86dB 1m/100Hz/2.83V
Impedance: 4 ohms, satellite and mid/bass modules
Dimensions: Desktop satellite modules: 9″ x 14″ x 1.25″
Weight (complete three-piece system): 41 lbs.
System price: $1490

Magnepan DWM mid/bass module
Type: Planar-magnetic
Driver complement: One-way
Frequency response: 40Hz–5kHz (wideband)
Sensitivity: 86dB 1meter/100Hz/2.83V
Impedance: 4 ohms
Dimensions: 22.5″ x 19.25″ x 1.25″
Weight: 19 lbs.
Warranty: Limited three-year, to original owner
Price: $795 ea.

System Price with Dual DWM Modules: $2285

Magnepan Inc.
1645 Ninth Street
White Bear Lake, MN 55110
(651) 625-1425
magnepan.com

Tags: MAGNEPAN

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