Best Value Small Speaker

Magnaplanar Super MMG

The Maggie MMG is one of the best values in the high-end kingdom at a beer budget $599. We can’t say THEE best because no one of anything can be THEE best—there are too many variables.

The MMG’s are pretty room and amp dependant. But still…

Now comes the killer combo - the Super MMG. This combo comes in two flavors:

  1. The MMG plus ONE bass panel - $1,199   Just barely out of Cheap Bastard territory but worth the stretch.
  2. The MMG plus with TWO bass panels for $1,750

Mr. Maggie, Wendell Diller, was playing the Super 2 setup at his pantented, standing room only, admittance by special whispered password, dark room demo.

Really. Getting in to one of his “1 every 15 minutes” demos is like getting past Al Capone standing at the door of a speakeasy during Prohibition.

But once you do you gain entrance, you taste that sweet nectar that is better than any Cuban rum. He plays his carefully selected demo tracks.

You listen quietly, reverently, not daring to move for fear you might make a noise. Don’t even think of coughing.

A couple of small Wallmart uplights on the floor provide the only stream of light in the room, looking for all the world like votive candles in front of a high altar.

You expect a column of black robed and hooded figures to enter chanting any minute in anticipation of some sort of sacrificial ceremony. Will there be blood?

No, the only thing sacrificed at this conclave is every other speaker anywhere near the price.

You want to lean forward; greedily taking in the sparkling fluidity of the “Mag”ninificent aural “chocolate coated strawberries with champagne” that is the Magnaplanar sound.

Notice: the above was created as proof that Stereomojo can, when desired, spew Stereophile or The Absolute Sound hyperbole.

Now back to our regular programming…

What you hear is crispness, speed, outstanding transparency, a high degree of delicacy, unexaagerated, uncolored midrange and a well layered soundstage. No sense of music propagated by two speakers. Or two bass panels.

In short, this is mid high-end sound for sub-mid-fi level bucks.

You get every bang out of every buck here. Don’t put a cheesy source, amp or cables in front of them or they will cut them to pieces. No, you don’t need to spend a fortune to feed them, but loving care is required to get their optimum.

Pope Wendell has done it again. When the demo is complete, no applause is allowed. Please file out silently in a single line and leave your tithe in the offering plate.

by James & Linda Darby