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Images and comments will now be broken into separate pages. Comments will be posted here, while a thumbnail image gallery can be accessed by clicking here.
Matt K - These Magnestands have passed a milestone: They now officially sound better than my Sennheiser 595's :) It's as if they have a superior "decoding key" for 3-D information that was invisible before. The qualitative spatial separation is truly extraordinary.
Eric S - The speakers arrived today, everything was in perfect shape. Assembly was straightforward, your instructions were clear and easy to follow. It's very
evident from the whole presentation that you know your craft. Appearance wise, the woodwork is superb and the combination of Brazilian cherry and tiger maple works extremely well. The bases are well beyond what I expected--I love what you did there. The crossover boxes are really special, whatever that wood is it is gorgeous.
The sound--well, count me impressed. I haven't had much time with
them yet (obviously) but I all ready know that most of the things I didn't
like about them stock are corrected. They don't beam, the top end
sounds smoother, and in a word the presentation is more relaxed. Yet they seem to have more detail, they have more snap, and the bass is punchier. Bold conclusions for a couple of albums worth of listening I know, but they are now decidedly better speakers
than they were. I think they are friggin' AWESOME. If these are a typical example
of your work, you must have a sh*tload of fans out there.
Very well done, sir, I'm most pleased.
Richard C - I just wanted to take a moment to let you know that, now that my speakers are getting broken in, the sound FAN-FREEKIN-TASTIC! I’m no audiophile, but they just sound so warm, natural, punchy…just phenomenal. They are finally sounding as good as they look, and I know they are going to give me years and years of pleasure. Thank you for your artistry!
Kevin C - WOW...OMG...but first I must say they look stunning. You are indeed a master craftsman. With my vintage Pioneer SX-850 which I had modded from 60 wpc to 100 wpc it's Audiophile nirvana!!! I couldn't be happier with the results and I greatly appreciate all the effort and artistry you put into my maggies. And did I mention they look stunning? I highly recommend your upgrade process to anyone with magnepans. You are the man!
Mike B - I'm rarely speechless ( ask anyone who knows me) but this is absolutely far beyond what I envisioned! The wood is beautiful and the contrasts are eye catching to say the least. Everything went together perfect and the fit and finish are first class The square peg accents are attention getters. Reminds me of trips to Lancaster as a kid and seeing how the Amish built things.. Now the sound....MAGGIENIFICENT!!!!! Much different than what I had doing Mye stands with your crossover. As far as being out of your mind (the jury is still out but most great artisans are at least a little off : ) I don't quite know what else to say except thank you oh great nut buster!
Marc M - About that ship the whore has been waiting for at the docks, it has arrived :) I bought an Emotiva XPA-2 amp that arrived today, and now your creation has what it deserves, and WOW! what an amazing sound. Beautiful, natural! The best I've personally heard and to think it's going to get better with break-in!
Charles M - I was having a conversation with an artist friend of mine whose paintings are often sold in New York for big dollars and she said that in essence she thought you were one of those rare souls who was really an "old world craftsman". A man who truly embodies the concept of "care, excellence and passion for what they do". She proceeded to comment that the world no longer understands and or truly appreciates the incredible discipline that it takes to accomplish what you do. I concur.
Jack M - It's hard to believe I've had these speakers for only about a year now (seems like forever) and it's hard to imagine life before them. Needless to say, I'm very happy. Presuming there is nothing to 'wear out' and I do nothing stupid to damage them, I anticipate passing these down to my Son once I'm dead and gone. In the meantime, I am enjoying the hell out of them.
Butch B - Just got back from auditioning the 1.7's. Paired with $4k Audio Research pre, $8k mono's of Bel Canto, and Wadia CD. They seemed to have a little more bass, softer highs, but not very engaging. Lack of air and flat depth of field. I was blaming the electronics until we put the 1.6's in place. With all their faults, much more magic happening. Came home and listened to same material on the Gunned maggies and didn't wish for anything else, just enjoyed the music. So the 1.7's had a little more bass than the stock 1.6's, but not as definitive through the full range of bass. The Gunned 1.6's have more bass and are better at everything.
Wayne S - The speakers are absolutely marvelous. I am so grateful and quite frankly blown away by your most excellent work, and they sound terrific! This was with no break in and ice cold electronics. I am not a person who likes to analyze but I hear a vastly improved soundstage, more bass, more detail and more clarity. I would recommend this modification to anyone. Instead of two big monolithic speakers with no style to them at all I have two extremely beautiful ones that are like works of art. They make my room look so much better and my son even said "they're really cool."
John C - WOW!! I don't know even know what to say at this point. They are drop dead GORGEOUS!! And the muntins are obviously a SPECTACULAR and UNEXPECTED addition. Not only are they a beautiful and authentic A&C feature, the pattern you created reminded my wife and I immediately tonight of a high-end music stand -- a perfect metaphor for the music to be made by these speakers.
I have been particularly impressed by two things. First, they are much more efficient than I anticipated them to be. Second, not only is the bass they produce spectacular,
once again, there is much more of it than I anticipated. Thank You.
Neil S - Between me, you and the wall, with your 1.6's and my sub system we can take on the world, wilson, magico, don't make no difference. I have in my possession now without a doubt the best sounding speakers out there. I will admit your mod is about as perfect as maggies can get in visuals and sound. What you have done is made a world class speaker affordable to the general public. A long time friend of mine has heard your 1.6's in my room. Considering he's the state rep for Mark Levinson, Lexicon, Revel, Bryston, Arcam, Genelec, Bohlender Graebener, Richard Grey, etc etc. I think his opinion may count somewhat, and his comment after 1/2 hour or so of listening was these can pretty much take on anything.
Dion C - Holy shit, what have you done???!!! These things are georgeous! From the distinct grain to the crossover boxes. There is no comparison to seeing them in person. Where do you get the ideas for the crossover boxes? These guys are right they are masterpieces in their own right. Mine is so much different than the others I've seen. You my friend have hit the proverbial 'nail on the head' with this design. Just got them hooked up and singing, awesome!!! I can't wait to run them through their paces.
Asthetics were a very large part of why I undertook the upgrade. There isn't a speaker out there any where near the price point that compares in craftsmanship and pure beauty (if you are a wood afecionado). The tremendous increase in all aspects of performance is a huge bonus. These things have to sit in my living room and what they have added to the decor over the stock 1.6s is worth the price of admission for me. However when I hear them I just can't wipe that stupid grin off my face. Everyone that sees and hears them is blown away. I am forever indebted.....your attention to detail is extremely refreshing in this 'instant gratification' world we find ourselves in. Thank you so much and it was a pleasure to deal with you. Now I gotta go, Lucinda Williams and Diana Krall are calling my name!
Don W - I love what you've done with the Crossover boxes and the wood grain is beautiful. They look gorgeous and will be perfect in my movie room! Bravo! in terms of sound. You really got the crossover right. Thank you for your hard research work in revealing what this marvelous technology can really do. You've upped the MMG's considerably at modest cost and I'm sure that applies to all the Maggies you modify. These are perfect for the size of my dedicated room and I'm planning on driving them with some Bel Canto mono blocks so one day it will be quite a system. Again, Bravo! and many thanks!
Robert L - The grain pattern of the wood that you chose is beautiful. I was drooling just looking at the speaker bases! The amp stands and crossover boxes mate up quite nicely. I think that my girlfriend will approve......
After letting them warmup a bit I listened to some tracks. It took me a few minutes to realize that I didn't even have a sub hooked up - the bass was that much improved! I'm not even feeling the itch to hook the sub up yet. Last night I put on the newly re-mastered Sgt. Peppers and even though I was listening at low volume the realism of the vocals seemed "spooky." I know that I really need to give these speakers a lot more break-in time before coming up with a real assessment, but straight out of the box they
easily better the MMG's in stock form.
Barry R - I purchased new 1.6's yesterday and removed your modded MMG's for them. They sounded terrible at first, but after dialing in their position they started to make music. I really liked some of the things I heard. The lower bass was good and the size of some instruments (large drums) seemed realistic. The upper bass seemed slightly elevated and the overall sound was dark. On some songs I noticed little things I hadn't paid attention to before. I listened to a lot of music yesterday and this morning and enjoyed doing so.
This morning I swapped my modded MMGs back into the system. They look tiny compared to the 1.6s. However I was amazed at how they destroyed the stock 1.6s in everything but the lowest bass frequencies. The best analogy is that the 1.6's sound like a blanket is over them in comparison. I liked some of the things I heard while auditioning the 1.6's, but your modded MMGs are definitely superior.
Yuong H - On an interesting note, I had dinner at a friend's house the other night. He's a die-hard audiophile who is really into his vinyl. His system consisted of a VPI turntable with Rotel separates driving B&W 802 diamonds. While it sounded great, at no stage did I feel like I was missing anything with my more moderately priced gear. The B&W's were impressive in size and certainly cranked out more bass, but I actually think your MMGs provide a better overall musical presentation and with a more seductive vocal midrange. I was surprised given that that was the first time I've heard a quality vinyl rig, but I guess that provides you with another affirmation on the quality of your mods - I thought it was worth sharing this.
Brent M - I have to say these speakers are incredible. (modded 3.6's) The soundstage, detail, presence and realism is beautiful. After several hours of adjusting positioning and tweaking the angle, I think I have them set perfectly. They seem to melt away and the music fills the space. What a sonic treat. They are amazing and keep getting better and better. If they continue this way, I will have to start paying union rates for the musicians. I have never heard anything like them anywhere. They produce the most natural, present, transparent, life like and emotionally engaging soundstage. They are beautiful to see and wonderful to hear. I will send another email with a few quick pic's. I will do a better job when I have more time. If you require referrals or testimonials for potential customers, please feel free to give them my email address.
Full Review
Doug S - It's been a while since I have communicated with you, and I haven't given you any real feedback yet. I didn't exert myself breaking the speakers in, partly because of neighbors, so they have been only gradually coming in. I began to notice that I was enjoying just the sound of television, of all things, more and more, and began to realize that these babies are special.
But last night I listened to Live From Lincoln Center. Wow! And that was the usual compressed broadcast signal no less. It was a completely believable experience. Strings, when closely miked, had a resiny bite, flutes were breathy and sweet, oboes and clarinets sounded like themselves, brass were burnished and beautiful and completely unblatty. I could hear the articulation of air and vibrating lips on the mouth pieces, stuff I've associated with stats. The strike of drum heads on skin came flying in. Even soft taps on the snares or triangle I could hear through all the other sound. And the voice of Susan Graham stole my heart. At one point I was in tears. The orchestral tuttis were congealed, but I'm sure that was due to digital compression. The speakers are so good that I've decided to take them out of the home theater and move them upstairs to the two-channel system, whereupon I'll give you hopefully even truer feedback.
Steve S - My "Gunned" Maggie 1.6QRs are nothing less than acoustically amazing. As with any dedicated home based 2-chanel audio system, without the opportunity to A B with an alternative set-up, it is nearly impossible to quantitatively compare the differences, especially when the sonic signatures are of a high quality. Case in point, I just left the listening room of a "High End" audio store in Northeast Long Island, NY...The Audio Den on Middle Country Road in Lake Grove, NY. First, they are a standout as far as I am concerned...I told them when I walked in that I was from Tennessee and was only a salesmen traveling through the area and was not a potential customer...their response was, "that's fine, what can we show you and what would you like to hear? They gladly put on my favorite genre of music on a unquestionably "High End " system consisting of a pair of Ayre MX-R mono blocks connected to an Ayre K-XR preamp, Esoteric CD transport/DAC and separate Esoteric clock, all filtered by an Ayre L-5XE AC line filter, powered up via Shunyata power cables, connected by Nordost interconnects and Nordost Frey speaker cables terminating at a pair of $7,000 Dynaudio Confidence C1s on dedicated floor stands. They powered up the system, closed the door and left me to listen and enjoy as long as I desired. Impressive, of course it was, but...musically, emotionally, not even close to the "Gunned" Maggies powered by my gear, in my room, in my honest opinion. PG has taken an admittedly one of a kind speaker design and fine-tuned them to their max potential. Not only do they look just utterly gorgeous, they sound even better....they are indeed the "whole package"
Full Review
Danielle H - I'm not horribly good with describing things... but I can tell you though that the differences before and after are not subtle and they are all positive.
Henry H - I went through a few hours a few days ago where the speakers, frankly, sounded like crap, etched highs, harsh, etc. This gradually faded away and they are smoothing out nicely. What I'm noticing most now is an almost uncanny level of timbral accuracy and transparency in the MMGs. I'm no longer hearing a recording of George Benson playing his Gibson, I'm hearing George Benson's Gibson in the room with me. I was only able to realize this because I've actually been in a room with a Gibson Les Paul before, played by an accomplished jazz guitarist through a Fender Super Reverb amp. Most enjoyable!
Duke De L - I have a speaker from another manufacturer in-house that I will be returning. I'm not going to carry that line after all. Now it's not a bad speaker, but it's twice the price of Peter's work and doesn't sound as natural (omigod, I want to just listen & listen when it's a good acoustic recording). So this is how Peter has ruined things for me - I'm going to have a real hard time getting enthusiastic about speakers that cost more than his and don't sound as good. Of course I'm sure some of you have already thought of the solution and are lining up to generously offer to take Peter's speakers out of my hands so that I won't have this dilemma. Get away!!
They are physically beautiful way, way beyond the price he charges. His workmanship and the quality of materials he uses is amazing. He does not cut any corners - this is an artisan's labor of love, and I can see that he takes genuine well-deserved pride in this and no doubt every pair. I think this is probably the most beautiful pair of speakers I've owned, rivalled only by a set of birdseye maple SoundLab A-1s.
So... Peter's speakers are now essentially reference speakers in my system. And they set the bar quite high. The only drawback I can see is the waiting list. My suggestion is to get in line now.
Full Review
Mike G - Speakers are here and set up. Obviously, I am going to give it a little more time before I comment or review, however, I am already struck by how transparent these things are. What I have heard is really quite different from the original. Your mod has rectificied problems with the speaker that I did not even know existed! :) Seriously!
Iztok - We just sit there, my wife, daughter, her friend and I, with tears in our eyes, music just flows and flows, after that, we just look each other and my daughter said, father, these are the most natural sounding speakers you ever owned...I know what that means, she has best ears (youngest) in our family and her opinion I respect most.
Greg E - I am almost speechless. In one word:
C L A R I T Y!!
I would never have believed that the 1.6 panels were capable of such utter transparency! I used to have the Martin Logan CLS. These now have all of that transparency with none of the drawbacks like beaming, inefficiency, etc. I will have lots more to say and write about but I can tell you that everything on your web site it 100% true. All the maggie strengths with amazing clarity, transparency, improved bass. I am blown away happy. I also love the finish. You really are not charging enough for these. I can already see how labor intensive this whole project is. They also passed the WAF with flying colors. Teenage boys say they look WAY SICK, they love them.
Full Review
Emerson B - The sound? Ah, the sound. Well, these aint the same speakers I sent you. My little girls went off to Gunn camp and came back women. Amazon women. The cross over boxes are jewels unto themselves. I have no idea what kind of wood that is and am afraid to even guess. They really look too good to be sitting in the rear of anything. Should I bore you with accolades you've already received? A much fuller sound (from such a small footprint, I will call these my Pat Benatars). The bass is wonderful. There is a booze business term called "carry the flavor". It is what alcohol does to a beverage. All the other flavors pick up with the presence of alcohol, and so it is to me with the bass. The highs and mids just seem to be that much better. I've been inside all day today with the music on. What wonderful noise!
Tom - Let me go back some years and tell my story in order to give an accurate assesment. I started with MMG`s After a short audition I gave `em a quick `n` dirty mod. Elevated, ridgid stands. (to get the vocals off the floor and to a more realistic listening area), Goetz coil , a Kimber cap and all silver wire. I loved them! But bigger is better , right? I bought the 1.6`s when they first came out( `98?)After an ample breakin they just didn`t sound the same. The emotion, involvment was gone. I was running a 150 WPC Plinius at very modest levels. ( In rotation a Music hall CD 25.2 modded cd player, CAL Aria, Mod Squad Prism and Euphonic Technologies players )I tried 4- Monarchy 200 WPC monoblocks w/ 3 different active xovers(even had a single point xover custom made) But it just wasn`t there. I heard of PG`s mod and had to give it a listen. Not to re-hash it all over again but The Gunned mod gives all the attributes of both speakers and then does it one better. Room filling, ACCURATE deep bass, imaging to die for, PRAT even my MMG`s didn`t have and a beautiful package to boot. I`ve listened to songs I`ve heard a hundred times and hear more detail than ever before. 40+ years ago my dad brought home a 10 WPC Lafayette tube amp, Garrard turntable and a pair of Criterion 2 -way 6" speakers. Me and my 2 older brother were blown away. I was hooked from that point on. The only trouble was the more I upgraded the more I listened to the equipment and not the music. I critiqued the system instead of enjoying the songs. PG`s mod brings back that enjoyment. I don`t know anything about measurements, electronic circuits, graphs or sine waves. I don`t even know what he`s got in those cute little xover boxes.(I`m a welder for the NJ Turnpike for Christ`s sake) But I do know the system as I have it now makes me feel like I did decades ago when my dad wanted to introduce his 3 boys to the joys of music.
Dale - These modded MG-12 speakers are everything I could want. I own a large amount of organ and brass classical so a whole bunch of that has been going through via CDs and records. I just got a copy of Music for Organ, Brass & Timpani on Sonoma Records and after listening to several times I decided to take it downstairs and give it a listen through my MG1.5s. Now I reallize it not a fair comparison. My two channel is mainly tubes and the downstairs is SS by California Audio Labs. There was no comparison. It sounded like all the life had been drained from it. It was very flat and cold. It only got better when I switched to a 5 channel matrix mode. Actually it sounded better from the rear channels which are my old MG1.0 imp that I bought back in 1982. They were my first Maggies. I will probably drag the Magnestands down there because I'm really curious but they sound so good upstairs that I can't get myself to tear them down and move them. This is the same reason I haven't done a AB with the stock MG12s. I guess you could say I'm a VERY satisfied customer. I have a feeling that in the future I may get my my MG1.5s gunned or I may just keep my MG12s and have you rework those for the HT system.
Follow up - It has been at least two weeks since I wrote and I've been listening to a lot of music and I really like everything that I'm hearing. I finally had a little AB time and while the stock 12's are not bad they are now not even in the same league with the Magnestands. I can't imagine what kind of improvement the 1.5's would yield. I hope you had a very good Holiday and that Santa was good to you. I know he was very good to me with the early delivery of these speakers.
Mike H - The Maggie clarity is still there (i.e. the way you can hear a single
piano note decaying), but there's something new as well. The best way I can
describe it is "texture". Its like elements that previously had blended
together into the background now resolved themselves clearly. For example,
George Benson's "White Rabbit" is an album that I've owned for more than 25
years on both vinyl and CD and when I listened to the track "California
Dreaming" the harp that had blended into the backing band before was now
separated out and audible on it's own. Pleased just doesn't describe how I feel about the new speakers. I used to think about climbing the Maggie ladder and moving up to 3.6's, but not anymore. Listening to your modded SMGa's has eliminated that need.
Full Report
Cory S - I'm having tons of fun, and would happily recommend these speakers to anyone.
Barry - This morning I put on the old Eric Clapton Unplugged CD to listen while getting dressed. I ended up being late for work. I sat on my couch and just listened to the music. It put a smile on my face and had my feet tappin'. I stopped listening to the "system" and was just engrossed in the performance.
Al F - It has been an absolute pleasure doing business with a caring professional craftsman such as yourself. Every aspect of this transaction between us has been fantastic, and I could not have asked for a better person or company with whom to do business. If you ever need to use me for a reference for you or your products, please do not hesitate to let me know. Believe me when I tell you, being 58 years old as I am, I cannot remember a better or more professional person with whom to do business, as you have been throughout the entire process.
Suffice it to say, where I thought my 12's were quite good before, these now sound so much better that I am astonished. What really is amazing to me is now I am hearing so much more in recordings than I ever heard before. As an example, I happen to be an avid fan of Pink Floyd for 40+ years, but now, listening to my new mods, I am hearing so many more nuances in the various recordings (with which I am acutely familiar), to the point of being stunned with utter delight. I never thought I could find speakers which could compete with my top of the line Sennheiser headphones for musical clarity and reproduction, but indeed now it has happened with my newly "Gunned" speakers. I think I have achieved musical nirvana, and this is after two hours of listening!
Mark - As a stat fan transparency is one of my absolute addictions. Now many will argue all day that there is no way a planar magnetic can be as "fast" as a stat, due to higher mass, solar flares or what ever. All I have is my ears, and they tell me that your mods produce a speaker as clear as anything I have ever heard. It is all there, which is startling. No artificial glare, as with some stats, but the amount of sheer detail that comes through in an utterly natural way is staggering. I am confident that these (modded 12's) equal or exceed my Sound Labs, MLs and Quads in being an open window.
Imaging is my other holy grail. When listening to reproduced music, visual clues are missing and precise imaging adds a huge amount to the illusion of having the performers in the room with you. This was one of my minor complaints with the Sound Lab A1s. Their image was rather diffuse, I think due to the 90 degree pattern of dispersion (the new 45 degree panels may be better). The Martin Logan CLSs were my former imaging champs. The images could occasionally seem a bit too etched, but they gave me many moments of astonished joy as voices and instruments floated freely in their own space. My modded 12s, I believe, are superior to anything I have ever heard in this regard. The precision of a two way minimonitor without the miniturization. Images are crystal clear, yet completely natural and unforced.
Mike G - I don't want to gush. Nobody believes gushers. Critical readers are more likely to put stock in a sober and objective report, but our system sounds better than it ever has, better than anyone elses' home system I have ever heard (I feel very lucky), and better than any system I've heard in a high end audio store (which is sad because great gear sounds like crap in a poor setup). I am so pleased, I could shit Krugerrands.
Nick - That wonderful Maggie sound that we love so much is all still there, but there is now more of it, more of everything. In fact, the bass is striking in that it is so prevalent, and what wasn’t there before is there now in spades. These speakers now rock. (.5's) Your mods have made the midrange even more lush and real. The famous sweet vocals are even more glorious. The detail and resolution is astounding. I hear inner detail in these speakers I never heard before in them and that I don’t hear from my 3.6Rs.
Gary - I do not miss my old 1.6's after living with these (modded SMGa's) for the past couple weeks. They are awesome. An audio friend just brought over his gallo nucleus reference and to both our ears the maggies were much more resolving and much more enjoyeable to listen to. Another friend of mine brought over his harbeth super hl-5 and we a/b with the smg's and once again the smg's smoked a much more expensive speaker. incredible!!
Bill B - I keep being amazed by these things. The off axis listening is a quantum improvement. These speakers now sound like musical instruments, with weight and richness. What's amazing is it takes less power to make all this extra detail and musicality. I am still slack jawed and I can't wait to crow about them. Many thanks.
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