magnepan mmgs-buy zero autoformers or stands 1st?

next your gonna say the mmgs' are fully broken in too....

I had a CJ MV50 (which is an EL34 amp at about 40 watts) with those speakers. Sure, there was bass and it sounded pretty good, but then I switched to a Mark Levinson 330 something or other which I believe was about 250 watts or so into 4 ohms. No contest. The ML took control of the speakers and made them perform at a level that the tube amp only hinted at. I then added a pair of Vandersteen subs and that really sounded great.

You can delude yourself that your amp is a OK but I would suggest taking the sage advice of those who have lived with these speakers and feed them as they wish to be fed.

Regarding break-in, the MMG manual makes no mention of it. On the other hand, the manual for my Von Schweikert VR4 Gen III HSE does mention break-in. Different driver designs. Does this mean the Maggies do not go through a break-in period? I don't know, but the MMG manual is very specific on a number of topics, including placement and set-up (Have you read this section and followed the procedure? It's quite good, and it specifically addresses bass issues.). I would think if break-in was a factor with the MMG, then Magnepan would have mentioned it in the manual.

tvad, you are right. no mention of break-in? this is ridiculous.....from what i read these speakers have one of the longest break-in periods, very strange they don't mention it in the manual... and no, i haven't been able to try different positioning yet because of the xmas tree. i am anxious to do this....

Cooch, I'm not sure why you posted the question. Buy the autoformers (they're good), buy the stands (their great), break in the speakers for 300-500 hours (they will improve)and keep the same amp and you STILL won't be hearing the speakers at their best. This is not to say your amp isn't good. It simply doesn't have the current these speakers demand to perform at their best.