Thinking about Maggies

[vego99]

So I am in the process of refinishing the front room of my house and have been given the okay to move my 2 channel room from the 3rd floor to the refinished room when done. ( I am finding that i don't spend much time listening because there is no heat up there and it takes too long to heat the room with space heaters) In the process I would like to replace my Totem Forrest speakers with a set of Magnepan 1.7 or 3.7 however I have heard that the Maggies are very temperamental to room dimensions and room size.
The front room is 12x15 with a bay window on the short wall and an opening on the opposite wall leading in to the dining room. Take a look at the picture I posted and give me your thoughts. Thanks! -e

[Rayooo]

Sorry to answer a question with a question....have you auditioned maggies before?

I personally would recommend maggies for virtually ANY room, I run 20.7s in a room that anyone would say is too small, and this same room had 3.6s and 1.6s prior to that. Once I accepted what I was being told..that being the critical placement dimension was the distance between the front wall to the back of the speakers. I fought this for years, one day in a weak moment I moved them out to around 5' and OMG! I run mine very close to side walls, which is far less of an issue and easy to deal with.

The reason I asked about having listened to maggies prior, I know some people just can't get their minds wrapped around them. I'd not own anything other than a Planar, others would say that's nuts. My brother hated his maggies and ended up with MLogans which he personally likes very much. (I do to, but, still prefer maggies)

Anyway, there are a great group of maggie owners around here, but they hide quite a bit as they can't stop listening to music long enough to make posts here. ..but I'm sure they'll pop up real soon.

[rthomeint]

In the early 90s I had a pair of SMGs in a room that is 11 X 11 and I got really good sound out of them. A friend of mine had a pair of MGIIIs in a room about the size of yours and they sounded great.

[peacefulcargo]

I have had panels in a smaller room than you have so you will have no problem. Panels load a room allot more evenly than moving coil speakers as a general rule.

[vego99]

Thanks for the replies!

Rayooo: I did get the opportunity to audition a pair of Maggies about a year ago at my local dealer. I believe they were a pair of 1.7's. I really enjoyed the quickness and realness they produced but really didn't think about adding a pair to my system. ( I was shopping for my preamp)

Rayooo,Rthomeint,peacefulcargo:

About how far did the speakers sit in front of the front wall? How far back was your seating position from the speakers? The reason I ask, my other half can't grab the concept of acoustics and doesn't understand a speaker just can't sit flush against the wall. I am sure I could compromise by marking the sweet spot and moving them back.

The other question. Would there be any problems putting them in the bay window area?

-e

[Rayooo]

ahhh, great, you said one of the magic words that I've always used as one of the things I like most about maggies..."quickness".

My setup is: (using the center of each speaker as measuring point)

Distance center left to center right approx 86"

Listening distance: approx 96" - measured straight ahead of listening position to the imaginary line left to right from speaker centers...does that make sense?

Distance to front wall 5'

Mine are "toed-in" a fair amount (tweeters on inside)

The critical distance though as I've found is the distance from speakers to front wall, 'Maybe be some way to lessen this distance with some kind of treatment?? aka the "fake ficus" but, I'm really not sure at all.

The center "mono" image sharpness as well as overall sound stage width and depth became stunning once I got the setup correct.

I've never had to contend with windows behind the speakers...so I'd only be guessing.

[Volks]

Just don't tilt your head 1 degree to the left or right or you may loose the "Sweet Spot" lol .... Maggie's are fun speakers , but if I had my time back I would have chosen a diff speaker for my 2nd system......now that I've had them since Last Aug Maggie 12's......they are fully broken in ,but I just found them way to picky beyond belief in placement compared to other speakers in my life I've had and of course they can be power hungry as well , but that's no issue as long as you have the amp.
They have a nice midrange in the entire line -up , but of course very weak bass response unless you step up to the 3.7 and even then you may want or need a sub depending on the music you listen to and how loud ..... Not a bad speaker overall , but I can see why they are cheap in price
in this case you really do get what you pay for to a point..... If you set them up in your room and actually find the sweet spot ...you will be rewarded with a very nice midrange and decent tone.

[E-Stat]

Originally Posted by vego99

...I have heard that the Maggies are very temperamental to room dimensions and room size. The front room is 12x15 with a bay window on the short wall and an opening on the opposite wall leading in to the dining room.

The shape and asymmetry of the room is as important.

I've heard 3.7s in this room sound excellent. Note the similar arrangement and size. The bay is behind the speakers.

Yes, those are 20.7s in the pic.

[MtnHam]

Properly set up and well powered, Maggies can be superb. To achieve this, you will probably spend much more on your amps than the speakers. While not popular on this forum, I believe Sound Lab electrostatics to be the best of all the planars. The large one's are the best, offering full range and total coherence. Their rich tonal balance can be enjoyed anywhere in the room, and as long as they have about 3' behind them, they will work well in most rooms.

[peacefulcargo]

Mine are 4ft from front wall and about 2ft from side wall. I sit maybe 8 feet from the speakers. One of the good things about panels is you can go wider with placement and toe in to have a good soundstage.