Magnepan Placement

Most Maggies require a lot of power and current from the amp to deliver to the max. Same with SMGs I would think. Do not underpower for best results. Also make sure amp can drive lower impedances effectively.

Regarding location, well out from rear wall as mentioned. Fine tune placement until things are just right.

This will keep you busy for awhile:

http://www.integracoustics.com/MUG/MUG/

Tweeter or hf part of drivers to the outside, generally.
Bare minimum of 30 inches from back wall. 48" is more like it. Keep 'em out of corners.
They need 'air'.

Always have some toe in. Experiment. You can face them right at the seating position of 'cross' them in front or behind you.

Adjust for image and staging.

If used in stereo only, IE, no TV in between as I have, you may want to put some diffusion between the panels on the wall...
I have seen backwave modifiers for Maggies, as well, since some people think that the back reflection causes audible problems. I may experiment with that, using a 2x or 3x bath towel draped over the back of the speaker, on the tweeter side.

The folks over at Cardas use a mathmatical theory for setup which works. At least it has for the last 5000 years.

http://www.cardas.com/pdf/roomsetup.pdf

They may have a special procedure for bi/di poles.

Experiment to your hearts content. Send wife/kids to movies for a couple hours so you can have some peace and quiet to experiment.

Agree with all the above, including experimenting with tweeter in/tweeter out, air to the sides and back, and the need for toe in. Adding power will be the single best upgrade you can do. Also,consider stands that will couple the speaker to the floor for much improved bass. Other worthwhile tweaks include Cardas jumpers, and Hi-Fi Tuning fuses. Have fun!

Thanks guys! These are all great tips that I will play around with and enjoy. The cardas website is pretty cool too!

go to parts express, grab every size 10w .39 cent resistor from .22 to 3.0 ohms(under $15 shipped). After you find your favorite, buy a pair of mills resistors in that size from parts connexxion in Canda for $14 shipped. The Mills are magic, and bring back the magic the cheap resistors loose.

Emotiva XPA-5 and XPA-2 sound fantastic with the MMG,12's, and 1.6's. There incredibly priced and are top knotch, despite some who say you need to spend more(I sold my $6k Bryston bsst and dont feel Im loosing a thing.

I have mine about 40"from the wall. Slight toe in. Im used to planars so I like my front image wide like only a Maggie and Logan seam to be able to do. So toe in is aprox 10 degrees.

I highly recommend a nice sub. I placed mine in the center and the sound is as if its coming from both pair, and phase seams perfect.

Has anyone tried listening to them from the back? From the front we are listening through a sheet of steel with small holes in it. The steel sheet is the electromagnet and can't be doing the sound much good. I am experimenting with them turned around and angled back as if listening from the front. I have also reversed the speaker connections to maintain phase.

Old thread here. I believe most have not tried it because the speaker wasn't engineered to work that way. If you're not sure, just give Magnepan a phone call. They will explain it to you.