Maybe a few more words will provide some clarification. Maggies are dipoles. It is my understanding that the back firing wave will cancel out the front firing wave on low frequencies if the speakers are set too close to the back wall. While the 20.1s are capable of going down to 25 hz, you won't hear the low frequencies if the back firing wave cancels the front firing wave. I can tell you that at 3 feet out, the 42Hz E on a contrabass is almost inaudible in my room. Moving the speakers out another 2 feet makes a huge improvement. Quality amplification is essential. I use Cary 500MBs with my maggies, and they are wonderful amps but their 1000W into 4 Ohms won't overcome the physics dictated by the set up. I love maggies, and have used them exclusively for the last 20 years. I have not auditioned the 20.1s or 3.6s in my room, so I can't tell you from experience what they would do. I'd buy some 3.6's tomorrow if I could audition them in my room first. But I won't spend that kind of money on an experiment when I'm so satisfied with my current 1.6s. It's your dime. If you are willing to run a 10K plus experiment, I'd suggest hiring a consultant prior to purchase with a follow up to get them set up optimally after they break in.
Maggies a waste if only 3' from backwall?
All maggie owners, please chime in. I've been considering the maggie 3.6 or 20.1. My basement room is 15x20x7, thin carpet on slab floor, drywall over foundation. It is very unlikely I will be able to have them out farther than 3 feet from backwall, unless i had them on some kind of rolling/sliding platform. I have read repeatedly that maggies must be at least 4-5 feet from backwall. So, is 3 ft just not enough? Will the magic disappear and render them pedestrian?
While I'm at it, one more question: I understand there is a narrow sweetspot for maximum enjoyment, but how bad is out-of-sweetspot/off-axis listening? What aspect of SQ is actually lost? I ask this because I've read several posts where people thought they heard a real drummer or piano in next room only to find it was music played through a maggie (ie, "Best Speakers.." thread).
Thanks much for the replies. I really am considering joining the maggie family, but don't want to make a mistake based on room and one-person sweet spot.
Jeff
While I'm at it, one more question: I understand there is a narrow sweetspot for maximum enjoyment, but how bad is out-of-sweetspot/off-axis listening? What aspect of SQ is actually lost? I ask this because I've read several posts where people thought they heard a real drummer or piano in next room only to find it was music played through a maggie (ie, "Best Speakers.." thread).
Thanks much for the replies. I really am considering joining the maggie family, but don't want to make a mistake based on room and one-person sweet spot.
Jeff
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"I do love the maggie sound, but I can't see a 1.7 competing at 5x over it's head. Help me out here, what am I missing?" What you are missing is that you don't have the space to set 3.6s/20.1s up. I highly suggest you raise this question at the Magnepan users group and get some feedback over there. Look into getting them gunned or take them active if you really want to spend the extra money but putting a 3.6/20.1 in your room is less than optimal. |
Jeffkad, to clarify my post, I have not heard the 1.7s I have only read that the 3.6 suffers from continuity problems, though I have heard them a few times (briefly)and did not notice. I have heard the 20 and it was terrific but in a very big room, I have not heard the 20.1 and am reasonably sure it would not be a good match for your room size. also, fwiw, I never had a problem with the limited sweet spot people mention, when I owned the 1.6s. I have read of $50,000.00 systems built around a pair of 1.6s, I think they (or 1.7) can hold their own - within their limited range. I hope that is a clarification! and good luck :^D |
Don't want to hijack the thread but your question deserves an answer so, yes I certainly did read the manual. Also, I started a thread on Agon asking for tips from other Maggie owners and received quite a bit of feedback. I took all the recommendations to heart with the week long audition. Also, my wife was out of town so I had the opportunity to spend quality time for the project. There were two main problems I had with the speakers. First was excessive treble. The manual says this can happen in under damped rooms (not the situation in my room). The tweeter attenuation helped a bit but they were still brighter than I cared for. The second problem was a general lack of coherence anywhere but in the listening chair. If I stood up it was totally gone. Granted I listen while seated but the difference was amazing. The ability to get a coherent presentation is one of the strong points of my Kestrels I guess. To get the best out of the Maggies I worked on speaker placement, tweeter attenuation, I even removed the panel behind the left speaker and opened the drapes (much worse that way). Removed the designed tilt by placing pucks under the legs (much worse) again). I auditioned the MG12s in the dealer's room and was ready to buy on the spot. What changed my mind and made me decide to audition them at home was listening to my cds at the store. What any buyer should do as a minimum. My advice to the poster is to listen in his room before buying. I am not bashing Magnepan speakers and I hope it doesn't come across that way. I understand some listeners find them magical and I have experienced that also in other systems. In my small room however, I could not duplicate it. |
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