Interested in experinces with Planars

[Mr.Magneplanar]

Hello everyone,

I would like to know if there are any Planar users in this forum and their experience with positioning. In the US people tend to put the ribbons on the outside while over here in Germany people tend to put them in the inside. I am just looking for general tips and experiences from other users.

Thanks

-Florian

[newbsterv2]

I like my tweeters on the outside. It all depends on how far you space the speakers really. Because of the directionality of high frequencies that the tweeter reproduces you can localise the sounds origin. When you flip the tweeters inside or out you change the distance between them and when they are in there outermost position the soundstage seems wider. And when they're inside it seems narrower. Actually if you measure the distance between the tweeters in the outside position then switch them to the inside position and set the tweeters at that distance you measured previously they'll sound the same. I'd like to add that raising my MMG's 4" from the ground and making them stand straight up dramatically made them sound much better. Enjoy :)

[Mash]

The farther apart the tweeters the wider the soundstage. Usually the placement of the speakers will be driven by room dimensions, room acoustics, room use, and people traffic patterns. Planars will usually sound most clear and un-boxlike when they are at least three feet from walls. Magnepans are rather amp-sensitive while most other speakers will sound the same as long as you use a reasonable-quality amp with them. Maggies really sing with a nice tube amp. Servo-controlled 15 inch subwoofers are recommended because they have the clarity needed to blend with maggies, and most other woofers/subwoofers lack this clarity.

[jmzais]

Well they aren't full size planars, my main hi-fi setup is B&W, but i have monsoons on my computer. Yeah yeah, it's not the best setup, and it's computer audio, but they are nice. I can see the differences between both types. I understand the positioning problems with them, and they're even harder being small on the desk. I think that if you follow the general rules it works well. Keep them both as far from the wall, and with the same stuff behind them (IE not one infront of a door, one infront of a wall. Keeping the reflections the same is KEY with these.

[Geoffcin]

I would say it depends on the with of your room. If you have only 12' to work with I would set the tweeters inboard. This would help with direct refections off the walls. If your room is 16' or better, then I would go outboard, as you will get a larger soundfield. Maggies like to be at least 4' off the side walls.

[E-Stat]

I have been a planar fan since I first heard Tympani I-Us almost thirty years ago. It was a significant event for me in the search for musical truth. It was the "Kodachrome" track by Paul Simon. Since then, I have gravitated towards electrostatics for their incredible purity and coherency. While planars can provide the most realistic musical soundstage IMHO, they can be an utter pain to properly position. With my full range electrostatics, I don't face the tweeters in/tweeters out quandary, but placement nevertheless is a most complex issue. FWIW, a reviewer friend of mine favors the tweeters-in arrangement in a somewhat smallish of his three listening rooms.
<img src="http://home.comcast.net/~ralphwallace/images/audio/20.1.jpg">

The 20.1s sound perfectly wonderful driven by a Burmester 001 or VPI TNT HRX/Manley Steelhead, CJ ART II, Joule Rite of Passage, Nordost Valhallas.

If your room permits, I would start by using the so called "Golden Triangle" method as described in the following link as a starting point. Select "room setup" from there.

http://www.cardas.com/insights/index.html

I am lucky in that I have a fairly large (30x15') dedicated room that allows me to place my 'stats where I wish. I found (after lots of experimentation) that the optimum position in my room varied only slightly from the Golden Triangle method. I ended up with the panels about 8' out from the back wall. The amount of toe-in is another factor that will simply require experimentation to determine what works best in your room. I began by determining the best listening distance from the panels with respect to bass performance. Every room has nodes (though they can be tamed by bass traps) and it took me a while to determine which one offered the flattest overall response. Having established that, then I worked on the toe-in for the best image. Your Maggies are likely more forgiving that my beamy 'stats in that regard. I use a laser pen and string to establish a consistent distance to listener and toe-in. While most folks would likely consider this to be rather extreme, the results can be very rewarding. Good luck!!

rw

[Pat D]

Hello everyone,

I would like to know if there are any Planar users in this forum and their experience with positioning. In the US people tend to put the ribbons on the outside while over here in Germany people tend to put them in the inside. I am just looking for general tips and experiences from other users.

Thanks

-Florian

My Quad ESL-63s don't have tweeters, so I don't know. But on general principles, I would simply try the speakers both ways. In other words, try it one way for a few days, however long it takes to get them set up in the best manner, and then try them the other way for a few days. This may require several iterations(!) before you figure out what's going on.

Does the manufacturer have any advice on this?