Magnepan MMG with ICEPower amplifiers

[krishna]

This whole discussion on MMG placement is really interesting. I will try out all your suggestions as I go along, using the Cardas formulae as a starting point. I have a question though: when you talk about distances from the side wall, are you talking about the geometric centre of the speaker, the centre of the woofer or the centre of the tweeter? This question never arose with my old Dynaudios, because the tweeters and woofers were aligned in the vertical plane.

By the way, I discovered that my stock MMG stands were a little wobbly and used aluminium washers to ensure the screws were tight. It made an audible difference.

[Dawnrazor]

Hey K,

I think most maggie owner just measure to the side of the speaker closest to the sidewall. maybe others will chime in if they do it differently, but it seems easier and more accurate to measure to the side of the speaker.

And looks like the stock stands still blow. That little thing they use to raise the speaker a bit is pretty lame. Now my see why Mye stands and diy stands arise.

The MMGs are an amazing speaker and I wouldnt be surprised if you can get them to sound great in a couple of different configurations.

Try getting them 100% vertical and see what that does. As for placement, just take it slow and realize that most mags take a while to find the right spot in the room.

[Dawnrazor]

. I have a question though: when you talk about distances from the side wall, are you talking about the geometric centre of the speaker, the centre of the woofer or the centre of the tweeter? .

Hey, the Cardas formula is supposed to be the middle of the woofer...My previous reply was just stating how most uses probably measure to the sidewalls.

HOw is it going?

[krishna]

DR:

I have been trying to get some stands fabricated here with the help of a friend. Will upload a picture shortly. I am also experimenting with the placement (with the tweeter on the inside and outside). I will summarize my subjective impressions in my next post - need to listen to more tracks to be able to make an assessment.

It occurred to me that if I could straighten out the standard feet that come with the MMGs so that the angle is 90 degrees, I could mount the speaker panels on a flat wooden base and weigh the base down with a granite slab. That would make for an elegant speaker stand that is also very stable. Any comments?

[Dawnrazor]

K,

YOu can get 90 degree shelving brackets that are essentially a right triangle and that would be an easy way to do what you are talking about.

Here is an EXAMPLE in wood, but you could use metal as well:

http://www.wall-shelf.cn/shelf-brackets-4.htm

As for the tweets in or out, the real answer is that usually you will prefer the orientation you start with. It is mostly about the tweeter distances. If you start one way, you will eventually find the ideal distance. When you switch and if you just put the speaker back in the same place but with the tweets in a different orientation, all you are really doing is adjusting the tweets by about 1 1/2ft in the case of the mmgs.

If you start with the tweets inside, putting them outside will often collapse the center image...if you start with them outside, putting them inside will squash the soundstage.

Now if you swap them but adjust for tweeter position...putting the tweeters in the same place when outside and inside, the inside position will give a slightly larger soundstage, but often outside is more practical as it yeild the largest tweeter distance with the smallest SPEAKER distance.

[krishna]

Here is a picture of the stand that a friend helped me fabricate for the MMGs. The wooden brackets are from Ikea and a shelf was cut to the size needed for the base. I got granite slabs to provide more weight and improve stability. The original metal feet are shown for comparison. I will be away in India for the next couple of weeks. More after I return...

[Dawnrazor]

Here is a picture of the stand that a friend helped me fabricate for the MMGs. The wooden brackets are from Ikea and a shelf was cut to the size needed for the base. I got granite slabs to provide more weight and improve stability. The original metal feet are shown for comparison. I will be away in India for the next couple of weeks. More after I return...

Looks good K,

My only concern is that your head should be in the vertical middle of the panel. If they are angled back as they are stock, that creates an angle where your head is likely to be in the middle of the panel, even if it is higher than the middle of the panel.

When you get them vertical it is likely that the middle will be below your head...so you should raise them up as much as needed to make sure you are in the middle.

Long story, but I had a low low couch that I got rid of when I moved. The speakers never sounded good at the new place, no matter what I did. It just sounded thin and wrong.

One day I was sitting on the floor and suddenly the sound was the glorious sound I had remembered. Sure enough, the new listening chair was much higher than the old couch and I was too high above the middle of the panel.

Raising the speaker fixed it.

[Feanor]

Looks good K,

My only concern is that your head should be in the vertical middle of the panel. If they are angled back as they are stock, that creates an angle where your head is likely to be in the middle of the panel, even if it is higher than the middle of the panel.

When you get them vertical it is likely that the middle will be below your head...so you should raise them up as much as needed to make sure you are in the middle.

...

Or maybe, to express it differently, your head (ears) ought to be in the "middle", i.e. equi-distant from the top and bottom of the panels. This can be adjusted by angling the panel up or down depending on you listening position. Thus with larger Magneplanars, it might be necessary to tilt the speaker slightly down, i.e. forward.

Tilting forward a bit is, I believe, permitted by the likes of the Mye stands. In my case I just put wood shims under the back of the standard MG 1.6 stands to achieve a slight forward tilt. To me the sound is thus improved maybe a tiny amount, or it could be just my imagination ... but then I'm notoriously deaf so try it for yourself.