Placement tips for Magneplanar Speakers MG3 series

[Raj J]

Hello There Folks, this is a message from down unda! melbourne Australia
Hey! I just want to say a big thank you to Florian the "guru" of ribbon planar speakers - he knows what he's talking about. Hey Flo, few days ago I came across somewhere you had mentioned to someone ref planar speakers (especially the maggies) must be placed almost straight with a slight toe in of the tweeters... if not you get this weird sound that seems like just left right channels and no true maggie magic... well I tried this and guess what you were spot on mate! Bloody hell after having owned maggies for nearly 15 years, I never tried them straight with a slight toe in, plus having the panels with the tweeters on the inside and not outside. This makes a massive difference, the holographic imaging and soundstage are phenomenal! Maggie users out there, if you have not tried this, please do so! I know the manul says to angle them towards your listening room, and yes this is fine and will sound good, however that type of placement would be for those who are limited in space with tight sweet spots. If you do have the space, just try keeping them straight with very slight toe in about 2-3 inches of angle from the inside edge of the tweeter, leaving them about 6ft apart... you will experience a whole new level of maggie magic!

Flo, you should be the embassador of planar designs for Magnepan, because I personally know many who have the MG 3 series panels who do not get what I had currently getting from my system. It's very sad they are missing out because they do not want to listen to experienced people. I have had several models of the MG 3 series (MG 3.3/R, MG 3.5/R, MG3A) I am currently using an older MGIIIA series and it sounds absolutely glorious with my conrad johnson pre-power setup.

I must say though when I first listened to a pair of Apogees back in 1993 (Apogee Studio Grand driven with conrad johnson on the mids and highs and Audio research on the bass) that was probably the best I ever heard. And now I am enjoying my system with almost the same benefits, with regards to placement. No wonder those Apogees were plositioned straight...
thanks for that! and have a good one.
Cheers! Raj J

[Feanor]

Hello There Folks, this is a message from down unda! melbourne Australia
... Hey Flo, few days ago I came across somewhere you had mentioned to someone ref planar speakers (especially the maggies) must be placed almost straight with a slight toe in of the tweeters... if not you get this weird sound that seems like just left right channels and no true maggie magic... well I tried this and guess what you were spot on mate! ....
Cheers! Raj J

Well, I don't agree with Flo (or you) on this point. I have my MG 1.6QR's set up in accordance with Magnepan's recommendation ...

Which is, pointed straight at the listener with the tweeters on the outside.

It might be different for true-ribbon models under some circumstances because the ribbons have a wider treble disbursion than the quasi-ribbons. It might also be true for the new MG 1.7's because they have a QR supertweeter which also has wider disbursion due to its narrower width.

Anyway, Raj, welcome to AR Forums.

[Raj J]

good day mate!
yes, I do agree with your point - no doubt about it!
maybe I was not too clear in what I stated... what I meant was, I have placed my MGIIIA's with not too much toe in. I know the manual says to direct the tweeters into the listening position and this is exactly what I have done, but not too much as to form a perfect triangle... this would be if you had a perfect room, and in 90% of installations audiophiles or general music enthusiasts do not have ideal music rooms. infact! the MG3 series owners manual states that most installtions will prefer the panels with the tweeters on the inside. Then it goes onto to say it is not critical whether the tweeters are actually placed on the inside/outside... (user preference) as long as the tweeters are directed towards the listening position.

I have owned many models of maggies (MG 3.3/R, MG3.5/R, MGIIIA - previous to those I also had for a brief period 1.6 and MG12). In all of these installations I did not have the perfect room for dipoles even when driven with huge 350 watt monoblocks from Manley Labs - (Designers Reference Series) These massive Manley monoblocks however matched my older Infinity Renaissance 90 speakers far better than any of the maggies I ever owned, again due to preference of box designs vs diploes in my previous home.

Now that I do have the ideal room for them in Australia, I can experiment with optimal positioning, and since I came across the suggestion by Flo, I tried it and it seemed to work better. anyway, if that positioning works for you in your room - then good for you mate! You should be enjoying your music.

by the way, I think the 1.6 are fantastic speakers for what they can do and they certainly beat the hell out of most so called "high end" designs I have heard.
However, when you upgrade to the MG3 series it is a whole different league... the resolution, imaging and soundstage are phenomenal! this is basically due to the true ribbon tweeter which has 360 degree dispersion, hence it is very critical to get this right and when you do, I can tell you will be hooked! I have listened to the new MG1.7 - very nice indeed, but given the price, I would rather go for a carefully used MG3 series whatever model 3A to 3.6, you will enjoy the 3 series far more than the smaller series. Then again there is the MG20.1 which is where my next upgrade will be with a pair of moderately powered monoblocks from conrad johnson design. To me, the MG20.1 is the ultimate in ribbon design from Magnepan - it is a true classic and nothing compares to it other than those awesome Apogees like the Diva and Studio Grand (no longer in production) My dad has a pair of Divas driven with all Audio Research amplification and he stills swears that nothing comes close to them, other than the MG20's... well there you go!
cheers and enjoy your music.
Raj J

[Nasir]

Hello everybody,
I have the Final Sound 300i ESLs and got a lot of input regarding placement on another thread. From my experiences in trying to place them right, it is clear that certain adjustments work better than others, so do try everything including breaking the rules a little as it just might work for your system in that listening room.