Room damping for Magnepans

[nightflier]

I'm trying to find a less expensive alternative to purchasing dedicated damping panels to place behind a pair of MG12 Maggies. The room is less than ideal (it's small and full of gear), so I have to move the speakers closer to the back wall than I would like and they don't seem to like that. Commercial panels are expensive and don't really come in the right size for this. I also wanted to come up with something that doesn't look cheap and half-finished like egg crates or pillow-filling. So what are my options?

Also, the Magnepan manual recommends damping behind the center channel (an MMG-C on a shelf under the TV). Any suggestions for what to use there?

[Feanor]

Originally Posted by nightflier

I'm trying to find a less expensive alternative to purchasing dedicated damping panels to place behind a pair of MG12 Maggies. The room is less than ideal (it's small and full of gear), so I have to move the speakers closer to the back wall than I would like and they don't seem to like that. Commercial panels are expensive and don't really come in the right size for this. I also wanted to come up with something that doesn't look cheap and half-finished like egg crates or pillow-filling. So what are my options?

Also, the Magnepan manual recommends damping behind the center channel (an MMG-C on a shelf under the TV). Any suggestions for what to use there?

What I do for my Maggie MG 1.6QR is shown in the picture below. The ceiling pannels about the height of the Maggies; they absorb a little of the backwave and deflect the rest. It works well: the sound is clear and the imaging precise.

Another suggestion of mine is to get a few sheets of this egg-shell foam damping; maybe stick it on a sheet of perf board rather directly on the wall, and if you like, cover it with some speaker grill cloth for a more esthetic look.

[nightflier]

Feanor, what are you using for those ceiling pannels? Is this something you made? If so, out of what?

The eggshell stuff looks a little tacky IMO, though.

[Feanor]

Originally Posted by nightflier

Feanor, what are you using for those ceiling pannels? Is this something you made? If so, out of what?

The eggshell stuff looks a little tacky IMO, though.

NF, below is a pic that shows most of a ceil panel deflector. (Not a particularly elegant but unobstrusive.) They are just plain, beige ceiling tiles of a relatively high absorbancy type; each is stiffened behind by a couple of 1x4s.

The egg carton foam ain't elegant either, but covering the panels with some speaker grill cloth like this stuff would help a lot.
...

[nightflier]

I noticed you also put the Maggies straight up. Mine are on the standard slanted feet. Do the right-angled feet help them much?

[Feanor]

Originally Posted by nightflier

I noticed you also put the Maggies straight up. Mine are on the standard slanted feet. Do the right-angled feet help them much?

Actually those are the MG 1.6 which come with straight stands.

When I had the MMG I did DIY vertical stands, (see HERE). The main advantage, in my case, was to raise the sound stage closer to eye level; some people claim better definition, etc. (yada yada). Don't raise them more than a foot though, or you'll start to loose bass.

[kexodusc]

Nightflier, how handy are you? I've used the ceiling tile method before, good for higher frequency absorption, decent at reflection points, for stopping slap echo, etc, but it loses its effect much below 500 Hz, which I found created a tonal imbalance in my room. It traded one problem for another.

Rigid fiberglass or mineral wool of 2" thickness or more is much more effective material. You'd need to build a frame or buy some sort of fabric to finish it though. Search for LJ's thread on the matter, or I think my member gallery has a few picks. Each 2 x 4 panel didn't cost me more than $12 or so, and you can make it to whatever shape you want.

[nightflier]

It looks like I'll need to use some kind of wool material behind the center channel, according to Magnepan. What you said about the ceiling tiles is certainly good info. I'll have to think about this some more.

Funny anecdote. I had installed the rears at what I thought was the right height, but when watching movies the sound was rather far away. I had neglected to account for the fact that the lazyboys recline quite a bit. So it sounds fine sitting up, but not when we recline. Doh!

Kind of amazing how quickly the sound of the Maggies drops off when you're just a few inches outside of the panel's dispersion. I'm probably going to have to take a closer look at that center channel. By the way, the bass is a whole lot better when I move the MG12s just a few inches, too. Unfortunately for my family, this makes for a rather small sweet spot.

[nightflier]

What bout damping behind wall-hanging speakers. Should I?