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placement options for Magnepan 1.7is in new room

renault4

renault4

New Member
Hello,

I have a set of Magnepan 1.7i speakers on order and I'm thinking ahead on placement.
I'm starting with an empty room (PDF attached). I intend to use the Maggies only in a two-channel system, but they will need to share the room with a 55" LCD run through a Definitive Technology sound bar and an SW--with a couch and armchairs. The room is about 20.5ft x 19ft (see attachment); wall A is likely where the TV will go, and I understand that having a TV and associated furniture in between speakers is less desirable, wall B is a mix of wall and glass sliding doors (no drapes), but strangely the best chance of symmetry, wall C is an 8ft wall with one side wall while open on the other. The whole room is carpeted with 9ft ceilings.
Any thoughts? setups to absolutely avoid? Thanks in advance!
 

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I would use Wall B and put some curtains over the sliding doors.

FWIW: I've been using Maggies or ESL's exclusively since 1976. A listening distance of ~70% of the speakers width and at least three feet from the front is where I start with any dipole.

IMO/E the .7's need a subwoofer (or even better two). The 1.7's may or may not have sufficient bass. That's something only can decide. I use dual subs with mine.
 
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Hard to say. But, keep in mind that they need to be at LEAST two feet from the side and back walls. Three is better.
 
my working assumption is to have the speakers placed at least three feet from the front wall, but to be able to experiment with up to 6ft; have the speakers not more than 5 to 6ft apart and toed in, tweeters to the inside, with a listening distance of 8-10ft back max.
 
B or C. Mine are 5' from front wall. Which ever wall allows you to live more easily with them well into room. Not tripping on wires. With diffusion on front wall or in front of it, to breakup reflected sound. 70% distance between compared to distance to them. Per the manual tips. Play trial and error how much, tweeters slightly closer than base side. Tweeters inside or outside for wider listening sweet spot.
 
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Recently a 65" TV was placed 10" from the front wall. My Maggies are still ~4' from that wall w/tweeters on the outside. Their width center to center is ~70% of the listening distance.

When I'm listening to music I throw a blanket over the TV. For movies and TV I uncover the TV, place my preamp in bypass mode, turn on the processor and associated surround amplifiers then listen in whatever mode the processor decides to use.
 
Just Jonsin, aren't ja???
Be patient. And only you'll know that all these questions are relevant or not.
When you receive them, and place them, you're the one that'll answer these questions.
Here's my modded 1.6s,anchored by an SVS SB3000.
You'll know when you're there.
IMG_6064.JPG
 
Five feet from the front wall in a small room (11' x 14').

IMO the 1.7i don't need sub-woofers. YMMV The LRS definitely were not as strong on teh bottom end.

My room is three-sided, and completely open behind my listening chair. I have no rear-wall reflection issues, I'm probably running them closer to the side walls than others, and sitting near-field.
 
IME The 1.7's need a sub(s). I run mine with two subs. The larger 3.7's also benefit from a sub. I've spent some time in front of 3.7's as my buddie has a pair. He uses a 15" TL subwoofer with them. It's a variant of the El Pipe-O from Nelson Pass' DIY site as are my two 12" versions.

The 20.x seem to have adequate bass. The couple of times I've heard them I didn't feel as if anything was missing. I expect the 30.x (haven't heard them yet) to have even better base.

IMO the .7's and especially the LRS's need a subwoofer(s) if you want bass better than that from a small bookshelf speaker.
 
thanks for all the inputs, once the 1.7i's arrive (hopefully in early July) I will be able to experiment with the different placement options, and maybe send photos! I realize that the very big rabbit-hole of room treatment awaits me once I get going, but that's ok and a potential new journey!
 
Yes, IMO 1.7i could use extended base. Hesitation I have over subs is the difficulty in integrating them along with the risk of buying one. They are impossible to audition in an audio shop. HT subs I have won't do it for me. They sound so different from the Maggies.
 
Why not ask for advice about subwoofers for Maggies? I'm sure you'll get plenty of answers.

You already have mine. 20+ years ago I built my subs from a Nelson Pass design (El Pipe-O) found on his DIY Site.
 
Old Guy8 said:
Yes, IMO 1.7i could use extended base. Hesitation I have over subs is the difficulty in integrating them along with the risk of buying one. They are impossible to audition in an audio shop. HT subs I have won't do it for me. They sound so different from the Maggies.
Click to expand...

Have you looked at GR Research OB servo subs?

When I had MMG’s, a pair of Alpha 15a’s in h-frames blended beautifully, but that driver doesn’t have much authority below 40 Hz or the ability to play at SPL’s beyond 85db. The GR Research servo subs fix all that. They may be the best subwoofers I’ve ever heard and are definitely in my near future.

My apologies for the diversion, but might be something for the OP to consider, as well.
 
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so help me understand something; there seems to be a rule of thumb to avoid having much if any "stuff" between and behind Maggies, for example a TV cabinet, or even your audio equipment rack: why? it seems as though once the speakers are toed in, the rear reflections will be directed away from that stuff--what am I missing here?

thanks for your insights
 
renault4 said:
it seems as though once the speakers are toed in, the rear reflections will be directed away from that stuff--what am I missing here?
Click to expand...
While short high frequencies are relatively directional, longer bass waves are not. Dipolar speakers radiate a considerable amount of their output to both sides behind the panel.
 
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Ok, going back to the original post, it turns out that I really didn’t have as many degrees of freedom as I thought and not only have to use wall “A” in the diagram, but can’t avoid having the TV sit between the Maggies. I have the 1.7s three feet out from the wall, toed in, tweeters to the inside, spaced about 5’ apart, with the listening spot (an 8’ couch) about 8’ back from the speakers. I plan to install a barn door to cover the opening on the wall behind the speakers (great suggestion, Old Guy8!). One thing I did do is draw forward the TV stand to be more level with the Maggies rather than sit all the way back at the wall (note the Maggies are not being used for TV sound at all).

While I have a little more placement adjustment to do, I will say at this point I am thoroughly enjoying the system I have put together and I am not noticing any overt acoustic idiosyncrasies; I suspect some of that is a case of simply not knowing what I’m missing, as I am still relatively early in my journey, but hey, I’ll take it!
 
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