It's been a while since my LRS' showed up and they've kept me busy.
I was thinking they'd be like the MMGs but they're actually baby 1.7s so I really had to rethink things.
I decided the thing to do was to take a spare bedroom (which a semi-housebroken dog destroyed) and set them up there.
That entailed a thorough cleaning with a paint respirator and goggles, staining the floor, painting the baseboards, wall and ceiling and buying a rug.
Once that was done, I snagged a cabinet and some furnishings off of Facebook Marketplace and the room was still too lively, clap your hands and you can hear the reverberations.
That meant getting sticker shock at Home Depot when I bought some shelving to put up some books and I have a lot of Stetson, Dobbs and Knox hats. Those should work out okay to break up reflections and what not plus it'll free up some closet space...
Did it? Yes. I just have to look out for moths, they feast on hats.
I tried a bunch of different combinations with these speakers and the components which made the cut are a Carver 275 tube amp, a deHavilland UltraVerve3 preamp, a Rega Apollo-R CD player and a REL T1 subwoofer.
The sub is probably a bit big for this room so it took a few days to get it dialed in right but I'm sure glad I got it!
I will be replacing the SVS subs in the other systems with RELs.
The Carver was driving me crazy until I replaced the small tubes with Sylvanias and the deHavilland uses Sylvania throughout.
The Carver will play loud enough to drive you out of the room. I keep thinking I need a more powerful amp for dynamics but I'm not so sure.
I understand Bob Carver was listening to an old Marantz tube amp and that's what he was shooting for, it's a very tonally seductive amp, there's no listening fatigue whatsoever. I'm told he kept the same sonic signature throughout his line of tube amps.
For the speakers, I upgraded the cables from Kimber 8TC to 12TC as they give you more of everything (they're really good) and to get these little weasels off of the floor, I went with the Magnariser Mk 7 MultiRiser.
Looking at their web site I thought they might be getting a bit carried away as it's just a bunch of metal to get them up off the ground.
When the box showed, I was really struck by the care they put into the packaging. Normally, that's something I don't notice but it was like something that comes out of a gift shop when you ask them to wrap something for you.
For putting them on, I'd suggest starting the top screw first and then doing the bottom one, that should make it a bit easier.
As for what they did, it's more than just getting them up off of the ground, I could have used a box for that.
I actually tried a box at one point.
The improvement in the sound over using the stock little feet was not subtle: everything just became more solid if that makes any sense.
Picture a motorcycle that came with fairly crappy shocks. You hit a bump and the back end goes THUD! and that's just the way it is.
The shocks degrade over the years and eventually they stop going THUD!, they go BOING! and you pogo stick your way over bumps and wallow around the corners.
One day you have enough of that and buy some decent shocks and you hit the same bump, the wheel goes up and down smoothly and it tracks perfectly around the corner.
So, THAT'S how it's supposed to be!
That's what the Magnarisers do the speakers.
The 1.7s and 3.7s here will wind up getting some, they're well worth doing.
And finally, the all important listening spot.
These cheap little speakers turned out to be a rather expensive undertaking.
It made me realize that with most manufacturers the speakers are the expensive part. Budget the money for the speakers.
With Magnepans the speakers are the cheap part. Budget the money for everything else. They're giving you a good enough product but you have to pick gear that's commensurate with their capabilities. Whatever isn't quite up to snuff is going to stick out like a sore thumb but when it all comes together it's worth it!
