[jimdgoulding]

Both Berni and Thunderbrick have theirs in really big rooms so I'm sure that theirs were just plug 'n' play. 
Perhaps they'll chime in?
There's no way I could have gotten these speakers to work in the space that I have if Kara Chafee hadn't been kind enough to run some calculations and send me a bag of coupling caps to experiment with.  The bass would have simply been overwhelming unless I wanted to be known as the Bass Trap King of Pennsyltucky.  It does have a certain ring to it but even so...
deHavilland has won a customer for life as that was just so nice of her to take the time to help me out.

Steve-  Should I buy the 1.7's I will likely want to pick your brain.  They may sound fine right out of the box (I gather some time is a requirement to open up the bass), but in the case I think they could sound better.  BTW, one of my monoblocks won't turn on.  It may be just a relay- they have been housed for about ten years.  I know a local cat who can look at them and repair if something is called for.  I love the sound I'm getting now, I would just like a bigger soundstage for some recordings that I think could benefit from that.  Two grand for the 1.7's seems very reasonable to me but I need to check with my pocket to see if it agrees.

[josh358]

Maybe not the correct thread, but to me Magnepan panels load or energize a room completely different than cone speakers.  Because of this, integration with subs is a bit more difficult, sans Magnepan's own bass drivers. 

One advantage is that the sound pressure from panels don't travel the same distances as do box speakers. 

Jim

Definitely, in a number of respects. For one thing, an omni room node is a dipole antinode, and vice-versa. For another, the directionality of the dipole is different and less likely to excite lateral room modes (depending on toe-in). This gives smoother bass. For another, a full-height line source doesn't excite vertical modes or cause vertical interference patterns as a (nominally) point-source woofer does. For another, the Allison interaction is different, owing to the directional pattern. For another, properly set up in a rectangular room, a dipole acts as a single bass array, cancelling all room modes below the spatial Nyquist frequency. Finally, the radiation pattern of a line-source dipole falls off as 1/R rather than 1/R^2, which means that if you mate it with an omnidirectional sub you can only match levels at a fixed distance -- which, of course, should be your listening seat.

Whew!

I'd think full-height line sources would be louder at a distance, though, owing to the 1/R radiation pattern. Perhaps you're referring to the fact that dipoles are less likely to disturb the neighbors, because they dump 4.6 dB less total energy into the room? That from my perspective is one of their advantages, though their directionality doesn't make them very good party speakers. But for serious listening, that's 4.6 dB louder you can go without attracting the notice of the police.

[medium jim]

Josh:

Thanks for putting the science behind what I was saying.

Jim

[SteveFord]

Sometime back I started a thread on Audio Nervosa or the incessant upgrade path which I was on.
I was just driving myself crazy.  I need this, I need that, this isn't right, that isn't right, if only...
Last week I realized that I'd stopped even thinking about buying audio gear.
The search is over.

[rbbert]

famous last words 

[medium jim]

famous last words 

My sentiments exactly!

Jim

[SteveFord]

Perhaps but unless there's some catastrophic failure I don't see any changes in the near future.
Well, maybe a set of Kimber 12TCs.  I can't let our economy totally stall...

[medium jim]

Perhaps but unless there's some catastrophic failure I don't see any changes in the near future.
Well, maybe a set of Kimber 12TCs.  I can't let our economy totally stall...

Steve:

I was just yagging you.  I feel the same way, I have the amps of my dreams, a rather simple and accurate pre, a wonderful CDP, great speakers and decent cables to hook it all up.  If I move it into a bigger room I may have to go with different subs.

Jim

[josh358]

The bug never really goes away entirely! But the 1-D's were the first components I ever had that were so amazing I felt I could happily live with them for the rest of my life, so I think I know how you feel about the 20.7's. It wasn't that I didn't hear flaws, or covet the latest and greatest. It's that the 1-D's gave me such a thrill of pleasure every time I listened that I didn't *need* to fix them. Everything after that was gravy.

[SteveFord]

The 1-Ds must really be something as you're not the only person who was just blown away by them.
My wife really would leave me after running me over in the driveway on her way out...

[jhm731]

The 1-Ds must really be something as you're not the only person who was just blown away by them.
My wife really would leave me after running me over in the driveway on her way out...

With three sets of Magnepans in the house, I'd say you have a very understanding wife!

I loved my 1-Ds, but they needed to be played loud, which is the main reason I sold them.

[josh358]

The 1-Ds must really be something as you're not the only person who was just blown away by them.
My wife really would leave me after running me over in the driveway on her way out...

I've never known anyone who didn't react that way to them. Not just people on the forums, but people who tramped through my listening room -- everyone from total non-audiophiles to audio engineers.

Of course, the fact that they were flat had something to do with that, and the fact that they were huge.

[josh358]

I loved my 1-Ds, but they needed to be played loud, which is the main reason I sold them.

Yep, they definitely needed to be played loud. I understand that the .7's are a lot better than earlier models at low levels.

[SteveFord]

I'm not familiar with the Tympanis but I have heard (and owned) quite a few of the other models.
The .7s do a much better job at low volumes and the 20.7s really excel at it.
My guess is it's a combination of more surface area in all directions and the increased amount of bass output.

[jhm731]

Yep, they definitely needed to be played loud. I understand that the .7's are a lot better than earlier models at low levels.

Just imagine Tympani 1-Ds or IVs with the 20.7's mid/tweeter and push/pull bass panels!

[josh358]

Just imagine Tympani 1-Ds or IVs with the 20.7's mid/tweeter and push/pull bass panels!

I have. That's why I'll probably go with Satie's mod on my IVa's -- replace the midrange with the push-pull quasi-ribbon Neo-8's, it's a truly easy mod since they fit in the existing slot.

At one point, I'd thought of putting wire on the bass panels but Wendell said why change the best midbass driver ever made, and I had to admit he had a point!

[SteveFord]

MGBert's visit made me do some serious thinking (which I try not to do unless they're paying me for it).
Normally I've listened to these off axis when I'm in the dining room area fooling around on a computer or stuffing my fat little face.
Marc and I listened to the 20.7s from the couch which would be the normal listening position and they sounded horrible. 
I got to thinking about it (head hurts) and from where I was sitting in the off axis location my ears are about mid-panel which is where they should be.  The couch sits so low that I'm down in a hole so to speak.
I moved the speakers back a bit, forward a bit, toed them in a bit, angled them downwards a bit - all to no avail.
Finally I shoved the couch way as far back into the room as possible and then grabbed another cushion from the upstairs sofa and guess what?  I nailed it!
With the shorter models the problem is that you're usually sitting too high but these were the exact opposite.
Sometimes the things that are obvious to a 5 year old tend to elude me!

[jhm731]

MGBert's visit made me do some serious thinking (which I try not to do unless they're paying me for it).
Normally I've listened to these off axis when I'm in the dining room area fooling around on a computer or stuffing my fat little face.
Marc and I listened to the 20.7s from the couch which would be the normal listening position and they sounded horrible. 
I got to thinking about it (head hurts) and from where I was sitting in the off axis location my ears are about mid-panel which is where they should be.  The couch sits so low that I'm down in a hole so to speak.
I moved the speakers back a bit, forward a bit, toed them in a bit, angled them downwards a bit - all to no avail.
Finally I shoved the couch way as far back into the room as possible and then grabbed another cushion from the upstairs sofa and guess what?  I nailed it!
With the shorter models the problem is that you're usually sitting too high but these were the exact opposite.
Sometimes the things that are obvious to a 5 year old tend to elude me!

After you moved the couch and sat on an extra cushion, how far was your listening position from the panels and what was your ear height  from the floor?

[josh358]

MGBert's visit made me do some serious thinking (which I try not to do unless they're paying me for it).
Normally I've listened to these off axis when I'm in the dining room area fooling around on a computer or stuffing my fat little face.
Marc and I listened to the 20.7s from the couch which would be the normal listening position and they sounded horrible. 
I got to thinking about it (head hurts) and from where I was sitting in the off axis location my ears are about mid-panel which is where they should be.  The couch sits so low that I'm down in a hole so to speak.
I moved the speakers back a bit, forward a bit, toed them in a bit, angled them downwards a bit - all to no avail.
Finally I shoved the couch way as far back into the room as possible and then grabbed another cushion from the upstairs sofa and guess what?  I nailed it!
With the shorter models the problem is that you're usually sitting too high but these were the exact opposite.
Sometimes the things that are obvious to a 5 year old tend to elude me!

Having owned dipoles for more than 30 years, I can confidently say that as a consequence of my vast expertise it now takes me only about 3 months to get them about where I want them, if you don't count the magical and transformative location that I failed to mark with tape and can never find again.

[medium jim]

Your ears should be mid panel or slightly above for the best results.  Your sitting position/height is critical.

Jim