[josh358]

I think you're talking about stats ... not Maggies. 

In my last room (27 x 17), my "sweet spot" was 6' wide - so moving one's head 6" to each side had zero effect.


Regards,

Andy

I think it depends on the Maggie. The true ribbons have essentially perfect dispersion, the quasi ribbons beam some, my old 1-D's beamed significantly (though not as much as some stats I've heard and that beaming may have had to do with their very pleasing tonal balance, since recordings are mixed to speakers that beam). One caveat being that I've listened at different periods of my life and I've no doubt that I was much more sensitive to beaming when my hearing still went to 20 k.

What no dipole will do I think is fill the room with sound. The same directionality that makes them less sensitive to room acoustics and helps keep peace with the neighbors makes them less than ideal party speakers, though depending on type I think they're fine for moderate off-axis listening.

[medium jim]

Very true that Magnepan's or other true Planars are not good off axis, which is fine with me.  I have no problem with my 2 person wide sweet spot.  If I move the ribbons to the outside, it grows to 3 people at the sacrifice of the largeness of the soundstage. 

True that they're more neighbor friendly, but oddly, they don't lose say 3db per each meter back as do conventional cone speakers when on axis...

Jim

[Rclark]

Off axis performance, IMO is for background-music-speakers. I prefer my pile of beans stacked up on what's going to happen when I'm in front. That said, my Magnestands perform well in my small room and fill it with sound that doesn't vary in quality at any listening position.

[medium jim]

Off axis performance, IMO is for background-music-speakers. I prefer my pile of beans stacked up on what's going to happen when I'm in front. That said, my Magnestands perform well in my small room and fill it with sound that doesn't vary in quality at any listening position.

What goes away off axis is the soundstaging and about 3db of sound pressure.  The sq isn't really affected.

Jim

[J. Royce Baron]

I have no problem with my 2 person wide sweet spot.  If I move the ribbons to the outside, it grows to 3 people at the sacrifice of the largeness of the soundstage. 

Jim

How is 3 wide accomplished? - I need a vice to stay centered  not so extreme with the Mackie HR824 at the same distance.       

[medium jim]

How is 3 wide accomplished? - I need a vice to stay centered  not so extreme with the Mackie HR824 at the same distance.     

It took trial & error with the placement with the final piece of the puzzle tilting the panels forward about 5%.  Key is that your ears need to be slightly above mid panel or you will be shooting a lot of the signal over your head and askew the soundstage. 

The toe in or in better words, the left panel should be aimed at your left shoulder and the right at the right shoulder.  Move the panels as wide as possible with the center of the soundstage still present.  Generally, with the ribbons/quasi ribbons on the inside you will have a smaller sweet spot, but a bigger soundstage and more holographic (my opinion and yours may be different).

This all assumes that you have the panels well into the room and off of the walls.  Ideal is 5' off of the front wall to allow for the 10milisecond delay.  If you have less than 5', some front wall treatment is advisable.

Jim

[Davey]

Jim,

I think I've identified what you're missing.....An understanding of how the power response of a speaker system is a key element in how it sounds (sound quality) in your listening room.  Only in an anechoic environment would this not be true.

R,

"Off axis performance is only for background-music-speakers"?  Did you learn that from Peter Gunn? 
The reason your speakers work well in a small room is precisely BECAUSE of the off-axis performance.

Gents,

The better than average polar-response of Magnepan speakers is one of their attributes, not one of their drawbacks.

Cheers,

Dave.

[medium jim]

Jim,

I think I've identified what you're missing.....An understanding of how the power response of a speaker system is a key element in how it sounds (sound quality) in your listening room.  Only in an anechoic environment would this not be true.

Cheers,

Dave.

Davey:

I think you need a refresher course in Magnepan Speaker Panel room setup as it clearly has nothing to do with an anechoic chamber or room.  The key or clue was "Trial & Error" in the equation!  Funny thing, most speakers sound lifeless in anechoic chambers!

Maybe we all need to hang our Maggies from the ceiling like you

Jim

[Davey]

Davey:

I think you need a refresher course in Magnepan Speaker Panel room setup as it clearly has nothing to do with an anechoic chamber or room.  The key or clue was "Trial & Error" in the equation!  Funny thing, most speakers sound lifeless in anechoic chambers!
Maybe we all need to hang our Maggies from the ceiling like you

Jim

I think you need to re-read my posting again. 

Regarding hanging from the ceiling.........yes it would be good.  There are a number of advantages in that configuration.

Cheers,

Dave.

[medium jim]

I think you need to re-read my posting again. 

Regarding hanging from the ceiling.........yes it would be good.  There are a number of advantages in that configuration.

Cheers,

Dave.

Actually, I don't...

Jim

[satie]

What are you missing?  To find out, listen to the Manger demo cd on your maggies at a loud volume then go listen to the cd on a pair of speakers like the Revel Salons or Studios.  I think the shortcomings of planars will be self-evident then.  I love what planars and electrostats do within their limitations with classical and acoustic music, but they can't move enough air in a large room to give you the thrills and chills like top shelf cone speakers.  Move your head 6 inches away from the sweet spot and your planars now sound like Bose!

We all know the issue. I did listen to a neighbor audiophile's Revel Studios. They were a wee bit much for his room, but were very impressive in their intense bass. My Tympani IV with Neo8 mids did everything better down to 30 hz. There, the Revels had a decided advantage. He now has Focal Utopias and their mini fridge bass modules are very impressive too. I would prefer my Tympani bass down to 30 hz or so. But most of us know the limitations of planars and use subwoofers for the bottom octave (or two).

The key to heavy metal dynamics with Maggies is power and bracing.  Of course, subs too.