[josh358]

Strange as it seems, those could potentially sound quite good. Good coaxial dynamic drivers (about which I know nothing but I'll take his word for it) and dipole baffle, good combination that could blow away most boxes on the kind of music he listens to. I doubt though that they have anything like the transparency of the Maggies, and image will presumably be much too low, so with most acoustical music, I suspect most people would prefer the 12's.

[twitch54]

3' out is room enough.  Will they sound better at 5', yes, but they don't sound bad 3' from the back wall.

LOL, this statement just shows you how many people don't get it !!!!! Buying a quality speaker and compromising the set-up from the get go makes ZERO sense !! .......... yeah, they don't sound 'bad' @ 3' but they sure as hell don't sound their best !!!!

You mentioned putting them against your long wall, so ........... at 5-6' out from the wall with your seating position another 8' away leaves you right up against the wall behind you....... absolute disaster !!!

[OzarkTom]

It's been years since I've owned maggies... if you go down that road, you'll need power. Lot's of power. And as with all speakers, where and how you position them in the room will determine how well they work, or not. With maggies, there are no short cuts.

As an inexpensive alternative that doesn't require lots of power, >>> check out this video on youtube... <<<

5 minutes in he claims this humble $175 do-it-yourself project kicks the shit out of his Magnepan MG12QR. 

I almost bought a pair of these last month, Decware sells these for $450, on the Betsy Baffle website they are $350 a pair in plywood. If you notice, Decware favors spezkers with no crossovers.

http://www.caintuckaudio.com/

[josh358]

LOL, this statement just shows you how many people don't get it !!!!! Buying a quality speaker and compromising the set-up from the get go makes ZERO sense !! .......... yeah, they don't sound 'bad' @ 3' but they sure as hell don't sound their best !!!!

You mentioned putting them against your long wall, so ........... at 5-6' out from the wall with your seating position another 8' away leaves you right up against the wall behind you....... absolute disaster !!!

Hey, sure they sound better at 5', but not everyone has the option of pulling them out 5'! Diffusion really helps -- my Maggies are 5' out, but when I put QRD's on the front wall the image goes from adequate to spectacular.

Barring the convenient introduction of a stick of dynamite, I also have to sit against the rear wall. It actually isn't disastrous in my case, perhaps because the wall opens up just to the right of me, reducing the impact on the bass. But I plan to try absorption there, per the usual recommendation for this unfortunate circumstance.

[I.Greyhound Fan]

LOL, this statement just shows you how many people don't get it !!!!! Buying a quality speaker and compromising the set-up from the get go makes ZERO sense !! .......... yeah, they don't sound 'bad' @ 3' but they sure as hell don't sound their best !!!!

You mentioned putting them against your long wall, so ........... at 5-6' out from the wall with your seating position another 8' away leaves you right up against the wall behind you....... absolute disaster !!!

The difference in my room with the speakers at 4-5' and 3' is very minimal.  You can't make a generalized statement like that.  You have to make do with what you have with a rooms size, shape and acoustics.   I have had box speakers and spatial audio speakers in my room and my 1.6's sound better than all of them.  My system sounds great, not just to me but to other knowledgeable audio people.  Am I missing the very last 1 or 2% that I can get out of my Maggies, probably but my system still sounds great and brings a smile to my face and that's what it is all about.  In the end, I do get it.  But I also have a wife and my system is in my family room.  Having the speakers 5 feet out from the wall in a 17'x17' room is unacceptable.

With your statement, I guess I should sell my Pass amp and buy a high powered tube amp because Maggies are supposed to sound great with tube amps.

[Wind Chaser]

I almost bought a pair of these last month, Decware sells these for $450, on the Betsy Baffle website they are $350 a pair in plywood. If you notice, Decware favors spezkers with no crossovers.

http://www.caintuckaudio.com/

The drivers alone are $110 for a pair direct from... http://www.wildburroaudio.com

Mr Caintuck himself did own a pair of the 1.6 QR. He's got good ears and knows how to build a great system on the cheap that will challenge anything most people do with 10x the money. 

[limniscate]

The difference in my room with the speakers at 4-5' and 3' is very minimal.  You can't make a generalized statement like that.  You have to make do with what you have with a rooms size, shape and acoustics.   I have had box speakers and spatial audio speakers in my room and my 1.6's sound better than all of them.  My system sounds great, not just to me but to other knowledgeable audio people.  Am I missing the very last 1 or 2% that I can get out of my Maggies, probably but my system still sounds great and brings a smile to my face and that's what it is all about.  In the end, I do get it.  But I also have a wife and my system is in my family room.  Having the speakers 5 feet out from the wall in a 17'x17' room is unacceptable.

With your statement, I guess I should sell my Pass amp and buy a high powered tube amp because Maggies are supposed to sound great with tube amps.

That's surprising since I could pretty easily tell the difference even at 7', 8', and 9'.  I had a friend move the speakers around while I was blind, and it was surprising to me that I could differentiate.

[Wind Chaser]

I'm running Tympani IVA's in a 13' x 14' room and while it's kind of ridiculous from an interior decorator's standpoint, they sound great.

As great as you think they sound in your room, Jim Winey will tell you they have the potential to sound much greater in a more appropriate room.

[Wind Chaser]

Yup to all before : I'd never trade my Maggies for ML's - no way! And there's a reason why your finding them SO discounted - they don't hold their value the way Maggies do because people LOVE Maggies.  Only reason they sell them is either :

1. Upgrade to a bigger one
2. Nagging wife / GF who doesn't like the size

That is absolutely fallacious. 

[twitch54]

Hey, sure they sound better at 5', but not everyone has the option of pulling them out 5'! Diffusion really helps -- my Maggies are 5' out, but when I put QRD's on the front wall the image goes from adequate to spectacular.

Barring the convenient introduction of a stick of dynamite, I also have to sit against the rear wall. It actually isn't disastrous in my case, perhaps because the wall opens up just to the right of me, reducing the impact on the bass. But I plan to try absorption there, per the usual recommendation for this unfortunate circumstance.

Josh, first off, my response was to the OP's original post, in trying to point out that IMO compromising di-pole set-up both in speaker as well as listening position location is ill advised. Now if one wants to disregard the correct way to set his or her system go ahead it's your money but if you put it out on a public forum for discussion not all of us are going to 'sugar coat' it for you !

[twitch54]

The difference in my room with the speakers at 4-5' and 3' is very minimal.  You can't make a generalized statement like that.  You have to make do with what you have with a rooms size, shape and acoustics.

Ok and in that case I'd choose speakers that better conform to the room 'at hand' . Simply put, in a proper room (dimensionally) if you can't tell the difference between speakers pulled out 3' vs 6' then you sir are tone def ...........

 

I have had box speakers and spatial audio speakers in my room and my 1.6's sound better than all of them.

perhaps but it's safe to say there are options you have yet to hear !

 

My system sounds great, not just to me but to other knowledgeable audio people.  Am I missing the very last 1 or 2% that I can get out of my Maggies, probably but my system still sounds great and brings a smile to my face and that's what it is all about.

Great and I concur, it's your system and if you're happy that's all that really means to you. But again, I'm merely stating my opinion (i've owned various di-poles since the early eighties) to the OP's original post

 

  But I also have a wife and my system is in my family room.

yep, I've got one of them also. I am lucky though that I have my audio set up in my dedicated man cave (14'6" x 23' 6" x 8')

 

With your statement, I guess I should sell my Pass amp and buy a high powered tube amp because Maggies are supposed to sound great with tube amps.

not sure how you came up with that but as a long time Nelson Pass fan I do know how well they mate  with Maggies, Logans, etc. As for tubes I did like my Rogue M-180's driving my Logans though .......

[josh358]

As great as you think they sound in your room, Jim Winey will tell you they have the potential to sound much greater in a more appropriate room.

Jim doesn't have to tell me that -- I know it all too well. However, we live with what we have and there's a certain pleasure in figuring out how to defeat the laws of physics.

[josh358]

Josh, first off, my response was to the OP's original post, in trying to point out that IMO compromising di-pole set-up both in speaker as well as listening position location is ill advised. Now if one wants to disregard the correct way to set his or her system go ahead it's your money but if you put it out on a public forum for discussion not all of us are going to 'sugar coat' it for you !

I think 13 x 16 is OK. That would allow him to get the speakers 5' from the front wall and sit a sufficient distance away without being against the rear wall. It should also allow him to do what I've done and completely null out the first reflection from the sides while remaining on axis, which results in a noticeable improvement in clarity and image specificity.

[drphoto]

This goes back a way in the thread, but I don't think you can really compare ML to Magnepan, despite them looking somewhat similar. I'm not a Logan fan. While there is a certain charm to the panel sound, I don't feel like they have any weight, and I can always hear the handoff to the dynamic driver. Now the giant SLS or whatever they're called maybe a different story, but serious $.

Again, Maggies have their limitations as with all things audio, but they do a lot very well for reasonable money.

Someone mentioned in home demos on the 1.7. I think that's only the MMG. It would be too costly to offer free shipping on the 1.7. Plus they really should go by truck freight on a pallet if you want them to arrive intact.

[faxer]

I have had Maggies have heard Martin Logan Sounlabs Genesis and almost all planar and ESL speakers
The best combo is GR Research Open Baffle Servo Subs and the GT Audio works planar speakers
No crossover and very detailed smooth and musical

 

[KLH007]

faxer, I have the previous  version, GT Audio Labs GTA 2.5s with active sealed bass, and I hear them swing dynamics, pressurize a room, and play loud without strain or glare, throw a wide deep stage, and I haven't heard a 3.7 sound as impressive. I have a friend who just got the latest  20.7s, I really want to get over and hear them soon, they should sound terrific. After hearing those OB subs, I've never heard a more seamless match for planar speakers, and that was 2 or 3 woofers per side, I really want to hear you 6 x 2 towers, do they come with a warning label?

[Wind Chaser]

Those GR Research OB servo subs are the finest subs I have heard. 

[KLH007]

Those GR Research OB servo subs are the finest subs I have heard. 

I have to agree about the OB subs, the ones I've heard at the Capital Audiofest,where they paired with GT Audio Works planars, were from Sound Insight in NY, turnkey products instead of DIY from GR Research.

[twitch54]

I think 13 x 16 is OK. That would allow him to get the speakers 5' from the front wall and sit a sufficient distance away without being against the rear wall. It should also allow him to do what I've done and completely null out the first reflection from the sides while remaining on axis, which results in a noticeable improvement in clarity and image specificity.

but Josh, I'm pretty sure the Op was planning on putting his speakers along the 16' wall, therefor 13' leaves little to no room !

[josh358]

but Josh, I'm pretty sure the Op was planning on putting his speakers along the 16' wall, therefor 13' leaves little to no room !

My bad, I went back and he does say long wall in his second post. I'm guessing he'd do better on the short wall but you really have to try it both ways to be sure.