[josh358]

This must be something new. I had to drill holes in the base of my DWMs to mount them on stands. The midrange/tweeter panels were small enough for me to use Blu-tac to secure them to stands.

For whole room applications, the Minis sound incredible but they sound even better with subs and/or an additional DWM woofer that is powered by a separate amp. That should be no surprise since bass from panel speakers in a medium to large room require more surface area and more amp power.

IMO the reason why many people love Tympanis and other biamped Maggies is to get significantly more bass without overloading the room with highs and mids that are glorious as is.

I guess with the new .7 Maggies that are not easily biamped, one could add several DWM woofers with decent low cost powerful amps. Of course that gets expensive as each separately powered DWM will cost between $1200-2000. If I had only bought the Tympani IVAs. Won't Magnepan consider bringing them back into production as an anniversary special?

Wendell Diller recommends doing just that, using a pair of DWM's to increase the surface area of the Maggies and get a more Tympani-like bass. You can see the right hand DWM is positioned for that in the photo of their listening lab, though it wasn't being used when I was there (at least I hope it wasn't, because the other DWM is lying on the side).

The idea of an anniversary Tympani has been discussed, as well as a new one. Everyone I mentioned them to at Magnepan still loves the IVa's. But I suspect that if they do a new Tympani (no decision yet, according to Mark Winey) it will be an updated design. Tympani IV.VII? I mean, they might as well incorporate what they've learned in the intervening years, e.g., quasi ribbon, improved ribbon tweeters, etc. Meanwhile, the IVa's do come up periodically and I think they may be the best single bargain in audio for those who have a big enough room (or idiots like me who are willing to squeeze them into a small one).

[SteveFord]

Mini Maggie Demo Day for me today, I think.
It's a nice day out (for once) so if the wife won't guy I'll be forced to ride a motorcycle.

[rw@cn]

Wendell Diller recommends doing just that, using a pair of DWM's to increase the surface area of the Maggies and get a more Tympani-like bass. You can see the right hand DWM is positioned for that in the photo of their listening lab, though it wasn't being used when I was there (at least I hope it wasn't, because the other DWM is lying on the side).

<<>>

I am trying to envision my room with 3.7s, 2 DWMs and 2 subs. Seems to me to be an excruciating set up problem.  Most likely a pair of 12.7s would do better.  Of course if one wanted, adding a pair of DWMs is possible. 

[josh358]

I am trying to envision my room with 3.7s, 2 DWMs and 2 subs. Seems to me to be an excruciating set up problem.  Most likely a pair of 12.7s would do better.  Of course if one wanted, adding a pair of DWMs is possible. 

You have a point. I think what I'd do is set up the DWM's first, then add the subs for bottom octave duty. But it would be quite a bear, just getting a single pair of planars optimized is time consuming enough!

[Robin Hood]

I am trying to envision my room with 3.7s, 2 DWMs and 2 subs. Seems to me to be an excruciating set up problem. 

Assuming your room is suitable for 3.7s, it should be an easy setup. Just optimize the 3.7 placement and everything else is just gravy or it won't be there at all.

The idea of the subs is to provide low frequency extension in the range of 15-40 Hz to the 3.7s. The placement of the DWMs is to provide better, smoother and fast bass and midbass above 40 Hz.

IMO the sub bass should be room EQed, while EQ for the DWM may be optional. The 3.7s should only rely on passive room treatments as required.

Of course what would be better than this is to just get the 20.7s, though here too a pair of subs for 15-30 Hz would still be a plus.

[rw@cn]

Assuming your room is suitable for 3.7s, it should be an easy setup. Just optimize the 3.7 placement and everything else is just gravy or it won't be there at all.

The idea of the subs is to provide low frequency extension in the range of 15-40 Hz to the 3.7s. The placement of the DWMs is to provide better, smoother and fast bass and midbass above 40 Hz.

IMO the sub bass should be room EQed, while EQ for the DWM may be optional. The 3.7s should only rely on passive room treatments as required.

Of course what would be better than this is to just get the 20.7s, though here too a pair of subs for 15-30 Hz would still be a plus.

Thank you. The problem is that it isn't easy to set up any of the speaker pairs we are discussing on their own. As we add another speaker pair (Say we first correctly position the 3.7s, then the DWMs and finally the subs) interspeaker interaction must also be considered. I haven't had experience with the DWMs, but I think proper placement won't be without some trial and error.

I guess we have strayed from the original topic?

[SteveFord]

A little bit.
Today I finally got to hear the Mini Maggie system courtesy of The Listening Room down in Towson, MD.
The room is around 12x16 (small bedroom size), against one short wall there's an open table with the DMW underneath it and sitting on either side of the PC monitor are the little Minis which are surprisingly light weight. 
They must weigh around 4 pounds each (with bases, if that much).
The speakers were about 4' apart and probably 14" away from the wall, ribbons out, angled in towards the desk chair.
In the opposite corner of the room is a single REL T5 sub and the whole plot is driven with a new Cambridge integrated amp/dac combo (85 WRMS/channel) and the source is either the hard drive or a Cambridge BluRay universal disc player.
I really wasn't sure what to expect, to be perfectly honest.

How did it sound?
Here's a one word review: great.
Here's a bit more: not okay, not good but great.
At the computer I listen to headphones: WooAudio6, Harman Kardon tube tuner and Beyerdynamic DT880s.
The Mini Maggies are much more better. 
In bed I listen to a Sherwood tube tuner, Harman Kardon SS integrated and Stax Sigma headphones. 
The Mini Maggies hands this combo their butts, too.
You get that great ribbon Magnepan sound but it differs from the big ones in that the sound is really crisp and immediate.  There is nothing diffuse about this at all; I suppose that's because you're sitting right on top of the little guys and the ribbons are working their magic just a few feet away from your head.
I wasn't sure what, if anything, the DMW would do under the desk but it certainly didn't sound weird or call any attention to itself.  I did flip off the REL sub and the system is much better with it in place.
These speakers will fill a small-ish room quite well; they work best with your ears at speaker level but it wasn't horrible if you walked around.  I did try tilting them up a bit but it didn't seem to make that much of a difference as pointing them straight ahead did.
Here's where these would be perfect: small room, desk at one end, bed at the other.  They're small, they're not in the way and they will give you tremendous sound at your desk and really good (but not tremendous) sound at the rest of the room.
Add a small sub and you're done.
One final thought: the Cambridge integrated has tone controls so rolling off the treble some was a good thing.  I would throw some tubes in the mix if it were me.  At 85 WPC the Cambridge went as loud as I'd want it with the volume at 12:00 and the amp was warm but that's about it.  I don't think that you need a boatload of power with these speakers.

If you do make the mistake of taking your wife along, they will give her ideas.
No, they do not revolve around video cameras and cool whip. 
The ideas that pop into a woman's head is that you should sell your 3.7s, buy the Mini Maggie system and give her the rest of the money so that she can remodel the kitchen.
Yeah, that'll happen.
Lynda did come up with an interesting idea in that instead of buying a set of large speakers for a large room, why not get two Mini Maggie Systems and see what you can do to get that to work? 
I mentioned that the musicians won't exactly be to scale but she shrugged it off citing the advantages of SMALL speakers which are easy to move and don't dominate the surroundings.
With the way that music storage and playback is going and the ascendency of the iPod generation, I think that I've just seen the future of audio.
I read a post here, or perhaps a link to another article, wherein the author stated that his kids viewed his system as "big stereo" which was outdated.
I like big monster speakers, giant tube amps and 12" records. 
That doesn't appeal to the young snotnosed punks.
The Mini Maggies will appeal to Generation WTF or Y or whatever they're called, non audiophile spouses and people who want astonishing sound in a small package.
I know where my 2012 tax refund is going.
Good job, Magnepan!
P.S.
I'm already thinking about what gear to run these little guys with...

[josh358]

Amazing, aren't they?

I'm still wracking my brain for an excuse to get a pair -- a couple of years ago, I'd have gotten them for my computer but now I'm planning to put a monitor and keyboard in my listening room so that excuse is gone.

One thing about that setup, it seems like they were a bit close to the wall. When I head them they were quite a distance from the wall since Mark Winey's desk faces out into the room. That's the only way I heard them but I read somewhere that they're just like big ones in that they image best when they're several feet out from the wall.

These are an amazing product, but since they're so unconventional, I think everyone's going to have to hear them. I mean, we've all read the reviews, but then you hear them and say "wow."

[SteveFord]

I got an email from Wendell today and he made an interesting observation: if someone is downsizing (and I'll add have a small room or they're simply on a budget), the Mini Maggies, a modest amp and a recliner would be just the ticket.  Pick whatever source makes you happiest.
I'd add a subwoofer, pipe full of good tobacco and a cup of coffee but that's just me.

[josh358]

I confess I've had similar thoughts. I mean, they're so good that I sometimes think, hey, I spent half my life in front of the computer anyway, rather than trying to fit Tympanis in a closet-sized room maybe I should just put some Mini Maggies on my desk.

On the other hand, I gave up smoking, so I deserve to have something decadent in my life!