Any Present Magnepan 3.7i owner using them in a smaller listening space...

I owned Magnepan 3.7s (later upgraded to 3.7i's) for a number of years.  Initially, they replaced B&W 804s - I had moved and was now living in a townhouse with a truly cavernous space, and the 804s simply pooped out.  The Maggies filled that space extremely well.  Then, I moved again, and my primary listening space was quite different - relatively narrow and deep, with 9 foot ceilings instead of 12 foot.  The Maggies took up a LOT of space, and getting them correctly positioned was just not possible.  I replaced them first with KEF LS50s - they are great for a nearfield environment, but could not project well into the depth of the room.  I tried the 804s again - not bad, but still not there.  Then, having heard these produce fantastic sound at a dealer, I bought Wilson Sabrinas on close out when they intro'd the X.  It took me awhile to position them correctly - they are extremely sensitive to set-up - but I am now getting the kind of sound in that room that I would expect.  It still isn't perfect -this room is a bear - but it is fairly good.

Speaker and room compatibility are extremely important, something that I had to learn via trial and error.  

My room dimensions are VERY similar to yours with the rear of the room (behind the listening position) open to the next level - which helps and I have 3.7i's. Maggies are fine to be placed closer to the outer walls than traditional speakers as they do not create the first reflection on the side walls to the extent most speakers do. It took some fine tuning to get it all right, but the sound stage created by my setup extends behind the rear wall and beyond the left and right walls. (see my system profile) I was originally going to purchase 1.7i’s but went for it and never have regretted it for one instant! Friends who are audio enthusiasts have given me positive reviews for the fabulous sound - and they would be honest with me if it wasn’t.

If you can put them against the 10 foot wall definitely go for it.

I run 3.7’s in a 13x17 room with them placed along the 13’ wall 32”-36” out and angled slightly toward seating position. Seating position is a unilateral triangle with the speakers. Electronics are on the outside with 2 rel s510’s between the speakers. Both front and back walls are treated with sound absorption. I spend hours in bliss amazed at the sound, soundstage and clarity. Have listened to systems at dealers costing north of 6 figures and, to my ears, don’t think I would do an even swap. Good listening.

Hi All... Great suggestions and recommendations.  I know having enough clean quality power is really important especially with amplifiers that are able to drive current.  I'm also big on room treatments and with the right combination of proper attenuation and diffusion, the room can improve the listening experience tremendously.  In my opinion room treatments are a necessity to get the best sound from your system.  

Hi All... Great suggestions and recommendations.  I know having enough clean quality power is really important especially with amplifiers that are able to drive current.  I'm also big on room treatments and with the right combination of proper attenuation and diffusion, the room can improve the listening experience tremendously.  In my opinion room treatments are a necessity to get the best sound from your system.  

I own 3.6 Maggies and have had the in 3 very different rooms due to moving over the past 17 years.  They can work in your room, but the universal truth about Maggies is have more than enough power (current), install Mye stands or simikiar and treat your room with diffusers behind them.

Placement and addition room treatments will fine tune the room and the Maggie magic can be realized.  I cannot emphasize enough that having substantial power makes them sing.  I have been using MC501s, and the move up from lesser power (300 woc into 4 ohms) was more than noticeable. 
Good luck on your journey!!

I have a 12x15 room with the 1.7s The tweeters are on the inside at 3ft and other side of speaker from front wall is 4ft. So properly placed you get awesome imaging. Make sure to use magnerisers too. Stock stands are just ok. Also you need a good amplifier with current so you can sit back and enjoy.

Thanks to all of you who have contributed to this conversation.  For those who have them in smaller rooms or have heard them in such, this gives me hope that they might work in my small listening space.  I believe in order to satisfy my curiosity on the 3.7i's, I will find a dealer or someone in the central Forida area where I can hear these speakers in a small room with similar dimensions to mine.  I've heard the 3.7i's in a couple of dealers when I lived in No. Virginia and they sounded pretty amazing, even with mid-fi electronics, however they were in rooms notably larger than mine.  Yes...  The ribbon tweeter is truly amazing.  Vocals sound very real and micro-detailed and sound stage is also very good.  Thanks again !  John  

Hi, I live in the Netherlands so.. small houses, small rooms.

I have had magnepan 3.7i’s in my room which is 11x17ft.

Long story short. They were truely amazing. The bass and the imaging was of the charts. The depth of the image, the natural sound of instruments and the voices. Oh my the voices were just so beautiful. That ribbon is truely something special.

I was also worried about my space being too small but after a long research and asking alot of questions I made the move and bought them. Couldn’t be happier.

That is before the virus struck again and now my current set up is Analysis Audio the Epsilons. Oh my.. everything the 3.7i does but then better, in all but one aspect. The bass on the 3.7i’s is just a tad cleaner but.. Much and I mean much less more in balance with the rest of the frequency spectrum. The bass on the Analysis is exceptional. Just a tad less clinical. Which is more a question of taste I believe. The Epsilons are just (sorry for the cliché part) in every way much more musical and involving sounding.

I think regarding speaker vs room size there is not always a clear answer. Sometimes it just works and sometimes not.

Best,

Joost

I’ve owned 1.6, 1.7, 3.7 and 20.7 Magnepans but have never listened to them in a small room so these comments draw on the research I have done over the years rather than first hand experience.

1) the most critical factor is distance from the front wall. 3’ is an absolute minimum and in no sense ideal. Around 5 feet works really well. At 3’ I suspect the speakers will still sound good but sub-optimal. Adding diffusion or absorption behind the speakers might improve the sound if you can only manage 3’ but more distance is definitely better.

2) Distance from the back wall will be no different with Maggies than any other speaker. It sounds like you are open on the back so that shouldn’t be an issue.

3) My listening position is about 9’ from the plane of the speakers. Your room should be fine for that. And I have read that some people like 3.7s in a near field distance but that seems a little crazy to me.

4) Everything I have read suggests Maggies are less sensitive to side wall reflections than some speakers so you room should be more than wide enough. Plan on either an equilateral triangle or one where the distance between the speakers is about 85% of the distance from your ear to the panel. Tune according to your preference. I like a little less than an equilateral triangle and with my 3.7’s I preferred tweeters out.

5) Plan on spending a fair amount of time and effort optimizing the placement of the speakers. Small changes can make a big difference.

7) Amplification matters a lot to Maggies. I didn’t absolutely love my 3.7’s until I got the PS Audio BHK 300 monoblocks.

6) People are over enthusiastic about the LRS+. It is very good FOR THE PRICE. It is not a very good speaker compared to the other Maggies or full range floor standing speakers.

Bottom line, your room is fine except for not squeezing out a little more space from the front wall. Maybe put the 3.7’s on sliders and pull them out for a listening session and push them back when not in use? Just make sure you mark your preferred position so you get them back in the right place.

@petaluman I had my CODA #16 with the LRS+ and KC62 sub and my mind was blown with that sound. A very musical full range sound in the small room. It was much better than the Thiel CS3.7 in the same space without the sub. Now I do think the Thiel CS3.7 is a better speaker than the LRS+, but in the small room it was no contest. The LRS+ is a perfect speaker for my office room size.

I have put the LS50 Meta back into the office recently to see how it compared. I did not use the CODA #16 this time because it is doing a good job in my Livingroom system. The only "amp" I have was the modded PeachTree GAN1. The mods on it as amazing and this amp is almost as good as my CODA #16 in the same room, minus the huge bass.

Unfortunately, I cannot use the sub-woofer with the GAN1 "amp" or analog sources, so my comparison with the LRS+ is a little skewed in the bass department and limited to streaming.

The LS50 Meta was not as large in the soundstage width and height. I never found it a problem in the past but in comparison to the LRS+ it is smaller. The LS50 Meta does sound clearer to me. A sharper sound, not fatiguing in any way, just a bit cleaner sounding. I have been reading that the Maggies up the chain from the LRS+ are more detailed sounding.

In the past, I was using the LS50 Meta + KC62 sub with various amps. So, I am familiar with the that combo. Overall, the bass on the LRS+ and sub is a bit more than the LS50 Meta + sub. I am rather shocked at the bass on the LRS+. I set the KC62 sub at 80 Hz with the LS50 and 50 Hz with the LRS+.

I think both of these combos are great for my office sized room. The LS50 Meta is also a little more amp friendly.

Edit: I just rewatched the Guttenberg video and the only difference in opinion between he and I is that I think the LS50 Meta is a bit cleaner sounding. I can also take that clean sound to the hilt buy using a Benchmark AHB2 amp with the LS50 Meta. In fact, I was not planning on giving away my LS50 Meta, so I have re-bought an AHB2 amp, hopefully arriving this week. It will not be as good with the LRS+ at loud volume. I am hoping it works well at low to medium volume. I think it will, especially with the KC62 sub,

@petaluman That's what Google is for

LRS VS LRS+ VS LS50 Meta

@yyzsantabarbara

Could you please give your impressions of the LRS+ vs the LS50 Metas?  Do you use the sub(s) with both?

I should add a friend brought a pair of LRS over and while sounding great for their price point there is no way they compete with the larger Maggie's.

I have 3.7i in a 12 x 15 room and love the sound, they give me everything I could want from a speaker. They are very clean, clear sounding and instrument placement in the sound field is amazing. Mine are about 36" from the front wall and 18" from the side wall. I move the distance of my chair and get the perspective of being at different places in a concert hall. Previously I had 1.7i in the room which sounded great but the improvement is jaw dropping. I sought advice from John Rutan Audio Connection ( where I made the purchase)and Magnepan before I made the jump. Just be sure you have an amp with plenty of power.

Good luck

A local dealer had a large pair of Maggie's in on trade that were set up in a very small room and all they did to get amazing sound from them was pull them away from the front wall. and 2 feet from each side. Even close together the speakers gave a really great soundstage.

@liquidsound I do not thing a bigger panel would fit my room. The LSR+ does give a rather large soundstage and fills the room more so than any other speaker I have had in this space.

I also have the KEF LS50 Meta and the KEF KC62 sub in this space. I am giving the LS50 to my nephew on Monday, and I will miss that speaker a lot (likely buy it again when I have funds). I find both the LSR+ and LS50 Meta just perfect for my room. It is hard to get full range sound in a small room without fatigue.

10 by 14, 12 by 11, etc...Magnepan is not for small room Bros. If you pull that panel 4 ft from the front wall, you will be seated flat up against the back wall (not good at all). Abandon all your Maggie desires and move on Brosnans.

@yyzsantabarbara  Thanks for your input on the LRS+.  I've heard personally and from all the reviews the LRS+ is terrific.  I really like the greater treble definition with the 3.7i's as I've heard both... Perhaps the 3.7i's would be to much for my smaller room.  

Tesla Plaid for the shopping run?

I have similar space (12 x 11 x 9) and the room is treated. The LRS+ works amazing in this space with the KEF KC62 sub. I would not try anything bigger than the LRS+.