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Anyone use the tweeter attenuation on Maggies?

Ok, I am in the process of demoing a pair of Magnepan 12QRs from local dealer and they are doing exactly what I hoped in the three-dimensional soundstage area but come across as too bright for my taste. My room is well damped so that shouldn't be the problem. The dealer said the speakers were broken is so not the problem either.
My question is, has anyone tried using a 1 ohm resistor in the tweeter path to soften it a bit. The manual mentions this method so it must have been brought to their attention many times. Any other suggestions?
My room is 11X13, maybe a bit small for the speakers but as I said, it is well treated so the only problem is visual.
Basic system is Resolution Audio CD-50 (very smooth), Bel Canto Pre3 and PS Audio A-100. Speakers that work best for me have been the Meadowlark Audio Kestrels. Thanks.
timrhu
eldartford
4,262 posts
 
Tweeters are generally more efficient than woofers, so crossover networks typically include a "tweeter padding resistor" in series with the tweeter. Because Magnepan makes both the woofer and tweeter sections of their speakers the tweeter is sometimes OK without any padding resistor, but if you find the speakers "bright" don't hesitate to use a padding resistor. Magnepan suggests one ohm. I use 1.5 ohms. 3 ohms is not uncomon in other speakers. Those manufacturers don't have control of tweeter efficiency because they don't manufacture them.
wgallupe
19 posts
 
How far out from the wall do you have them? They need at least 3ft preferably 4ft to balance the bass with the terble.
timrhu OP
2,779 posts
 
They are 34 inches from the back wall. If they were too close to the wall I would expect excessive bass. Actually the bass seems very good, better than I expected. Working with the toe-in made a huge difference earlier today but the harshness is still there with certain recordings.
The issue is excessive treble. If the music is well recorded they sound very good, I'd say keepers for sure. But if the recording is poor they sound extremely harsh.
My system is built to sound good (listenable) even on poorly mastered recordings. If these speakers aren't capable of this then there's no reason for me to pursue them. They are sounding excellent now with XTC's "Apple Venus."
Thanks, keep it coming.
drew_eckhardt
394 posts
 
>They are 34 inches from the back wall. If they were too close to the wall I would expect excessive bass.

Dipoles don't work like that.

Conventional speakers have more bass when located near walls because the reflections coming off the back side add in-phase with the direct sound.

With dipoles the sounds coming off the back side start out at 180 degrees out of phase with the direct sound so close placement to the front wall results in too little low bass which is the same thing as too much treble.
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