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Maggies a waste if only 3' from backwall?

All maggie owners, please chime in. I've been considering the maggie 3.6 or 20.1. My basement room is 15x20x7, thin carpet on slab floor, drywall over foundation. It is very unlikely I will be able to have them out farther than 3 feet from backwall, unless i had them on some kind of rolling/sliding platform. I have read repeatedly that maggies must be at least 4-5 feet from backwall. So, is 3 ft just not enough? Will the magic disappear and render them pedestrian?

While I'm at it, one more question: I understand there is a narrow sweetspot for maximum enjoyment, but how bad is out-of-sweetspot/off-axis listening? What aspect of SQ is actually lost? I ask this because I've read several posts where people thought they heard a real drummer or piano in next room only to find it was music played through a maggie (ie, "Best Speakers.." thread).

Thanks much for the replies. I really am considering joining the maggie family, but don't want to make a mistake based on room and one-person sweet spot.

Jeff
jeffkad

Showing 1 response by audiokinesis

audiokinesis
2,724 posts
 
Most of my experience has been with different planars (as well as with several bipolars), but I don't see much advantage to going with a smaller model instead of a larger one based on distance from the wall. The relevant factor is the path length for that first reflection off the wall behind the speakers, and that doesn't change with panel size. In general, the ear interprets early-arrival reflections as coloration and late-arrival ones as ambience.

In my opinion three feet out is definitely less than ideal, but it can still work well. I would consider diffusing the backwave, perhaps with ye olde fake ficus trees, and absorbing the backwave as a last resort. What you want to avoid is a strong, distinct, fairly early reflection. Using a large toe-in angle can also help.

Duke
dealer/manufacturer
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