Magnepan MMG Assistance Needed


I just received a pair of used MMG's that I bought here on Audiogon and while they did come in the original box, there was no instructions. I had a couple of questions and am asking MMG owners out there for some insight. Normally, I'd ask the seller these questions, but his store is closed for the night and I want to get these going tonight!

1) Do the tweeters go to the outside or the inside edge of the speakers (i.e., should they be as far apart as possible or as close together as possible)?

2) What are the standard room placement suggestions as far as number of feet from the back and side walls, distance between the two speakers, and distance to the listening position? My room is long and narrow (approx 10 x 22) and I generally keep the listening chair about 4 or 5 feet into the room.

3) Do the MMG's sound better with a "live" rear wall, or with a damped (sonex-type wall treatment) rear wall? I bought these to replace a pair of small 2-way monitors that benefitted from a "dead" rear quarter of the listening room. I believe that Magnepans, however, actually benefit from rear reflections, but would appreciate some confirmation from current/past owners.

I thank you for your time and alacrity in responding!
daddyo
I have found that Maggies come to life when they are about 1/3 of the way to your listening position from the back wall. Try it out. You will know when you hit the spot!
Wrong,
I owm MMGs and 1.6s. Acording to both manuals, the tweeters on the mmgs go on the INSIDE, 1.6s on the OUTSIDE. This is magnepans recommendation. You may experiement to see what works for you.
I'll keep this simple- Tweeters go on the outside, The tweeters should not be bright if they are used and "broken in". If they are I would research some shops and try some interconnects and wire. Remember, they only play what they're fed, if your amp is bright and irritating so will your speakers. As far as room placement and "dead" room stuff, all reflections do is detract from what the speaker is trying to do. a live rear wall will require the maggies to be pulled away to prevent loading, same with the sides, In your case you main problem is the reflection of the walls. Try simmple wall treatments, ones easilly moveable. Anyone who says to just "put it here" ignore, your room is yours with it's own loading and reflective problems. The maggies do run the same thing out the back as out the front omly 180 deg. out of phase. If some one tells you direvt reflecting sounds great(like bose) set up your speakers any where normal with them firing toward any listining position and then stand inbetween them. that's the most obvious phase problem. your room will have some too, play with placement and dampening and you will do just fine, After you get it set up and they grow on you unload em' and get a real pair. You'll be much happier if you plan to move them ever in a large room or if you happen to listen a little louder than normal. Good luck. I own several pairs and have sold them for years. They have new rear channels out if you want to check em' out..
I would start with the speakers at least 3 feet or so from the back wall given the length of your room. I found the imaging to be a little too random with a live wall, deadening it seemed to focus the image a little more, but that's just me. In your room, I would put the tweeters on the inside to minimize side reflections. There were instructions on that in the manual (I sent my speakers back to Magnepan) governing this. Another thing to play with is the metal swivel on the rear of the stands, you might tilt them down given the distance to the speakers. One more thing to play with is using the attenuating resistors on the tweeter if it is a little bright.

Good luck!