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Optimal Placement for Magnepan 3.6?

Distance from rear wall and side walls….distance between speakers (imaging)….distance from speakers to listening position?

Concerns: Unwanted glare from ribbon tweeter. Room dimension constraints (how small is too small…speakers need room to breathe).

Also: concerning bass extension…in a small room are the 3.6’s adequate without a sub? How well does the 3.6 integrate with a sub?

Background: I want more resolution…I seek a more resolving speaker. I truly enjoy my Krell Res 2s because they are incredibly dynamic and cohesive and they maintain control at extremely high volume levels. They work great on large orchestral movements, rock and any other music with great dynamic contrasts. I do however yearn for the superior resolution of planner speakers when I listen to acoustic music and vocals. I admire the strengths of the Krells, but since I spend more time listening to acoustic jazz, acoustic guitar, vocals and string arrangements, I feel the need to make a change.

Right now, I just need basic information regarding optimal setup requirements. At this point, my actual room measurements are of little consequence.

Note: This is a Magnepan 3.6 thread. At this time, I am not interested in hearing about other speakers (unless they can be had at the same price as the 3.6s and offer the same - or better, attributes).
Thanks
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Showing 1 response by onemug

onemug
784 posts
 
>>>Has anyone had luck with this speaker (the 3.6) in a room as small as mine?<<<

I had to put my 3.6's in a 12x14 room (used as home office) when we bought our newest house. I had Apogees and Maggies at the same time and the Apogees got the big room. The Maggies sounded fine in the "new" small room but not as good as in the bigger room. I eventually sold the Apogees and the Maggies got the big room and all was well.

But here's the deal. I then tried to find a set of more reasonably sized speakers to go into the smaller room. Compared to the Maggies even B&W 802's look small so I tried out some floor standers and stand mounts, some up to $8000, but they all sounded broken compared to the Maggies in that room. I dubbed it "the room from hell" because so many speakers sounded good at the dealers but when they went in there, not so much. The blessing in disguise for me was that what finally worked in there were SET's driving single drivers. It had it's own charm and I still had the Maggies in the big room.

What I take from that is: It might not be the right or best sized room for them but they sounded better than a great many others at almost twice the Maggies price. Like you said, "the price-to-transparency factor is about as good as it gets."

What about your future? Do you see moving to a place that has a bigger room? Buy now/enjoy now/enyoy even more later.
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