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Placement of Magnepan 1.6's or 3.6's

I'm rearranging my living room which is 18.5' X 11.5'. I'm getting ready to buy new Maggies, (I've had Tympani 1D's for 20 years.) I planned to get 1.6's and have them facing the short width of the room. A friend suggested that I might have them face the longer length, in which case I could fit the 3.6's. I didn't consider that before because I have a Steinway B grand piano that is 7' long and will sit across the short width of the room. If the speakers are basically a couple of feet from the corners of the room, the body of the piano will partially obstruct the listening V between the speakers and the listener. Is that a problem? Does that listening space need to be completely unobstructed? The Magnepan brochure has them pictured in a corner directly against the wall with a couch a couple of feet out. What do you think? It would be great if they could fit and sound at their best facing the large length of the room. If the piano is not a problem, would the 1.6's be enough or do I need to get the 3'6's?
Thanks.
Tony
tconny
philjolet's avatar
philjolet
2,306 posts
 
Tconny

I replaced my Maggie 1.6's with Trente's in my 13 x 22 living room (sitting about 6ft out from the 13 foot wall and 6ft apart) and have not looked back. After having Quad 57 for 10 years and then the Maggies I do not miss the panel sound, the Trentes are that good with (IMO) better detail, tone, dynamics and bass than the Maggies (though the Maggies go slightly lower) and easier to drive to boot. Plus I am convinced the Maggies need a bigger room as their QR drivers put out a lot of energy and tend to glare in normal rooms.

I now dream of owning a Berning or Atmasphere OTL amp instead of the 200 - 300 watt (expensive) amps the Maggies need.

Just my 2cents worth
tconny OP
3 posts
 
Thanks Philjolet. I'm going to listen to the Trente's at the dealer here in NY city this week. I'll see how I like them compared to the 1.6 Maggies. Thanks for your input.
krazyaudio
11 posts
 
When I read some litt on the subject and tried it...it really worked for me...I had Timpanys1d...(I'm looking for another pair). Planars and esl's should be at least , in my opinion about 6' from the back walls and as close edgewise to the side walls. Planars cancel bass freq when placed close to back walls unlike dinamycs which do the opposite, placing them close to sidewalls also helps a lot. I used to get unbelievable bass from my timpanys in this fashion. i used a Acoustat TNT 200 with an audio research SP-14 tube preamp. Hope this helps you..
Rol
eldartford
4,262 posts
 
Krazyaudio...IMHO the best place to put your Maggies is near (not exactly) halfway into the room. If your room is 40 feet long, put the speakers at 15 feet from the front wall, and listen from 10 feet from the back wall. All this is, alas, totally impractical in the home setting. I have heard demos done this way, with a cathedral ceiling to boot, and the Maggies suspended from the ceiling. Someday...
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