Maggie update - Page 9

Hey guys, I've been lurking around this thread for a while and firgured I'd wade out into the fray a bit.

I am currently planning on building a dedicated HT in a room that is 17'6" X 12'6" X 8' in 7.1.

My current plan is to use the OA990 as the pre with a stack of OA monoblocks or their new amp. It would be a screen and FPJ setup. Currently I have 2 dedicated 30 Amp and 2 20Amp circuits free for this room alone.

For speaks, I have the 3.3R for FR/FL/2Channel and am thinking of using a pair of MMGs as the center, MC1's for Surrounds and MMG-W for rears. An IB sub would be used low end.

What setup options have you guys learned trying to use maggies in the HT environment that I'll have to be careful to avoid? How close can you go to side/rear walls?

Welcome James. One of the conditions to posting in this thread is that you have to submit to a name change. We're all Alans here, so from here on in your name will have to be 'H' to avoid confusing the rest of us Alans (honorary or otherwise).
I can't comment on placement for the 3.3Rs since I've never owned or heard any. The MC1s should be placed a minimum of two feet from side walls. They can be mounted on the wall (Magnepan recommends that they be placed about twenty inches up from the floor. They can also be mounted from the ceiling, but should also be placed twenty four inches away from side walls (which is where my MC1 surrounds are). The MC1s can also be mounted on stands as floorstanders, but I've never tried it.

H....er, Honorary Alan,

I think what Dean meant to say is that the the MGMC1s can be mounted on the side walls behind the listening area but at least 2 feet out from the BACK wall.

Right Dean??

Yep, or they can be mounted on the back wall two feet in from the side walls. The same applies if they're mounted on the ceiling (horizontally), they should be placed two feet away from the side walls (if the speakers are placed parallel to the side walls). Clear as mud?

I think you're both right, actually. If the MC1s are mounted on the side walls, they should be two feet or more from the back wall. If they're mounted on the back wall, then they should be two feet or more from the side walls. Either way, just keep them away from the walls, bro lol

H: What part of PA are you in? I was born in Erie, but Philly is my adopted hometown That's pretty awesome that you are able to have a dedicated HT room.....I hope to follow in your footsteps one day! Glad to see you are also a fellow Outlaw!

Anyway, Mr. UPS guy is coming up with way with what appears to be a brand new SVS.....catch ya later guys!

That's what I was trying to say, but my brain is fried from inhaling too much sawdust today.

Speaking of walls, where online can I find some good introductory primers on projectors and screens for beginners?

Dean-O: If you add a friggin projector and the 1.6s to your HT, I'm coming down for a visit, bro lol.

M: Happy calibrating is right! After I unpacked it, I just plugged it in, turned the gain up half way, and tossed in SW Ep.II. The friggin thing was trying to show up Maggie by shaking the whole damn room. I went to the THX optimizer screen and did a quick calibration. The first thing that went through my mind was, "I have lightsabers again!!". I never realized how low the lightsaber effects went. I haven't spent much time with placement and such, but so far I'm quite pleased with how it gets along with Maggie

Check this out.....my current speaker set-up is MMGs, MMGWs, and the PB10. The whole shebang was ~$1300. The system it replaced consisted of Paradigm Studio/100s, 20s, and a PB12-ISD/2. Now granted, this is not the same large, open room that I used to have the other system in before moving in here. But this room is still 15x25 (with half of one side wall sort of caved in with a fireplace), so it's not exactly small. Anyway, the old system retailed for almost three times the money. I could look any of you Alans or honorary Alans dead in the eye and tell you sincerely that I'd take the Maggie/SVS system over the Paradigms any day of the week and twice on Sunday. That's not to say the Paradigms are not great speakers....they totally are. But now that I have the bottom end filled in again, I'm completely convinced that the Maggie HT experience is simply awesome. The only thing that will make it better is bigger Maggies

You're welcome to come down, but it doesn't look like I'm going to be installing a projector. The idea was to move the DLP TV into the bedroom and use a projector in the livingroom for watching TV and movies. It turns out that there's no way for me to make the room dark enough during the day time for decent PQ. Oh well, I have a birthday coming up and a pair of 1.6s would do nicely in helping me recover from my disappointment over being unable to use a projector.



So, what are you waiting for? You know you want to.

Three feet from the back wall for the front... Boy, that's going to eat into the real estate of the room really quickly. i wonder if you can design some accoustic treatments to fool the maggies into thinking there's more space than there is. I've heard the MMG's only 16" away from a wall and they sounded very good so I guess it's time to experiment with how much does distance play with quality, especially since this would be a non- standard setup to begin with...

Thanks all for the info on the wall mounts. That's what I thought, but good to have it confirmed.

Z: I'm in York so about 90 minutes from you

-The Honorary H

H: I agree with M....check out the MUG for some ideas. Worst case scenario is you have to have them in less than optimal position. It would be a trade off, but I don't think you'd lose so much in sound quality that it would not sound good. After all, we're just talking about your surrounds, right?

Dean: Sorry the projector isn't going to work out.....though I'm sure the 1.6s will bring a smile to your face I'm using my birthday next month as my excuse for getting a pair, too lol

M: If I was still in Philly I'd definitely take you up on that. I'm stuck down north of Atlanta, unfortunately.....but you should be able to find some very nice places to eat some good food in that city. To me, Philly is the greatest city in the world.

Wow, why didn't you guys tell me how good the MMGs sound with a sub? I spent some time screwing around with the PB10 today to see if I could get it to blend better with the Maggies, and I think I just about have it. After pulling the sub out from the corner to about 18" from both the side and front walls, I found what I was looking for. The sub all of a sudden became much more articulate and I'm now unable to notice where the transition is from MMG to SVS.

The other pleasantly unexpected difference is with the surrounds. I'm assuming it's due to the fact that 1) the MMG-Ws frequency response only goes down to 100Hz, combined with 2) the non-directionality of the PB-10, but the surrounds have really come to life. The information <100Hz that is taken on by the PB10 is being cued by the Ws in back, so even though the sound is coming from the front of the room it sounds like it's coming from behind me. It's really quite amazing.

I'm sure that you guys are sitting there thinking I'm retarded since you already have subwoofers in your systems and already realize all of this.....but I've been w/out one for a good while now. After today, I'm even somewhat apprehensive about putting 1.6s in here.....it sounds so damn good I don't want to screw it up! lol I wish you guys lived closer....I'd love to be able to compare notes in person. It's much more difficult to have to rely on verbal accounts of what's goign on in our respective systems.

Because I don't have MMGs, but I did tell you how good my IB sounds with the MC1s. Just as I suspected, no one ever listens to me.




Can you imagine how much trouble we could get into - coming up with new upgrades and HT toys then conspiring against "the enemy" to get them. (whiny voice) "But honey, ALL the OTHER kids have 3.6s and Classe monoblocks..."

Just got nailed with the wife thing. Now, the checkbook holder won't release the HT budget until I finish putting in the storage, Game, bed, and extra bath rooms first...

Although, to her credit, this is probably the only way I'd do those projects in any reasonable time.

Maybe I can teach her to drywall and frame...?

H, M, Z, 6...

I'm lucky enough to have a wife that actually encourages many of my ventures in the HT and 2 channel audio world. Of course she has worked for Pioneer for 17 years testing car radios and CD players!! They have a really cool listening room up at her plant that has a great system in it!!

Every time I do an upgrade, she can usually hear the improvement. See just thinks I'm too picky about my sound system, but she appreciates how it sounds!!

lol.....this thread is too funny....

D: Have you heard the MMGs? I wonder how close to the MC1s they are. As for conspiring against the enemy, that's the one thing that is both an advantage and disadvantage for me, being that I'm no longer married lol. Hmmm....I wonder how much better things would sound with those Classe monoblocks

H: So you're another mini-Bob Villa too, huh? Are you good with speaker mods, too?

M: I have to admit, I can see why you were less concerned with an upgrade to the 1.6s than I was, now. I'm sure I'll still end up with them, but the MMGs are significantly better with both music and HT when they have a capable sub. For some reason I'm almost wondering if the MMGs are more comfortable being crossed over at 60Hz instead of running full range like I had them doing. I can't imagine it would make THAT much of a difference, but they do sound better overall in addition to just the low end being back.

I definitely like the sub being out away from the wall a little bit, though. That made more of a difference than I expected.

P: Sounds like you hit the WAF jackpot! lol

Z, I haven't heard the MMGs. We just moved to this area last July and really haven't met anyone who's into HT/audio here yet.
I'm hoping to take some time to drive to Tampa (where the nearest Maggie dealer is), and audition the 1.6s and the 3.6s next week.

My wife-to-be does all the sheetrock, ceramic tile, painting, and trim work. I get to be the go-fer and blindly follow orders. Think what you will of me, but it earns me brownie points for HT toys.

Z: I'm still learning, but it's in my blood. By the time my Dad was my age he had built his own house from scratch and was starting his own architectural firm. After checking on sub contractor pricing, it may just be cheaper to fly him out here on the weekends...

My wife? She's learning as well. In our last house I made her replace a toilet and a sink faucet in the bathroom as well as some overhead light fixtures. She certainly isn't opposed to getting dirty and seems to enjoy some of it...

Just inspected construction at the house, BIG problems. Apperently the sewer main "needed" to go directly through the center of the wall at the end of the future HT. So now I get to try and redesign the whole basement around that stupid pipe....

Speaker mods? Never tried it. Not too keen on potentially ruining a perfectly good speaker. Very risk adverse on those things...

Ah, back to work...

M: You might not want to hear the 3.6's I hear they are very hard on the pocket book after you hear them.

P asked me to post these pictures of his old maggies HT setup.









6

What have you been up to lately, 6? Any developments in your HT? You were dead on right about the PB10. I'm pretty happy with it, and it's a great transition sub for what I want to do. I don't see how there could possibly be any better recommendation for a 4-bill sub, other than something DIY. Thanks for the endorsement.....If not for what people like yourself and Ed Mullin said about it, I may still be sub-less and holding out until I could afford an Ultra. This one hit the spot and will allow me to focus on other upgrades

P, very nice HT! I'm envious of your equipment and your room.

Well guys, I have another project to do today. I've got my new entertainment center built, and I'm going to swap it out today after I clean and seal the new flooring. I've been thinking that it might be a good idea to sound-treat the entire wall behind it while I have everything apart. Is there anything I could use that's available at HD or Lowe's that can also be cut to fit and painted to match the surrounding walls?

Dean-O: Good Lord, bro! I thought you were just starting to think about building an entertainment center.....you've already got the damn thing finished?? lol You are da man!

M: Those are Mye stands on P's 1.6s......supposedly they stabilize the panel and make a very nice improvement in the sound. I'm almost certain I'll be picking up a pair of those when I go to 1.6s.

Yep, it's all done and I've already started on "The Boss" for the 1.6s. We're both going to the dealer to listen to them next week. Although, I think she's on to me. When I started wheedling for the 1.6s she said, "You built the entertainment center for those speakers, didn't you?" Oh well, my covert operations seem to be working anyway even now that they're public.

lol, that's awesome......we expect more pics since you have a new addition!

By the way, what kind of stuff are you going to take with you to demo the 1.6s?

I'll get some more pics posted as soon as I can get this thing finished this afternoon.
I'm going to take Pink Floyd: DSOTM, Frank Zappa: Joe's Garage, and David Bowie: Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars (Digitally Remastered). They're the recordings that I'm most familiar with and are representative of the type of music that gets played the most - no C-W, Classical, Hip Hop, Pop, Rap, or any of that stuff for this old kid.

Wow, I pictured you as a '50 Cent' type of guy The only one you listed that Im familiar with is DSOTM. Do you think there is any truth to the fact that it was inspired by the Wizard of Oz? I saw a piece on that a while ago and it's really interesting how it appears to coincide with the film. I believe there is a 5.1 mix of it, too.....supposed to sound pretty damn good.

I'll tell you what surprised me was the BeeGees greatest hits CD I got last year. Their early stuff (pre-disco) from the 60's is really good and it sounds awesome! I can't help but have a soft spot for some disco stuff since the first bands I remember from my childhood were KC and the Sunshine Band; Kool and the Gang; Earth, Wind and Fire, Captain and Tenille; Blondie; etc. Anyhoooo........lol