[Nimiety]

Well, I've the entire Magnepan owner's thread (phew) and wanted to get a little feedback from those that have dabble (and those who have only considered and went another direction). I'll be using this for 80%+ HT, and I'm thinking of having two bass traps in the front corners (16" radius and full height - Geometrix by Acoustics First).


I was thinking of having a 5.1 set up in a 15'L x 11'W x 7.5'H room with:

large LCD

phantom center with MMG-W mounted on the front wall per spec

L/R mains with MC1 mounted on the side wall 2' from the front wall per spec

surrounds with MMG-W mounted behind the shoulders of the seating area about 3'-3.5' from the floor

SVS (PB10) or HSU (STF-2 maybe) subwoofer crossed at 80-90hz (to blend with the MC1s) mounted at the rear of the room behind the seating area


I would debate swapping the centers for MC1 if (male) voices don't quite sound right, and since the room is so small, I'm not too concerned about the sub - I've heard that both of these (and other options of course) respond well with Maggies, are quick enough and reach deep enough to make me happy.


Thoughts, and more importantly, did those of you that started with something similar have regrets and later make changes?


Thanks for your feedback!

N...

 

[DonH50]

I cannot comment on most of your post since I have different speakers (larger MG-IIIs) and have just ordered Magneplanar surrounds and center (too little listening). Magnepan's guidelines are good imo -- they have always done a lot of experimenting themselves, and take to heart customer feedback. However, and especially with a high crossover frequency, I think you'll find the sub a bit too directional to put behind you. It would be better someplace in the front, preferably in the center. Maybe you could center it under the TV?


BTW, after reading a bunch of threads and reviews I have decided to try the Rythmik subs. (I also liked that one of the company engineers posted here to talk about them.) I have never heard SVS (nor Rythmic, for that matter), and have heard Hsu only some time back. However, at that time I felt the Hsu was a good sub but for me did not seem to match my Maggies well. I also found front-firing, placed in the speaker plane, provided the most seamless match, at least for me. I did find sub placement was less picky with my III's instead of my I's since the III's go low enough to get the crossover frequency down. However, even crossed over around 40 Hz there was enough energy an octave up (80 Hz) to lend a bit of directionality to the subs I tried.


I also found servo'd subs were a better match, but today most all subs have built-in amps and some sort of feedback so that is practically a non-issue now. Back then, I built my own, using a two-coil Infinity QLS woofer and a custom PID controller and third-order crossover to drive an amp I had sitting around.


Take with block of salt - Don

Let the counter arguments begin... - Don