Any Present Magnepan 3.7i owner using them in a smaller listening space...


I am contemplating the purchase of the 3.7i's however I have a smaller listening space.  My space is approx. 10-ft in width by approx.14-ft depth (the space is open behind the listening position).  The most distance I could put the 3.7i's out from the front-wall would be about 3-ft.  If any of you 3.7i owners are working with a smaller listening space, can you offer some recommendations as to how you got your speaker placement to work ?  As I understand it, Maggies in general need to be placed out notably from the front wall to give them room to "breathe".  

Any experience or recommendations would help me in deciding to purchase or go another route.  Thanks !  

128x128Ag insider logo xs@2xliquidsound

I have 3.7i in a 12 x 15 room and love the sound, they give me everything I could want from a speaker. They are very clean, clear sounding and instrument placement in the sound field is amazing. Mine are about 36" from the front wall and 18" from the side wall. I move the distance of my chair and get the perspective of being at different places in a concert hall. Previously I had 1.7i in the room which sounded great but the improvement is jaw dropping. I sought advice from John Rutan Audio Connection ( where I made the purchase)and Magnepan before I made the jump. Just be sure you have an amp with plenty of power.

Good luck

I should add a friend brought a pair of LRS over and while sounding great for their price point there is no way they compete with the larger Maggie's.

@yyzsantabarbara

Could you please give your impressions of the LRS+ vs the LS50 Metas?  Do you use the sub(s) with both?

@petaluman I had my CODA #16 with the LRS+ and KC62 sub and my mind was blown with that sound. A very musical full range sound in the small room. It was much better than the Thiel CS3.7 in the same space without the sub. Now I do think the Thiel CS3.7 is a better speaker than the LRS+, but in the small room it was no contest. The LRS+ is a perfect speaker for my office room size.

I have put the LS50 Meta back into the office recently to see how it compared. I did not use the CODA #16 this time because it is doing a good job in my Livingroom system. The only "amp" I have was the modded PeachTree GAN1. The mods on it as amazing and this amp is almost as good as my CODA #16 in the same room, minus the huge bass.

Unfortunately, I cannot use the sub-woofer with the GAN1 "amp" or analog sources, so my comparison with the LRS+ is a little skewed in the bass department and limited to streaming.

The LS50 Meta was not as large in the soundstage width and height. I never found it a problem in the past but in comparison to the LRS+ it is smaller. The LS50 Meta does sound clearer to me. A sharper sound, not fatiguing in any way, just a bit cleaner sounding. I have been reading that the Maggies up the chain from the LRS+ are more detailed sounding.

In the past, I was using the LS50 Meta + KC62 sub with various amps. So, I am familiar with the that combo. Overall, the bass on the LRS+ and sub is a bit more than the LS50 Meta + sub. I am rather shocked at the bass on the LRS+. I set the KC62 sub at 80 Hz with the LS50 and 50 Hz with the LRS+.

I think both of these combos are great for my office sized room. The LS50 Meta is also a little more amp friendly.

Edit: I just rewatched the Guttenberg video and the only difference in opinion between he and I is that I think the LS50 Meta is a bit cleaner sounding. I can also take that clean sound to the hilt buy using a Benchmark AHB2 amp with the LS50 Meta. In fact, I was not planning on giving away my LS50 Meta, so I have re-bought an AHB2 amp, hopefully arriving this week. It will not be as good with the LRS+ at loud volume. I am hoping it works well at low to medium volume. I think it will, especially with the KC62 sub,