Magnepan Placement


I have just picked up a pair of used SMG's and have to say, even thought they may not be the most recent version or the top o the heap, these things are amazing! Which leads me to my question, are there any "do's and don't" regarding placement? I have read Jim Smith's "Get Better Sound" and have applied his rules of thumb regarding placement from the rear wall, etc; however, I wanted to see if there are any secrets out there? Thanks in advance!!
jimbojrjb
Most Maggies require a lot of power and current from the amp to deliver to the max. Same with SMGs I would think. Do not underpower for best results. Also make sure amp can drive lower impedances effectively.

Regarding location, well out from rear wall as mentioned. Fine tune placement until things are just right.
Tweeter or hf part of drivers to the outside, generally.
Bare minimum of 30 inches from back wall. 48" is more like it. Keep 'em out of corners.
They need 'air'.

Always have some toe in. Experiment. You can face them right at the seating position of 'cross' them in front or behind you.

Adjust for image and staging.

If used in stereo only, IE, no TV in between as I have, you may want to put some diffusion between the panels on the wall...
I have seen backwave modifiers for Maggies, as well, since some people think that the back reflection causes audible problems. I may experiment with that, using a 2x or 3x bath towel draped over the back of the speaker, on the tweeter side.

The folks over at Cardas use a mathmatical theory for setup which works. At least it has for the last 5000 years.

http://www.cardas.com/pdf/roomsetup.pdf

They may have a special procedure for bi/di poles.

Experiment to your hearts content. Send wife/kids to movies for a couple hours so you can have some peace and quiet to experiment.