Did my own HT with all Magnpean; 1.6QR mains and MGMW surrounds and MGMC center. Very economical way (under $1,000 for 7.1 surround speakers!) to do it.
If you're spoiled for a tad bit bigger sound, you'd probably want the larger surrounds and center. But I have had no complaints.
Listening to SACD one can tell, especially on vocals as they come across on the surrounds that they are smaller and less rich than the 1.6's. This is to be expected. However, if you're not using SACD or DVD-Audio, then I doubt you'll ever even notice such an effect.
Regarding amplification, I'm using an all Outlaw Audio amplifier set; 755 5 channel amp at 200wpc, and two Outlaw monoblocs also 200wpc. I'm actually passively biamping the main speakers, which uses four of the five channels of the 755. So, I also use a Threshold T-50 (50 wpc class A) for the rear surrounds. Both the 50wpc and the 200wpc work fine, but the higher wattage really makes Maggies come alive.
Hanging Maggie surrounds may take a bit of engineering. They are quite heavy, so you'll possibly have to mount them to a stud, thereby crippling freedom of location of speaker. Or, you'll have to use some pretty hefty anchors going through drywall.The bonus is that you can invert them! They will sound identical hung upright or upside down! If you're running wiring through the wall, this can be advantageous in that you can have the wires coming from the speaker up higher or down lower, depending on their orientation. On my HT, I placed the mid surrounds upright, and the rear surrounds upside down and had the leads from the wall right where the connection to the speaker was. You will have to get a couple extra brackets from Magnepan to invert them, however. I called and was sent them for free.
Aside from these considerations, they are wonderful for HT! I'm very pleased with them.
I'm using the Outlaw 755 5 channel amp at 200wpc; works great with all the maggies.
If you're spoiled for a tad bit bigger sound, you'd probably want the larger surrounds and center. But I have had no complaints.
Listening to SACD one can tell, especially on vocals as they come across on the surrounds that they are smaller and less rich than the 1.6's. This is to be expected. However, if you're not using SACD or DVD-Audio, then I doubt you'll ever even notice such an effect.
Regarding amplification, I'm using an all Outlaw Audio amplifier set; 755 5 channel amp at 200wpc, and two Outlaw monoblocs also 200wpc. I'm actually passively biamping the main speakers, which uses four of the five channels of the 755. So, I also use a Threshold T-50 (50 wpc class A) for the rear surrounds. Both the 50wpc and the 200wpc work fine, but the higher wattage really makes Maggies come alive.
Hanging Maggie surrounds may take a bit of engineering. They are quite heavy, so you'll possibly have to mount them to a stud, thereby crippling freedom of location of speaker. Or, you'll have to use some pretty hefty anchors going through drywall.The bonus is that you can invert them! They will sound identical hung upright or upside down! If you're running wiring through the wall, this can be advantageous in that you can have the wires coming from the speaker up higher or down lower, depending on their orientation. On my HT, I placed the mid surrounds upright, and the rear surrounds upside down and had the leads from the wall right where the connection to the speaker was. You will have to get a couple extra brackets from Magnepan to invert them, however. I called and was sent them for free.
Aside from these considerations, they are wonderful for HT! I'm very pleased with them.
I'm using the Outlaw 755 5 channel amp at 200wpc; works great with all the maggies.