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Which Stands for Magnepan LRS (and other models): Mye, Magnariser, Sound Anchor, etc

Just received my LRS, and I am smiling so far.  Having read many comments and forum discussions, I am working at getting the position and room right.  I am getting close, but expect a few more days of tweaking before I am there.

The theme of stands is constant in the forums for the LRS as well as the other Maggies.  I figure once the 60 day trial period runs out (probably sooner as I can’t imagine returning them), I will order stands as the next step.

My question is which stands?  First, price is not a concern, as all the stands I have seen are within a hundred bucks or so of each other.  The common candidates are:

Mye- probably the most mentioned.  Triangular base, strut to the top. Very different than others.
Magnariser- 3 models to choose from, each reporting different sonic qualities. All appear to rise the speakers up off of the floor, none have the top strut.
Sound Anchors- again, a bottom only stand.  I don’t see LRS specifically mentioned on their website, but I assume one is in the works, or another model fits.  I have not contacted them to confirm

So, does anyone have direct experience comparing the various stands with the LRS? (I suspect similar results with the MMG, .7 and 1.7, so comments on experiences with these their families are appreciated) Or does anyone have any technical/physics/engineering insights on the whole subject? 

and finally, with stands, does the room position set up change? Will I have to go through another round of finding the sweet spot? 

Thanks!
meiatflask
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 
Sound Anchors are OK but I do not think they make a set for the LRS yet.
You might have to wait a little. You want the middle of the long axis of the speaker aimed right at your head. Also, Draw a perpendicular from the middle of the speaker to the from wall. Get Acoustic Tiles like these
https://www.parts-express.com/sonic-barrier-fwp122-studio-acoustic-foam-wedge-panel-12-x-12-x-2-black-12-pack--260-547 and use double sided carpet tape to stick them to the front wall 2 wide and 6 high centered on your perpendicular. You may notice a slight drop in high frequencies but your image will improve quite a bit. 
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,816 posts
 

One thing I like about the Sound Anchor stands for the Eminent Technology LFT-8b loudspeakers (like Maggies, a magnetic-planar dipole, though mounted on a woofer enclosure) is their 3-point design: the SA "stand" (a bit of a misnomer; is more a base) has a threaded hole on it’s underside for spikes at three locations. 3 points define a plane, all you need to support a speaker. With a 4-point design, if one spike is even slightly misaligned, the enclosure with not be stable.

The Mye stand for the LRS, like that of all the Mye Maggie stands, supports the 4’ tall panel not just at it’s base, but up about 2/3 of it’s height with struts, a good idea. And, the base is a tripod design---three locations on it’s underside for spikes or whatever. I installed Townshend Seismic Pods on my SA ET bases, and am sold on speaker isolation rather than coupling. That may seem to conflict with the last sentence of the above paragraph, but there is more to it than that, and this is not the time or place to discuss that subject.

The choice of stand will not require any repositioning: the speakers tonal balance will not be altered, only it's clarity, resolution, etc. If you haven't much experience with dipole planars, know that their distance from the wall behind them will drastically affect their sound. Generally speaking, the further from the wall the better. Most of us don't have a large enough room for a 10' distance, so 3' is often cited as a minimum, 5' being even better. Distance from the side walls is not critical, due to the dipole front-to-back cancellation creating a null to either side of the speaker. 

One thing that should be mentioned is the statement above regarding acoustic foam being attached to the wall behind the LRS. There are two ways to manage the rear wave of a dipole planar: absorption, and diffusion. If you are going the absorption route, a far better choice than the acoustic tiles mentioned are any of the many acoustic panels available containing Owens Corning 703 (GIK Acoustics being a popular one). For diffusion (the random "scattering" of the rear wave), an economical offering is the Gridfuser from, again, GIK. Absorption is a good choice if your listening room is too bright, diffusion good for a room tending towards the warm side of neutral.

lsc2449
10 posts
 
Rob here from Magna Riser. I currently offer three different LRS designs that are all affordable and musically engaging. All have great reviews from owners. I just took delivery of a new pair of LRS. Most people don’t know that some of my designs go through six months of development with multiple prototypes being built and hundreds of hours of comparative listening sessions refining my design options. Then the designs are field tested in owners homes after in house testing. Some of our models were tested on speakers owners send to us to help in the R&D process. One Maggie was in house for 9 months or possibly longer. So there is a lot of listening involved. I purchased the new LRS because I will begin looking at creating a new model exclusively for the LRS using some of the insights we have from working on our 30.7 prototypes. The new LRS stands will probably offer options like tall vertical rear supports and at least three or four finish options which may include matching trim pieces. None of the needed design work can take place without having a set of the LRS back in house for an extended time frame. The investment in the speaker alone plus all the needed materials needed to create perhaps four different design prototypes out of dissimilar materials guarantees that I will not see a profit on the new model for an extended period of time.The new LRS design may not see the light of day for six months or longer or possibly never if it does not cross the required sonic threshold. Just wanted to share some information since our products were brought up here. Magna Riser does offer a money back guarantee on every set we sell and each includes a set of our replacement jumper wires. I am a fellow Maggie owner, passionate about music and also fanatical about getting the most sonic performance from my speakers.
meiatflask OP
152 posts
 
Ok. magna riser, you present a compelling argument, and quite frankly the neither the mye or sound anchors sound like their designs are really perfect for the LRS.  So should I consider one of the three current stands that works for the LRS, or should I be patient and wait for the stand specifically designed for the LRS?
lsc2449
10 posts
 
I never tell anyone that Magna Risers are the best or only aftermarket stands worth considering. I do think that they are certainly among the most well researched. I have tried different metal types, gauges, and geometries, combinations of different type metals and experimented with alternate materials such as carbon fiber, kiln dried woods, and composites. We experimented with heat treating, shot peeing and even stress relieving bulk metals. Some of our models use constrained layer dampening, tuning blocks or resonance tuning plates and dampeners with interference fit. Some use 6 different build materials in combination and take more than 20 hours in the build process. Each is resonance tuned in an extended listening session that can be as long as 4 hours. Every change in design made a difference, some for the good some with negative sonic contributions. In the end I dial in the combination that allows the stands to enable the speaker to more fully realize the inherent potential of the specific Maggie model while maintaining the “Maggie Magic” while also providing for improved style and stability. These are limited edition built to order stands. You can check out our three LRS designs on our magnarisers.com website and see think pieces on our designs over at our Magna Risers Facebook page where you can request a list of owners comments. We have dozens of stands on LRS’in owners homes and none has been returned because owners could not hear the sonic benefit of having them in their system. In fact some owners write saying I should charge more. In the case of the new yet to be constructed LRS stands mentioned earlier I will say that they may not be available for quite some time and also give you a heads up that the cost will of necessity, because of the added complexity of the design and use of expensive exotic metals, be significantly more higher priced than the cost effective pricing of our three current offerings.
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