How many Maggie owners have special stands?


I have recently put cinder blocks and top of my Maggie stands and am amazed at the improvement. The midrange became the main focus of the sound (not the bass) and the speakers came alive in the midrange in a way that I could not achieve with amps or wire.

I want to take my stands to the extreme now and make them absolutely rigid.

My questions are:

What is everyone else doing and how does it affect the sound?

Has anyone run posts from the floor to the ceiling and attached the speakers to them?

Maybe the second question is not necessary but you get the idea, I am convinced this is the kind of improvment Maggie owners want, more 'snap' and micro dynamics is what I hear.

cheers
Phil
128x128philjolet
Part of the value of Maggies over standmounts,etc is that stands are not required...I am not discounting the above comments...but the real key area(and has always been) with Mags is speaker placement...especially in the rear....when set up correctly...the need for any additional modification...in the case of the 1.6s...is really a non-issue...
phasecorrect thanks for the response but can you explain what you mean about: speaker placement...especially in the rear

What does that mean? the distance from the back wall to the speaker? or maybe it means sound treatment?

I agree that placement is critical but when better sound of this magnitude is available by improving the stands it is an issue for me.
When set up correctly...that is 3-4 ft behind the speakers...and a good 2-3 ft. away from side walls...the need for additional stands is diminished...the overall soundstage doesnt change...especially in regards to depth...and imaging with Mags has always been good regardless of speaker depth....I would personally invest more in amps,sources,and cables than monkey with stands that Magnepan doesnt endorse....
If you want to try something then use the method that is width of front wall times .246 to determine distance from the side walls and front wall length time .447 to determine distance from the front wall. I saw this in a recent discussion and the link is http://members.cox.net/azaudiophile/cardis/placement.htm to see it. I tried it and it was very interesting the difference. My front wall is a little over 15' in length so my speakers are approx. 51" from the sides and approx 81" from the front wall. With my seating area centered approx 85" inches from the speakers which is the same distance as the speakers are apart from each other. If you get a chance try it some time.
Stenersr

It is interesting because that is almost where my speakers are now, the width is perfect and they are a little farther back than your formula suggests which for me is for more midrange warmth (after a lot of experimenting I can tell you).

Also an interesting setup to try is HPs 'rule of thirds' which is to put the speakers 1/3 of the length of the room out from the back wall and 1/3 of the width apart. I have tried this and it results in a very cohesive sound with unbelievabley tight bass, dynamics are improved and the speakers really seem to get out of the way of the music. It is just not a reasonable setup in my narrow and long room however.

I has someone tell me that he put 1.6s in the middle of the room (out from the back wall) and measured them to 35hz!

I mantain however that improved stands are a big plus, the sonic improvment is one you cannot get with amps and wire.