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Maggies a waste if only 3' from backwall?

All maggie owners, please chime in. I've been considering the maggie 3.6 or 20.1. My basement room is 15x20x7, thin carpet on slab floor, drywall over foundation. It is very unlikely I will be able to have them out farther than 3 feet from backwall, unless i had them on some kind of rolling/sliding platform. I have read repeatedly that maggies must be at least 4-5 feet from backwall. So, is 3 ft just not enough? Will the magic disappear and render them pedestrian?

While I'm at it, one more question: I understand there is a narrow sweetspot for maximum enjoyment, but how bad is out-of-sweetspot/off-axis listening? What aspect of SQ is actually lost? I ask this because I've read several posts where people thought they heard a real drummer or piano in next room only to find it was music played through a maggie (ie, "Best Speakers.." thread).

Thanks much for the replies. I really am considering joining the maggie family, but don't want to make a mistake based on room and one-person sweet spot.

Jeff
jeffkad
philjolet's avatar
philjolet
2,306 posts
 
I wonder if the new 1.7 would be a step up from the 3.6, now that it has all QR drivers, which would help make it more coherent. I have not read about a comparison. It also is supposed to have a larger sweetspot. It seems like it would be a better fit for your room too.

It is probably the direction I would go fwiw...
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isanchez
276 posts
 
My Magies 3.6r are three feet from the wall and they sound terrific. In my room, there is no lack of bass, thanks in great part to the Joule Electra 300ME/Spectron mono-block combo.
eldartford
4,262 posts
 
Philjolet...The MG 1.6 has a QR tweeter. QR means Quasi Ribbon, and amounts to no more than a section of the diaphram with lightweight conductors to extend HF response. I do prefer the QR approach over the true ribbon, perhaps because the common technology yields better integration. The lower cost helps too.
philjolet's avatar
philjolet
2,306 posts
 
Eldartford,

I know the 1.6 has a QR tweeter. The point I was making is that the 1.7 has all QR drivers, it seems to me this would be a plus.

Also fwiw, there are some who think the 3.6 lacks coherency because the bass panel can not keep up with the ribbon tweeter so, in this regard, I imagine the 1.7 may top it.
chrisr's avatar
chrisr
543 posts
 
It is not a waste, but I would look into getting some acoustic treatments behind them. Auralex,Cascade and the like have tons of solutions to create more space acoustically behind the speakers.
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