2. speakers
  3. 1137955767

Maggies moved 6 inches...big improvement

I have never found that my Maggies are so sensitive to positioning as suggested by many users. Perhaps it is because I have three (not two), the room is very asymetrical, and full of randomly placed furniture unlike the dedicated "listening room". I pull them out a few feet from the wall when I am listening seriously, and that's about it.

However, I just moved them about six inches, and it made a big difference. The secret is that I moved them straight up...off the floor.
I have known for decades that Maggies sound best when suspended from a high ceiling, but that option is not available. What I did is put 1X6 oak boards, on edge, under the metal Maggie feet. This raises the speaker about six inches, and provides open space under them. I am not sure why the improvement happens but here are a few ideas.
1. The open space under the speakers.
2. The speaker is more equally spaced to the ceiling and the floor.
3. The speakers being higher, furniture obstucts less.
eldartford
gregadd
574 posts
 
could be the restricted vertical dispersion.
cwlondon
1,210 posts
 
Eldartford

I am curious about your comment re suspending Maggies from the ceiling.

I have used Magneplanars for less than 3 decades, but the only time I have ever heard of them being hung from the ceiling is usually for a beat up old pair on ebay, being sold by what appears to be an online pawn shop, where the stands are missing.

So I have never heard about, and had no idea, that they might even sound good in this configuration.

My guess is that they would sound leaner in the bass as they rise off the floor, and also that they might move slightly when hanging, certainly enough the "smear" the signal.

My guessing here would also be consistent with the excellent results I have had with MYE stands for my Tympanis:

more bass, more control, more clarity bt anchoring them to the floor, not suspending them from above

But maybe I dont know as much about these speakers as I thought I did?
eldartford OP
4,262 posts
 
Cwlondon...I think that it results from being well away from all boundries, walls, floor and ceiling. The best setup I heard involved a huge room (barn really) where the Maggies were hung about 40 percent of the way into the room. (Near the center).

Suspended speakers, Maggies and others, do not move due to playing music. The idea that they do is a myth. Theoretical analysis will show this, but if you still don't believe try suspending a speaker (as I have) and actually observe what happens when you play music. (Nothing).

Suspended speakers can swing as a result of being bumped or blown by wind. For any reasonable length of suspension rope such motion will be at a frequency lower than 1 Hz, and will not interfere with musical frequencies. Compare with the movement of musical instruments which occurs as the performers play them.

Tympanis would be more difficult to hang than most speakers.
More to discover