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Maggies with no Sub: Fantastic surprise

OK, I have had Maggies for years, and always had subs with them: Vandersteens, DefTech, Velodyne, JL Audio, Sunfire, SVS Sound, etc...

When using set up software I have measure the lower end to 35 hz consistantly, so then I would take a ton of time and effort placing the subs in the correct spots, and letting the sub or controller (SMS-1) set up the crossover for different locations. I was always looking for that perfect integration for both stereo and LFE effects, so I finally bought a Rel B1 and I am awaiting it's delivery.

In the mean time, I have for the first time ever, been listening to the Maggie 3.6R's without a sub, and I am shocked. My God, there's a lot of bass there. I have a lot of juice going to them (Cary CAD 500 MB's) and Mye Stands, but wow, they really sound great. I'm kind of sorry I bought the Rel now. I think I may just buy a cheap sub for LFE effects on movies and just leave the Maggie's on their own for Stereo.

Anyone else have this experience??

It may all be amp related, but I will now dispute anyone who says Maggies have no low end authority. I am shocked that much of the low end bass I thought was coming from the subs over the years was actually coming from the Maggies!!
macdadtexas
macdadtexas OP
1,794 posts
 
I've actually had many different amps, including Innersounds and Brystons (14 sst) and he Cary has been the clear winner, especially for sheer power. It seems to really have 1000 W into 4 ohms, with huge headroom. There is literally no distortion. I blew fuses once, but the SPL's and clarity are unbelievable with these amps.

I think I will try the HiFi fuses now that I think of it.
dave_b's avatar
dave_b
3,159 posts
 
A little tip for subs, make sure they are in the same plane as the midrange driver/panel. Front or rear firing subs are ok, but down firing subs are not very tuneful. Having the subs mounted on wood platforms which are also decouple from the floor makes a huge difference in cleaning up the bass and increasing definition...I have a concrete sub-floor so the virtual wood floor does wonders.
shadorne's avatar
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shadorne
7,467 posts
 
A little tip for subs, make sure they are in the same plane as the midrange driver/panel. Front or rear firing subs are ok, but down firing subs are not very tuneful.

Agreed upon keeping the sub close to the plane of the speakers but where did you get the idea that down firing is less tuneful. Downfiring front or rear firing will make very little difference to the sound unless the sub is used well above 100 Hz or it has large amounts of harmonic distortion that bleed into the lower midrange (such as on most poor quality subs) - remember bass frequencies propagate in all directions.
dave_b's avatar
dave_b
3,159 posts
 
Several veterans of the industry I've spoken with have said the same thing, i.e..downfirng subs are not recommended. Most hig end subs are in fact front firing as I would instinctually prefer myself. Terry at Mapleshade is one who recommends frnt or rear firing subs.
eldartford
4,262 posts
 
If you use a spectrum analyzer you will see that the LF roll off of the Maggie is perfectly smooth...no peaks and dips. This is, supposedly, why Maggie bass sounds so much better than what would be expected from the -3dB specs. Also, as Jallen notes, there is lots of music that has no signal at SW frequency.
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