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Which Magnepans for my small room?

I'm thinking of Maggie's because of the huge amount of praise I see for them especially for the money. My room is 12x16x8 feet and I already have two 18 inch PSA subs. Right now running paradigm signature s8 v2.

I ideally want something significantly better. What would be the right Maggie for my space? I'm thinking Max I would go to Mag 20.7 and get it used.

I'll be driving them with dual bryston 4bsst with 4bsst2 motherboards which are class d and rated at close to 1000 watts per channel in bridged mode.

Also any kind of cover you can recommend to protect them from my cats?
smodtactical
rikkipuu's avatar
rikkipuu
278 posts
 
I upgraded from 1.7i's to 3.7i's.  My cats gave a little attention the the 1.7's.  I now use tall scratching posts on either sides of the speakers and they have not touched them.  They use the scratching posts all day long.
There is a product called Feliscratch that can be used to direct the cats to the posts.
I love the 3.7i's.   I have 2 REL S5 SHO's coming next week.
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,966 posts
 

The max you would go to is the 20.7? That model IS the max Magnepan, except for the new 4-panel 30.7. I don’t recall what size room Elizabeth has her pair of 20.7 in, but 12’ x 16’ may not be big enough for the 3.7, let alone the 20.7. Either would need to be on the short wall, firing down the 16’ room length. Assuming you place each 18"-wide 3.7 panel 1’ from the side walls, that would put the inside edges of the panels only 7’ apart. Being only 1’ from the side walls, the tweeters would need to be on the inside, making the left-to-right tweeter separation about 6’---not much.

Have you seen the 20.7 in person? They are HUGE! They would absolutely dominate if not overpower a 12’ x 16’ room, but then so would the 3.7. The 1.7 would look more room size-appropriate, as would the similarly-sized Eminent Technology LFT-8b.

flatblackround's avatar
flatblackround
279 posts
 
Agreed.  My 1.7s are quite adequate for room of 28x14x9 feet.   3.7s are as large as you should go imo.
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mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 
Smod, They are very different speakers than you have now. They will not go louder but they will go loud more effortlessly. With your subs they will go loud enough. I do not think anyone can argue about the high frequencies. Many think the Maggie ribbon tweeter is the best made.
They will cast a larger image. Like being in row 6 instead of row 20. This alone impresses a lot of people. Some think the image is too big. I am not one of them. Bass is detailed but does not go down that far but you have that covered. They are dipoles and should be off the wall at least 3 feet. Place acoustic foam tiles on the wall directly behind the speaker for the best imaging. Planar magnetics like the Maggies are usually mentioned in the same breath as ESLs. Both have their proponents. They give you the same perspective on the music. I personally think full range ESLs have an advantage. No crossover, much lighter diaphragm and total control of the diaphragm down to the molecular level. They tend to be more expensive and bigger. I would give a look at the SoundLabs 545 which I believe is in your price range. 

Mike
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