I have the LRS’s being driven by the Rogue Sphinx ver 3 (tube preamp stage and Hypex Class D amplifier modules with MOSFET output devices. High speed switching the output devices is the secret sauce) in very small room (9’1” x 11’5”). They are set up on the short wall with tweeters on the outside toed in, so that the tweeters are aimed just on the edge of my ears. The speakers are 39” from the front wall and 15” from the side walls. The seating position is the same distance as the speakers are apart forming an equal lateral triangle. In other words it’s set up for near-field listening. Also they are mounted on Sound Anchor LRS stands at the highest mounting position, allowing the top of the speaker to reach an elevation of 57.5” in an almost vertical position. These stands tip the speaker about a 1/4” forward when measured from the top of the speaker to the back wall. Bass is better, the vertical sweet spot opens up, and the sound stage gets bigger vertically. This makes near-field listening not only possible but incredibly good! For room treatment I use ASC’s newest (most absorbent) 16’ tube traps, but not behind the Maggie’s, as they’re too absorbent at 39” from the speaker. They’re placed 1/4” from the inside edge of each LRS with the metal rivets on each tube trap directly facing each other. If the edge of each speaker were a knife it would be dissecting the tube traps in half right between the double rivets. This results in well defined bass, better low level detail, and in the near-field setup most of the reflected sound doesn’t come into play anyway with Maggie’s since their wave dispersion is way more direct than dynamic box speakers, that have a reflection dispersion close to 360 degrees vertically and horizontally.
I’ve had Maggie 3.6R’s in a larger room with class AB amplification and loved it! And while the high end was more extended in the 3.6R’s and the bass deeper. The speed, driver coherence, transparency and over all balance top to bottom of the LRS’s being driven with the Sphinx ver 3 was preferable. The tube preamp allows for more roundness and body to the music, especially with voices. And with the amplifier’s Class D MOSFET output providing a firm grip with a damping factor >1000, the amp sounds like a tube amp with balls!
Herb Reichert of Stereophile reviewed the first version of the Sphinx and now the Sphinx ver3. In his review he used the Sphinx to drive Maggie .7’s. Here’s what he said, “The Sphinx V3 made the modest .7 Maggies sound like the best speaker ever. What more could I want?” “The V3 was always more exciting and engaging than its now-classic forebear. I promise, you have my word: The Rogue Sphinx V3 will someday be remembered, like the original NAD 3020 integrated amp, as one of the greatest high-value audio products of all time.”
I’ve had Maggie 3.6R’s in a larger room with class AB amplification and loved it! And while the high end was more extended in the 3.6R’s and the bass deeper. The speed, driver coherence, transparency and over all balance top to bottom of the LRS’s being driven with the Sphinx ver 3 was preferable. The tube preamp allows for more roundness and body to the music, especially with voices. And with the amplifier’s Class D MOSFET output providing a firm grip with a damping factor >1000, the amp sounds like a tube amp with balls!
Herb Reichert of Stereophile reviewed the first version of the Sphinx and now the Sphinx ver3. In his review he used the Sphinx to drive Maggie .7’s. Here’s what he said, “The Sphinx V3 made the modest .7 Maggies sound like the best speaker ever. What more could I want?” “The V3 was always more exciting and engaging than its now-classic forebear. I promise, you have my word: The Rogue Sphinx V3 will someday be remembered, like the original NAD 3020 integrated amp, as one of the greatest high-value audio products of all time.”
