I tried posting a followup by posting a new thread so people would more readily see it but it seems the moderators will not allow that.
I borrowed a set of MG12s from my local dealer over the weekend and they worked in my small room splendidly with a few surprises. First, I ended up with them only about 8 inches from the side walls with the tweeters on the outside. I was expecting them to work better with the tweeters on the inside to keep them further from the side walls but the soundstage was two narrow that way. The walls are treated so I'm sure that contributes to the ability to place them this way. Three feet from the wall worked great with the back of my chair eight feet from the speakers, which puts my head about two feet in front of the treated back wall. Bass extended lower than I expected and on some recordings really surprised me. Despite someones suggestion to remove the bass traps I think their presence in the room was largely responsible for the bass performance I experienced. They didn't go below 40 Hz but on some recordings 40 Hz was definitely audible and felt. I've read so many reviews that say you hear but don't really feel the bass from Magnepans. That wasn't my experience at all. I didn't feel sub bass, because it wasn't there, but the bass that was present was very impactful and highly detailed. I thought my Athena LS500bs had good bass definition, until I heard these. The Athenas go lower, but now sound muddy in comparison. I'm so pleased with how the MG12s sounded in my room I'm thinking about taking a chance on the 1.7s. I loved the size (large) of the presentation of instruments so much that now I want more!. I'm hoping the extra 5 Hz of bass extension will allow me to forgo a subwoofer. I know some people with Magnepans who simply refuse to alter the quality of Maggie bass with subwoofers. And when I eventually finish a larger space downstairs I don't want to regret not getting the larger panels.
I borrowed a set of MG12s from my local dealer over the weekend and they worked in my small room splendidly with a few surprises. First, I ended up with them only about 8 inches from the side walls with the tweeters on the outside. I was expecting them to work better with the tweeters on the inside to keep them further from the side walls but the soundstage was two narrow that way. The walls are treated so I'm sure that contributes to the ability to place them this way. Three feet from the wall worked great with the back of my chair eight feet from the speakers, which puts my head about two feet in front of the treated back wall. Bass extended lower than I expected and on some recordings really surprised me. Despite someones suggestion to remove the bass traps I think their presence in the room was largely responsible for the bass performance I experienced. They didn't go below 40 Hz but on some recordings 40 Hz was definitely audible and felt. I've read so many reviews that say you hear but don't really feel the bass from Magnepans. That wasn't my experience at all. I didn't feel sub bass, because it wasn't there, but the bass that was present was very impactful and highly detailed. I thought my Athena LS500bs had good bass definition, until I heard these. The Athenas go lower, but now sound muddy in comparison. I'm so pleased with how the MG12s sounded in my room I'm thinking about taking a chance on the 1.7s. I loved the size (large) of the presentation of instruments so much that now I want more!. I'm hoping the extra 5 Hz of bass extension will allow me to forgo a subwoofer. I know some people with Magnepans who simply refuse to alter the quality of Maggie bass with subwoofers. And when I eventually finish a larger space downstairs I don't want to regret not getting the larger panels.