Let me add that the mass of the sand just stabilizes the panels, keeps them from swaying fore and aft. When I had stacked Quads, I put spikes on the tops of the stands I had made for them as well as the bottoms, and secured the spikes to the ceiling. If you have an 8 ft. ceiling, I highly recommend it for Maggies as well. Make a pair of braces to fit between the panel tops and your ceiling, with adjustable spikes on the top of the braces, to tighten into the ceiling. Now those panels ain't goin' nowhere!
Cheap/free tweak of the Magneplanar 1.7s, etc.
Reading up on some of the extensive tweaks--if not downright full rebuilds--of the Magneplanar 1.7s, it inspired me to try something really simple.
So, figuring the Maggies could use a bit more anchoring and stability, but not wanting to spend anything *just yet* I grabbed 16 volumes of my Encyclopaedia Britannica and put four volumes on each of the feet--two on each foot in the front and two more per foot in the back.
The results surprised me, matching (at least) the improvement you get from speakers sitting on the carpet vs. spiking them through the carpet to the floor underneath. There was a fuller-bodied presentation, a more organic and less disembodied presentation. It increased the sensation of bodies in the room making music. Imaging improved, and resolution of high-pitched percussion noticeably improved. Sounds of orchestral bells, the triangle, tambourine, etc. were easier to hear in large orchestral numbers.
There was more body to the bass, so much so that I turned my subwoofers off except for recordings that had significant sub-40Hz info.
If you have some relatively small heavy things lying around the house, place them on your Maggie feet and see what you hear.
Later today I intend to hit Home Depot for bricks or paver stones or thrift shops for old dumbbells or small free weights.
So, figuring the Maggies could use a bit more anchoring and stability, but not wanting to spend anything *just yet* I grabbed 16 volumes of my Encyclopaedia Britannica and put four volumes on each of the feet--two on each foot in the front and two more per foot in the back.
The results surprised me, matching (at least) the improvement you get from speakers sitting on the carpet vs. spiking them through the carpet to the floor underneath. There was a fuller-bodied presentation, a more organic and less disembodied presentation. It increased the sensation of bodies in the room making music. Imaging improved, and resolution of high-pitched percussion noticeably improved. Sounds of orchestral bells, the triangle, tambourine, etc. were easier to hear in large orchestral numbers.
There was more body to the bass, so much so that I turned my subwoofers off except for recordings that had significant sub-40Hz info.
If you have some relatively small heavy things lying around the house, place them on your Maggie feet and see what you hear.
Later today I intend to hit Home Depot for bricks or paver stones or thrift shops for old dumbbells or small free weights.
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- 9 posts total
- 9 posts total