Planar Speakers and Diffusors

Planars do need to be toed in perhaps a bit more to get that sweet spot.  Mine are toed in so they cross a few inches in front of me.  Plus that eliminates them from directly reflecting off the wall in back of them.  Cannot tell you about diffusers, but I tried absorbers in back of them.  What that did was it took away the spacious sound of the dipoles and most of the soundstage as well.  

Thanks for the responses.

From what I understand, the Clarisys speakers are designed to reflect sound forward and behind the speakers. They use the back wall reflection as part of the open audio design. The Planar design does not radiate any information to the side walls. I have the speakers about 30" from the side wall because the bass seems a little stronger.

I have moved these 250 lb. speakers back/forward/ side to side/ toe in/no toe in and the present placement seems to be the best.

I have also found that the 85" TV screen to also help deflect and improve the openness. I have tried sound absorbers in front of the TV and it seems to restrict the soundstage.

The dealer, SunCoast Audio also advises using No absorption, and when they have them at shows they use some sort of reflective clear screen behind them to eliminate any absorption from drapes etc.

So, I don’t know if these speakers are a different animal than typical Planar speakers, but reflection or diffusion seems to be the way to go.

ozzy

Ozzy - thanks for this discussion - I have been a fan of planer speakers since 1982. I have stuck with Magnapan all these years. Got my Maggie 1.6qrs modified by Peter Gunn when I retired 3 years ago. They keep improving - I guess there is a real issue on Maggie panels when they moved from copper wire to aluminum wire. My Maggie 1.7is do not compete on vocal and horn ‘quality’ vs the modified 1.6qrs. I also have worried about the ‘flat screen TV’ between both systems and it’s affect on sound stage, imaging and sound quality in general. I am also over the Moon happy with The Swarm subs with my Modified 1.6qrs. I am considering some sound absorption panels or a ‘blanket’ over the TV screen during ‘serious listening ‘ sessions.

Mijostyn - I am a retired Chemist - not an Electrical Engineer - how do I cut off my Maggie’s at 100 hertz and let The Swarm take care of all the base requirements for my system?

tom8999,

To cut off the frequencies below 100hz and send them to your subs, you will need some type of electronic crossover.

In the past I have owned the JL CR-1, but I eventually sold it because it wasn’t as transparent as I wanted.

ozzy

This is a recent post from the Audio Sharks Forum by SunCoast Audio about the Clarisys speakers.

"Clarisys are panels, dipoles, so the sound is coming out the front and back. It doesn’t care what’s on the side walls as its radiation pattern is unlike a box speaker or Omni. With Clarisys, unlike some of it’s competitors (or what some claim to be full ribbon - which are really Mylar in the bass), from the lowest note to the highest note, the driver material is identical. This creates a very coherent sound. The entire frequency range is one material."

ozzy