Maggie 3.6 owners -- please help


Hi,

In my search for audio nirvana (more than 1 foot wide) I am looking for alternatives to replace my Innersound Eros MKIIs.

I was wondering 2 things regarding 3.6s;

1.) is the size of the sweet spot larger than the Eroses? Are they better off axis than the Eros?

2.) I know they need room, but how do you think they would sound being placed 3 feet from the front wall?

Thanks for your help.

Mike
1musiclover
I own the 1.6 models and they have a larger sweetspot than the innersounds but both speakers are flat planar designs and therfore somewhat limited in their sweetspot in my opinion. You might want to listen to the Soundlab electrostats by Roger West as I believe they are made of multiple flat mylar drivers in a curved array vs the single curved mylar driver of the Martin Logan offerings. I always thought the soundlabs sounded great and had a larger sweet spot than the innersounds and threw a nice soundstage. The Maggie 3.6 speakers are also superb and cost a lot less than the Soundlabs but if budget isn't a priority you might want to listen to both. Your room setup will also effect the width and depth of your sweetspot and soundstage, so you might not hear at home what you heard at the store.
I have my 3.6R a little over 3 feet out from the wall, about 8 feet apart and slightly toed in so that they cross just behind my head. They throw a huge soundstage, although the sweetspot is not as big as the larger Soundlabs, it is more than adequate in my 23 x 16 room. They are oriented along a long wall, with the surface behind them 10 feet high, made of textured brick. This has an added bonus of being a built in diffusor.
At 3 feet from the front wall you're not going to be hearing their full potential, but that doesn't mean they're not going to sound great.
You'll need to do some basic treatment to the wall behind the speakers, perhaps some diffuser panels to help give you some of the stage depth that you'll be compromising with the 3' setup.
The sweetspot is quite narrow with the 3.6's, but moving slightly out of the sweetspot doesn't compromise the sound too much. For critical listening you'll have an optimum spot that's perhaps less than a foot wide, but for more casual listening you'll have a lot of enjoyment even sitting off to the side of the speakers.

Remember that these speakers have fuses for the panels and the ribbon tweeter, so you'll need lots of good clean power to avoid clipping and fuse blowing. I know your Innersounds are pretty demanding, but I think the 3.6's are even more so. Don't even think about anything under 600 watts if you listen at fairly loud levels and your room is of average or greater proportions.

When you get all the pieces in place, the 3.6's can be a wonderful speaker.

Rooze
Innersounds have a VERY narrow sweetspot. Wide enough for one person is what my local dealer recommended. The Maggie 3.6R is somewhat better in that regard. I use the 3.6R in a hybrid 2 channel/5.1 home theater setup. With an active center channel, the 3.6R sweetspot is HUGE. Even way off axis, you can enjoy an enveloping soundfield. With only the two speakers in stereo, the prime listening area is much narrower, but 2 or 3 people can still enjoy them simultaneously.