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 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.
I would like to add to Rooze's response re: power requirements. While it is true that Magnepans are at their best with high power, please keep in mind that it is current and quality as well. I have used Magnepan loudspeakers in various flavors for over 20 years from the SMG, MGIII, MGIIIA, 3.6R. I have never used an amp larger than 400 wpc to get more than adequate spl's in rooms of differing sizes, including the one I am in now (23 x 16.5 x 10). I have used the Sunfire Cinema Signature, Aragon Palladium 1K (still have those), and currently, the Wolcott P220 monos at 220 wpc. The high current of the Sunfire is wonderful, as is the high current output of the 400 wpc Aragon, but the organic rightness of tubes, coupled with the high current and wide band output transformers of the Wolcotts make the magic happen in my room. As long as the amp you are considering has high current output, stays stable at 4 ohms, remember that the sensitivity of the 3.6R is 85db (I don't know what it is for the Eros), there are a wide variety of amps that mate very well with the Magnepans. That being said, depending on the size of your room, I would look for as many wpc as your wallet can tolerate.
If you would like a larger soundstage and sweet-spot than the Maggies provide...Apogee Duetta Signatures may be of interest to you also.

Power requirements are along the lines of the Maggies...no toe-in is needed but should be at least 3ft. out from the wall and in med-large rooms only...bass response is truly full-range and will overload a small room.

Dave