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RE: Acoustic treatments and dipoles

Posted by Swamis Cat (A) on April 3, 2016 at 10:24:59

In Reply to: RE: Acoustic treatments and dipoles posted by M3 lover on April 2, 2016 at 11:55:02:

M3,

I agree with the five foot rule of thumb, but I think it is a lot more complicated. I believe manufacturers voice their speaker balance taking the front wall into consideration as well as the consideration that many or most people are unable or unwilling to place the speaker out five feet or more.

Maggies imo do not sound better in all ways as you move them out beyond four to five feet. As you go further out they start to lose dynamic snap and images become kind of less palpable. Significantly so at distances greater than six feet. They do however gain depth and sound staging. The balance point is of course a matter of personal preference. The Limage setup helps to reduce the negatives of getting out so far, as does the trick of moving them closer to the SW with lots of toe in. Both solutions have drawbacks and tradeoffs of their own though.

One other observation is that I do not think all models of Maggies are even voiced the same. My old IIIa's REALLY NEED distance from the FW to tame the upper Mids. On the other hand, I get the sense Magnepan tried to specifically design the 3.7i to be used closer to the FW. It is certainly true in all rooms I have tried it.

For example, they won a TAS best sound regardless of cost award at AXPONA last year with 3.7i's set up about two feet from the FW (heavily curtained window) and about 18 inches from the SW. It had a lot of dynamic snap, very little stage depth. And I agree it sounded much better than most rooms.

Don't get me wrong, I am not arguing for my opinion, and I am not even sure I prefer them one way or another. My 3.7i's sound great in the right room at four foot, and they can sound great but in different ways at seven feet too. I have never found a perfect placement, just tradeoffs.

What do others think?

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