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Discussion with Wendell

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I called Wendell to verify that the mid driver indeed was 8 ohms (it is). We had a really nice discussion about the 3.7 and biamping. First, Wendell said that he has "dropped in" on the forum and he was pleased at how well the inmates have been behaving - very civil and friendly with no of the tensions and arguments that were present a few years ago. He does not have time to actively participate in the forum but does peek in periodically to see what concerns and ideas members have.
Next, Wendell said that originally they tried a parallel crossover for the 3.7 and found that the series worked better but that they had to modify the drivers to get things to sound right. He was aware that some long time Magnepan customers might like to use an active bi-amp setup but the goal was a better speaker not necessarily one that is easily modded (makes great sense). In view of the difficulty the 8 ohm mid driver creates for a parallel crossover and the fact that the drivers were modified to work with a series crossover, I may give up on my plan to biamp. Time will tell.
Another thing he mentioned was that the speakers sound better with tweeters further from the ears and that putting the tweeters on the inside means that they almost invariably end up closer. I ended up with my tweets outside so I guess this is correct :). If the tweeters are inboard, try angling them in more.
Finally, he said that the acoustic response should not be perfectly flat but should slowly drop about 1 db per octave over 500 hz. Magnepan found that if the curve was flat, the speakers seemed off balance. I looked at my response curves (using REW 5.0) and indeed the output slopes downward about 5 db from 500 hz to 20 kHz.
Wendell stated the biggest impediment to sales of the 3.7's is their size and WAF (no surprise). We also commiserated about why our wives have no difficultly listening to loud live music but object to the same degree of loudness when listening at home.

Edits: 08/27/15

Follow Ups:

I guess I'm just lucky - E-Stat 08:04:44 08/28/15 (3)
Wendell stated the biggest impediment to sales of the 3.7's is their size and WAF (no surprise).

I recently moved the Acoustat 1+1s into the HT which is wifey's primary system as resident videophile. She thinks they are attractive and unobtrusive despite their height and even put some flower vases on the interfaces behind the panels. What I find amazing is how the diplolar sound now fills the middle section of the house in such a natural, consistent way into the kitchen (behind system) and into sun room and my office to the right.

Maybe its because I've always had tall Acoustats since we started dating thirty years ago. :)
- RE: I guess I'm just lucky - Mart 12:12:56 08/28/15 (1)
  I'm guessing width has a lot to do with it. I feel that it seems to bug women if it seems imposing on "their" room's real estate.
  
  Although, accepting (possibly appreciating) them while you were dating does give you points, but not much in my quite limited experience.
  
  I find it an amazing complement when a gal who is excited by a new movie ... immediately thinks a want a DVD to view it at home instead of the cinema.
  
  One filly left albums they had loved at my place because they comparatively sounded like @#$%& at hers.
  
  ... just my 2� ♪ moderate Mart ♫
  ☺ Planar Asylum
  where speakers are thin & music isn't
  - Width? - E-Stat 12:52:39 08/28/15 (0)
    Perhaps. E-Stat's bachelor pad circa '85 with 2+2s. I did get some "real" window treatments (to replace sheets!) shortly after moving in and the Aztec tapestry sitting behind the couch was hung on the back wall.
    
    Still have the VPI RCM and the Ariston turntable. Sold the Stasis 3 just last week.
- RE: I guess I'm just lucky - Sondek 11:45:31 08/28/15 (0)
  Very nice. They look right at home.
RE: Discussion with Wendell - Shoey 19:59:57 08/27/15 (3)
Well, did you and Wendell came to any conclusion or speculation as to why women complain about loudness in a home setting versus a live presentation? I ask because I have wonder about this observation over the years also in my own home. Sam
- RE: Discussion with Wendell - josh358 17:20:24 09/05/15 (1)
  I took me a while, but eventually I realized that the female definition of "loud" is "I don't want to listen to this."
  - RE: Discussion with Wendell - OldTimer 20:05:50 09/06/15 (0)
    So that's what my wife means.......
    May He Who Watches Over Us All, Watch Over You And Yours.
- Some things in audio are unexplainable (nt) - neolith 06:53:27 08/28/15 (0)
RE: Discussion with Wendell - Swamis Cat 14:08:23 08/27/15 (0)
Awesome input from Wendell on both the tweet alignment and the dropping response curve.
RE: Discussion with Wendell - Satie 13:38:59 08/27/15 (2)
I don't think the new driver impedance is a problem for biamping.

Do you mind posting your FR sweeps?

Thanks
- RE: Discussion with Wendell - neolith 14:03:28 08/27/15 (1)
  The problem is reproducing the irregularities in the curves with a simple parallel network as the driver impedances do not interact with each other as they do in a series config. If you look at the Bode you can see, for example, that the woofer starts off as a 2nd order LP then levels off and finally continues with a 1st order decline.
  
  I posted the speaker/room response earlier but here it is again:
  
  Green=Speakers alone Red=Speakers + Sub
  
  and the waterfall
  - RE: Discussion with Wendell - Satie 14:12:30 08/27/15 (0)
    I am not sure you need to reproduce the other irregularities in the Bode plot, the 2nd order is something you probably would not want to do electrically.
    
    Do you think you can reproduce the impedance relationships at line level with a series 2 way on a balanced signal as we worked out a few years back?

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