Maggie Owners - Do you set the ribbon tweeters inside or outside?

[jadis]

The owner's manual says to set it outside or near the side walls but I like it better firing from the inside near the center fill. For 15 years I have set it inside and last week I tried to listen to them with tweeters outside and it took only a day and a few records to tell me I have to bring them back inside. On the outside position, in my room, the high frequencies sounded detached from the rest of the frequencies, and the overall sound is thinner and a little brighter. Worse, the highs now seem to be coming from the planars themselves, and not floating in space.

 

[DonH50]

A perennial Maggie topic... Over the years I have found some feel very strongly one way or another, but IME it depends a lot upon the room and positioning of the speakers (placement and toe-in) and listener as well as the source material preferred by the owner. I usually try both ways, several times, over a period of time when setting up Magnepans. Subjectively, I have found “outies” tend toward a larger (wider) front stage, while “innies” trade a smaller stage for more precise imaging and a more “intimate” feel/sound. So, very roughly, orchestral and HT listeners seem to like them out, jazz and solo vocal listeners, in. Again, just my very loose observations based on subjective impressions through the years.

I am actually not sure how I have mine now; probably inside since I am fairly close in a small room and that has usually led to inside tweeters for me. To me the image just seems too “wide” if the tweeters are outside and I am close (I am about 8’ away, speakers maybe 8’ – 10’ apart in the center of the panels).

I have found it seems less important in a large room and sitting farther away.

YMWV (your mileage will vary) - Don

p.s. Ages ago I asked Wendall or one of the Magnepan team why not put the ribbon in the middle, then mid/bass panels split on either side, e.g. B-M-T-M-B or even interleaving mid/bass strips. IIRC, the answer was "no" due to both manufacturing issues and the fact that people preferred tweeters in or out so they give them the option.

 

[A.wayne]

That Pretty much sums it up Don ........

 

[cjfrbw]

No Maggie, but Apogees and Analysis speakers. DonH pretty much nailed it, set to tastes and room. I keep my midrange ribbons outward, I like the larger somewhat darker sound stage in my room environment with Analysis speakers.

There was a dealer around the East Bay a while ago who used to demo his Maggies facing each other with the thin edge toward the listener.

 

[garylkoh]

Don's nailed it. Works also with Apogees, and the big Genesis. Although I haven't found many Genesis owners who have experimented with tweeters inside/outside. May be because it's far easier to move Maggies

I'm part of the Maggie tweeter-inside crowd having tried them both ways in various rooms.

 

[Bruce B]

I've owned 4 sets of Maggies over the years and tweeters to the inside always worked best for me.

 

[Gregadd]

If you place them far apart go outside this will allow for a dramatic toe in. Close toigther placement means inside.

 

[FrantzM]

HI

Inside works best IMO. I have however found the following:
Small to Medium Room: Inside
Large room : Inside still works best but outside may provide a very "big" presentation in term of soundstage width at the risk of a loss of imaging precision. and depth.

 

[jadis]

Thanks for the inputs, guys. Always good to know others' experiences.

 

[Big Dog RJ]

Hey mate, how's it going with your maggies?

Just came across your post, and thought I might add some thought even though this is a late reply.

I've previously owned the MGIIIA, MG3.3, MG3.5, MG20 series. I found that positioning the panels with the tweeters on the inside gave a far more cohorent and focused soundstage. The owner's manual if I am correct also states to place the panels with the tweeters on the inside; however subject to change depending on the owner experimenting and room size.
With measurements what worked best was as follows:
4-5ft from the back wall, 5ft of distance between the panels measuring from the tweeter, and listening position 10ft. For maggies it was half the distance between the panels, compared to your listening position. Example, if your listening position is 12ft away, distance set between the panels should be 6ft, and so on...
For the side walls anywhere between 1-2ft was adequate, of course with slight toe in; again your owner's manual will suggest this. Moving the maggies is a real headache as they are big and sort of sway around, which could upset the ribbon element. Always move with caution in small increments.

These were my placement guidelines, and worked very well, untill of course I got my Quads, which is a whole different ball game.

Enjoy those maggies and remeber you will be moving them around for a while, one position never seems right with maggies. It also varies with music and across the entire frequency spectrum. If you've got their newer quasi ribbon designs this issue has been drastically corrected. The MG1.7 and 3.7 are great improvements over the previous designs.
Which one have you got?

Cheers, RJ

 

[jadis]

Hey mate, how's it going with your maggies?

Just came across your post, and thought I might add some thought even though this is a late reply.

I've previously owned the MGIIIA, MG3.3, MG3.5, MG20 series. I found that positioning the panels with the tweeters on the inside gave a far more cohorent and focused soundstage. The owner's manual if I am correct also states to place the panels with the tweeters on the inside; however subject to change depending on the owner experimenting and room size.
With measurements what worked best was as follows:
4-5ft from the back wall, 5ft of distance between the panels measuring from the tweeter, and listening position 10ft. For maggies it was half the distance between the panels, compared to your listening position. Example, if your listening position is 12ft away, distance set between the panels should be 6ft, and so on...
For the side walls anywhere between 1-2ft was adequate, of course with slight toe in; again your owner's manual will suggest this. Moving the maggies is a real headache as they are big and sort of sway around, which could upset the ribbon element. Always move with caution in small increments.

These were my placement guidelines, and worked very well, untill of course I got my Quads, which is a whole different ball game.

Enjoy those maggies and remeber you will be moving them around for a while, one position never seems right with maggies. It also varies with music and across the entire frequency spectrum. If you've got their newer quasi ribbon designs this issue has been drastically corrected. The MG1.7 and 3.7 are great improvements over the previous designs.
Which one have you got?

Cheers, RJ

Thanks for the nice insights, RJ. And very happy to see yet another Maggie lover in here.

 

[Fred]

When I first set-up my 1.7's I tried both inside and outside for several days. Eventually I settled for outside since in my room one of the listening seats is a bit off center and I felt that having the tweeters set outside gave better definition from that location. In an ideal situation my small room would have only one seat (my own seat), however, domestic bliss requires compromise and the second off center seat is my tip of the hat to that maxim. So for me, it has to be tweeters to the outside.

 

[Mosin]

My 2.7 speakers are marked for the ribbons to be on the outside, which works best in my 19X33X8 room. This may change because I am planning to radically modify the speakers by changing the crossovers and turning them into 2-way speakers.

 

[jadis]

My 2.7 speakers are marked for the ribbons to be on the outside, which works best in my 19X33X8 room. This may change because I am planning to radically modify the speakers by changing the crossovers and turning them into 2-way speakers.

nice to hear, mosin. specially since we have exactly the same model. mine are ribbons outside too. love your room size. mine is smaller a bit, 17x23x10.

 

[TitaniumTroy]

I have always liked the tweets on the inside, for my 3.6's in my narrow room. Also for when I have heard them at dealers and friends, I like that strong center image. And IMHO a dipole/planer should have plenty of spaciousness so going to the outside is not needed.

 

[jadis]

I have always liked the tweets on the inside, for my 3.6's in my narrow room. Also for when I have heard them at dealers and friends, I like that strong center image. And IMHO a dipole/planer should have plenty of spaciousness so going to the outside is not needed.

Agreed.

 

[tdh888]

Agreed.

Hi Phillip,

Been using my MG3A since last Sept 2013 and I agree it sounds better w/ the ribbons in the inside. But I prefer using them actively Biamped (using the ARC EC 21) rather than full range using the Magnepan outboard X over w/c sounds thin, bright and no body. Maybe modifications w/ better capacitors etc is needed in order for this x over to sound better.

tdh888

 

[jadis]

Hi Phillip,

Been using my MG3A since last Sept 2013 and I agree it sounds better w/ the ribbons in the inside. But I prefer using them actively Biamped (using the ARC EC 21) rather than full range using the Magnepan outboard X over w/c sounds thin, bright and no body. Maybe modifications w/ better capacitors etc is needed in order for this x over to sound better.

tdh888

Hi Doc,

Glad to hear you got a pair of Maggies too. Nice that you have the ARC EC too.