MG20.7’s Up and Running

[rclark]

Jul 19, 2012 18:32:11 GMT -5 klinemj said:

Planar bass is HEAVEN

I noticed this w/the Magnepan's...w/ the Martin Logan's (which take a different bass approach but use planar for the rest) I didn't like the end result. Go Maggie!

I've come across plenty of comments to the fact that the woofer section just doesn't mesh well, can't keep up. That and the sort of oval shaped profile isn't ideal, it's mostly meant to fill the room with sound. I've listened to those and don't consider them anywhere near a Magnepan.

[KR6600]

Once I have a few more hours on the 20.7’s I will try a more dedicated comparison with the 3.7’s.

As what has been mentioned many times, bass response is highly environmentally dependent. Last year I added GIK Tri-Traps to each corner of the theater – that alone made a tremendous improvement in bass response. That was when I was running 3.7’s up front. I thought, how can it get any better? I am still very satisfied with the 3.7s. They are definitely keepers.

I am running the 20.7 full range so my subwoofers don’t even come on when listening with 2.0 source. I am not a bass junkie so the subs are there for movie LFE. I run two JL F112 subs. I will be reevaluating their crossover points in light of the 20.7s.

I have an Audyssey Pro Kit which will graphically show speaker response, albeit really small graphs, but you can get an idea of what each speaker is doing. This should show the response curves between the 20.7s and 3.7s. Sorry, I do not have any fancy measuring equipment. Again, I will give the 20.7’s a few more hours.

From what I understand the DWM will help fill in bass response 40Hz on up to 200Hz where its internal crossover takes over. The high pass output from the DWM would then feed the down stream Maggies like MMC2, CC5, etc. At least that is one application. The DW1 is the same panel, but does not have an internal crossover.

Klinemj – Sorry, I am in Southeast Pennsylvania. Should you be in my area, let me know! I run everything with XPA-1’s. I also have a pair of Krell 400e monoblocks, but I have not played them much. I had two sets of 1.7s when I was running them as surrounds in the theater. Long story short – I traded one set in on a second set of 3.7s. But I loved the 1.7s so much I kept one pair which are now in the “Lobby” just outside the theater.

I am always doing something with the theater. Currently I am redoing the overhead lighting, so I cannot get the best pictures yet. This one is a bit over exposed, but exposure is tricky with the walls and ceiling being flat black. The 20.7 is a fraction over 6 feet 8 inches, including the pedestal.

[harri009]

What size is that room. It looks massive.

[GreenKiwi]

No kidding. Those speakers look small in that room. =P

[rclark]

20.7's as theater mains. WOW! There isn't a commercial theater in the country I'd prefer to be in over your own personal one.

[paintedklown]

WOW!!!

That is a DREAM setup you have there!!!

Congrats on a great looking, and I bet even better sounding, theater!

[strindl]

I've been a maggie owner for over 30 years, and they are uniformly outstanding speakers. Those 20.7's are the top of the line, and they are the the best of the best.

I'd love to have a pair, but I just don't have the space for 20.7's. I have a pair of 1.7's in my living room and a pair of 1.6's in my bedroom. I love their sound.

Congratulations on your home theater setup...it must sound amazing.

[KR6600]

Thanks again for all your comments.

I cheat a little with the pictures by using a wide angle lens and low point of view. The theater is a fair size: 18 feet wide, 24 feet long and 9 feet 7 inches high. No windows, only one door. Believe me, it is tight in places and I have had to make compromises. Selective lighting and black walls/ceilings make it seem bigger. The screen length is exaggerated by the wide angle lens (yes, I did that on purpose!). The screen has a 2.4 aspect ratio with a 140 inch diagonal.

I should probably start another thread in “The HT Zone” dedicated to the theater setup. There may be some things of interest to the community, like how I manage all 13 XPA-1’s for the theater.

[GreenKiwi]

Wait, THIRTEEN XPA-1?!?!!?!?!?!??!??!??!?


Holy S#!t!!!

[ottaone]

13 XPA-1s? Now why didn't I think of that! I'll sell the furnace, connect the XPA-1 cooling system to the heating ducts.

Wait, I'm still short about $9K even at the current sale price.

[Deleted]

KlineMJ, bide your time and get the bigger Maggies (3.7?). You will be keeping them for decades, a few more months is trivial in comparison...

And 13 XPA-1s?!! Wow! I bet the President of your local power utility sends you personalized Christmas cards...

-RW-

[klinemj]

Let me reiterate...13 XPA-1's? Holy Schnikies Batman!

and rlw...I would love the 3.7's, and I had originally decided "what the hell, I'll go for it". Then, upon closer consideration of my room - I didn't want to end up with them almost directly in the corner and I don't have the width I need to fit them on the left side. So...see my new gear post...

Mark

[12elfthfloor]

13. Superb!

[12elfthfloor]

Please tell me this picture is yours!!!!

Whoa!

Attachments:

[GreenKiwi]

Are you sure you don't live at the Magnepan factory?

[Dark Ranger]

Jul 25, 2012 0:27:07 GMT -5 12elfthfloor said:

Please tell me this picture is yours!!!!

Whoa!

OK, I just **** myself.

I'm now going to bathe in my own self-pity and try to decide if my life is even worth living...


Easily the best picture I've seen this week.

[klinemj]

Wow...can you elaborate on what the 13 XPA-1's are each doing?

Mark

[GEL]

Man! Talk about power... By the way, CERN in Geneva called. They want their sound wave accelerator back!

[KR6600]

12elfthfloor - Yep, that pic you found is of my theater. That particular picture is used in an AudioBeat article as well as in the Magnepan Tri-Center website (go to the Magnepan website and click on the Tri-Center link, scroll down to near the end of the page). That is an older picture (back then I had 3.7’s up front and only the front racks as seen in that picture). I was wondering when someone was going to stumble upon that picture. I purposely overexposed it to see more detail in the racks. You can see the 13 XPA-1’s there. But I since moved a lot around when I added two more XPA-1’s. I actually have 15 XPA-1’s.

Here is current setup:
2 XPA-1’s share duties driving the main front speakers (MG20.7’s) or the DSX Height speakers (MGSS1’s). When these amps are driving the DSX height speakers, I have my Krell 400e monos drive the 20.7’s.
2 XPA-1’s drive the DSX wide speakers (MG3.7’s).
2 XPA-1’s drive the side surrounds (MG3.7’s).
4 XPA-1’s drive the back surrounds (MG3.5’s bi-wired hi/low).
3 XPA-1’s drive the tri-center center channel (CCR, MMC2’s).
2 XPA-1’s drive two Bag End Subwoofers that supplement the center channel only. I added these since I took the picture. I have two self-powered JL F112 subs for the LFE channels.

That makes 15 XPA-1 amplifiers.

When I added the last two XPA-1’s, I had to redo the front racks. I had to build a new rack in the back of the theater. The four on the floor you see in that picture plus four more went to the rear rack. The Krell’s went to the front rack.

I have 6 20amp circuits for the front racks for the 9 amps there (7 XPA-1’s and 2 Krells). One 15 amp circuit for everything else in the front racks. The rear rack (8 XPA-1’s) currently has only one 15 amp circuit. I have not popped that circuit yet. I am trying to figure out how to run more circuits back there.

More pictures to come, but I’ve been very busy at work so I only have the weekends to work on the theater lighting. The front of the theater looks much better now than what you see in that picture. The rear rack is big. It also holds some remote control equipment and my DVD’s and Blu-rays.

[garbulky]

Good God! This makes me happy.