Something Younger, Thinner, And Prettier In My Bedroom!!

DarqueKnight

After 19 years of loyal, faithful, service around the house and particularly in my bedroom, I decided that I needed something younger, thinner, and prettier.

I replaced the SDA 1B's (44"H x 12"D x 16"W, weight 85 pounds) with a pair of Magnepan MG 12's (51"H x 1.5"D x 17"W, weight 25 pounds). It was immediately obvious that I had lost some sonic performance, particularly in the area of imaging and bass reproduction, but like most guys, I'm willing to overlook some character flaws and performance faults if my eyes are properly compensated. Like a lot of cuties, the MG 12's are going to need a little help doing their job. You know, kinda like the pretty secretary who can't type and spell that well. That's why SVS will be sending me an SB 12-Plus (baby) subwoofer to augment the low end. It is just small enough (14"H x 14"W x 15"D, weight 40 pounds) to fit in the audio cabinet.

I know it's shallow to replace the SDA 1B's strictly on the basis of looks, but that's just how I am.

Early B.

Don't apologize -- aesthetics is an important consideration to some folks, including me. Hope you enjoy the Maggies. Gotta give them lots of room to breathe, though. They'll suffocate if they remain close to the back wall.

disneyjoe7

Early B. wrote:

They'll suffocate if they remain close to the back wall.

Doing that would kill his thinner feel / look.

DarqueKnight

Early B. wrote:

They'll suffocate if they remain close to the back wall.

The manual says they should be no closer than 2 feet to the rear wall, unless some wall dampening material is used behind the speakers. They are 11 inches from the wall, which is as close as I could get with the foot rests that extend from the rear of the speakers. I might experiment with some felt sheets that closely match the wall color. I am not that particular about the sound in this system anyway. It is mostly used for background music and movie soundtracks.

Actually the MG 12's sound fine where they are, excluding the lack of bass. The bass is not really that bad, just less than what I am used to. I was afraid that they might sound really thin and shrill that close to the wall and with hardwood floors, but they don't. I expect that I'll be real happy with the sound when the sub gets here sometime in October. The SB 12-Plus will not begin shipping until then.

hearingimpared

Those Maggies are very sexy looking Raife, what's driving them??? I thought that electrostatic & ribbon speakers were known for the thier imaging.

Joe

bert26

VERY sexy!

Raife - you have a wonderful looking house. You even managed to impress my Mrs. with your rigs and decor. Hopefully I can leverage that in the upgrade department.

Will you elaborate a bit more on the differences between the 1b's and the Maggies? I have never heard them in person, but some version of them are on the short list of speakers to own some day....

Well done!

Chris

DarqueKnight

hearingimpared wrote:

Those Maggies are very sexy looking Raife, what's driving them???

An Adcom GFA-5500 amp/Sony TA-E9000 Preamp-Processor/Sony DVP-S9000ES DVD/CD/SACD player.

hearingimpared wrote:

I thought that electrostatic & ribbon speakers were known for the thier imaging.Joe

The MG 12's throw a great soundstage, even in the less than optimal position I have them in. It is just not as holographic and 3-dimensional as the SDA 1B's. The ribbon speakers I have hear image bettter than all the other non-SDA box speakers I have heard.

audiobliss

You shallow person you!!

Wow, that system really does look awesome with that clean back wall, bare floor....looks great. I just can't believe someone who's 'not really interested in SQ' got Maggies!

audiobliss

Me, too. The wood caps really went well in the room.

dkg999

Mmmmmmmmmmmmm, maggies :cool:

You're going to have to work a little on placement to get the magic to happen! Then, and I am an SDA fan , they will be as good or better than the SDA's.

hearingimpared

Raife my wife loves your house also. . . I showed her all the pictures you have in the Compendium to try and remove the WAF syndrome and her shock when she first saw the 1.2 TLs back in August.

She definitely likes the Maggies better than the SDA look.

DarqueKnight

bert26 wrote:

Will you elaborate a bit more on the differences between the 1b's and the Maggies? I have never heard them in person, but some version of them are on the short list of speakers to own some day....

Chris,

Thank you for the kind words on my decor. I've been getting some "help".

I have to preface my differences between the SDA 1B's and MG 12's by stating that the MG 12's are at a sonic disadvantage in their current placement compared to the 1B's. With that said, here are the pros and cons of the MG 12's in this particular room:

Pros:

1. Thinner design, less visual "weight" and less actual weight.
2. More soundstage depth than SDA 1B's.
3. Apparently more midrange and treble clarity. This might be because the bass is rolled off. I will be able to tell better when the sub is integrated with the MG 12's.
4. They sound subjectively "faster" on music with rapid-fire types of sounds.


Cons:

1. Less low bass.
2. Soundstage does not extend beyond the outside edges or the front plane of the speakers.
3. Less power handling capability (500 watts per channel SDA 1B, 250 watts per channel MG 12). No big deal. I am not going to be "cranking" them.

hearingimpared

Raife, I'm not trying to hijack this thread but I've been meaning to ask you the following question:

I've noticed in all your set-ups the equipment cabinet is between your speakers. In your main audio room, when the system is cranked up, do you notice any adverse "reactions" to your source (LPs especially) because of the vibration due to the close proximity to the speakers?

The last audio room I had set up, I had the TT and CDP outside the listening room. This of course presented me with having longer runs of interconnects. But the benefit of having the souce out of the direct line of fire from the speakers far outweighed the sonic loss due to longer interconnects.

wingnut4772

Both sets look sharp. Nice job.

DarqueKnight

hearingimpared wrote:

In your main audio room, when the system is cranked up, do you notice any adverse "reactions" to your source (LPs especially) because of the vibration due to the close proximity to the speakers?

None that I can audibly detect. However, I have never done a comparison with my gear in the room and out of it. I might have some problems if my components were oriented along a wall facing the speakers or to the side of the speakers.

If you recall from my thread regarding the Yamaha PF-800 turntable, due to its spring suspension, I can pound my fist on the cabinet top right next (within 2 inches) to the turntable and it won't skip. Also, the wood floor and wood audio cabinet flex a bit and absorb some vibrational energy. The area rug and large leather furniture pieces help out also.

Another thing to consider is that my components are between the speakers and are not in the "direct line of fire". If my source components were on the wall facing the speakers, out in the room ahead of the speakers, or along a wall to the side of the speakers, I might experience some problems.

hearingimpared wrote:

The last audio room I had set up, I had the TT and CDP outside the listening room. This of course presented me with having longer runs of interconnects. But the benefit of having the souce out of the direct line of fire from the speakers far outweighed the sonic loss due to longer interconnects.

I have read of people putting their components in a separate room from their speakers. I don't know for sure, but it would seem like the increased noise levels in long runs of cable might negate any possible benefits from putting the electronics in a separate room. But, if it worked for you, great. If you have source components that are prone to noise inducement by mechanical vibration, then I can see where physical isolation would be beneficial.

hearingimpared

As always, great stuff Raife!

billbillw

Cool. I've never seen SDA 1Bs with the wood caps. Were those something of a transitional pair? I always thought the wood caps were only on the 1Cs.

Ern Dog

Sweet set up. Very clean looking.

DarqueKnight

billbillw wrote:

Cool. I've never seen SDA 1Bs with the wood caps. Were those something of a transitional pair? I always thought the wood caps were only on the 1Cs.

I modified the cabinet exteriors to resemble the 1C's. The end caps were made by a cabinet shop. Here is a link to another thread:

SDA 1B Cabinet Modifications

sickicw

DarqueKnight wrote:

The manual says they should be no closer than 2 feet to the rear wall, unless some wall dampening material is used behind the speakers.

I would buy some mondo traps from real traps and put them behind the speakers. I have two of these and they help a lot....

http://www.realtraps.com/

BlueMDPicker

Cool beans, Dr. Smith!

Is a "Magnepan Compendium" in the offing?

dorokusai

The placement is killing them.

billbillw

DarqueKnight wrote:

I modified the cabinet exteriors to resemble the 1C's. The end caps were made by a cabinet shop. Here is a link to another thread:

SDA 1B Cabinet Modifications

Very cool. It looks like they actually came out better than the 1C.

Personally, I think you should break things off with your new fling and go back to your old faithful. Who wants something that thin anyway? Give me some meat on the bones (bass!) I've always heard that Maggies have a very small sweet spot. How will you ever get used to that after 19 years of SDA?

DarqueKnight

sickicw wrote:

I would buy some mondo traps from real traps and put them behind the speakers. I have two of these and they help a lot....

Thanks for the tip. I'll look into those.

DarqueKnight

billbillw wrote:

Personally, I think you should break things off with your new fling and go back to your old faithful.

Nah, I'll hold on to this side fling for a while. I still have my "main squeeze" 1.2TL's.;)

billbillw wrote:

I've always heard that Maggies have a very small sweet spot. How will you ever get used to that after 19 years of SDA?

I cannot imagine replacing one of my big SDA's with a pair of planars. They are fine for bedroom duty.

DarqueKnight

BlueMDPicker wrote:

Is a "Magnepan Compendium" in the offing?

Sure, about 15 years from now.;)

DarqueKnight

dorokusai wrote:

The placement is killing them.

They will grow strong through suffering.

madmax

I like a little meat on mine. More to hold onto and less likely to disappoint...
madmax

dorokusai

I know a little of how you think so do yourself a favor....www.myesound.com tell Grant your from here.

Toka78

Great write-up once again Raife, thanks! I'm always tempted to jump into the ribbon/electrostatic/planar realm but the bass issue always gives me pause (when the music calls for it, I need mountains to crumble). Please keep us posted on your future impressions, especially once the sub arrives.

DarqueKnight

I like the sound of the MG12/SB12-Plus combination MUCH better than the SDA 1B.:eek:

The bass of the 1B goes down to 35 Hz and then fades away. The SB12 is giving me honest response in the low-20's, which means more clean, high definition bass for both music and movie soundtracks. Of course, I am giving up the superior imaging qualities of the SDA 1B, but I think that the MG12/SB12 combo more than compensates me.

In this room, the best sound was achieved by setting the Sony pre/processor to send everything from 80 Hz and up to the MG12's. The SB12 crossover was set to 78 Hz.

Since my preferred aesthetic placement is much closer to the wall than the manual specifies, I attached a double layer of thick felt to the back of each MG12 to absorb most of the back wave. Sweeeeet.:D