# Maggies for music only or home theater too?



## CDklktr (Jan 2, 2012)

I've had a pair of Maggie 1.6's for 10 years now (just ordered 1.7s however). I've always used them for both 2ch music and as the mains in my HT setup. I somehow always feel I'm overtaxing them for HT use (explosions, etc) and that a more conventional (cone) speaker would be better when I'm using the system in HT mode. Since I recently got divorced, I don't have to worry about WAF and actually have room next to my Maggies to place another set of speakers that could for for HT only. Am I nuts to worry about this and should just stick with the Maggies for both formats, or does my concern have some validity?


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Sure, they can be used for home theater. Ultimately the room size will dictate if they are being over driven just like any speaker. Using a good sub is a must with any home theater as speakers simply can't reproduce the LFE that is used in movies. Simply don't run them full range


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## CDklktr (Jan 2, 2012)

I've got them crossed over at 60hz with everything below going to dual subs. I had them crossed over at 80hz at one point and it was too high and just didn't sound as full as they can sound. The room is 25' wide by 15' deep as I use it, with the Maggies 8' apart and me 8" from them. While they've always sounded great as HT speakers I was just concerned about the differences of HT sound (sudden bursts of loudness) vs. music (generally more even loudness) and how it might be detrimental to planars.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Well, I know that Sonnie (long time owner of the Shack and now staff) has Martin Logan's in his theater and has always loved them. Several members here have been to his place and also say they sound fantastic.


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## vidiot33 (Dec 12, 2013)

As a previous owner of 3.7's in a home theater setup (along with dual 15" subs) I can speak to this issue. I felt dynamics were lacking, as well as mid bass during home theater use. I ended up selling them and going to Sierra Acoustics speakers, which have all the detail (to my ears) the Maggie's did with the slam and mid bass that the Maggie's seem to lack. For certain types of music (jazz, acoustic, piano) the Maggies were magical, but when pushed, they seem to reveal their limitations. Not nearly as good with rock music, and again, in my opinion, not ideal home theater speakers. People will say you need lots of amplification to properly drive them, or maybe the mid bass modules Magnepan sells, but you're talking big bucks at that point and the mid bass modules can be difficult to properly set up, and Maggies are inherently fussy about positioning to start with. Despite all this, they have their staunch adherents, this is simply my take, YMMV.

Sent from my iPhone using HTShack


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## CDklktr (Jan 2, 2012)

I'm a diehard Maggie owner after auditioning a number of speakers a few years back (so few places to do that anymore) and I've always been happy with my 1.6's with all kinds of music, including hard rock. But not quite the same with movies, particularly action/adventure ones with plenty of sound effects and the like. I'm driving them with 400 watts/ch, so no issue with power now (my prev amp at 200w/ch would get to the point of clipping too often). I'm not looking for a lot of detail in the sound for movies (other than dialog which I get from my center channel just fine), just more "slam" as you say. I think I may look into some mid level cone speakers to get me through movies and just save the Maggies for music magic.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

even with two Definitive Technology ProSub 1000 subs I think you may be running out of steam long before you pressurize your room. They are only 10" subs and looking at bench tests they dont really dig much deeper than about 22Hz at any real usable levels (even the Home theater review says they are suited for music but not movies). You may simply need to get something bigger in the sub end of things.


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## CDklktr (Jan 2, 2012)

I'm not really having bass issues so much. The Def Tech's, even though 10", can really be felt, although I will admit they do get over driven now and then and I have to back down the gain on them, so you do make a good point. They will vibrate the couch in plenty of instances though, when not being over driven. My main concern is I'm not getting the dynamics in the midrange to mid bass with movies. It can sound kind of flat sometimes. Why I don't notice any issues like this when listening to music, I can't really say. Don't get me wrong, the Maggies do make the sound of a movie seem full, but at times they also seem like, as I mentioned before, not quite as detailed.


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## JBrax (Oct 13, 2011)

Have you given any thought to some Klipsch Reference series for movie duty? They really do shine in that capacity and some great deals can be found now that the new Reference Premier series is out. They don't require much power and are very detailed being their horn loaded. I sold my 82/62 II's for $800 which was a steal considering how I took care of them. Sorry…not trying to derail your thread.


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## CDklktr (Jan 2, 2012)

I'm glad you mentioned the Klipsch's. I see Crutchfield has them discounted $200 each on the 82's, so $800 a pair new. These are pretty much what I had in mind. I only watch a couple movies a week, so don't want to go too crazy on the expenditure, but I do want something that can pull off the sound I'm looking for. 98dB sensitivity...unreal.


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## JBrax (Oct 13, 2011)

CDklktr said:


> I'm glad you mentioned the Klipsch's. I see Crutchfield has them discounted $200 each on the 82's, so $800 a pair new. These are pretty much what I had in mind. I only watch a couple movies a week, so don't want to go too crazy on the expenditure, but I do want something that can pull off the sound I'm looking for. 98dB sensitivity...unreal.


 Trust me when I say you'll be pleased. It's exactly what you're looking for. At a great discount right now.


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## CDklktr (Jan 2, 2012)

So would I be compromising all that much with the 62's at $600 a pair or should I just drop the extra $200 on the 82's and deal with it? Again, for 2 movies a week I'm looking for the cliche "bang for the buck".


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## JBrax (Oct 13, 2011)

CDklktr said:


> So would I be compromising all that much with the 62's at $600 a pair or should I just drop the extra $200 on the 82's and deal with it? Again, for 2 movies a week I'm looking for the cliche "bang for the buck".


 What would I do? Well…since I've heard/owned the 82's and there are some great deals out there I'd find them. 2 movies a week is quite a lot of movie watching. So I say just go for the combo that I sold. Well worth the upgrade.


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## vidiot33 (Dec 12, 2013)

It's important to note that some find Klipsch speakers to have a bright sounding sonic signature which is not to all tastes. I'd recommend you audition them before committing.

Sent from my iPhone using HTShack


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## kevin360 (Oct 4, 2012)

Life is full of compromises, isn't it? It would be nice to have a dedicated home theater and a dedicated audio room, but most make do without either, as did I for most of my life. At the outset, I planned to build a room for a stereo system. Adopting the secondary purpose of video immediately shackled me to a suite of compromises. All I could do was choose where to make them and, like you, I chose to hand the balance of compromise to HT. 

Being basically a certifiable lunatic, I couldn't help but experiment with the placement of my 3.7s in search of that 'magical' setup that makes the little hairs on my neck stand on end. I found a number of them, but my favorites with 2-channel music had the opposite impact upon HT sonics. Recently, an unexpected death set off a chain reaction in the living arrangements of my immediate family members. As my dedicated dual-purpose room just acquired a third purpose, my bedroom, I decided to shift the balance of compromise as far to the center as I could (I could no longer have 3.7s over 9' off the front wall).

Yes, your concern has validity. I'll add another one – phantom center is not equal to or greater than physical center. After making the transition (the 3.7s are in a bedroom in the house – daughter's 2nd room) I was pretty much stunned by the impact of adding the center channel speaker. Another surprise that really shouldn't have surprised me is that the same music that I found most magical with the Maggies is magical with the Def Tech Mythos STs, and multichannel music with the full Mythos speaker system (kept the pair of Reference subs) blows my former setup away.

As far as stereo listening is concerned, there is no question that the sound is different now. In some ways, even that has improved. Overall, I'm quite satisfied with life after the 3.7s (which I can still visit, albeit in another environment). I've thought about your idea before, but I've never tried it. I imagine that it has its sticky points, as well, but it's certainly worth investigating. I offer no real advice, but I do wish you luck in this endeavor and I will follow this thread with interest.


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## CDklktr (Jan 2, 2012)

So I made my decision and thought I'd follow up...

JBrax - I bought the Klipsch Reference 62's based on your recommendation and a lot of great reviews. I got them from Crutchfield for $600 and since I live 2 hours from them had them the next day...this past Friday. I've had too many other expenses lately and couldn't drop the extra $200 for the 82s. But the 62's are plenty for what I need.

Vidiot33 - yes, the Klipsch's do sound a bit bright to me for music, but I got them for movies/TV listening only and to me they don't sound so bright for that. I do have 60 days to return them, so free in home audition

So I've used them since Friday night. I placed them between my TV cabinet and the Maggies, as they are about 15" from the sides of the cabinet. So I didn't have to move the Maggies and just filled in empty space. The couple movies I watched this weekend weren't exactly action packed (I'd already gotten them from Netflix the day before), more dialog and background noise and music. But the speakers sounded great. I did throw in The Hobbit for a bit (can't find my Star Trek DVD) and again, they were great. The sound fills my space nicely and doesn't feel like it's coming from the speakers directly (yes, they are in phase...I verified that). In fact with music I was really surprised with the soundstage...wider than I expected. And I can tell how efficient they are as I really had to back down the gain. They aren't Maggie killers in my book for music, but to me they do movies and TV better and they are a third of what I paid for the Maggies. So for my uses I now have the best of both worlds. I just need to find a high power speaker selector now so I don't have to swap the banana jacks as I go back and forth from music to home theater mode.


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## JBrax (Oct 13, 2011)

Congrats on the new speakers! The rf-62 II's fared well in the HTS $1,000 speaker shootout and really shine come movie night. Happy listening.


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

I see no reason to not use them for 2 channel, and HT...just hook up a sub, center, and surrounds and you're all set. :T


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

vidiot33 said:


> It's important to note that some find Klipsch speakers to have a bright sounding sonic signature which is not to all tastes. I'd recommend you audition them before committing.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using HTShack


Audyssey, and room treatment will tame them down. :T


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## CDklktr (Jan 2, 2012)

I've got a full blown 7.2 setup. I just didn't like the sound of the Maggies for HT mains use as much as I love them for 2.2 music. The Klipsch's work well in the 7.2 role and I don't like them as much as the Maggies for 2.2. Now I have the best set up for me.


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## vidiot33 (Dec 12, 2013)

CDklktr said:


> So I made my decision and thought I'd follow up... JBrax - I bought the Klipsch Reference 62's based on your recommendation and a lot of great reviews. I got them from Crutchfield for $600 and since I live 2 hours from them had them the next day...this past Friday. I've had too many other expenses lately and couldn't drop the extra $200 for the 82s. But the 62's are plenty for what I need. Vidiot33 - yes, the Klipsch's do sound a bit bright to me for music, but I got them for movies/TV listening only and to me they don't sound so bright for that. I do have 60 days to return them, so free in home audition So I've used them since Friday night. I placed them between my TV cabinet and the Maggies, as they are about 15" from the sides of the cabinet. So I didn't have to move the Maggies and just filled in empty space. The couple movies I watched this weekend weren't exactly action packed (I'd already gotten them from Netflix the day before), more dialog and background noise and music. But the speakers sounded great. I did throw in The Hobbit for a bit (can't find my Star Trek DVD) and again, they were great. The sound fills my space nicely and doesn't feel like it's coming from the speakers directly (yes, they are in phase...I verified that). In fact with music I was really surprised with the soundstage...wider than I expected. And I can tell how efficient they are as I really had to back down the gain. They aren't Maggie killers in my book for music, but to me they do movies and TV better and they are a third of what I paid for the Maggies. So for my uses I now have the best of both worlds. I just need to find a high power speaker selector now so I don't have to swap the banana jacks as I go back and forth from music to home theater mode.


Congrats on your new acquisition! You now have the best of both worlds and do not have to compromise either your HT or your music system. Enjoy, and please post more impressions as you break your system in.

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## CDklktr (Jan 2, 2012)

So tonight I finally gave the Kilpsch's a full workout...Star Trek "Into Darkness". I was worried because my mains amp runs 250w/ch at 8 ohms and the Klipsch's only take 125w (I may need to fuse them to be safe...blew too many tweeters back in the day on some Electrovoices). The movie sounded great...just what I was looking for. And the new Maggie 1.7i's that showed up Thursday night are heaven for music...and still need some breaking in. Even after the break in period I've found Maggies to need a bit of a warm up period each time before they are fully up to par however.


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