Oddball 7.x speaker selection question

[Dave Raue]

The new media room is waiting for carpeting. In the meantime I'm getting stuff out of storage and ready to install. The room is W12." x L22' x H7.2ft. It will contain a single couch and be used overwhelmingly by only 1 or 2 people. Today's question is rear and side speaker selection. My general path is to get 7.1 up and running. This will be a dual use system for both video (7.1, maybe 7.2 etc) and 2 ch audio wherein the fronts will do double duty for both. Installing Atmos height speakers for 7.x.2 or 7.x.4 will follow later after 2ch and 7.1 is dialed in. The fronts are already decided, Magnepan MGIIIa's - ancient but recently factory rebuilt to better-than-new. They were the predecessor to the more familiar 3.7 family, so placement issues are about the same and I've got that covered. Less clear are what to use for the side and rear speakers. Here's the selection:

• KEF LS50's (bookshelf),
• MG Quart Ones (older bookshelf but quite capable)
• Maggie SMGc's (essentially same as the newer MMG's)

IOW, pick 2 out of 3 for sides and rears. I guess there are various ways of thinking about it. One school of thought is using similar or identical speakers all around to the extent possible and practical. Given my grab bag that could mean using SMG's (most similar to fronts) and one of the bookshelves. And, if this, use SMG's on side or rears? Or, use both bookshelves (most similar to each other). Every possibility has pros/cons regarding placement, aesthetics, etc. Presumably you'd put the best stuff where it counts the most, but I don't have a very good grip on how much info typically gets to the sides and rears. My inclination SMG's in the back and one of the bookshelf pairs on the sides Are LS50's overkill for just side speakers? Another possibility would be just sticking with 5.1 and just making it an all-Maggie system. I'm sure there afre all kinds of other consideratrions as well.

As some wise man once said, "Do what you can, with what you've got, where you are." So, to be clear, these are the speaker choices. Please let's not suggest other choices, starting over, etc etc. Also, I will move things around so no reason for "put it where it sounds best." What I'm looking for are pros and cons of respective placement scenarios. Looking forward to ideas and comments. Thanks and cheers,

 

[drJames7]

Hallo,

If you prioritize consistent sound and prefer to stick with a uniform sound signature, go with the SMGc's for all surrounds. If you want the best performance and are willing to manage different tonal characteristics, using LS50's for sides and SMGc's for rears would be ideal.

James

 

[Eppie]

Are you sure we can't suggest other choices? I think you meant MB Quart One (could not find an MG model). Never heard of them and can't find any measurements so can't recommend those. Wiki says 1991 so I can't fathom why you would want a 33 year old speaker for a new setup. The crossovers would likely need servicing or at least should be tested to see if the capacitors are still good.

With a 12' width I would suspect that the room is not wide enough to use the SMGc for side surrounds. You need the space to experiment with distance from the wall with magnaplanars. I think you have the depth to use them for rears. My first instinct would be LS50s for side and rear duty or SMGc in the rear and LS50 on the side. It's unconventional to use Maggies all around for a theatre setup.

If you're keen on using Maggies, maybe you could get one pair of SMGc and try them out as side surrounds. If you like the result, get a second pair for the rear. If not, move them to the rear and try the other speakers for side duty.

 

[isolar8001]

Are you sure we can't suggest other choices? I think you meant MB Quart One (could not find an MG model). Never heard of them and can't find any measurements so can't recommend those.

I can recommend any of the late 80's and early 90's era MB Quart's !
I have a pair of these that I've replaced the woofers in with Hi-Vi's and a recap. I love love love them !
Still my favorite line of speakers....ever.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

MB quart is a good manufacturer. Based in Germany if memory serves. My very first ever HT subwoofer was an MB quart. It was very nice, but once my space grew, it just couldn’t handle it. That was at least 25 years ago lol.

 

[Eppie]

Yes, MB Quart is based in Germany. They appear to have moved to mobile audio systems for cars, boats and RVs. Some interesting specialty Jeep gear.
https://mbquart.com/

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Yes, MB Quart is based in Germany. They appear to have moved to mobile audio systems for cars, boats and RVs. Some interesting specialty Jeep gear.
https://mbquart.com/

Friend of mine owns three car audio stores. Mb quart stuff was always very nice. That jeep stuff is cool. People be jeepin these days!

 

[isolar8001]

I can recommend any of the late 80's and early 90's era MB Quart's !
I have a pair of these that I've replaced the woofers in with Hi-Vi's and a recap. I love love love them !
Still my favorite line of speakers....ever.

View attachment 68856

In 1988 (when these MB Quart 350S's were made), the store I worked at was offered this line to sell.
We declined to pick the line up due to the high cost...these were around a thousand a pair retail.
We just didn't think we could move them.

I took a pair home to demo for a few weeks and was blown away.
Notice how modern they look, most speakers made today don't look this sweet ... way ahead of their time.
Heavy as hell, with top notch drivers and top of the line crossover parts.

Found a pair of these 350S's and a pair of 280S's on EBay 14 years ago for next to nothing...seller didnt know what he had !

Unfortunately, they got bought out later and put out some lines that were not so good...before they got out of home speakers all together.

 

[Dave Raue]

Thanks to all for remarks, very helpful. Yesterday, by coincidence, I dragged it all out, started building cables and started listening to this stuff after 18 months in storage, starting with the Quart One's (yes, should have said MB Quart). The room is still uncarpeted, so very live, but I put big tube traps in the corners with absorbtive side out to tame it a bit, which it did. The Quarts work fine and sound very good for what they are, despite age. Ditto SMG's.( no buzzing, wire delam etc).

Given room size and layout It was immediately obvious that there's no room on the sides for the SMG's, or any planar for that matter. The next experiment will be to listen to the SMG's and Quarts together as fronts and sides respectively. That's backwards, but until carpet is in I can't setup the MGIIIa's. In any case it may be instructive on how well the planars and box speakers play together. I'll also compare LS50's to the Quarts. These need to be removed from a small office system, a minor PITA. Anyway, I may learn something and establish a good starting point for more experimentation. As for other choices, sorry, not yet. I'm not going for best imaginable solutions while I've probably got perfectly fine stuff on the shelf. "Pretty good" is good enough, at least for now. But there may be a further opportunity when I get going on the height speakers. To be continued..... Thanks and cheers,

 

[highfigh]

In 1988 (when these MB Quart 350S's were made), the store I worked at was offered this line to sell.
We declined to pick the line up due to the high cost...these were around a thousand a pair retail.
We just didn't think we could move them.

I took a pair home to demo for a few weeks and was blown away.
Notice how modern they look, most speakers made today don't look this sweet ... way ahead of their time.
Heavy as hell, with top notch drivers and top of the line crossover parts.

Found a pair of these 350S's and a pair of 280S's on EBay 14 years ago for next to nothing...seller didnt know what he had !

Unfortunately, they got bought out later and put out some lines that were not so good...before they got out of home speakers all together.

I took a chance on some of their marine 6-1/2" coax speakers for a friends' boat and they sound pretty good. The glue for the tweeter wires let go and one pair started to buzz, but they're fine after I re-glued them.

MB Quart speakers were the first of only a few car speaker brands that used Titanium tweeters that I could stand to hear. The others at the time (mid-1990s) were shrill and I couldn't tolerate them.

 

[highfigh]

Thanks to all for remarks, very helpful. Yesterday, by coincidence, I dragged it all out, started building cables and started listening to this stuff after 18 months in storage, starting with the Quart One's (yes, should have said MB Quart). The room is still uncarpeted, so very live, but I put big tube traps in the corners with absorbtive side out to tame it a bit, which it did. The Quarts work fine and sound very good for what they are, despite age. Ditto SMG's.( no buzzing, wire delam etc).

Given room size and layout It was immediately obvious that there's no room on the sides for the SMG's, or any planar for that matter. The next experiment will be to listen to the SMG's and Quarts together as fronts and sides respectively. That's backwards, but until carpet is in I can't setup the MGIIIa's. In any case it may be instructive on how well the planars and box speakers play together. I'll also compare LS50's to the Quarts. These need to be removed from a small office system, a minor PITA. Anyway, I may learn something and establish a good starting point for more experimentation. As for other choices, sorry, not yet. I'm not going for best imaginable solutions while I've probably got perfectly fine stuff on the shelf. "Pretty good" is good enough, at least for now. But there may be a further opportunity when I get going on the height speakers. To be continued..... Thanks and cheers,

Any time good/great speakers can be used, it's never a bad decision.

 

[Dave Raue]

Nice progress to report. Today I played around with positioning of SMG's and Quarts. This entailed basically trying them in 2ch and as a 4.0 system. The result was more interesting than I expected.

The Quarts sounded good everywhere, whether on side walls and on the rear wall Whether directly against the walls or pulled didn't make a meaningful difference to my ears. There was one notable issue, however. Against the rear wall there was a very clear, distinct reflection off one side wall, to the extent that the speaker sounded like it was positioned 3 ft farther to the side. This wall is flat and bare. The other side, however, didn't have this reflection. That side has 2 6 panel doors exactly opposite the opposing side. Interesting! The door irregularities seem to be acting as diffusers I guess. So, making the Quarts work would need some room treatment. I'd assume similar behavior with the LS50's.

The SMG's were an eye opener. In the same place on the rear wall they were terrible. Absolutely no bass, crispy sounding, basically unlistenable. Pulling them 3' from the wall transformed them more than I'd have guessed possible. They sounded fabulous! Extremely balanced, detailed, coherent, and all the stunning imaging and clarity that Maggies are known for. Also, the side reflection was totally absent. That makes sense, I guess, cause the planers have pretty narrow horizontal dispersion - what doesn't hit the wall can't get reflected. But that works to my advantage. So it's now clear that SMG's will go behind with the bookshelves on the side.

Next will be comparing LS50's with the Quart and playing with center speakers. The MGIII's are too big and heavy to move as easily, so that will wait till rug is installed. Progress...... Cheers,

 

[Eppie]

Thanks for the update. I had a feeling the SMGs would be best as rears. I have nothing against old speakers but the capacitors in the crossovers can go out of spec with age. It may not be audible for some but something to keep in mind. I restored a pair of 1984 KEF 103.2 three years ago and I loved the sound. Gave them to my daughter and she is still enjoying them. I also have a pair of Electrovoice Interface 1 speakers that need the foam surrounds replaced. Those are from around '84 as well and should have a warm sound similar to the KEFs.

 

[quattro_98]

In a 7 channel system, I think the surrounds (sides) are more important than the rear surrounds. I'd pick whichever speaker sounds best to you and most closely matched to your fronts and use them for the sides. Whatever fits in your space will largely play into this as well. It sounds like you've got your rears settled. I bet either speaker will be ok on the side and if the LS50s are in another system, maybe just go with the MB quart and enjoy.

 

[arberda2]

Are you using any baffle step compensation?

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