This system shares space with the theater. The advantage of having the somewhat larger listening room is that the Magnepans can, for lack of a better word, breathe. I believe it’s atypical to see a newer Krell amp driving magneplanars, but having experimented with a few class AB amps, including my Krell integrated amp, I chose the Duo 300 for its rather impressive control over these speakers along with the astounding way it makes the ribbon tweeter perform. I’m an unrepentant tinkerer, so speaker and component placements tend to vary.
Nobsound springs under the speakers and the shelves upon which the components sit. I adjust the spring configuration to achieve 40-60% compression. The stock springs under the turntable were swapped out for lighter ones. Excellent results from placing them under the turntable and subwoofer. No discernible advantage to having them under the DAC/preamp or the phono preamp.
Thanks, all, for your comments. I'm a real lover of Magnepans, but I agree that you're very limited with placement; not only of the speakers, but of the listening position. Managing that rear wave of energy is critical. Everything from the distance to the front wall (to the millimeter) to the type of surface of that wall will have a noticeable effect. I've tried various configurations of acoustic panels on the front wall to absorb the reflection, but always end up going back to a hard surface with irregularities for diffusion. When it's right, it's so good it's spooky. I also agree that Mye stands would be a good idea. Maybe someday soon, but for now, I'm chasing bottlenecks in other parts of the system. The preamp has left the building, so to speak. In its place, I'm going with a DAC which directly feeds the Krell. Currently evaluating the PS Audio DirectStream and the Benchmark DAC3.
