MAGICO Model 5 User’s Guide
SPEAKER PLACEMENT AND POSITIONING
THE MAGICO MODEL 5 LOUDSPEAKERS ARE A PRECISION INSTRUMENT FOR MUSIC REPRODUCTION. AS SUCH,
PROPER CARE AND ATTENTION TO DETAIL WHEN SETTING UP THESE SPEAKERS WILL ALLOW YOU TO ACHIEVE THE
MAXIMUM PERFORMANCE FROM THEM, REGARDLESS OF THE PARTICULAR ROOM. FOLLOWING THESE SET-UP
GUIDELINES WILL MAKE SURE THE SPEAKERS ARE PROPERLY POSITIONED TO DELIVER THE OPTIMUM LISTENING
EXPERIENCE. ALL THAT IS REQUIRED IS A TAPE MEASURE, A PEN, A CALCULATOR, A BALL OF STRING, A COUPLE OF
DEMO CDS, AND SOME PATIENCE.
PLACEMENT—MODEL 5s IN RELATION TO BACK AND SIDE WALLS
BEFORE YOU BEGIN: LOOK FOR OBVIOUS IMPEDIMENTS INCLUDING ANYTHING THAT COULD GET IN THE
WAY OF THE SOUND—E.G., OTHER SPEAKERS, AMPLIFIERS, EQUIPMENT RACKS, ANYTHING ON THE WALL THAT COULD
CAUSE A REFLECTION, A SEVERE MISMATCH IN ANY INDIVIDUAL COMPONENT QUALITY, AND UNNECESSARY OR
POORLY RUN SPEAKER/INTERCONNECT CABLES.
BASS—DISTANCE FROM REAR WALL
THE INITIAL PLACEMENT SHOULD BE APPROXIMATELY 1/2 METER FROM THE BACK OF THE LOUDSPEAKER TO
THE BACK WALL. SINCE WE HAVE SHORT AUDITORY MEMORY, THE SELECTED DEMO MUSIC CUT SHOULD BE BRIEF—30
SECONDS – 1 MINUTE MAX. IT SHOULD BE A WELL RECORDED JAZZ CUT WITH GOOD BASS GUITAR OR PERCUSSION.
WHAT WE ARE LISTENING FOR AT THIS TIME IS THE DEFINITION OF THE BASS AND THE RIGHT SENSE OF
PROPORTION.
NEXT MOVE THE SPEAKER 15 – 20 CM FORWARD AND REPEAT THE LISTENING PROCESS. REPEAT THIS
PROCESS, MOVING THE LOUDSPEAKER FORWARD IN 15 -20 CM INCREMENTS. WHEN YOU REACH THE POINT THAT
MOVING IT FORWARD SOUNDS WORSE THAN THE PREVIOUS LISTENING POINT, MOVE THE LOUDSPEAKER BACK TO
THIS POSITION AND MARK THIS DISTANCE FROM THE REAR WALL.
MIDRANGE—PLACEMENT IN RELATION TO SIDE WALLS
FOR LATERAL PLACEMENT, BEGIN BY DIVIDING THE ROOM WIDTH BY 14. INITIAL PLACEMENT OF THE
LOUDSPEAKERS WILL BE AT 3 AND 11. THE DISTANCE FROM THE LOUDSPEAKER TO THE EARS HAS TO BE PRECISELY
EQUAL. THIS MEASUREMENT IS CRITICAL. THE MUSIC FOR THIS PROCESS SHOULD BE A FEMALE VOICE AND PIANO.
WE ARE LISTENING FOR THE IMAGE OF HER VOICE TO BE FOCUSED. THE RULE FOR THE TOE-IN IS TO PICK A POINT
APPROXIMATELY ½ METER BEHIND THE LISTENER’S HEAD. TOE THE LOUDSPEAKERS IN TO INTERSECT AT THAT
POINT. IF THE SOUND IS TOO BRIGHT, TOE THE SPEAKERS OUT A LITTLE MORE. IF THE SOUND IS TOO DULL, TOE THE
SPEAKERS IN A LITTLE MORE.
REPEAT THE ABOVE PROCESS WITH THE LOUDSPEAKERS AT THE 4 AND 10 POSITION. THEN REPEAT, ONCE
AGAIN WITH THE SPEAKERS AT THE 5 AND 9 POSITION.
