Setup

I wanted my review system to be equally at home with both 2-channel and surround sources, so I went with four MMC 2s for the front and surround channels. To add extra impact, I supplemented the front pair with two DWM woofer modules and then rounded out the package with the CC 5 center-channel speaker.

Getting wall-mounted speakers like these to work effectively relies somewhat on having an appropriately shaped room, and I’m fortunate in that my symmetrical 13 x 17-foot home theater has just about the ideal dimensions. The front MMC 2s were positioned on the side walls about 4 feet from the front corners, with the CC 5 centered about 2 feet from the front wall on an open floor stand. Initially, the surround MMC 2s were set up on the rear wall, but I found that the front-to-rear-channel blend improved once I moved them over to the side walls, about a foot behind the listening position. The DWM woofers performed best when positioned perpendicular to the side walls directly under the front MMC 2s, with each MMC 2/DWM combo connected in series to a single amp channel. The DWM has a special fi ltered output for the MMC 2, which helps ensure a good sonic blend.

This arrangement left the front left and right speakers spaced far apart — about double the distance I normally use in my setup. To avoid a big hole in the center image when listening to stereo music, Magnepan suggested adding some center fill using the CC 5 and an appropriate surround-processing mode. (I used Dolby Pro Logic IIx with the surrounds turned off , although some experimentation might be needed depending on your surround processor.) Once the settings were properly tweaked, I found this setting to be quite effective. It reminded me of the three-speaker playback technique that was popular in the early days of stereo.

Even with the DWM woofer modules pumping, I still needed a powered subwoofer to fill out the bottom octaves, so I pressed my trusty old M&K MX-350THX sub into service. After much experimentation, I settled on a crossover of 60 Hz for the front-channel MMC 2s and DWMs, and 120 Hz for the CC 5 center and the surround-channel MMC 2s.