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For the original Magico A3, begin with the speaker backs about 20 inches (approximately 0.5 m) from the rear wall. Move both speakers forward in 6–8-inch (15–20 cm) steps while replaying the same bass-rich music, stop at the position with the best-defined bass, then set lateral spacing and toe-in for a centered stereo image. Aim the speaker axes to cross roughly 1–2 feet behind your head as a starting point, but adjust by ear: less toe-in if the treble is too bright, more if the presentation is too dull. These are starting points from Magico’s original A3 Owner Manual, not universal room dimensions.
What the original A3 manual actually recommends
Magico’s procedure is iterative rather than a single “correct” measurement. It separates three jobs that are easy to mix together:
- Rear-wall distance: find the position that gives bass the right weight and definition.
- Lateral spacing: place the pair symmetrically so voices and instruments lock into the center.
- Toe-in: adjust high-frequency balance and image focus after the basic geometry is right.
After toe-in, return to the rear-wall setting and listen to the bass again. Moving one speaker changes the room interaction of the entire system, so the final position is the result of these passes, not necessarily the first distance that sounded promising.
The instructions below apply to the original Magico A3 and are taken from the Magico A3 Owner Manual. If your cabinet is a later model-year version, check the documentation listed on Magico’s support page before assuming the same dimensions or setup sequence.
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Prepare the room before you move the speakers
Clear avoidable reflections and obstacles
Look at the full path between each speaker and your listening seat. Equipment racks, furniture edges, wall objects and loosely routed cables can become practical obstacles or reflection sources while you are trying to judge small changes. Remove anything that can be moved easily, and route speaker and interconnect cables neatly enough that they do not constrain the positions or create a trip hazard.
Gather the measuring and listening tools
Magico lists a tape measure, pen, calculator, string, familiar demo recordings and patience among the useful setup tools. A tape measure for speaker placement is optional equipment, but it lets you record a position that sounds good and reproduce equal distances accurately. Use the same listening seat throughout the process.
- Tape measure for rear-wall and side-to-side distances.
- String for checking the distance from one fixed listening point to each tweeter.
- Pen or masking tape to mark every promising position.
- Calculator for the manual’s room-width spacing method.
- Short, repeatable music excerpts rather than entire albums.
Identify the speakers and listening axis
The original A3 is a sealed aluminum floorstanding design with a 28 mm beryllium tweeter, one 6-inch midrange and two 7-inch woofers. Magico’s original announcement lists 88 dB sensitivity and 4-ohm impedance. Those specifications identify the model; they do not replace the placement test, because the room still determines which locations produce balanced bass and a stable image. See the original Magico A3 press release for that model description.
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Start at the manual’s reference distance
Place the back of each A3 approximately 20 inches (about 0.5 m) from the rear wall. Measure from the same cabinet reference point on both speakers, and keep the pair roughly parallel while you perform this first pass. The 20-inch value is the manual’s starting location for an experiment, not a claim that every room sounds best there.
Use a short, repeatable bass excerpt
Choose a well-recorded jazz passage containing clearly audible bass guitar or percussion. Magico suggests listening to roughly 30 seconds to one minute at a time. The excerpt should be familiar enough that you can notice changes in pitch definition, overhang and proportion without relying on memory of an entire song.
Move forward in controlled increments
- Play the selected excerpt at the initial 20-inch position.
- Move both speakers forward by 6–8 inches (15–20 cm), keeping their relative spacing and orientation unchanged.
- Replay exactly the same passage at the same listening level.
- Continue in identical increments, marking each location with tape or a pen.
- When a newly moved-forward position sounds worse than the preceding one, return both speakers to the better position and record that distance.
Judge bass by definition and proportion, not by loudness alone. A position that produces more low end can still be less accurate if bass notes blur together or dominate the rest of the music. Keep notes such as “20 in: full but soft,” “28 in: tighter,” or “36 in: lean,” so the decision is based on repeatable observations rather than the last position you heard.
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Step 2: Set lateral spacing and image focus
Apply the manual’s room-width method
Once the rear-wall distance is provisionally chosen, measure the usable room width. The manual says to divide that width by 14, then begin with the positions it labels 3 and 11. It next calls for trying 4 and 10, followed by 5 and 9. These “clock” labels describe staged left-and-right placement options in Magico’s diagram; they are not instructions to point the cabinets at literal clock numbers.
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Use the same wall reference for both speakers and move them as a pair. The point of trying the three pairs is to compare a narrower, intermediate and wider arrangement while preserving symmetry. Do not change rear-wall distance and lateral spacing in the same move, or you will not know which change caused the result.
Keep the listening distances equal
At every lateral position, the distance from the listening seat to the left tweeter must match the distance to the right tweeter. Magico suggests fixing the listening point and using string to measure from that point to the front of each tweeter. A laser or tape measure can confirm the result, but the important requirement is equal path length from one repeatable seat position.
Use a female voice and piano to judge focus
Switch from the bass-rich jazz excerpt to recordings with a clearly recorded female voice and piano. Listen for a vocal image that stays centered and compact when you close your eyes. Piano notes should occupy a stable position rather than wandering toward one speaker. If the center image becomes vague, recheck equal distances before changing toe-in; asymmetry often masquerades as a tonal problem.
Step 3: Adjust toe-in for tonal balance and image size
Use the manual’s starting aim
Begin with the speaker axes aimed so they intersect approximately 1–2 feet behind your head. The axes are imaginary lines extending forward from each speaker; you do not need to draw them physically. Set both cabinets to the same angle as closely as possible, then sit in the fixed listening position and replay the voice and piano material.
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Change one small angle at a time
- Too bright: toe the speakers out slightly, reducing the amount of direct high-frequency energy aimed at the seat.
- Too dull: toe them in more, bringing the axes closer to the listening position.
- Center image unstable: verify equal left-right distances and matching toe-in angles before making a larger adjustment.
Make small, symmetrical changes and listen again from the same seat. The manual contains a malformed metric conversion in its toe-in sentence; use the clear imperial instruction of 1–2 feet behind the listener rather than repeating that typo.
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Do not assume maximum toe-in is best
More toe-in is not automatically more precise. Excessive angle can make the presentation unnaturally bright or narrow in some rooms, while straight-ahead placement can sound too relaxed or diffuse in others. Treat the intersection point as a starting reference and let the voice, piano and overall tonal balance decide the final angle.
Step 4: Recheck bass after toe-in and mark the final layout
Return to the bass-rich jazz excerpt after lateral spacing and toe-in have been explored. Listen from the same seat and compare the final orientation with the rear-wall position you marked earlier. If bass definition or proportion has changed, repeat only the rear-wall adjustment in 6–8-inch increments, then make a final small toe-in check.
When the result is consistent, mark the floor or use removable tape to record each speaker’s front and rear reference points. Also record:
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- Left and right lateral positions.
- Toe-in direction or approximate intersection point.
- Listening-seat location used for the measurements.
Marks make it possible to restore the setup after cleaning, moving furniture or testing another arrangement. Keep the speakers level; Hi-Fi+ notes that domestic constraints may prevent ideal spacing, so getting as close to the intended geometry as practical is more useful than chasing an impossible layout. Read its room-context discussion in the Hi-Fi+ Magico A3 review.
How to evaluate each change without fooling yourself
Change only one variable
Keep the listening level, music excerpt, seat and speaker separation constant while testing rear-wall distance. During the lateral pass, keep rear-wall distance fixed. During toe-in, do not slide the cabinets sideways. One-variable changes make the result easier to hear and easier to reverse.
Use three complementary listening checks
| Setup stage | Material | What to listen for |
|---|---|---|
| Rear-wall distance | Well-recorded jazz with bass guitar or percussion | Pitch definition, decay, impact and whether bass is proportionate to the midrange |
| Lateral spacing | Female voice | A centered, stable vocal image without pull toward either speaker |
| Lateral spacing and toe-in | Piano | Focused image, believable scale and consistent placement of notes |
Allow your ears to settle between moves
Take short pauses and keep written notes. The manual’s 30-second-to-one-minute excerpt recommendation limits the comparison to a manageable, repeatable segment. If you become uncertain, return both speakers to the last marked position and repeat the same passage rather than making several untracked changes.
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Geometry checks for a stable stereo image
Build an isosceles triangle
Your listening position and the two tweeters should form an isosceles triangle: the left and right speaker-to-seat distances are equal, while the speaker separation determines the triangle’s width. The triangle does not have to fit a particular universal dimension; it has to be symmetrical and repeatable in your room.
Measure from one fixed seat point
Choose the point where your head normally rests, then measure to the front of each tweeter with string. If the strings differ, adjust the nearer speaker’s position rather than compensating with a different toe-in angle. Once the distances match, mark the seat as well as the speakers so future checks use the same geometry.
Keep both cabinets level
Uneven floors or improvised wedges can alter the intended orientation. Hi-Fi+ recommends keeping the speakers level while accepting that furniture, doorways and other domestic limits may prevent ideal clearances. Leveling and symmetry are practical priorities when the room cannot accommodate every textbook position.
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One speaker must be closer to a wall
Try to preserve equal speaker-to-seat distances first, then move both speakers together toward the available area. If one side has a doorway, rack or other fixed obstacle, make the smallest compromise that keeps the pair level and the listening triangle symmetrical. Re-run the voice and piano test after any asymmetrical change.
The sofa or listening seat cannot move
Keep the fixed seat as your reference and perform the procedure around it. The string measurement remains valid even when the seat is not centered in the room. Move the speakers in matched increments where possible, and document the compromise so you can reproduce it.
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The manual’s 20-inch placement is a starting point, not a minimum performance guarantee. If furniture or a wall prevents it, place the speakers at the most practical safe distance, then make smaller forward or backward comparisons that your room allows. Use the bass excerpt to decide whether the available position is acceptable; do not claim that the manual’s optimum has been reached when the room did not permit the test.
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Do not jump directly to the farthest possible position. Start at the manual’s reference distance, then move forward in the prescribed 6–8-inch steps. A larger clearance can sound better in one room and worse in another, so the marked listening result matters more than the amount of empty wall behind the speaker.
What one owner’s experience can—and cannot—tell you
An owner writing after eight months with the A3 reported the best result in a medium-sized room with at least about one foot behind the speakers and up to roughly 2.5 feet of clearance. That listener preferred slight toe-in rather than straight-ahead placement and found too much toe-in harmful. The account, published by Headphones n’ Stuff, is useful as an example of room dependence, not as a prescription.
Its distances differ from the manual’s 20-inch starting point because the two sources describe different rooms and listening judgments. Use the owner’s report to understand the range that may be worth testing, then apply the manual’s controlled sequence in your own space.
Troubleshooting common placement results
| What you hear | First check | Adjustment to try |
|---|---|---|
| Bass is louder but notes are indistinct | Rear-wall distance and the same jazz excerpt | Move both speakers forward one 6–8-inch step; compare with the previous mark. |
| Bass sounds thin after moving forward | Whether the new position was compared at the same level | Return to the last marked position with better proportion, then test the next smaller practical increment. |
| Female vocal sits left or right | Equal string distance from the fixed seat to both tweeters | Correct lateral symmetry before changing toe-in. |
| Presentation is too bright | Toe-in angle and matching left/right orientation | Toe both speakers out slightly and replay the same voice or piano passage. |
| Presentation is too dull | Whether the axes intersect too far behind the listener | Toe both speakers in slightly, using the 1–2-foot-behind-head aim as the reference. |
| Image is narrow or exaggerated | Excessive toe-in | Reduce toe-in symmetrically; do not change lateral spacing at the same time. |
| Ideal spacing is impossible because of furniture | Level, equal seat distances and safe cable routing | Keep the geometry as symmetrical as practical, then document and accept the room’s constraint. |
Original A3 context and model-year caution
The original A3 announcement identifies a sealed aluminum enclosure, 28 mm beryllium tweeter, 6-inch midrange, two 7-inch woofers, 88 dB sensitivity and 4-ohm impedance. These figures can help confirm that you are using the original model covered by the cited manual, but they do not establish a universal rear-wall distance or toe-in angle.
Current product coverage may use “A3” for later versions or model-year references. Before applying this guide to a revision, open Magico’s support page and locate the manual for your exact speaker. Follow that edition if its placement instructions differ.
Quick Recap
A repeatable setup checklist
- Clear movable racks, wall objects and unnecessary cable loops from the intended area.
- Prepare a tape measure, string, pen, calculator, familiar recordings and floor marks.
- Place both original A3 speakers about 20 inches from the rear wall.
- Play the same 30-second-to-one-minute bass-rich jazz excerpt.
- Move both speakers forward 6–8 inches at a time until the next position is worse; return to the better mark.
- Divide room width by 14 and test the manual’s 3-and-11, 4-and-10, and 5-and-9 lateral options.
- At every option, measure equal distances from one fixed seat to both tweeters.
- Use female voice and piano to choose the clearest centered image.
- Start toe-in with axes crossing 1–2 feet behind your head.
- Toe out slightly if bright; toe in slightly if dull.
- Recheck bass after toe-in, make any final rear-wall adjustment, and mark the completed layout.
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