Esoteric MG 10 vs Magnepan 1.7

The Magnepan 1.7s are flawed in some ways, however, whenever I go out to look for replacements I end up listening to $3k, $4K, $5K and up speakers without being wowed to the point of wanting to make the change. I suspect I will need to go $5K and up to seek out a suitable replacement and in that case, I would very likely purchase the Magnepan 3.7s.

Churchill was quoted as saying "Indeed it has been said that democ­racy is the worst form of Gov­ern­ment except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.…" In a weird way, that's the way I feel about the Magnepan 1.7s. They are the worst speakers in many ways. They are flawed speakers - they need to be 4-5 feet from the wall, they have very little bass, and they can sound "thin" and without body unless you have the right electronics to match with them.

Except .... every time I get frustrated in their performance in one way or another, I head out to look for replacement speakers. This usually happens every 5-7 years but end up frustrated that nothing near its price range provides the "realness" you can get with the Magnepans.

I just keep hearing the boxes in most of the speakers I audition and come back to the Magnepans. What they do well is addicting and not easily replaceable in the price range they reside.

All the maggie loudspeakers are leaders in their price range, from the MMG to the 1.7 to the 3.7 to the 20.7, they are all class leaders. Maggies excel in 3D imaging but only if you get the placement right, normally at least 6 feet into the room. The 1.7 is a good loudspeaker but the tweeter is not the sweetest up in the upper registers, it is said that the W4S amp may make that situation worse. Get the maggies if you can accommodate their placement and you like holographic 3D imaging and a slightly warm sound.

When I auditioned the Maggies I was struck by the 3D sound which my Audes Blues with certain CD's starts to approach. The loss of low end on the Maggies is a concern although I have an M&K subwoofer. I have never been able to integrate this sub that well even with my Celestion monitors. They always sound slightly separate.

No one has mentioned anything about the Esoteric MG 10 speakers, is that because they are rare and not many have heard them? What about using a Primaluna Dialog tube amp with any of these speakers.

I was running a Chinese Tube hybrid preamp (BADA brand) into my W4S STI-500 using only the amp portion driving my Magnepan 1.7s. The tubes make an amazing difference. I would highly recommend a tube preamp with a solid state amp, if possible. If you don't listen to music at very high levels, the PrimaLuna integrated amps would be terrific. But if you like to turn it up, you will need more power.

For me, 90% of my listening I am using 10 watts or less into the Magnepans. However, they seem to drink up power much quicker than other speakers and to get them really loud, you should have 150 to 200 watts into 4 ohms.

Check out the BADA hybrid integrated amp on the Pacific Valve and electric website. It is about $1200 and has a tube preamp with solid state amp.

Been on vacation so late to respond. I have listened to both the 1.7s and the MG-10s at the same dealership. They both represent excellent value, however quite different in presentation. I own the MG-10s, liking the transparency, quickness and dynamics. i thought they would be a better fit for my 12' x 15' room. Had I a larger room I may have further considered the 1.7s. I also don't listen to large scale music often, which the 1.7s would present better when given space. Most certainly trade-offs here. The 1.7s are more demanding of the amplifier. Please let us know of your decision.