Maggie 1.7i's lack detail. Ideas?

Another thing to check is the the bar jumper on the bottom inputs (make sure that the connections are clean and tight).

Might as well pull and reinsert the fuses while you are @ it.

PS:

There is also the option of placing the tweeter section inside/outside.

DeKay

any thoughts on the stranded coper between the amp and the speakers?  What is good cable for Maggies crappy connectors?

the BDP-S590 dvd player has optical, coax, hdmi, and line out.   The hdmi is noticably worse than the optical.   I haven't tried the coax.  I thought coax/optical digital was digital.   I set it to PCM and bitstream.

soix I chose these components mainly because I thought they'ld get me close to the sound I remembered without spending too much.   Maybe I should have done more research on the components that would get me there.  The Marantz was the cheapest option I could find that had all of the common inputs you would want these days and output stereo pre-amp out.   The BK I bought used about 10 years ago.   i assumed power was the main thing and it got good ratings.

The Marantz to BK connectors are SonicWave from Impact Acoustics.   

I can swap out my cheap optic cable for coax from Monster.

P. mushrooms don't work like that on me.

DH Labs does.

Gotta ask, if you had the amp why did you buy a Marantz receiver and not just a stereo preamp?  IME, both Marantz and B&K skew to the warmer, fuller side and less detailed up top, so I don’t think either are helping you there.  Another issue is using the optical connection — that’s a big no no.  Use the RCA out. Also, what cables/interconnects are you using?  Before you go ripping all your CDs I’d recommend upgrading to a good RCA digital cable like Black Cat, DH Labs, etc. and see if that fixes the issue.  Best of luck. 

Check the setup config of the DVD player. Make sure the digital output is set to PCM, not dolby digital.

I appreciate all of your inputs.   I just did a little test and I think I found the critical piece.  I did a lossless rip of a cd.  Put it on thumb drive and put it into the USB slot in the NR1200.  What a difference.  The voices came alive.   So much more detail.  I either need to rip all of my 10 cds or get a better player.

I’ve never had the experience in years of owning Maggies. But what you MAY be missing is the true ribbon tweeter. It’s glorious.

@snapsc , that's some pretty good advice right there.

Agree 100%

That should be enough juice to drive them, because that's the first thing I thought of that might be wrong. I had a pair of Maggies that I really wanted to like, and they just didn't work for me. It happens.

thanks snapsc, flatblackround

Here is just an example to get your research started....
 

https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=179975.msg1900653;topicseen#new

I suspect also that back in 1979, when the maggies were on of only a few panel speakers and sounded so much different than the sealed box speakers being sold that you did have a romantic memory of the sound.  

Unfortunately, they sound pretty mediocre when not driven by the best gear...so you might read through a number of the forums and see what people are using to drive their maggies and praising the sound....and then look for some preowned that might be in your budget

I assumed the EX-440 (350WPC @ 4 ohms) would have enough quality power to do pretty well. Its pretty well rated.  A Halo A21 is a bit out of my budget.

I think I have the DVD player configured so it is sending bitstream out of the optical cable and the new NR1200's DAC is being used.   I could be wrong about that.

I vote for all of the above.  They did not make 3.7s forty years ago.

I think you should ditch the Sony dvd and get a modern cd transport and dac.

The 1.7s should make you happy.

We need more detail on your room, the setup spacing, type of music, volume, etc., but the 1.7is are really good sounding speakers on most...but not all...types of music.  They must be minimum 3' out from the front wall.  There can't be anything between them.  The equilateral triangle seating position is a good place to start.  They won't have much deep low end in a bigger room.  And most important, they respond proportionately to the equipment that is feeding them and they absolutely love power....probably 3-500 watts minimum into 4 ohms.

I have a buddy who just bought a pair of LRS's.  He tried an 85 watt high quality, $3k integrated amplifier,....no mas....they sounded at best ok...then he switched to the Parasound Halo A21...400 watts into 4 ohms...HUGE difference.

I suspect you will need to upgrade your front end if you are going to keep the Maggies.