Magnepan mg1.6 vs mg1.7 bass quality?

1.7 has less bass and much brighter

I auditioned the 1.7's about a year ago, and owned the 1.6's at the time. It was a brief audition, because I was really interested in the 3.7R's which I bought. That said, the 1.7's did not strike me all that favorably. I would say, though, that addition of a REL 328 to the 1.7's made an amazing improvement. Completely changed the tonal balance in a very good way.
So, you might want to consider sticking with your 1.6's and adding a sub. Another thought would be to go to a warmer, softer amp. I've just never bought into the maggie/bryston pairing.

Hi guys, so in conclusion, the 1.7 will be much clearer/brighter and leaner sounding than the mg 1.6? I would still prefer warmer, rounder and fatter sounding maggies,

Lecram, based on your stated preferences I'd say either go all the way up to the 3.7R's or else add a sub to your 1.6's. The Rel R-328 or R-218 mate well. Also, I'd suggest staying away from silver IC's etc. Stick with copper.

I've owned the 1.6's and 1.7's and eventually, 3.7's. Of the 1. series, they are both excellent, but I preferred the 1.6's....maybe it was a case of absence makes the heart grow fonder...I don't know. I paired them both with a little Sunfire sub. Incredible. I had my 3.7's paired with a Rel sub.

But if you are looking for a warmer sound, look elsewhere. They also both require quite a bit of power to make them sing.

thanks guys for the response, i have owned the mg 2.7 10 years ago and was quite happy with the sound in our living room, would love to have the 3.7 but my current listening space is I think too small for it. 13ft x 16ft x 8.5ft ceiling. I dont want to dominate the entire room too much. If only I can replicate my old MG2.7 sound in a smaller space and a bit lower power. I used to have 600-watt 4ohm class A krell fpb 300 powering the 2.7, and was hoping the bryston 4bsst2 and the mg1.7 can duplicate that in a much smaller space.

any comments?

Keep what you have but get a sub

Lecram, I never had the opportunity to hear the 2.7's, so I don't have that as a point of reference. I agree the 3.7's may be a stretch in your room, but mine are in a room 15 x 19 x 8. Take a look at my system pictures to get a feel for how they look. The funny thing about the 3.7's is that they integrate with the room MUCH better than the 1.6's did. I was able to take most of the room treatments out of the room.
I'm not a huge fan of Bryston and Krell amps with Maggies. I do like the SS Cary amps (obviously), so you might think about that as another way to warm things up a bit. I still think the best move is to pick up a nice REL sub and see if that gets you where you want to be. You can snag a used R-218 or R328 pretty cheaply. Even cheaper if you go with an older REL.

Pass also seems to be a great match, "Then I tried a set of Pass Labs XA100.5 mono amps with the 1.7 which immediately had me revising my opinions of the speakers";
http://www.tonepublications.com/MAGPDF/TA_030.pdf

Once I added mono block power the speakers bloomed. They are thrilling now and much fuller sounding than the 1.6's . The new crossovers are made to do that. But if you have the 1.6's I would only change to the 3.7's....

Thanks guys for the advise. I plan to buy the 1.7 then do a side by side comparison after break-in of the 1.7. If the 1.7 really proves superior, then i can sell off my 1.6 which is coming off 10 years already.

Cant really go for the 3.7 as it would ruin room aesthetics, and i would never really be satisfied with the bryston 4bsst2 running a 3.7, and moving up to the 14bsst2 or other higher powered amps would cost me so much money which i am not willing to spend

I was really just hoping that the 1.7 can improve on the 1.6's detail on top and bass punch down low.