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My New Magnepan 1.7i's sound dull and lifeless on the top end...why?

First time Magnepan owner - 5  days old 100+ burn-in hours on them
Associated Equipment:
-Denafrips Terminator Plus
-Holo Audio May KTE version
-Pass Labs X22 Pre-amp
-PrimaLuna EVO 400 Pre-amp
-Pass Labs XA100.8 Monos
-PrimaLuna EVO 400 Monos
-AntiCables interconnects and speaker cables
-Stock tweeter attenuator jumper replaced with AntiCables level 5 spade jumpers on the 1.7i's

My spectrum analyzer indicates both speakers highs are falling off beginning at 1.25K and are 9db down from 2.5K on
Been playing around with speaker placement and room treatments for 2 days now without any remediation. What am I missing? Suggestions appreciated.
128x128nayls02

Showing 3 responses by russ69

russ69's avatar
russ69
3,360 posts
 

Did the original post guy have any changes to his? 

Yes, he had pushed the banana plug in too far and it was contacting elements. Your issue may be different. I didn't like my Mac 402 with my .7 Maggies. Much better with a Parasound A21 and a lively preamp. 

russ69's avatar
russ69
3,360 posts
 
I hate to say it because I'm a Prima Luna fan (have an EL34/KT88 integrated). But they don't extend as well as a good SS amp. Gold Lyon KT88s helped but switching to SS works better. 
Make your room more lively, put KT88s in you amp and that is the best you can do. To tell you the truth Maggie 1.7s don't have the best tweeter, you'll need 3.7s for that but you can get them to work reasonably well.  
russ69's avatar
russ69
3,360 posts
 
I just wanted to add, make sure your banana plugs are not inserted too far. They can sometimes foul some wiring or reach the panel. Also take a flashlight and look at the wiring near the crossover and see if you see something disconnected. I seriously doubt both panels would be a problem but it is possible that a new guy mis-wired them.  
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