New Magnepan 1.7 R

Realhifi, I've never heard them sound terrible, in any setup.
I do find setup critical but not difficult and they benefit from the best amplification one can afford.

Wendell

I love them, but I do think they need very good amps, because they are so revealing. If you had them for years and used cheap amps they probably wouldn't perform their best, and some generic box speaker that colors the music would appeal to you.

I would put my Maggies against any speakers as far as hard rock performance. They can make your ears bleed, and sound crystal clear, but I have what I consider great amps.

I'm a recent Maggie 1.6QR convert and love 'em over my past box speakers. They aren't exactly dynamic! or have bass! - but with voices, cymbals, etc they are very good. My friend with the Quad ESL-63s like 'em too - saying they are a more livable speaker with a varying range of music. Though they don't quite have the transparency or detail of a good 'stat, they are truly fantastic speakers - especially for the price.

A true taste of the high end on a not-so-rich man's budget. I run 'em with a big ol' Threshold S/500 amplifier and still feel that I could do with a bit more power(!). btw - Trying to run them with a SE 15W class A tube amplifier was an exercise in futility!

Anyways - I'm looking forward to the 1.7s. A true ribbon tweeter would definitely help.

Dividebytube,
With due respect, it's a misconception that Maggies don't have bass. They can do bass very, very well with enough high-quality power. Mye stands also make a huge difference in bass response and overall quality.
Enjoy.

Dordevic, I agree regarding the bass but planar bass is different from a dynamic driver. Some people simply don't like the way bass sounds through a planar. I hear the difference but can live with it considering all they do right.

Wendell