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What are some of the downsides of owning a Magneplanar .7 or 1.7i ?

Thinking of moving up speaker wise, and so am considering  the fabled Magneplanar speakers, that is, either the  the .7, or supposedly new 1.7i.   (BTW, I am not sure the Maggie .7 is necessarily an upgrade, and has less bass than my current box speakers...see below)

Besides "Maggies" having outdated speaker terminals that might be a struggle with banana plugs,, and they are generally power hungry, I am curious if anyone can honestly tell me of any other downsides of this design.  For the last 30 years, I have owned several traditional box design speakers. 

I currently have a pair of Golden Ear Technology model 7's....which I like and generally sound good However, I  would like to confirm what a planar design brings to the table in sound quality. I have read many times about the box-less sound  provided by this design, and its wide sound staging and low distortion. 

I think I have enough power with BAT VK-200 amp (100RMS) to drive the .7, but not sure that is enough to drive the MG1.7i. to higher volumes The pre-amp is a Conrad Johnson PV-14SE. 

The listening room area 12 X15ft, but opens into kitchen/dining area divided by a medium size couch. The rest of the space is approximately 12X18ft behind the sofa with a stupid counter island ( so I cannot move the sofa back any further.. The ceiling is 8 to 9 ft feet high ( not a cathedral ceiling, praise the Lord) . It is a bit of haul to the dealer I bought the Golden Ear T's from who also carries Magneplanar line.  All advice welcomed.    Thanks, SJ   

sunnyjim

Showing 2 responses by douglas_schroeder

douglas_schroeder
3,281 posts
 

Sideways move. Different technology with very different presentation. Obviously will sound quite different, but not a slam dunk improvement.

If you can afford it I recommend you consider having both types of speakers on hand, as you can enjoy what each brings to the listening experience.

The BAT will not provide enough power to open up the Maggies fully unless it's a higher current design. You likely will be disappointed in the dynamics, but enjoy the soundstaging properties of the Maggies.

Both speakers are quite compromised in terms of absolute sound reproduction, but offer different flavors of experience.

douglas_schroeder
3,281 posts
 
corelli, the secret sauce to the Tekton speakers is the quasi line source array. There are some characteristics of sound reproduction which line sources and panels share. I'm not saying they are identical or that the one can reproduce the other, but they do overlap in some respects. Just as with panels one has to accept certain compromises in performance when approaching a line source. What they do, some can do exceptionally well. 

If you were to work with a fine traditional 3-way you would be confronted with the lack of coherence of the quasi-line source array. I know, I know, you think it couldn't get more clear, delineated. That's wrong, and you would hear it immediately with a great 3-way. But, you would lose some of the characteristics of the line source in the process. It's all trade-offs in speaker design. 

Now, corelli, if you want a very interesting experience, switch back and forth over time between the two, panel and line array. You will be shocked at how "wrong" in comparison the other sounds as you adjust to the one playing. It takes time to adjust to a new speaker technology when you have been using the other. But, once adjusted it sounds "right" to the ear. Then, when you switch back again you have to readjust. But, sure enough, over the next few days it sounds more and more "right" to the ear. It teaches one to pay attention to the more nuanced variables of sound production and how one technology cannot capture the essence of perfect sound reproduction. 


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