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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Besides "Maggies" having outdated speaker terminals that might be a struggle with banana plugs,, and they are generally power hungry, I am curious if anyone can honestly tell me of any other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 4 responses by helomech

helomech
1,525 posts
 
To my ears, the Magnepan 1.7i is not only better than the Triton 7s, but much better than the Triton 1s as well. The caveat is that they don't open up until moderately high volumes. Maggies at 65db sound dull and thin, at 80db, they can sound glorious. IME, something like 200 watts into 4 ohms should be plenty. They can make an amp very warm. 

I don't think they're as picky about placement as many claim, but they do seem to react to almost anything in a room, if only to a small extent. They are detailed but I understand why some refer to them as having a "Maggie Mist." It's as though they're detailed but a bit veiled at the same time. To use an Art Dudley adjective, maybe a lack of "touch." I think this has to do with their low sensitivity coupled with the low impedance.
helomech
1,525 posts
 
Magnepans are good speakers but all who claim the 1.7s can compete with anything under $10k need their hearing checked. Are they as good as many $4k pairs? Sure, definitely. However, go listen to the 1.7i and then some Stirling Broadcast LS3/6s ($5k) or Spendor SP100s. The Maggie's don't hold a candle, not by a long shot. Those boring, tired looking boxes with conventional cones make Magnepans sound darn ordinary in comparison.
helomech
1,525 posts
 
I’ll probably be listing a pair of Mye stands on here in the near future. Keep a look out.

I moved my 1.7s onto a new home but I can attest that the Mye stands make a considerable improvement. I don’t believe in magic cables, fuses, or any of that garbage but Mye stands really work.
helomech
1,525 posts
 
@coldears

Instruments on a stage all have varying intensity/ dynamics but the Maggie’s homogenized everything into sonic wall paper. It had tone and colour etc but seemed to lack varying dynamics within that field. Like I said hard to explain.

I think that's a very good description of their sound. An album that really highlights the lack of varying dynamics - especially at low volume - is Supertramp's Breakfast in America.

 I also agree with a phrase I encountered in one review: "Maggie Mist." In my system, everything sounded like it was a bit diffused. The imaging was wide and deep but lacked precision. This really isn't surprising when one considers that the sound is radiating from an ~ 5' tall surface. Many claim that one strength of Magnepans is their clarity, however, I felt that the diffused sound really hindered them in that regard. To my ears, the 1.7s weren't any cleaner sounding than most $2K pairs of dynamic box speakers. 
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