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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Besides "Maggies" having outdated speaker terminals that might be a struggle with banana plugs,, and they are generally power hungry, I am curious if anyone can honestly tell me of any other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 1 response by stereo58

stereo58's avatar
stereo58
3 posts
 
SunnyJim- There are a lot of posts listed here,  so I am not sure if you will get to see this response as most of them were from back in May!  Or if you have made a decision in choosing a speaker.  It is a very subjective opinion and really comes down to listening  tastes!

I can tell you from my experience in hearing a wide variety of speakers that the Maggies represent exactly what they are noted for-a wide soundstage, very low distortion (if any) and a realistic  presentation  of all instruments in their respective dynamic range.

Not only that, the vocal tracks,  especially those of female singers seem to be as if they are right in the room with you!  With regards to the size of the speakers from Magnepan.  The larger models do  have extended bass frequencies, such as the 3.7i and 20.7

However, the .7 or 1.7i  would be best served in utilizing a subwoofer as well.  I have the venerable and highly proclaimed 1.6 QR's. I am using a subwoofer with them of course.  I am driving them with Quicksilver V4 Monoblocks! My room is 12x15 too!

It is quite loud with enough power and perfectly mated for these speakers! I agree that if you have a very large listening room that you might need a more powerful amplifier or maybe solid-state to drive the Maggies to reasonable levels,  but once again that's an opinion!




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