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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Besides "Maggies" having outdated speaker terminals that might be a struggle with banana plugs,, and they are generally power hungry, I am curious if anyone can honestly tell me of any other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
108 responses Add your response
nicknick
14 posts
 
A cheap upgrade is to change to decent speaker binding posts (the originals break fairly easily anyway) and bypass the high frequency resistor pot & fuse holder, which shouldn't be a problem providing your amp is reliable without risk of DC offset.
secretguy
1,703 posts
 
The biggest downside of having Maggies is that you will be spoiled for life. Everything else sounds like boxes.
richard_crl032
29 posts
 
Hi,

Luxman 505ux, conrad johnson ca200 and wyred4sound sti1000 even used as pure amp with new audible illusion L3A did not bring out what my heavilymodded 1.7 with solid birch, humble bee hifi's crossovers with giant capacitors/coils etc. is capable of .... until sanders magtech came to town.

Cheers.

Richard
beans57
10 posts
 
Hi there
In the market now for a pair of ~ sub-$3K speakers for my 2-channel system and these came up in discussion with local shop.
I had experience years back with a bud who had these in our house.  Unforgettable sound.  Very characteristic sound, but it just stopped you and you listened.
Anway, with this type of speaker in consideration, one question for those in the know:  is there a shortened life expectancy of these planar speakers as compared to typical 'box' driver spec'd speakers?  I recall that same bud at some point down the road switched speakers and never went back to them and he told me they started to sound 'old' . . . . I don't even remember what he meant by that.
Thanks
shadys
10 posts
 
Can’t speak about the newer models, but my mg 12s have been solid for 16 years, and I bought them used at the time.  No issues.
johnto
1,023 posts
 
The only thing I can think of is that it's been reported that they had issues with the glue they used years ago causing delamination. I've had Maggie's for 6 yrs now and they never sound old to me,  the opposite is true every time I listen I make new discoveries within the music.
russ69's avatar
russ69
3,505 posts
 
The main issues with Magnepan are that you have to put them where they need to go in the room, not where you would like to put them. They also need to be feed properly and will suck an under powered amp dry. Other than that they are very robust loudspeakers. 
daveteauk's avatar
daveteauk
53 posts
 
Outdated terminals? I've had 3 pairs of Maggies and banana plugs have always fitted with no problems whatsoever. My current 1.7i's and my previous .7i were fine too. The 1.7i's are a step change in performance over the .7i's IMO - a huge leap in performance I found.When you say 'the rest of the space is',, are you saying the total length of your room is 24' or 33'? You must include the whole space in your description, as that is the space that your speakers 'see'.The VK-200 will be fine for the 1.7i's, which I would point you towards, depending on your room size, as they do need 3>5' behind. Side walls are not really a great issue as there's very little output to the sides from a dipole speaker, although wall reflections obviously do ocurr.The .7i's are 'bass challenged', but a REL T5/7/9i(x) will sort that out, but they would be an enormous upgrade from your current speakers IMO - bass is not the whole story. The openess/clarity/air etc, compared to most box speakers, will blow you away.
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