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

[Magnepans] Lack of Dynamic Range . If you play Classical Music is a problem with rock/pop is not.

Not in my experience with my 1.7s, but then I cheat a little bit. I have sandbags on their feet to dampen vibrations, use the tilt-back spacers to energize the room better, and have them perfectly mated with a pair of small, fast powered subwoofers (1400w peak) to fill in the 36-50Hz region. The panel/sub coherence popped into focus when I dialed in the continuous phase control. That adds a lot of power and dynamics. I use this rig almost exclusively for LP playback. My amp is rather modest by today’s standards--a Perreaux PMF-1150B rated at 100 wpc into 8 ohms. Factory specs didn’t specify output ito 4 ohms, but with the results I’m getting, it must put out close to 200 wpc into 4 ohms.

Anyway, this rig does dynamics gloriously. I love playing bombastic large scale orchestral works--Russian showpieces, Holst’s "The Planets," Beethoven’s Eroica, and big band--Buddy Rich, Count Basie, Harry James on Sheffield D2D, etc. When I play these records the dynamics knock me around the room. The dynaimcs really took off when I acquired a MAGI Phonomenal phono stage--all tube handwired PTP. I also have the matching line stage. Together they transformed my rig.

... Going from my 1.6 to proac d48r has been a revelation. Dynamic range is definitely a component of emotion. While the maggiea served me well, they are no match for my new speakers.

That’s hardly a fair method to make a general characterization of Magnepan products. The 1.6 is a 20-yr-old design and was discontinued at least seven years ago. It is not representative of Maggie’s current product line. The 1.6’s replacement, the 1.7, was such a quantum leap in performance that the technology was applied throughout the line: the 3.6 became the 3.7, the 20.1 became the 20.7, the the .7 was introduced as well. I can also attest that with the right setup and appropriate-sized room, the Mini Maggies are also *very* dynamic.

And let’s not forget that your new speakers retail at $10,900. Let’s hope they sound better than 20-yr-old $1500 speakers. You could buy a pair of Maggie 3.7s plus $5500 worth of subwoofers for the price of your Proacs,

+1 Schubert.  

Going from my 1.6 to proac d48r has been a revelation.  Dynamic range is definitely a component of emotion.  While the maggiea served me well, they are no match for my new speakers.  

Lack of Dynamic Range . If you play Classical Music is a problem with rock/pop is not .

I agree that the correct speaker placement and having the space for the correct speaker placement in my mind is the greatest challenge. If you can get close the the correct speaker placement I think you would be very happy.

they need current delivery at 4 ohms but are easy to drive as they are not a complex load

they are hard to ship if you ever sell them

they are best 5 ft from a front wall; you can do side wall tmts and stick them inches from a side wall (ARC has tested their amps that way)

the bananas are fine

worst thing is you may tend to brag to friends about how great they are for the price

Your amp should drive the 1.7's with no problem. The main thing you have to take into consideration is they need to be 3 to 4 feet into the room. Also a couple of feet from the side walls. Also they do not like a heavily damped room. The wall behind the speakers should be on the hard side. By the way my 3.6 crossover box takes bananas with no problem. Take a cable with bananas to your dealer and see how they work with the 7 series. The 7 series crossover has changed from the 6 series
Alan
Alan