Magnepan 1.7

Mapman,

I did purchase my Magnepan 1.7s along with my previous 1.6s at The Listening Room in Pikesville. They assisted me in selling my 1.6s which helped the process along.

I was at the Strathmore Hall last week to listen to Marin Alsop and the BSO. They were playing Brahms Requiem - not my favorite or even close. However, I did come away with the same impression - the Maggies 1.7 nail the sound of the orchestra and the hall. It is not a forward sound, but more recessed as if you are listening through the microphones in the hall and the orchestra is some distance from you.

I had to laugh. I have been trying to get "depth" out of my Magnepans by inching them closer then, farther from the back wall, never getting close to the huge hall sound I read about in Stereophile and Absolute Sound magazines.

Yet, when I closed my eyes in the hall during the concert, I really didn't get a feeling of a significant amount of depth like I read about in Stereophile. I knew the orchestra was in front of me - I was in great seats in the orchestra section - but it didn't sound cavernous. Again, the Maggies seem to catch what I heard, not too laser focused, not with exaggerated depth, just natural width and depth.

Can't wait until this coming weekend. I am visiting a great guy I recently met at a BSO function in Frederick. He invited my wife and I to join him and his wife for dinner and to listen to his MBL 111E speakers and MBL electronics. I am taking my Wyred 4 Sound DAC 1 with me (he has no digital) to test it out on his system. Looking forward to hearing what a cost-is-no object systems sounds like!

He is considering the Magnepan 1.7s for his "second-system" in his California home - I guess it would be his "slumming it" system. I may bring my Maggies over to his place and see how they sound with $$$ electronics sometime over the summer.

I heard them today and thought they had NO BASS at all. WONDERFUL VOICES IN THE CENTER John and Paul sounded live, but they were sterile and nothing below 60 hz.

"I heard them today and thought they had NO BASS at all. WONDERFUL VOICES IN THE CENTER John and Paul sounded live, but they were sterile and nothing below 60 hz."

Tough to know what to make of this post without any details about the electronics and room setup. All we are left with is you heard some 1.7's and heard "NO BASS".

You may be correct but it is hard to know what to think with so little info....

It has been a week since adding the Magnepans to my main system.

My initial impressions are as follows: It takes a day to get used to their size. Even though I was aware of their height/width, they look far smaller in the dealer's showroom.

I had to move them over four feet from the rear wall mainly to deal with extreme boominess in the mid-bass. I have pretty much run out of real estate to deal with positioning them out any further. Adding a subwoofer helped cancel out most of the mid-bass problem.

The speakers present a huge sound stage. More details in recordings are heard. These speakers in this system and room, etc make my secondary audio system in my family room sound small in comparison. Part of this may be due to the fact that my family room is far more damped/deadened than my living room. My living room is more lively/reverberant.

I listen to mainly jazz in all forms, contemporary gospel choirs, some rock and classical. I was listening to a choir recorded live and I ended up with the same feeling you get as if actually present at the event. Very moving.

My only real gripe with these speakers are with the attention to detail during the manufacturing process. The craftsmanship/workmanship on these are not done with precision and exactness.

One other issue concerning powering these speakers: After reading the post here on Agon I wondered if my amp would be sufficient. It is more than sufficient and the sound is spectacular. Of course there are always better products but I see no need to purchase another amp. The only reason for me to purchase another amp for these speakers would be for the sake of curiosity only.

personally i like the older maggies