Pinoy6 -Having owned and enjoyed the 1.6 myself, I am also curious to know if the 1.7 is "better" or worth the upgrade. My local dealer has a pair of each side-by-side, so I believe I will compare them. Although it is subjective, I doubt you will get a straight answer on the forum due to so many different opinions. I have owned and listened to Magnepans since the 70's (Tympani, MGI, MMG, 1.6) along with other fine speakers from Thiel, Vandersteen, Martin Logan, etc. One thing that amazes me about Magnepan - they are the only speaker I am aware of that has a small user group with some people who feel they know more about the speakers than the company that has designed and built them for the last 40 years?