Magneplanar 1.7s to Recruit New Audiophile?

Ha - thanks Magfan.

I dont know about RPTV's but every CRT and LCD Sony screen I have ever had was great and lasted for years.

Sony gets bashed a lot, but its perhaps the one brand where I drink by the label.

And although they sell out quickly, Costco gets the just barely discontinued models, sells them for huge discounts vs. say, a Best Buy and has a 90 day, no questions asked, no restocking fee, and no problem if you threw away all the packing and original box return policy.

How can you beat that?

Re ICE why would that be better? Any specific suggestions?

I would also think a monster pair of Bryston monoblocks would work great on small Magnepans, but in keeping with the budget on this project, the Odysseys sound pretty bulletproof and are significantly less money.

In a related thread, there is a debate going on about new 1.7s vs used Tympanis, 3.3s, 3.6s etc.

So we could also work that into the argument, although I think the person in question might not like used anything, regardless of the logic.

see my new related new topic on the form regarding sony sxrd units.

Maggies need a lot of room (at least 3-4' from the back wall and 2-3'from the side walls) and IMHO lots of power & propper placement to sound good. If you don't have the room get other speakers. Used 1.6 speakers should be considered as well as a used innersound esl 300 mark 2 amp. Let someone else break them in and you'll save 50-60%. Or, you might consider the EAD Ovation signature theatermaster and powermaster 2000 presently for sale on Agon. That should run you around $4,000 for speakers/proccessor and amp. If you don't go the EAD combo (can be upgraded by noble electronics) I'd add a tube pre-amp to an innersound SS amp and separate DAC to warm up the SS sound. I use a lector zoe and McCormack dac deluxe. You might consider the Zoe and Bel Canto dac 2 for another $2-3,000. As for a TV, The new panasonic plasma ST models should outperform LED LCD TV's. Look for plasma and LCD Easter sales at 6 ave electronics or electronics expo in NY/NJ. So, that should bring you up to $7-8,000. The blu ray/cd player is up to you. If you play blu ray through your laptop get a good transport for music to use with your dac PS audio lambda, pioneer PD65,proceed CDD etc. or keep it simple with an all in one Oppo. As for cables, you will experiment & eventually upgrade. Signal cables and Blue Jean cables are a good place to start. Good luck with your project.

Personally, I'd go with an MMG/subwoofer combo. Whatever the cost to the "purist" audiophile approach may be, the extended, smooth bass of the subs and the placement flexibility of the smaller Maggies is likely -IMHO- to more than justify it.

The trick, of course, is getting proper integration. I use the Velodyne SMS-1 Digital Room Correction unit (DRC to the subs, only!) for precise control of level matching and all other crossover variables. It's a PITA to set up, but works like a charm. I also use an NHT x-2 active x-over, ahead of the SMS in order to keep the Velo unit out of the main signal path. More complex than most audiophiles prefer, but very, very effective.

Good luck.

Marty