Experienced Maggie Lovers Please Advise


I have the itch to buy another set of Maggies (MG2s were my last set many years ago)  There are no stocking dealers near me (I'm told Magneplanar is leaning into  a made to order manufacturer) so I'm going on the advice of experienced fellow Maggie lovers.

I see reviews all over the place on LRS,  MG .7 and MG 1.7i. I see little on MG2.7i or x and and nothing on MG 3.7i or x.  My questions are these:

Have you ever listened to a set of MG 3.7i and if so did you have a chance to hear them compared to 2.7 or 1.7? Please share your experience. 

In your eye/ear witness opinion Is the X upgrade worth the bump in price? 

FWIW My nearest dealer said he'd give a full refund and pay return shipping if I wasn't satisficed after 30 days of ownership.  

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I have 1.7's. I feel they are the sweet spot for quality/value to price. The 3.7's are a step up in performance and price however for me it's not worth it. The 20's are a different story though but very much higher in price. 

 

Using an active crossover really changed the game for the 1.7's. Setting the low pass filter at 70Hz and 18db/oct opened up the higher volume listening quite a bit.

I've had many Maggies over the years, including 1.7 and, currently, 3.7.

The prevailing wisdom is generally to buy the biggest model you can afford. I agree with this. 

I also have not heard any X. I find it hard to believe that they are worth the significantly greater price. But I could be wrong.

I have owned the 1.6, 1.7, 3.7, and now I have the 20.7's.  Bigger is always better when it comes to Maggies.  I've never heard the X versions.  I did upgrade the crossovers in my Moabs and that made a significant difference so perhaps it is worth the cost.

I've owned MG-Is and the original 2.7is; I had the 2.7is for five years before moving to a home that couldn't accommodate them and taking a different approach. The 2.7i in particular was an incredible speaker, very lifelike. I eventually settled on my grail speaker, Quad ESL63s, which I've had for 15 years.

We recently bought my son a system as a graduation present, and he chose the 1.7i. In that process we heard the whole line up to 3.7i, but this was before the new 2.7i came out, and before the x introduction. They're all great, in very similar ways. As you move up, you get better, fuller, more extended bass, although the fundamental character remains the same. As many have observed over the years, as you move up you also experience larger, if not better, images.

When I bought my 2.7s, the next one up was the 3.6i, and I listened extensively to both. I ultimately chose the 2.7s because I felt the bass was very close to the 3.6, but the overall presentation was more coherent, the speakers disappeared better and there was just music in front of me. That may be something they fixed in the 3.7i, and that may be even better in the 3.7x. That said, Jim Winey, the founder, did say the 2.7i was the best speaker they'd ever made, and at the time he said it I agreed.