Maggie owners -- Mye or Magna Riser stands

Pick the one you like but sonically not that big of a difference. Turning the loudspeaker 1/4 inch makes a bigger change. The biggest improvement they make is on the smaller panels that get the tweeter level up a little higher. On the big panels (1.7 and up) it’s not needed but like you already know they are more sturdy.

P.S. Get the 3.7s they are a step up from the 1.7s, you will not be disappointed. 

And a BMW is better than a bike.

thanks @russ69

i want to make sure your confidence in the 1.7 to 3.7 upgrade applies to the current ’i’ models... some say the improvement is quite room size specific and marginal in the case of 1.7i to 3.7i, whereas it was more of a clear upgrade in the earlier ’non-i’ versions

i find the 1.7i loads my room exceptional well in the bass and mids, i have already put alot of work into find the proper setup/toe in

Magna risers do not brace the sides of the Magnepan 1.7i.  Vander Mye stands do.

Sound Anchors also makes after market stands for Magnepan.

i want to make sure your confidence in the 1.7 to 3.7 upgrade applies to the current ’i’ models.

Sorry I can’t say that because even though I have the current .7s I have not heard the 1.7i or 3.7i. But the 3.7s have the real ribbon tweeter and that is the game changer not the change from wires to printed circuit.

P.S. I have spent a lot of time with the 1.6s and in the right room they are very good but the 3.6 was WAY better. I have heard the 1.7s and the tweeter was holding them back. 

Of course, the only way to know "for sure"  is for you to compare them in your system.  All else is conjecture.

I will say that I recently sold a pair of .7's with which I used MagnaRisers and then found a pair of MMGs which came with Mye stands.  I prefer the MMG's/Mye set up. One man's experience to be sure.

Of course YMMV.  Relativity at work.  

@jjss49 … I realize this is an old thread, but I’d like to reply anyway. I bought the 1.7 and had them for 4 years, then upgraded to1.7i and had those for about 5 more. Two years ago I replaced them with the 3.7. I used Sound Anchors stands with the 1.7i, and use the MYE stands with the 3.7. In my system, the largest improvement was going from the 1.7 to the 1.7i. The Sound Anchor stand was a slight improvement over the stock stands on the 1.7i, but well worth the $300 IMO. Going from 1.7i to 3.7 was an improvement for sure, but the cost of that upgrade was large, and the improvement was smaller by comparison. The MYE stands for the 3.7 gave a slight increase in the amount of fine detail, but seemed to reduce the fullness of the lower frequencies… maybe rendering them tighter, but leaner. Years ago I replaced the 1.5 Q/R with the 3.3/R, and that was a huge improvement. Then I replaced the 3.3 with the 1.7… the sound was better overall, but the top and bottom of the sound spectrum had been a bit better with the 3.3. The broad mid frequencies were clearly better with the 1.7, so I chose to keep them. When I upgraded to the 1.7i, I got much of the highs and lows back, and the mids were even clearer. Moving to the 3.7 slightly improved the higher frequencies, and also the sound staging to some degree, but did not give me the increase in bass response I expected. That may be due to the balance of the individual speakers. I tried resistors in the tweeter and midrange positions on the input plate of the 3.7 to balance them better, but the resistors dulled the sound too much. I’m considering getting higher quality resistors to try, but for now they’re out. So I’m currently listening to the 3.7, and enjoying them very much, but I’m not convinced that the time, effort, and cost involved in going from the 1.7i to the 3.7 was worth it. To be clear, the 3.7 IS “better” than the 1.7i, just not “substantially” better. Best bang, for me, was the 1.7i with Sound Anchors. I could live with them quite happily. One more point: I’ve been using one model or another of Magnepan speakers for 36 years, and during that time I’ve tried other good speakers, but always craved the “sound” of the Maggies. Happy listening!

@krelldreams +1.

I've been a Maggie guy for years (lots of different models) but i recently changed my room around and Maggies won't work as well. I'm trying some Cone speakers that sound ok....but nothing as lifelike as Maggies. I'm thinking that maybe a pair of smaller stand mounts might help with soundstage etc. but that's a crapshoot and that costs $. So who knows...I might just live with the Maggies in a compromised setup.

@krelldreams 

thanks for your input

just so i am clear, you went from 1.7i to 3.7 (not 3.7i) correct?

i have both in house presently (1.7i as well as 3.7i) both on magnas... both sound wonderful, but as you can imagine, somewhat different

Hi. Yes, that is correct. I bought a pair of 3.7 (not i) from the original owner. I’m considering having Magnepan upgrade them for me as I’m sure it would be an improvement, however even Wendell Diller of Magnepan has said that the difference between the 3.7 and the 3.7i is very subtle. So, I can keep what I have, upgrade to 3.7i, or sell these and buy a brand new pair of 1.7i, Sound Anchors, and have some cash leftover to improve my streaming chain. What are your impressions, since you have both pair simultaneously? Incidentally, I kept my 1.7i to compare to the 3.7. I decided to sell the 1.7i despite the mild disappointment I felt with the upgrade. As I said.. They were definitely better, but they didn’t blow me away like going from 1.5 to 3.3 (as I’d hoped). All that said; they sound amazing. 

@secretguy … I understand where you’re coming from. In my previous house, the room where I had my system was kinda too small and odd shaped. Not ideal for large panels, but they still did things that the various box speakers I tried couldn’t manage. And those “things” were in areas of performance that are important to me. So out they went, and in went more Maggies!

Haha....once you go Maggie....

I did have Magnarisers back when I had a pair of 12s...being smaller panels, raising did help them. I would doubt it would matter on larger panels.

however even Wendell Diller of Magnepan has said that the difference between the 3.7 and the 3.7i is very subtle. So, I can keep what I have, upgrade to 3.7i, or sell these and buy a brand new pair of 1.7i

@krelldreams Based on what I have heard from dealers (and Magnepan) the difference between the 3.7 and 3.7i is much smaller than the 1.7/1.7i difference.

@swede58 … That’s exactly what I’ve heard as well. I heard the 1.7/1.7i difference for myself in my own system. It was very easily noticeable. It sounds like the consensus is that the 3.7/3.7i difference is barely evident. I don’t live near Minnesota, and packing up 3.7s, shipping both ways, and paying them for the upgrade is an expense, and a risk that outweighs what is likely a very slight improvement. Plus, I wouldn’t have them side by side to compare! 

@krelldreams I asked Wendell If the ”i” goes deeper than the original 3.7’s, he said; ”no, not really, it’s a tweak”. I guess he was referring to the damping pad behind the midrange which makes them slightly more laid back and warmer sounding.

@krelldreams I'm reading between the lines and taking liberties but it sounds like the 1.7i worked well for you and given a do over you might have stayed with them? I'm thinking about getting some 1.7i but the lure of the 3.7i is always lurking.

@bubba12 : It’s a tough call. The 3.7 is noticeably better than the 1.7i, but in the category of performance per dollar, I’d say the 1.7i wins. I did have both to compare, and I did keep the 3.7 and sell the 1.7i, so I guess that speaks to how it worked out for me. The difference in price between the two is pretty vast. To answer your question; if I were to do it all over, and hadn’t compared them head to head, I’d probably get the 1.7i. With that said, I don’t want to go backwards… now that I have the 3.7, I will likely stay with them. I hope that isn’t too confusing!

I cannot compare Mye vs. Magna Riser, but I'm very pleased with the Magna Riser vs. the stock stands on my .7's. Now my panels don't point at the ceiling. There was a noticeable improvement in sonics with the Magna Risers. They took a LONG time to arrive, but Robert and Shauna were top notch to work with. 

all maggies should ideally be heard standing vertically

just the baby maggies are sold with cheapo stock stands by the factory to shoot slightly upwards given the shortness of the speaker... they should be put on elevated stands to point straight forward yet at a proper height - witness now the upgraded upcharged stands magnepans sells with their lrs+

i have magna risers on both my 1.7i and 3.7i, very very pleased ... was just curious about the myes as they seem to brace the speaker a bit more robustly... not sure it matters much sonically

Thanks @krelldreams. I think if I make the move it will be to the 3.7i. I'm getting to recognize my need to upgrade BEFORE it happens.

Without having owned a pair of Mye stands I can’t really offer anything of substance to suggest them over MagnaRisers, but keep in mind that pretty much anything is an improvement over the stock stands that ship with the smaller Maggies. And I do mean ANYTHING…

I recently had the good fortune to pick up a pair of original MMG’s from their original owner. (I bought my first pair when they first came out years ago.)  The previous owner kept them in excellent condition - including the original shipping carton, packaging, etc.  Very cool. 
 

Except for those original flimsy-ass tongue depressor factory stands. I placed an order for a pair of Magnariser Airbornes if not to improve things audibly, then at the very least aesthetically.

While waiting for the Airbornes I fashioned a truly hideous yet acceptable hack using the flimsy factory stands. I knew from previous experience with the .7, and 1.7i models that they sound best straight up, no chaser. I went off to the local 5Below store and purchased 8 five pound barbells. I then used a level and tilted the factory stands until vertical, then applied the weights to hold them in place. Voila!

  Not pretty, but effective.

Anyway…I can’t attest to any of the audible claims made by MagnaRisers, but they certainly didn’t subtract anything, and they’re rather spiffy to look at, too. The people who them are really nice to do business with, professional, and courteous. For that reason alone I recommend the MagnaRisers.