Magnepan 1.7

My PERSONAL opinion would be to go to a total reframe in real wood. But that's just me. I would avoid 'bridgework' in the stand and use wood. The MDF of Maggies doesn't accept the vibration from the panel which is where the problem lies.
The Mye stands make the frame more rigid and less 'whippy'. This is good, but IMO using brute force, not materials and engineering.

Just my opin, but I'm in process of designing new frames which will be both light and rigid. No metal beams or whatever. The driver will be 'floated' in the frame yet firmly held. Some mod guys even install strips of Dynamat or whatever on the pole piece and between the frame and driver.

I have heard them again but this time with all Krell electronic & CD player with top of the line Mit cable ...

big disapointement ! ... clearly a problem of combination

Krell + Magnepan is not for me

Magfan, or anyone, any opinions about the best approach for Maggie stands?

There seems to be the type that completely frames the maggies or the "Mye" approach which seems to primarily add bracing on the "back" side of the speakers.

Man, what a can of worms!
To tilt or not to tilt, that is the question.

You're on your own with this one! Some people may even install the spacers on the TOP screws to tilt 'em forward.

I run straight up/dn but will build some adjustment into my frames......with a proprietary design.

One other thing I forgot to mentin is that Magnepan provides plastic washers that can be used to tilt the speakers. They fit between the foot brackets and the speaker itself.

When inserted this has the effect of tilting the speakers slightly back.

I have done this and did not notice a real change in the sound. I have left them that way. My suspicion is that this would have an effect depending on the distance between the listening chair and the speakers.

You are right - a free upgrade in about five minutes!

I am going to savor this for a while before I flip them from front to back.

Just seems a little too far out for my sensibilities at this point!

Excellent result, Dsper.
Just a little messing around and a FREE upgrade.

Now, if you're in the mood for some futher furniture moving, try listening to the pole piece side! Again, I prefer tweeters in, but that shouldn't matter to you. Your room. Your ears.

Have fun.

Try it?

Hey Magfan,

Are you out there?

You may remember that I received my Maggie 1.7's just after Thanksgiving and originally set them up with the tweeters on the outside.

Since then, the speakers have about 100 hours on them so I decided to start playing with the setup.

I just switched the speakers today so that the tweeters are now on the inside.

Fantastic improvement! The sound is tighter, more focused and more detailed. It is an amazing change.

For example, I have a Willie Nile CD called "House of a Thousand Guitars". The sixth track is a song called "Now That The War Is Over". Christopher Hoffman plays a cello line that you can hear underneath the piano and vocals.

It was...well...indistinct with tweeters out. With tweeters in, the cello sounds like a cello and you can almost feel the bow on the strings. There is amazing texture to the sound.

Wow!

Have you experimented with SETUP? Panels can require some patients in that department.
Also, flip 'em around. Adjust toe. Adjust front wall spacing.

Keep track of what you try.

"11-11-10: Charlesjnicholas
I've had my 1.7s for nearly 3 months and have several hundred hours on them.
......
I'I much prefer them to the B&W 802Ds, Usher 718s, KEF 201/2s and Apogee Duetta IIs I've used in the same listening area over the past several years and would not hesitate to recommend them to anyone looking at speakers selling for less than $10k"

I am a happy owner of kef reference 201/2.
I bought them for my small room but now I have to move to a bigger one.
In the bigger room they lack some body and are a bit lean for my tastes.
Is it a downgrade going from kef ref to magnepan 1.7?
I will drive them with pass labs x150.5
thank you
Nikos
(I love the martin logan sound, if that makes any difference...)

I use a PSAudio GCC series integrated. It uses the same ASP ICE modules but apparently different input circuitry. Both amps have a single balanced input....#1, single ended inputs, an additional output (to another amp or sub) and the same frontpanel AND backpanel arrangement. Built on the same line, I suspect.

That being said, the 500x2 of my GCC250 is more than adequate for my 1.6s. If, as you say, you are listening at lower levels, you will simply NOT need the 3db offered by the kilowatt model. Also, the smaller module in my amp has a 60 second max power time limit while the larger module limits itself to 30 seconds.
The difference between the W4S and the PSAudio would appear to be the gain cell offered only in the PS amps.

I suspect that interchanged into the same system, you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference.

I don't know about the Wyred integrates, but several people use their power amps with the Maggies with good results.

BTW, I've noticed the same improvement in detail during Maggie break-in, it seems par for the course.

I have been away from this thread for a while and was quite happy to see it continues. I have had my 1.7s now for just over 9 months. The Maggies continue to sound better with each passing month. I have been backing down the subwoofer each month in very small increments as the speakers break in and bass improves.

I believe that the speakers continue to break in with changes not only to the bass but to detail. I now listen to music at lower levels than I ever did before with full enjoyment due to the tremendous detail provided by the speakers at low listening levels. It has opened up many more hours of listening time without disturbing wife and remaining son who is off to college this year.

Very jealous of Clavil with the dCS Puccini + Clock and Jeff Rowland amps. Even with my lowly but beautifully made BADA amp and preamp I get absolutely amazing sound and can't imagine how good the speakers would sound with such electronics.

I like the Wyred 4 Sound DAC so much I am considering purchasing their STI-1000 (I do crank it up from time to time). Everything I read about their sound characteristics seems to be a good match for the Maggies. Anyone use Wyred 4 sound integrated amps with the Maggies?

I have heard the 1,7 with

dCS Puccini + Clock

Jeff Rowland's 312 (1000 watts on 4 ohm) + Corus

I was shocked how good they are: huge resolution / definition, I heard such a definition only on Magico, absolutely natural concert-like staging of the musicians, definitevely enough bass hearing a Mahler Symphony at loud volume.
Amazingly beautifull loudspeakers for Classic and Jazz lovers. However I wouldn't recommend it for hard rock or techno fans, not enough impact ...

And while you're at it, don't forget to listen to the POLE PIECE SIDE.

Some preferences there, too.

My 1.6s in my room? Tweeter 'in' and PP to listener. speaker toe? 10''48'''

Just wanted to add that Wendell Diller recommends trying the 1.7's both tweeter in and out. About 2/3 of the time it works better one way, 1/3 the other, but I don't remember at this point which is the one that's more likely to work :-) :-| Anyway, in my experience (which isn't with the 1.7's) it depends on both the model and the room. (The reason it varies from model-to-model is that the crossover lobe varies depending on the driver position and components.)

I have the Magnepan 1.7's plus the other equipment - Bob/Gary Backert modded Canary monblock preamps and CA-160 monblock amplifiers (also modded by Backert), Music Hall MM7 turntable with Goldring Eroica cartridge, Audio Horizons pnonostage, Cambridge 640 CD player, Zentara speaker cables, Enacom speaker filters, Tritium line-level Tri-phazer, and Zentara interconnects, and Dakiom 253 interconnect between my CD player and preamp.

The Maggies sound superb. They sound well integrated, natural, and detailed without etch. I have pleasantly surprised how good they sound with 140 wpc of tube power. They also sound lovely with and Audio Van Alstine FET-Valve 550 250 wpc (heavily Jospeh Chow modded) amplifier. The obviouslyh don't plumb the depths of the low end but they have enough low end heft for me. In my system I have had Talon Khorus, Audio physic Avanti Century III's, Von Schweikert VR5 Anniversary speakers, Von Schweikert VR4 Jr's, and Spica Angelus speakers. The Maggies are the best speakers I have ever had in any of my systems.

Nope,
Never measured anything.
In the case of problem rooms or maybe the last 'nth' of performance, it would be wise to measure. Maybe while installing sound treatments and other room modifications.

I'm dedicated, not committed! (or, perhaps, commitable!)
I've simply tried to make what I have as good as possible by ear. My ears? Questionable. Somebody with more experience and maybe a trick idea or 2 could come in here and slackjaw me with good changes.

Their is a role for 'peer review' in case you miss something obvious. But, I'm done messing around until I get to the panel reframe phase late next year. If I survive woodshop.

Hi Magfan,

I do need to tighten up on my geometry! While being well aware that minute adjustments can make a big difference in sound, I have neglected the record keeping which will become more important as the speakers are broken in and I start to play with tweeters in and out, etc.

By the way, do you have any experience with sound pressure level and frequency response measurements?

Quite often, these items are discussed on various forum threads. I wondered what you thought about this aspect of our hobby and if you spent much time with it.

Measure from the edge of the speaker directly BACK to the 'front' wall.
Measure from EACH side of the speaker. On my 1.6s, I use the little trim strip as the index.
My speakers measure EXACTLY 30.5" on the inside edge and 34" to the outside edge....both straight back to the front wall.

Speakers are 61" apart, inside edge to inside edge....from the same place I measure to the wall.

A little trig tells me.......just under 11 degrees of toe. The speakers cross well behind my seating position of about 10 or 11 feet.

Hi Magfan,

You are right about waiting some amount of time for things to settle in...and then test the options as you summarized.

The main listening position that can be incrementally adjusted is as follows:

The speakers are about four feet from the front wall that is 13 feet long and is a three foot deep alcove. The room then opens up to 18 feet wide so that one speaker is about 3 feet from a side wall and the other speaker is about 7 feet from the other sidewall.

The middle of the speakers are about eight feet apart. The main listening position is about seven and a half feet from the line between the speakers. There is approximately 20 feet behind the listening position and the ceilings are ten feet.

The Magnepan instructions did recommend that the speakers should be toed in towards the main listening position. This definitely improved the soundstage and gave a focused center. In my listening space, without the toe in, the speakers did not focus very well.

While it is early, I still am impressed with the bass. It is articulate and I can tell the differences in timbre. I also can feel the bass if it is on the recorded material. This surprised me as that never happened with the 1.2's.

I am also still continuing to hear a lot more detail and it still feels like things are popping out at me and that never happened before either with the 1.2's.

We shall see.

Magfan, you are not crazy. I mentioned the tweeter in position in another 1.7 thread. The recommendation is not in the owner's manual but was a seperate piece of pink paper entitled Magnepan 1.7 quick set up instructions which was stapled to bag containing Magnepan badges.

I like the new instructions. I couldn't ignore them since this is what I'd do anyway.

Determine orientation by TEST is best. (nice rhyme!)

You've got 4 choices, right?

Tweeters In / Out
Mylar Front / Back.

I'd wait 100 hours or so. Caps need to settle in and the mylar needs to be exercised.

I had seen tweeters "in" on the net. However, the speakers were shipped from Minnesota the week of Thanksgiving and the new instructions do not recommend tweeter orientation.

While they are 'new', they will continue to change for a while. I may not be exactly worth it to keep moving them around after first getting them into a nice spot.
Later, you can get more detailed.
As I approached my final setup, I didn't mess with anything for longer and longer between changes until I made a backwards move or 2.

Record keeping may be important here. Dimensions? listening impressions?

I could'a swore I saw the tweeters 'in' recommendation at the Magnepan site when I looked up the 1.7 book......

Hi Magfan,

I started with the tweeters to the outside for no special reason.

The currrent instructions for the 1.7's, just two sheets of paper with a thank you letter on top, no longer recommend tweeters in.

They explain how to orient the speakers based on serial numbers and that the listener should determine what sounds best to them. They do recommend toeing in the speakers to the center of the listening position and advise against them being parallel to the front wall for better phasing.

So...tweeters in, tweeters out and then back to front...tweeters in and tweeters out...and that is before any mods!

Second day of listening - a lot of bass that you can cleanly hear and differentiate instruments.

Still amazed at little details that pop out at you. On some Stevey Ray Vaughn cuts, the hum of the guitar amps is clearly audible for what it is at the end of the tracks. On a Joan Jett CD I clearly heard fingering thta wsa not audible before

Magfan that is interesting that they now recommend the tweeters on the inside after all these years. IMO moving the tweets to the inside helps to center the stereo image, at least in my room it did.

Not that it actually matters, Dsper, but the 1.7 book recommends tweeters 'in'.

Also, in the interest of experimentation, after you get used to them, why not just rotate them in place and put the pole piece side to the listener?

That is the current orientation of my 1.6s

Maplegrovemusic,

I just picked up my 1.7's last night so this is a very early comment. I am upgrading from the 1.2's. I have started out with tweeters to the outside.

My initial impression is that the 1.7's are much better than the 1.2's in a lot of ways. Sound details that I never heard before seem to jump out of the things. The bass is really much stronger. On certain tracks I can feel it which never happened with the 1.2's. The bass is not boomy and is very articulate. The different timbre of the instruments is noticeable.

I think that placement with the 1.7's will be a bit tricky and understand your soundstage comment. They seem to need more space than the 1.2,s. In my first night of listening I was never able to obtain a good solid center as I moved the speakers around. However, they are supplying so much more detail that I may not be hearing the center even though it is there.

There seems to be a larger sweetspot. Also, I noticed that when I sat outside of one speaker, I could still hear sound from the other speaker across the room. Very impressive.

Finally, I was worried that the 1.7's sounded a little bit clinical in the dealer showroom. In my home environment, that is not the case. The 1.7's are engaging and musical.

Time will see how they improve.

Listened to 1.7s and bought 1.6. I could not tell any real difference other than a smidge better base in the 1.7 so the $800 price difference between 9/10 1.6 used and new 1.7 was not justified to me. Also, I disliked the look of the aluminium caps on the sides of the 1.7, but now I am told those are optional.

I own the 1.6 model . I recently purchased the 1.7 model. I have to say i did not like the new model better .returned for a refund . The soundsatage is smaller. The base is awkward ,Like it is coming from a small area in the sounstage.Dynamics were dulled .Very dissapointed . 3.6 are on my list for a upgrade.

Magfan,

Good luck on the frames. It sounds like a project to which you are looking forward.

The Krell is still impressing me and I seem to have forgotten about the Mac sound because there is so much more to hear with the Krell.

I played an old Nitty Gritty Dirt Band "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" CD and heard things I had not heard before. The Krell helps the Maggies to differentiate the instruments so you can hear them better. More timbre and tone as well.

I'm personally not big on Mac / Magnepan. In all the postings I've read, very few will claim that pairing. Not to say it won't work or be very pleasing. The few that have voted 'yes' have been good with the combo.

Krell? I only heard this combo once...on some 3.6s with the 400xi. It actually wasn't bad, but the heat produced was awesome. Because of the limits of my setup, no Krell for me.

If someone were to give me my 'wish'? Well, 2 of the short-list amps for Maggies would be either Bryston.....or Pass.

Another group of persons exists who loves 'd' amps with panels. I have a PSAudio integrated. Runs cool and has plenty of power. Some of the 'd' guys like the BelCanto line or even Spectron.

My 1.6s are turned backwards which is why I suggested some ...adjustments...to your panels before just getting 'more'.

Try this on for size. I'm in woodshop right now and will eventually do something like THIS:

http://www.indiespinzone.com/mag/mag9.html

Hi Magfan,

Understand your comments and may yet have second thoughts. Time will tell.

I am receiving full trade in value on the 1.2's, so for $1000, the better resolution and better soundstage seemed hard to beat.

The bass was an interesting decision. I am not wood working capable so to buy good frames is $500 plus. Compared to the $1000 cost to me for the 1.7's, their deeper bass along with the other quality improvements, seemed like the way to go.

Now the other interesting part. I talked to my McIntosh dealer about upgrading the MA63000 because I knew I was missing something on the edges and the decay. It has only 160 wpc into 4 ohms. Plus it just does not seem loud enough.

The dealer was not certain that the top Mac integrated, MA7000, with 250 wpc into 4 ohms. would help me.

He suggested that I try the Krell S300i. It has 300 wpc into 4 ohms. His reasoning was that I needed another view of what I could do and maybe Mac was not the answer.

At first I thought that it sounded tinny but once my tubed CD player and the amp "warmed up", I realized I was hearing more detail. For example, there is a Donna Krell album, I think that it is called "Look of Love", that has heavy brushes on track 2. It sounded real without hash at the point of decay.

The trade off is that the Krell sounds less "warm" than the MA6300.

So...to get the power I need and the Mac "warmth" I would need to move to Mac separates at about $10,000, which is not something I can afford.

Obviousily, I am thinking about a lot all at once here. I will get the 1.7's and go from there.

By the way, tell me again what amp you are using with the 1.2's?

It would have been neat, Dsper, If you tried a mod or 2 on your MGs. Magnepan is a DIY dream speaker which responds extremely well. You can do anything from a total reframe in real wood to simple crossover or stand additions.
The real wood frames are not only beautiful (choose your wood....Oak? Maple?) but the real wood helps the sound. MDF is 'dead'.

I had thought about the 1.7s but will opt, instead for a total reframe and eventually a crossover rebuild using optimized 'stock' values. To that end, I'm taking wood shop classes and should be able to begin next year sometime. It's neat since I can use First Class equipment and just pay my nominal shop fees and get premium instruction. 3xwin for me.

I currently own MG 12's and like them a lot as they are very musical. However, they lack that bit of detail that helps with the sound decay and placement of the individual instruments in the soundstage.

I have auditioned the 1.7's twice.

The first time was in a oddly shaped open room, roughly 18 by 18 foot, that led to an open hallway. This was with a BAT VK300x 150 wpc amp. Did not like then at all. Sounded thin to me, but it was a bad listening space.

Then I listened to the same pair of speakers in a smaller room, 10 by 16 foot. The front wall was the long wall. They were about eight feet apart and I was sitting about six feet a way. Marantz reference amp at 115wpc. Sounded much better, more musical, and articulate bass was there.

By the way, I should be picking up my new pair of 1.7's after Thanksgiving.

CHarles : I have the same reaction after three months. They do thrilling things. I play a lot of organ music (Chapuis Bach set and although they tilted to the upper mid range thge force of the bass is compelling. I have found the german Harmonia Mundi recordings of Bach works overwhelming in the way the clarity and sweetness chorus is revealed. I owned a 150 lb. a piece hybrid electrostatric and thought I could nev er replace them as they failed. These are infinitly better even with a vintage solid state amp.

Energizer.
The reason, at least a POSSIBLE reason for your preference is that sometime back in the '90s, and for no apparent reason, they began shipping with the mylar side facing the listener. This is a 180' flip from prior practice.

I flipped my panels around and now listen the 'old way' and won't go back.

Just a thought...........

and a possible experiment for all you new 1.7 owners.

I've had my 1.7s for nearly 3 months and have several hundred hours on them. I've hooked them up to various amplifiers, including a Parasound JC-1/JC-2 setup and an Audio Research VSi60 and find them extremely musical, particularly with the VSi60, which drives them perfectly to very loud levels without difficulty. I've experimented with tweeter in/tweeter out, reversing the speakers (so the back of the speaker faces the listening area) and with 1 and 2 ohm resistors and find that in my room they sound best with 1 ohm resistors and tweeters in. I much prefer them to the B&W 802Ds, Usher 718s, KEF 201/2s and Apogee Duetta IIs I've used in the same listening area over the past several years and would not hesitate to recommend them to anyone looking at speakers selling for less than $10k. I was concerned the Audio Research integrated amp would not have enough power, but it matches up beautifully and has more than enough power. I'm listening to the SACD of Bigg's performance of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor at a very loud setting as I write this and cannot imagine how it could sound much better.The bass is stunning and I've tried, and turned off, several high-end sub-woofers because they add very little bass and some dissonance. The speakers and the integrated amp are both highly recommended and make great combination.

Energizer:
One big reason you may like older Maggies is that sometime in the '90s they began shipping with the Mylar toward the listener.

A couple years ago I sold my factory rebuilt MG-1s and bought some 1.6s which long term were irritating...until I simply rotated them in place.
I now listen to the Pole Piece side, just like the old ones.

I'm starting down a path of further adjustments, too. I just make new jumpers out of #6 copper wire to replace the Chrome Plated Steel the panels ship with. Eventually more mods are on tap and even the jumpers and fuse will go away when I go into the crossover mods.

>It also seemed to me that they were eating up the Mcintosh mc275 amps.

The speakers were woefully underpowered. Maggies will play loud, but they're only 83 dB efficient. They also rarely sound their best in a dealer showroom, since as I'm sure you know having owned the Apogees and Eminents, they require careful placement and have different acoustical requirements than dynamic speakers. That's not to say that they're the speaker for you -- I haven't heard them yet myself -- but to point out that the people who have praised their bang for the buck probably aren't lying! Though I have heard some complaints from people who say they don't like them as much as the 1.6's.

Just listened to the Magnepan 1.7 with $20,000 of Macintosh tubes in a high end sound room and I was very disappointed. I listen mostly to folk and piano and they did not grab me. I definitely would not buy them if I listened to hard rock. I previously owned Apoggee Stages and ET 111 and can say those speakers brought me into the music. I did ask if they had been broken in and the salesman said they were.People saying you would need to spend many more thousand for a box speaker to compete, seem to be lying. My epos m12 with ASL 300b's were a lot more involving(better midrange and soundstage). It also seemed to me that they were eating up the Mcintosh mc275 amps.

This past weekend, I just tried some 96 kHz / 24 bit downloads from HD Tracks.com and I was blown away. The detail, depth and lack of harshness is unbelievable. You can easily hear the limitations of CDs when you switch back from the high res files. You also get a sense of unlimited dynamic range with an almost analog sound. WOW!

This is what I have always enjoyed about owning Magnepan loudspeakers. Everytime you improve the front end, whether it be the amp, preamp, DAC or, in this case, digital quality, you can easily hear the improvements through the Magnepans. The 1.7s just keep sounding better and better.

I use a Netgear 9150 linked to the Wyred 4 Sound DAC1 via Xindak cable. The clarity of the high res files will spoil you for anything else. I am going broke downloading new albums!

personally i like the older maggies

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.

"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....

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.

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 think high-current amps work nicely with the Maggies, too. My speakers are the 1.6, currently being driven by an Odyssey Audio Khartago Extreme SE - it's just 110 watts, right down to 2 Ohms, but is a high-current amp. I've used the Maggies with 300/400-watt Krell, McIntosh and Bryston amps, but the panels really sing with the Khartago. More sensible price too, in the context of the Maggies' pricing!

Ron,

Did you pick up your Magnepans at The Listening Room in Pikesville? Just curious. I have owned Maggies in the past and bought various pieces there, always with excellent results.

One of my favorite thing to do is attend a BSO Concert at the Meyerhoff, which is a wonderful facility, for a reference check. I know what you are talking about. I used to come back from the Meyerhoff and marvel at what a good job my old Magnepan mg1c's did in producing a similarly enjoyable sound! I am confident the new 1.7s break some new ground sound wise to boot from what I read.