natureboy,
stewart0722 stated:
" Whoever said that the 2.5 sounds better than a 1.7i needs to go hear the 1.7i (and he said he had not)......I have heard both of them (in the case of the 2.5 though, it was a quarter of a century ago!)"
Focusing on what is the best solution for you, I think stewart made 2 good points in his last post and I want to add a 3rd point:
1. I actually have not listened to the newish 1.7i Magnepans and stewart may be correct that they perform better than the much older 2.5/R. They have also received extremely good reviews from owners and professional audio reviewers. The best approach is for you to demo them and decide for yourself.
2. He's also correct about the 2.5/R becoming 30 yrs old next year. There have been issues with older Magnepans delaminating (the glue ages and the bond holding the magnets to the mylar panels weakens or fails. I bought a used pair of IIB in the mid-1980s that this eventually happened to and they made a flapping sound when played too loudly. You'd need to either demo the used 2.5/R carefully before purchasing or, worse case, be willing to send them to Magnepan for repairs. Magnepan switched glue vendors around the mid 80s and believe this mainly
remedied the issue but there are still a lot of their speakers out there that did, or may, delaminate.
3. Magnepan has a special promotion on the 1.7i until 1/1/2017. Ever bought yourself a 'potential' $2,000 Xmas gift? If you don't have a nearby Magnepan dealer, Magnepan will ship a pair to your house and give you 30 days to try them out. If you don't want to keep them, you can send them back for a full refund (with free shipping both ways) and they'll give you $100 just for trying them. The link below lists the details:
http://www.magnepan.com/model_17
My current thinking is that the 1.7i is probably your better solution since they're likely to perform better, will be brand new with a full 3 yr. warranty, are relatively inexpensive,
you get to choose the trim and cloth color that you like best, they look beautiful and are just a touch smaller than the 2.5/R ( the 2.5 are 22"W x 71"H x 2"D and the 1.7 are 19"W x 65"H x 2"D).
The original 1.7 are not upgradeible to the "i" version like the 3.7 are. Neither the 1.7 or 1.7i have the 'true ribbon' tweeter (and it's not an option) but they're 1/3rd the price of the 3.7i. Yes, the 3.7i will perform better than the 1,7i. Will the 'true ribbon' tweeter and better bass performance of the 3.7i be worth the additional $4,000 to you? You need to visit your local Magnepan dealer to find out for yourself. A good dealer will allow you to take demo pairs to compare in your system.
If you agree that newer Magnepans are a better choice, I think your only remaining decision is amplification. I'm having a little trouble here because I don't know your budget. Here are a few thoughts/options until you tell us:
1. No matter which Magnepans you ultimately decide on, try them out with your VAC Avatar first and only explore other options if you're not completely happy with the combination.
2. Use your VAC as a pre-amp and pair it with a high- powered amp; probably best to try different typologies to determine your preference (tube,class A, A/B and D)
3. In my opinion, to get the best results out of any Magnepans, the best method is to pair a good tube pre-amp you really like the sound of with a high-powered stereo amp or mono-blocks of any type (tube or solid state). If sound quality is the top concern and budget is not, there are too many good choices to mention only a few. If sound quality is important but cost is too, then we'd need your budget to offer useful suggestions. The options become more limited as your budget decreases but I think you'll still receive some good suggestions.
Thanks,
Tim
stewart0722 stated:
" Whoever said that the 2.5 sounds better than a 1.7i needs to go hear the 1.7i (and he said he had not)......I have heard both of them (in the case of the 2.5 though, it was a quarter of a century ago!)"
Focusing on what is the best solution for you, I think stewart made 2 good points in his last post and I want to add a 3rd point:
1. I actually have not listened to the newish 1.7i Magnepans and stewart may be correct that they perform better than the much older 2.5/R. They have also received extremely good reviews from owners and professional audio reviewers. The best approach is for you to demo them and decide for yourself.
2. He's also correct about the 2.5/R becoming 30 yrs old next year. There have been issues with older Magnepans delaminating (the glue ages and the bond holding the magnets to the mylar panels weakens or fails. I bought a used pair of IIB in the mid-1980s that this eventually happened to and they made a flapping sound when played too loudly. You'd need to either demo the used 2.5/R carefully before purchasing or, worse case, be willing to send them to Magnepan for repairs. Magnepan switched glue vendors around the mid 80s and believe this mainly
remedied the issue but there are still a lot of their speakers out there that did, or may, delaminate.
3. Magnepan has a special promotion on the 1.7i until 1/1/2017. Ever bought yourself a 'potential' $2,000 Xmas gift? If you don't have a nearby Magnepan dealer, Magnepan will ship a pair to your house and give you 30 days to try them out. If you don't want to keep them, you can send them back for a full refund (with free shipping both ways) and they'll give you $100 just for trying them. The link below lists the details:
http://www.magnepan.com/model_17
My current thinking is that the 1.7i is probably your better solution since they're likely to perform better, will be brand new with a full 3 yr. warranty, are relatively inexpensive,
you get to choose the trim and cloth color that you like best, they look beautiful and are just a touch smaller than the 2.5/R ( the 2.5 are 22"W x 71"H x 2"D and the 1.7 are 19"W x 65"H x 2"D).
The original 1.7 are not upgradeible to the "i" version like the 3.7 are. Neither the 1.7 or 1.7i have the 'true ribbon' tweeter (and it's not an option) but they're 1/3rd the price of the 3.7i. Yes, the 3.7i will perform better than the 1,7i. Will the 'true ribbon' tweeter and better bass performance of the 3.7i be worth the additional $4,000 to you? You need to visit your local Magnepan dealer to find out for yourself. A good dealer will allow you to take demo pairs to compare in your system.
If you agree that newer Magnepans are a better choice, I think your only remaining decision is amplification. I'm having a little trouble here because I don't know your budget. Here are a few thoughts/options until you tell us:
1. No matter which Magnepans you ultimately decide on, try them out with your VAC Avatar first and only explore other options if you're not completely happy with the combination.
2. Use your VAC as a pre-amp and pair it with a high- powered amp; probably best to try different typologies to determine your preference (tube,class A, A/B and D)
3. In my opinion, to get the best results out of any Magnepans, the best method is to pair a good tube pre-amp you really like the sound of with a high-powered stereo amp or mono-blocks of any type (tube or solid state). If sound quality is the top concern and budget is not, there are too many good choices to mention only a few. If sound quality is important but cost is too, then we'd need your budget to offer useful suggestions. The options become more limited as your budget decreases but I think you'll still receive some good suggestions.
Thanks,
Tim