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Magneplanar .7 speakers. Have you heard or own them??

I have owned a pair of Golden Ear Technology for about 8 months. I generally like them because of their high level of accuracy and general transparency   However, despite those virtues, I find them to sound cool, and not very involving, or engaging.  Everything being equal, they don't seem to convey the emotional content of the music. I also been finding it difficult to get them to sound right. They can sound a bit bright on some CD's and also provide an overtone on vocals 

I would like to get  feedback from owners of the Magneplanar's .7 speaker, or even if you have only auditioned the speaker a few times in anticipation of buying. Some of the reviews I have read claim that with a fairly powerful amp or integrated, they can cleanly down to 45Hz, but their major strength is a superb midrange and smooth high end. Of course, being familiar with "Maggies" they can give a buyer ulcers trying to get them to sound right especially in medium size room because of their design.  My room is 12.5 X 15 and is separated by a couch to a dining and kitchen area.of almost the same size 

Therefore, I am curious if the .7 can convey that  emotion of music with the same clarity of a  dynamic speaker.  My system is a Rogue Sphinx integrated  amp (100 RMS @ 8ohms, and 200 RMS at 4ohms.  CD player is a Ayre CX-7e mp.

Speaker cables are Harmonic Technology PRO 11+ and  HT Truthlink IC.  I  plug the system into the less expensive Blue Circle's  conditioner which is outstanding,  Thanks to all!!

BTW , I heard the .7 once but not for long, and in a audio shop that carries both Maggies and Golden Ear Technology speakers  However , the owner never seems to have .7 and the GET model 7 on display for audition at the same time.  .   

 

 

sunnyjim
oblgny's avatar
oblgny
848 posts
 
Sunnyjim...

I only just last week compared the 1.7i and the .7's at my local audio dealer while I was waiting for the return of my preamp.  At home I sit around 10-12 feet from my speakers (currently Thiel CS3.5) while in the store the distance was maybe 4-6 feet. 

We we hooked the .7's up first.  I have to relate that I found the 1.7i's disappointing by comparison, particularly in the midrange.  It was almost as if someone had tossed a blanket over the 1.7's, they seemed to be holding something back.  

I happen to be very fond of Magnepan and Thiel both, and normally given my perverse sense of buying audio equipment I would have purchased the One-Sevens sound unheard. Now that I have I will probably buy the Point-Sevens based upon that audition. 

To to my ears they presented everything better.  
douglas_schroeder
3,281 posts
 
Interesting comment, Seattle_Mike, I don't find it to be the case that Maggies don't do quiet like dynamic speakers. I presume you mean thereby that they don't do quiet as well. I find otherwise; typically the Maggies are more quiet in dark/silent passages than dynamic speakers, especially ones with higher efficiency. Typically such easier to drive dynamic speakers have more noise, that is, they reveal more low level noise associated with the recording space. If that is what you mean as a measure of how "live" the recording is, then I concur. But if you mean simply being quiet when there is no signal, I disagree. 

I find that one can adjust to either type of technology, and how the system is set up, i.e. what the other components are, makes all the difference. 
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,821 posts
 
I believe what Seattle Mike means by doing quiet is small-signal, low-level resolution, the ability to differentiate between two levels very close together at very low signal level. Think of it the way we do about a volume control’s finer graduation at higher settings than at lower. At lower settings, the space between clicks on a volume control are coarser, further apart (3dB versus 1dB at higher settings, say). A speaker that "does quiet" better will provide finer graduations in low-level signals. For me, that’s Electrostatic and other low-mass drivers. The wires running across the Mylar drivers of Maggies seriously increases their moving mass, one reason the Eminent Technology Magnetic-Planar drivers are superior (another is the ET’s push-pull operation versus the Maggies single-ended---excluding the very nice Magnepan Ribbon Tweeters, of course).
sunnyjim OP
927 posts
 

 Thanks to everyone who responded  since my last  reply on 3/31/16. I fooled around more with the  placement  of the GET model's, and got them to sound better, but still there are minor annoying problem. 

In the interim,  I bought a used pair on this site of Wharfdale Denton 80th anniversity monitor  speakers. I have been blown away by the quality and quantity of sound that comes out of this gem. My only quibble is when they get loud, the high-end gets a tad constricted and less smooth. Other than that, the speaker should be a universal template on how to make an enjoyable and easy to listen to speaker.  The sound euphonic (no not warm) but its level of accuracy and detail make it also revealing on many levels.

My other recent preoccupation has been buying an upgrade and cleaned Thorens TD-145.  No long explanation about the drawbacks of vintage, except don't buy it.. Improved damping makes the table dead quiet during play, but I need to find a more compatible and better sounding cartridge than the AT120E which is good, but also sounds restricted in the highs and can sound a bit tinny.  The problem I think is either the headshell and/or tonearm . The headshell offer little leaway backward and forward to set up cartridge using a Geo Disc  .The Thorens headshell protractor is a laughable piece of plastic junk. 

I hope  I can find  either a very good high output MC, or a very good MM under $400.  I would like to avoid the Ortofon  2M  series which I have read does not get really get very good until you get to 2M Black (currently $775)  At that price, I would be better served with a mint used Dynavector 10X5 which because of its weight might not be ideal for the Thorens tonearm.  I used to have a link to measuring chart that explained tonearm capitance and how to match it to cartridge capsitance and phono stage impedance .

 Actually, I think I would have been better served if I bought a new or possibly used VPI Scout Jr (or  a Clearaudio Concept TT w/o cartridge), and replaced the pre-mounted Ortofon 2M Red which has become the prepack favorite of several brands.......   Stay tuned!!     .   

   

oregontreat
5 posts
 
I have had the .7 for four months now, paired with a Rogue Pharaoh or Music Reference RM9 MK II. I too found it more coherent than the 1.7, and emotionally engaging in a way any of the GETs were not. My room is 11 x 15. Paired with stereo REL 218s the sound stage is enormous. PI acoustic QRD type diffusors are the 3D icing on the cake.
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