Magnepans

I have the Avatar you have, and I once had Magnepan Mg2a's.  First, old Maggie's can have a problem with the glue deteriorating, and it's not always obvious to the listener.  Second, I wouldn't think this is a good match.  Maggie's seem to need a muscle amp with lots of current, and I think a lot of purchasers are disappointed when they try to make a smaller amp work--me included.  I had a well-respected 100 watt Sansui, but not enough grunt.  I've never seen them demoed with a low power tube amp, which should be a clue.

A friend and I stopped by Shelly's Audio in the San Fernando Valley one day back in the 80's. They had a pair of 3.1's in the showroom and were driving them with a pair of VTL "Tiny Tots" ... tube amps putting out only 25 watts per channel. Gotta say, within the power range, the sound was simply glorious. You wouldn't want to use these amps with Maggies on a full time basis of course, but as a simple experiment, it was really good. 

Those little VTL Tiny Tots are as rare as hen's teeth now. 

I would not get too caught up in the whole true versus quasi ribbon question.......a quasi ribbon is ANY variation on a true ribbon, which is simply a ribbon in air w/ voltage applied......In the case of the 1.7i's, the quasi ribbon consists of a TRUE RIBBON applied to a mylar film, whereas in the case of the 3.7 and 20.7 loudspeakers, no mylar film......that's it!

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!)

The 1.7i's have a wonderful musicality with less bass than the 3.7i's, but in a small to medium space, you'd likely not miss it......we're talking 3x the cost to go to 3.7i's, but there are bargains to be had on 3.7's, in the 3k to 3.5k range........

If I were the original poster, I would absolutely dismiss purchasing a loudspeaker going on 30 years old......The current stable of Maggies are night and day different now in terms of coherency and musicality......it would be much like having a quilt removed from the old speaker.......and quasi ribbon versus true are TRIVIAL matters.....

In my mind the choice would be based on size of listening room and what you could make work aesthetically.......1.7i if space is limited and 3.7 or 3.7i if it's not (you can always upgrade the 3.7 to i status later for 500.00 plus freight......

The 3.7s are wonderful but the 1.7i is cut from the same cloth......

Here is a video of 1.6's, which the 1.7i's obliterate in my opin:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRsVxyNiAOY

Here is a video of my setup back when I had the 7 amps:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8KkhdoYLZU

Just after adding 28s:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgmHbORQ5Ew


How good are the 3.7s?

Least costly component in my system by a very large margin
and they're not going ANYWHERE.........they are not for sale.....and probably won't be for a very long time........

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

I'm curious as to what the least expensive amp to drive 3.7i would be...