Magneplanar Listening Comparison 1.7 vs. 3.7 Speakers

I previously decided on Maggie 1.5QR and somd my Vandie 2c (or 2ce?). That was 21 years ago, and I am now planning an upgrade.

I’ve spent about 3 hours listening to the 3.7i vs. 1.7 (no i) at a dealer and the 3.7i’s do sound better to me; maybe significantly better but not hugely better. I’m not sure what to get -- or what specifically to listen for during comparisons.

I will not be able to audition the 3.7i’s at home, but he will let me demo the 1.7s at my house for a day.

I can sit them 5 ft. or more away from the back wall in a large room - fairly wide (13 ft or more), high ceilings (9 ft at speakers slanting up to 12 ft) and very long (22 to 27 ft).  It is asymmetrical in several ways. The only bad thing is a large picture window on the LH side of the room. The RH side is fine. This doesn’t seem to affect the highs so much as the soundstage.

https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/6248
shows a diagram and am trying to figure out how to upload a pic...

I think your room’s width is the most limiting factor. My room is a little less than 15’, and I think it’s the limiting factor. The length is 35’ but there’s a kitchen counter than runs across half the width of the room at 24’. The height is 10’.

It should still sound good though, and I agree that the 3 series sounds significantly better but not hugely.

I should also say the comparison at the dealer's was less than ideal:
- time required to swap speakers was too long to get good comparisons    (where you really have just a few seconds)
- non-blind -- I could see the speakers, so the bigger, nicer looking ones     would be preferred 
- SPL levels not matched exactly (tho I tried with a free phone app) &        also tried to make the 1.7's a bit louder to help them out

If you get the 1.7's if your like me you will want to upgrade two hours after setup . Get the 3.7 if money is not an issue . 1.7 v.s. 3.6 would be a good shootout too .

Everything sounded better to me here in Maggie land MN . Bass , mids highs . Volume speakers can be played at before distortion . A subwoofer (rel) was a nice addition in the demo too .