What are some of the downsides of owning a Magneplanar .7 or 1.7i ?


Thinking of moving up speaker wise, and so am considering  the fabled Magneplanar speakers, that is, either the  the .7, or supposedly new 1.7i.   (BTW, I am not sure the Maggie .7 is necessarily an upgrade, and has less bass than my current box speakers...see below)

Besides "Maggies" having outdated speaker terminals that might be a struggle with banana plugs,, and they are generally power hungry, I am curious if anyone can honestly tell me of any other downsides of this design.  For the last 30 years, I have owned several traditional box design speakers. 

I currently have a pair of Golden Ear Technology model 7's....which I like and generally sound good However, I  would like to confirm what a planar design brings to the table in sound quality. I have read many times about the box-less sound  provided by this design, and its wide sound staging and low distortion. 

I think I have enough power with BAT VK-200 amp (100RMS) to drive the .7, but not sure that is enough to drive the MG1.7i. to higher volumes The pre-amp is a Conrad Johnson PV-14SE. 

The listening room area 12 X15ft, but opens into kitchen/dining area divided by a medium size couch. The rest of the space is approximately 12X18ft behind the sofa with a stupid counter island ( so I cannot move the sofa back any further.. The ceiling is 8 to 9 ft feet high ( not a cathedral ceiling, praise the Lord) . It is a bit of haul to the dealer I bought the Golden Ear T's from who also carries Magneplanar line.  All advice welcomed.    Thanks, SJ   

sunnyjim
Sideways move. Different technology with very different presentation. Obviously will sound quite different, but not a slam dunk improvement.
If you’re talking about the Proacs vs. Maggie 3.7s plus subs, no argument. I was just trying to put Audiolover718’s comparison into perspective--comparing some new $11K Proacs to 20-yr-old budget Maggies is hardly fair. Compare current Maggies plus subs (e.g., a *pair* of JL E-Sub e112s) in the same price range and it’s at least an even contest. Actually, that would be a *very* dynamic setup and still be $400 cheaper than the Proacs.

The BAT will not provide enough power to open up the Maggies fully unless it’s a higher current design. You likely will be disappointed in the dynamics, but enjoy the soundstaging properties of the Maggies.

The BAT *is* rated at 200 wpc into 4 ohms, so it is absolutely a good match for the 1.7s. My amp has the same rating. I will admit that the 1.7s on their own might sound a bit thin on large scale music in a space as large as SJ’s, but a quick sub or two with the right blending controls (continuously variable crossover down to at least 50 Hz, and continuously variable phase control 0-180 deg. or more) will get those Maggies with the 100/200 wpc amp to fully occupy a fairly large listening space. I’d say a JL Audio Dominion d108, Gallo TR-3D, or GoldenEar Forcefield 3 or 4 would do the job nicely.
Johnnyb53,

Fair enough. I haven’t heard any of  the 7 series Maggies. I fell in love with the presentation of the proacs and haven’t looked back. But I do stand by the 1.6 not being very good with dynamic swings by comparisons. Yes, They are not in the same price range so it is an unfair comparison.
I have had both the 1.7s and 3.7s.  They both are wonderful speakers which I can't imagine would disappoint any audiophile.  

The main downside (thesis question) centers on the sound.  Power is an overrated concern.  I've used Pass Labs XA60.5 and XA100.5 which both sounded very and could produce high SPLs--not eardrum breaking.  

The maggie sound is more a wall of sound (think being at a concert) versus pinpoint (listening to traditional hifi from something like a ProAc minimonitor).   If you love the hifi thing, it can take some adjustment.  I considered used Wilson and could have been happy either way.  Different but not worse.
the 7 series Maggies are a big improvement - they are x.7i now BTW

it is easy to get better speakers than any Maggie -- just spend 3x as much
@johnnyb53 
I agree, you have a keeper (for a wife).
Despite being a Vandersteen Fanboy, I also respect the Maggie's. If I had more room, I would get a pair, too.
 
Bob