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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Besides "Maggies" having outdated speaker terminals that might be a struggle with banana plugs,, and they are generally power hungry, I am curious if anyone can honestly tell me of any other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
johnnyb53
3,510 posts
 
Here's a very thoughtul review of the Magnepan .7s by Julie Mullins from a couple of years ago at The Absolute Sound. Her observations and perspective echo much of my experience with my 1.7s, including her observations with a pair of subwoofers. 

I also have a pair of subs with my 1.7s, and I can play pretty much any type of music successfully. Not only do they do classic rock well, they also do big band and large scale orchestral works very well. Brass sounds astonishingly real with the 1.7s, and I also have some recordings that sound best w/o subs (e.g., small jazz ensembles) but a lot more that sound great with them. Speaking of small jazz ensembles, Ray Brown and Charlie Haden great through 1.7s without help from subs. They really flesh out the sound of plucked upright acoustic bass.

To SunnyJim: read both pages of the review; it may help expand your perspective on the virtues and challenges of the .7. I figure the 1.7 is similar but able to sound bigger (because it is bigger).

Speaking of ... one thing that Maggie reviewers consistently call out is how well Maggies do piano. This makes perfect sense to me because the radiating area of a Maggie (esp. the 3.7 and 20.7) nominally approaches the vibrating area of a piano soundboard, certainly more than you get from a 6" mid/woofer and 1" dome tweeter. 
ps
763 posts
 
Johnnyb53 wrote:
"Here’s a very thoughtful review of the Magnepan .7s by Julie Mullins from a couple of years ago at The Absolute Sound. Her observations and perspective echo much of my experience with my 1.7s, including her observations with a pair of subwoofers."

From my perspective, this is a great suggestion. I read Ms. Mullin’s fine review twice and it helped me make the decision to purchase a pair of .7’s - the speakers are a delight. IMO, Mullin’s review is quite accurate.

I’ve often thought that a lot of negative comments regarding Magnepan, in general, are hyperbolic. Yes, they do need to be away from the front and side walls, but so do my Sonus Faber Cremona Auditor M’s. Yes, you’ll need more than a SET amp to power them. In my small, dedicated listening space, the speakers are from 3’ to 4’ from the front wall, and about 20"s from the side walls, with tweeters on the outside. Toe-in depends on my frame of mind on a given day. :) . The speakers sound plenty full at volumes lower than 80db.

Finally, I do not think the .7s are especially fussy to place properly, unless compared to say OHMS.  For my listening habits and musical preferences, I cannot think of any "downsides" to the .7's. I do enjoy the luxury of being able to change them out for the SF's monitors when the mood strikes.  If I had to choose one over the other, I'd be hard-pressed.

schubert
7,386 posts
 
Essentially, what she said was not a speaker for Classical music.
By chance I was in a large hi-end store I do business with little while ago, and noticed that had .7's right next to new Rega RX-3 's in listening room. same room, same system , mostly MAC .
Owner is a buddy and ran them both for me , close in price, in fact he offered either to me at same price . Rega was FAR better than the .7's in every way on Classical . Other genres I have no idea .
czarivey
5,946 posts
 

If speaker is suited great for certain kind of music and not good for other kind of music, than this speaker by the general rule of thumb junk.

ps
763 posts
 
So much seemingly endless hyperbole. Meanwhile, Magnepan- a great American speaker company, survives and thrives in the rarified world of high-end audio, with its innumerable variations in the "home listening experience" and listeners.
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