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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Besides "Maggies" having outdated speaker terminals that might be a struggle with banana plugs,, and they are generally power hungry, I am curious if anyone can honestly tell me of any other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
ps
750 posts
 
I’ve been trying for decades to fit a symphony orchestra into my living/listening spaces. I’m not talking some piddly-size orchestra- I’m talking Mahleresque and more- try Brian's first.  Whoah dude.

It’s a challenging proposition. Very challenging.




jc4659
551 posts
 
Just thought I would jump in and share my Maggie experience.  I started with the MG-1C in 1984.  Moved to the 2.6R with the true ribbon tweeter.  Most of the idiosyncratic characteristics mentioned above are true.  But once you invest the time in learning how to coax the best sound from this speaker, they are truly special.  I eventually moved on to ProAc response 3.8's, and then to Verity Parsifal Encores.  After all these years I still kept both pairs of maggies.  Why?  It s hard to part with them because they do certain things really well that I value.  I occasionally listen to them, understand and accept their weaknesses, and get nostalgic.  Magnepan is a great company and I highly recommend that you audition them.
schubert
7,386 posts
 
ps,
Doesn’t have to fit in your room, the best seats in most halls are in the middle of the hall , if you have the dynamic range, rhythm and tone down you can come close to being there , IF all that is on the recording .
ps
750 posts
 
I still have a hell of a lot of rhythm and tone, after all these years but I'm not so sure about my dynamic range.
schubert
7,386 posts
 
Thanks for the laugh ps .
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