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Besides "Maggies" having outdated speaker terminals that might be a struggle with banana plugs,, and they are generally power hungry, I am curious if anyone can honestly tell me of any other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
That’s always been the problem [limited dynamic range, extreme directivity, etc.] with Maggies I had . But guys on here claim 1.7 on up has changed that on dynamic range at least. It’s not just the "guys on here." It’s also several major reviewers familiar with Maggies over the years and how the x.7 series has changed that. All prior designs were done by Magnepan founder and chief engineer Jim Winey. A few years ago Jim Winey stepped aside and his son, Steve, stepped in. The pace of new products was pretty slow under Jim, but has really picked up under Steve: Consider: the DWM panels, the Mini-Maggies, and the entire x.7 series, starting with the 1.7s which used all quasi-ribbon drivers and added a supertweeter. Soon after the appearance of the 1.7 came the 3.7, then the 1.7i and 3.7i, then the 20.7 and the new .7. Magnepan had *never* introduced that many model changes in that short a time frame before. Jonathan Valin wrote two evaluations of the 1.7 introduced in 2010. The first was a "First Listen," published in Absolute Sound’s website in Feb. 2010. The second was a full followup, based on the Feb. article, but expanded and published in Issue 205 (Aug. 2010). More reviews: It’s time to set aside the historical dogma and sweeping generalizations of how Maggies sound. If you haven’t heard any x.7 Maggies in a good setup, you don’t know how the current line of Maggies sound. The 1.6s were released 20 years ago and discontinued 8 years ago. The 1.7s have been on the market for over seven years already. It’s time to catch up. |
