How do the Magnepan 1.7's sound

Thanks for the link, James63. I imagine just putting the regular 1.6s into an aluminum frame would give an improvement in sound. I used to own 1.6s five or six years ago and would be very interested in hearing the 1.7s.

Nope, I heard them at the T.H.E. Show. Stood in line at the end of the hall and waited my turn like everyone else. Hey, they sounded good but they certainly weren't "Stand outs". I wasnt the only one who thought so either. When I left I overheard a dealer talking with his buddies saying he expected more. I am not bad mouthing them by any means. they were good, but only good in my opinion

Reading from the Jonathan Valian's post, Chris Sommovigo liked the 1.7s as well.

Best,

iSanchez

After hearing them and talking with Jim Winey about the technical changes... imo they sound, well, just about like 1.6's. I heard them in the L/C/R demo (very disappointing set up in that it was convoluted in attempting to assess the 1.7 sound). Yet, attempting to hear past the center speaker and sub, there was nothing "new" about the sound other than seeming a bit tighter, more coherent.

The changes are worth about the $100 Magnepan is charging. This was a face lift to an aging speaker which will likely keep it from falling from popularity. I did not expect it to be a sea change in performance, and it wasn't. No one should think that they might abandon 3.6's or other "biggie" speakers they enjoy for it. Magneplanar is just keeping it a fresh product, but it certainly has not been transformed.

As to its absolute performance, it's just about the same as the 1.6; not going to take away any awards from the big boys, but among the best speakers offered in its price class.

I don't think they changed the actual frame, just the trim pieces on the sides are aluminum. Peeking through the grill it appears to be the same MDF base, had magnepan gone to an all aluminum frame there is no way they could have kept the price at 2k. As a current 1.6 owner I will definitely audition them when my dealer has them in stock. I am a little disapointed that the mini maggies have not gotten much press. The one photo I have seen of them looks like they have refined the cosmetics, they look like a shrunk down version of a 1.6.