Any Magnepan 1.6 owner who upgraded to 1.7?

Pinoy6 -Having owned and enjoyed the 1.6 myself, I am also curious to know if the 1.7 is "better" or worth the upgrade. My local dealer has a pair of each side-by-side, so I believe I will compare them. Although it is subjective, I doubt you will get a straight answer on the forum due to so many different opinions. I have owned and listened to Magnepans since the 70's (Tympani, MGI, MMG, 1.6) along with other fine speakers from Thiel, Vandersteen, Martin Logan, etc. One thing that amazes me about Magnepan - they are the only speaker I am aware of that has a small user group with some people who feel they know more about the speakers than the company that has designed and built them for the last 40 years?

Yes, i listened for 3-4 hours a day for three weeks. I have no regret on returning them .

Magnepan is THE dream DIY speaker.

Crossover? Active? Passive? All new design or with bi/tri amp? Upgraded parts like premium caps or aircore inductors?
Stands? Reframe with REAL wood? Aftermarket companies exist to service both those markets.
Rebuild kits and self repair of driver problems? Rewire to get rid of the jumper and fuse?

Now, what you need to know is Maggies are a value oriented company. To make a deal breaker speaker like the MMG and get it to your hot little hands for 600$ is quite an achievement. Going upline, you get 'more' with a house sound and presentation which grows on you. By the time you get to the top-2 models you get the ribbon tweeter tossed in for good measure. I hesitate to toss around words like 'the best', but it IS a very highly regarded driver.

To build a Maggie with all the bells/ whistles I ref above would cost quite a bundle. The factory seems not to even consider building a 'cost no object' model at any level.

So, in conclusion, it isn't that the owners know more than the manufacturer, it is that we are willing to go to great lengths to work 'em over, customize and make them all they can be.

The lunatic fringe feels the modified (full-tilt boogie) 1.6 handily outclasses the stock 1.7.

Me? Glad you asked. I'm taking woodshop so I can do my own reframe with Sipo Mahogany. I've got a coil winder I'm working on to make a pair of AirCore inductors and have identified other parts needed for the mod. The banana plugs, for example MUST go and with them about half the internal wiring and connections. Crossovers will end up in an external enclosure and jumper'd to the panel. See 'ya next year at this time for a progress report. I'm planning ahead.

Magfan - With all due respect I believe there are probably modifications that do improve the factory sound. But unless there are associated measurements to verify the improvements, certain modifications could make the sound more appealing to what the individual user wants to hear, but it may also detract from the musical accuracy. Kind of like tone controls on a preamp. I have to believe Magnepan does careful research to make sure the stock speakers convey the music as accurately as possible with frequency response curves as flat as they are able to make them. All the Magnepans I have owned were left as stock and unmodified. I had a chance to hear a pair (won't name the model) that were stock, and then later hear them again after being modified (stands, active crossovers, etc.). The end-user thought they were the greatest thing ever in their modified form. I tried to listen in an unbiased manner, and to me the music had coloration and was anything but neutral. Maybe the modifications were not performed correctly, but to me they sounded much better (more neutral and musically accurate) in their stock form.

I just presented the list, 'J'.
I am only in favor of a very few specific mods.
and Bridgework stands aren't among them. I favor mods with little metal.

And while I'm reluctant to name stuff I haven't heard, seems that matching amps and Marchand crossovers have a following. Some prefer Bryston or some even Pass or Mac. This for the wealthier bi-amp crowd. If your friend used the Beheringer crossover, that may have been the problem.

Nope, I'm heading in a slightly different direction. Real wood reframe which has a good following and really improves the look. I simply can't imagine getting rid of the MDF to NOT help. Others install Dynamat, a CLD product, between frame and driver.
At the same time, all the wiring will be fixed in the form of removing all the 'extra' stuff like fuse and bi-wire fitments as well as changing to real binding posts. IF I ever do any crossover mods, it's likely the stock design will stay but a better grade of part substituted.

http://www.indiespinzone.com/magnestand.html

Magnepan, as I'm sure you'll agree, is built to a price. Given that people are invenerate tinkerers, it is logical that people will mess with 'em. How much do you think a 'cost no object' panel would cost?

A few overachievers have taken measurements. I have no conclusions about them, since the sample is small and technique unknown. Nobody has yet done any accelerometer readings on frame or stand.

Where do you stand on cables / interconnects / power cords? Isn't that a form of 'tone control'? I've seen endless posts with people arguing about Silver vs Copper and the characteristics of various insulators.

And finally, did you know that Magnepan changed direction sometime in the '90s? My original MG-1s came to me stock. And I listened to them that way for over 2 decades and a rebuild in White Bear Lake. They were even marked 'left / right' and worked best that way....except in 1 special case.
Now, I get my new 1.6s. I had a heck of a time making them right in my room. That is, until I simply rotated them in place. Now, i'm listening to the pole piece side, just like my original panels. The effect was a dramatic smoothening of output and less beaminess. I haven't touched 'em since the swap and setup. Magnepan has been shipping 'mylar to listener' now for probably about 15 years. And I can say my toe-in is just under 11 degrees and spacing from wall about 32".

Enjoy your stock panels. Trust me, You're better off that way. Some of the mod guys I've read about have become nutty / obsessed!