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Broken hearted...magnepan and vandersteen

I finally got an opportunity to hear the 1.7i magnepan. I will blame my ears and taste, but I was underwhelmed. I heard them with tweeters inside and outside for comparison. outside did sound a bit better. Then I allowed them to play the vandersteen quatro ct. The speakers disappeared into the music. Deep, tall, wide soundstage with excellent imaging and air around the different instruments. Full range sound. Thankfully the trio ct sounded almost the quatros equal. I really was ready to go with magnepan. I was surprised. All other speakers are sounding inferior now. 
glfrancis2
erik_squires
16,041 posts
 
Vandersteen is doing an amazingly good job of making dynamic drivers couple well in any room.


mcreyn
293 posts
 
I have owned multiple pairs of both Maggies and Vandies.  Your comparison really isn't fair as to either.  Just a few of the issues:

1)  Same room or different room.
2)  Comparing a $2,000 speaker to a $15,000 speaker.  Did you listen to the 1ci or 2ce Sig II which would be a fair comparison to the 1.7i?
3)  Amplification?
4)  Expecting the Maggies to have the same bass response as a speaker with a built in subwoofer.  

Your comparison is like saying I test drove a Subaru BRZ and McLaren and the McLaren blew away the Subaru.  
mr_m
1,900 posts
 
kenjit,
Your analogy is flawed and baseless, when referring to Vandersteen.
glfrancis2 OP
27 posts
 
Ok...I did say to my fiance when listening that it was not a fair comparison. I realized that at the time. The vandersteen just opened the door to the type of sound that I liked. I will probably get the unifi ub5 with an integrated amp. Save my money until I am sold on exactly what I want. Today I have heard MartinLogan, def tech, and multiple b&w speakers. the closest sound I heard to what I liked was the diamond 800 series, but for $40000. Wasn't impressed by the b&w 702.  Unlike the survivor song from the mid 80s, this search is NOT over. Yes, different hardware, different rooms. 
mcreyn
293 posts
 
I guess then, I am not sure what the point is of your post. It appears based on your second post that your budget is about $400-500 for speakers and an unknown amount for an amp. At that level, you really should be comparing a pair of Vandersteen 1C and Maggie MMG/MMGi, both of which can be had used in that price range. The Maggies will be much harder to drive (they need a good amount of power) where the 1c is a much easier load and more sensitive. If in fact Vandersteens are what you want, this gets you in the door at your budget.
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