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Maggie 1.7i's lack detail. Ideas?

Hi,
In about 1979 I had a roommate who had a pair of Magnapan's, an amp, pre-amp (at least one of which was NAD, and a fairly high quality turntable.  I was shocked and amazed about the feeling the singers were present in the room with me.   The accuracy and detail of the sound.

Fast forward 40 years and I purchase a barely used 1.7is.   I have a new Marantz NR1200.  A 15 yo BK EX-440 Sonata (350WPC @ 4 ohms), and optical bit stream out Sony DVD player.  I use optical cable between the DVD player and NR1200.   I have fairly high quality cables between the pre-out of the NR1200 and the EX-440.  I have somewhat high gauge copper stranded cable, about 6', between the EX-440 and the speakers.

The sound is not bad but very much lacking the detail and immediacy I remember in the highs and mid-range.  A great disappointment. My question is what the most likely culprit?

Some possibilities:
1. My hearing has declined.
2. I've a romanticized memory of the sound quality.
3. What I was hearing was the mushrooms.
4. The speakers my roommate had were a bit wider.  Maybe more like the 3.7s.  Maybe 40 year old 3.7s are just that much better than current 1.7is.
5. Stranded wire cables.
6. Turntable that much better than CD.
7. ????
 

jros
henrye
9 posts
 

To the OP, I know what you seek. I seek the same. Details and wow factor are missing. When I purchased my 1.7i the dealer ran them on a McIntosh stack that probably cost $15K (USD) or more. Budget stuff for that brand but boy did these speakers sing. Details were there. You need to upgrade the front end and these speakers will show you what they can do.

I swapped out my speaker cables and I heard more detail. I swapped out my preamp and I heard the difference (always pros and cons). My front end only costs approx $5000 (USD) so it is not up to par for these speakers. I am going to upgrade from the amp to the source.

Just as everyone has said, watts and current are what you need. Bryston, Parasound, McIntosh, anything with high current and 200+ watts will likely work well. Don’t do a horizontal upgrade like buying anything under $2k or similar to what you already have. Save save save. Then move to preamp upgrade and then DAC\transport. I think the Maggies will highlight each change. Good luck.

secretguy
1,693 posts
 

SMH

crustycoot
641 posts
 

37 yrs ago there were MG3s, with the first "true ribbon" tweeter Magnepan made.  I owned a pair, and their palpable realism and detail far exceed the Quasi-ribbons of the 1.7is of today.  So that is a big part of it, but also, using a Marantz NR-1200 as your preamp cannot be helping.  #s 1-3 must also be considered as likely culprits.

If you want to maximize your existing setup, the first thing I'd try is to get a legit preamp and a DAC (or one with an onboard DAC) and switch to a true CD player as transport.  Pro-Ject makes a Pre Box S2 Digital and CD Box S2T you can try for under $1500.00.

crustycoot
641 posts
 

Also, 1.7is only disperse full range treble if your ears are aligned with the middle third of the panel...if you are too close, too high or too low, they drop off drastically, as I'm sure you've noticed.  Make sure you are in the sweet zone!

gerrie
107 posts
 

Buy a cheap secondhand Marantz sacd Cd player and a smsl dac.

I had the 3 and the 20 and now 1.7i the ribbon is also not the problem.

For example i drive mine mg20 with 4 cello performances the suite and a FM accoustic cross over with a jadis Cd player. That's the best sounds i ever hear. That was in the year 1993 till now they are writing about it. The 3 i drive with the cello duet and the encore and also fantastic i never used any sub. A magnepan needs power and a decent amp. 

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