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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
rickdoesaudio's avatar
rickdoesaudio
56 posts
 

and the V-90 DAC can be found for under $250

52356
24 posts
 

It ain't the speakers. I have Acarian Alon 4's, Audio Research LS-16 pre amp and McCormick DNA amp..Very happy with setup..Before my father passed away, he asked me to get stereo room 2 with $$ he left, so when I listened I would think of him. Covid had hit. I was familiar w/Magnepan and thought they would be a good compliment to the Acarian Alon 4's. Without demo, I bot the Maggies with Parasound A21+ and Prime Luna pre amp. Spent some time setting the speakers and the sound is better than wonderful. My thought is that you need better matching electronics. If cost is a matter (and isnt it always?!!), buy used solid state at half the price. Only other aspect is you bought these "slightly used". Do you have a dealer nearby??

larry5729's avatar
larry5729
1,008 posts
 

Get rid of the Murantz.  That is your weak link.

curlyhifi
157 posts
 

The B&K EX 440 is perfect. I had the Maggies at one time. Loved the set up. Paired well with ARC LS2B MKII. The key I agree with SNAPSC need to be 3 feet from front wall. The only thing I had in between was The B&K.

Since that time I moved and did not have the room. I still have the B&K had it recapped. The Bass is incredible.

jros OP
15 posts
 

Thanks everyone for the input.

i don’t have a terribly large CD collection, maybe 150, so I am going to rip them when I want to hear one. That eliminates the DVD player issue.

52356: Your father sounds like he was a class act.

I bought the 1.7is used from a dealer. He said they were a trade in from someone they knew well. When I got them home they looked very much like they had never been taken out of the box.

Lots of good advice here. To roughly tally it up. The votes on what to blame (left off DVD player since I am now streaming bluetooth):

Marantz NR1200 dac/preamp 6

BK EX-440 amp 6

location 5

wires 3

jumpers/fuses 2

Quasi-ribbon vs true ribbon 2

My hearing has declined. 3

romanticized memory sound 3

mushrooms. 2

 

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