Magnepan .7 Alternatives

@flasd  You didn't mention what kind of music you listen to. If it's heavy rock forget Maggies or Sonus Faber for that matter. If you don't play rock I can only think the speakers are emphasising poorly recorded material or as has been mentioned you need a better DAC. Electrstatics/ Planar speakers are hard to beat for highs and mid range but can be disappointing if you really relish deep bass. Vandies could do it for you. 

Try auditioning a pair if Totem Arro or Sky Towers. They work well in a small room and can be placed fairly close to a rear wall for a rear ported design. Very transparent and surprisingly good bass for a two-way. Reasonably efficient. They will fill your room and image well. I own the Sky Tower fed by an NAD C658 pre-amp/streamer/DAC and a Rogue Super 100 tube power amp. I sit about 6 feet from speakers that are about 6 feet apart. The sound is room filling and lifelike. On good recordings I feel like the performers are in my room, particularly with small jazz groups and vocalists. Good luck!

Thank you for the responses and recommendations…keep ‘em coming.

I listen to Jazz, Blues, Classic Rock (Not Head Banging Stuff), Reggae, etc.

I did look into the LFT’s prior to my purchase of the Maggi’s over a year ago, but what scared me away was his website was not up to date, the site’s info was several years old as if he was no longer in business. I was extremely interested but was not comfortable based upon very little info on the line was available at the time.

I listen to a lot of vinyl, all very well cared for and have just begun streaming Amazon Prime Unlimited using the Blusound Node and like the idea of a better DAC. I recently had a NAD C658 that was so buggy with issues, besides having no sub output level controls and on top of having to do 3 factory resets in less than one week of ownership to unfreeze the unit that I had to return it. Way too much under the hood for one power supply and non responsive app, can’t believe NAD put something like that out… Used to think NAD was the pinnacle of all the “Mass Market Brands”, seems they’ve become another “Me Too” product.

Think I’ll research some DAC’s …Any suggestions on an inexpensive DAC that will make what comes out of the Blusound Node sound better ?

The bigger the panels, the more they can reproduce well. I still have a pair of Acoustat Model X speakers and are still the best sounding for voice and most instruments. They will never move the air like a cone speaker, but a couple of smaller subs go a long way.

@mschott I think this narrative about Maggies not integrating well with subs is a myth. Maybe it was started by folks who did not know how or take the time to properly integrate subs with speakers. But I can tell you from personal experience with my own Magnepan 1.7i panels as well as LRS that I have heard, that, 1. It isn’t hard to integrate subs (I had a pair of REL T/9i subs using high level connections) with my 1.7i and 2. IMO Maggie 1.7i and smaller need subs. They are a requirement. Adding subs to smaller Maggies revolutionizes the sound as Maggies do not play low enough and definitely have no sub bass, no air movement and no bass slam.

Maggies DO integrate well with subs and using subs are a requirement for smaller Maggies.