Thinking of Magnepan ... finally!

Adding a sub or two to almost any planar will result in improvements in a couple of ways. Most importantly, relieved of reproducing bass, the Maggie "woofers" will now reproduce the midrange in a noticeably improved manner. The speaker will also play louder, with less strain and distortion. And if you employ a high pass filter in front of the power amp (removing low frequencies from the input signal) the amp itself will produce less distortion, and more power will be available for the midrange frequencies.

The problem is---as Wendell Diller has been saying for decades---that monopole subs simply do not blend well with dipole loudspeakers (there are technical reasons why that is so). Quad owners have been trying since the 1950’s, with no success. The Finnish company Gradient introduced an open baffle/dipole sub for both the original Quad (aka 57) and the 63, sometime in the 80’s iirc. Robert E. Greene wrote a TAS review of the 57 model after auditioning it with his Quads. The Gradient was well designed, but not terribly well constructed, leaving a lot of potential unrealized.

Once again, Danny Richie to the rescue ;-) . Danny had already designed and was selling an open baffle/dipole woofer/sub (sold only as a DIY kit, the market he targets), when he heard about a new servo-feedback sub being offered by another company located in Texas: Rythmik Audio. Danny and Rythmik designer/owner Brian Ding put their big brains together and came up with the world’s only servo-feedback, open baffle, dipole sub/woofer in the world. THE sub for any and all dipole loudspeakers, including of course Maggies. Availlable only as a DIY kit, but there are a couple of pro woodworkers making the required ob/dipole "frame" in flat pack form. Details available on the GR Research website.

If you think Danny Richie only modifies the designs of others, you are mistaken. He also offers his own loudspeakers, long available (since 1995) only as DIY kits, but some models now offered fully assembled and finished. To see Danny’s ultimate offering, check out the virtual system of Audiogon member "jaytor", which includes the 3-woofer version of the OB/Dipole Sub, as well as a tall line source loudspeaker using multiple NEO-3 and NEO-10 planar-magnetic drivers.

The Magnepan 0.7 has the best balance and bass dynamics of all the models I’ve heard. Seems the “pro” reviewers agree with regard to the bass. I owned the 1.7is previously and could not get along with them. Other than outright bass extension (not to be confused with bass output) and loudness capability, I find the 0.7 is the better speaker. The 0.7 has become the “forgotten” Maggie as of late, which is ironic considering it is arguably the best Magnepan, and one of the most musical speakers I’ve encountered in all my years in this hobby. Even though it’s a 2-way design, the midrange is to die for, and is, I feel, superior to that of the 1.7is. Coming from Harbeths, I think you will better acclimate to the midrange presence of the 0.7 vs the 1.7i. 
 

Also, Maggies really perform best with high current, linear-power-supply class AB amplifiers. Unfortunately, most class D amps, regardless of power/watts spec, do not possess the current capability necessary to “wake” them up. Your Aavik may very well be an exception, but I figure that should be mentioned, just in case you find yourself underwhelmed with the pairing. 

"Also, Maggies really perform best with high current, linear-power-supply class AB amplifiers. Unfortunately, most class D amps, regardless of power/watts spec, do not possess the current capability necessary to “wake” them up."

I must disagree with this statement. I’ve had Maggies in one iteration or another for the past 25 yrs. I’ve always driven them with AB amps thinking this conventional "wisdom" was true. It wasn’t till I bought a pair of PS Audio M700 mono blocks that I knew what my Maggies could really sound like. They drive my 1.7i with such ease. Even listening at low levels, the detail is still amazing. These amps do not sound cold or hard edged. Quite the opposite in fact. Nor do they fall apart at higher listening levels. My point is don’t underestimate class D amps. They can be quite capable of driving challenging speakers. So, there’s my 0.2 cents.

P.S: Love my Maggies! Hope you will too, arafiq.

@helomech Funny you should say this. Some years ago I has 12s....the predecessor to the .7.  I thought they were the sleeper of the line. I moved to 1.7...and while i thought they WERE better, the difference wasn't earth shaking.

@yesiam_a_pirate  "If you want to use them for home theater you will be sorely disappointed."

Only if you count the EPM (explosions per minute). I have an all-planar 7.0 system with plenty of bass: 6 Magnepan MMW, 2 DWM bass panels and a Quad 2905 centre. I hear every sigh of dialogue and every bass slam - just not enough of the latter to loosen the screws in the walls. Planars forever!!