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Tweaking the Magnepan 1.7s

Looking to tap the Audiogon crowd to come up with inexpensive tweaks for my new Magnepan 1.7s. Here is what is planned so far:

Have room treatments. I am a bigger fan of sound absorption than sound dispursement. I have four 2' x 4' x 2" sound absorption panels that sit on each side of my stereo shelving unit between my speakers. Does a great job of removing the reflections off of my electronics.

Having Magnepans for 30+ years, I do like to deaden the front wall behind the speakers a little bit. From hanging an oriental rug to curtains or whatever. Will be trying out some of these ideas with my new location.

Mye stands. I am waiting for my bank account to grow a bit before I go for these. I believe Mye has the new updates for the 1.7s (although, I can't see any difference between the 1.7s and my old 1.6s).

I want to bypass the fuse and that stupid metal jumper with the least disruption of the speaker itself. Anyone remove the back panel and replace with better speaker connects? If so, what do you recommend? How about wiring tips - anything I should be know before I start the project?

Debating on using a 1 ohm resistor to tame the high end. Any suggestions for high quality 1 ohm resistors?

Anything I am missing?

Sound notes: full description of my experience with Magnepan 1.7s and the electronics I am using in other Audiogon threads, just search for ronwills.
ronwills
magfan
1,583 posts
 
No jumpers like I'm accustomed to on my 1.6s?
dsper
663 posts
 
I think that we have already talked about tweeters in and out and front to back.

You can change out the metal jumper. I replaced mine with a solid copper wire. I think that it makes the sound a little bit more detailed. Not sure how bid a deal that really is in my setup.

I pulled the back plates off and it looks like you cannot simply unscrew the wires like is possible on the 1.2's to bypass the fuse. I closed mine back up and decided that I would think about that before I messed with it.

The big thing is that I found a pair of Mye stands on Audiogon.

They make a noticeable sonic improvement. Everything is more tight. The bass has a little bit more weight. The sound in general is a bit more detailed. Overall, this makes the 1.7's sound more musical.

Having said that my local audio store has a set of Mark Levinson amps hooked up to Revel speakers (the $20K ones) That sound is better than my Krell and 1.7's (of course at a very steep price increase!).
magfan
1,583 posts
 
People are saying you can't bi-wire the 1.7....this means NO jumpers, right?
That's why I asked.

If I had a look at the crossover schematic for the 1.7 it would be easier to decide if you could bi-wire and how much butchering you'd have to do.

Try the Revel's against the 20.1s and you may change your preference....and get to keep your Krells. Or maybe swap the Krells out for top Bryston or Pass....
dsper
663 posts
 
I listened to the Revels again with a CD by the Jayhawks that I know quite well. I decided that the Revels are not that great after all. Thery definitely have the bass and weight but they do lack the last bit of detail and resoluton that I hear with my setup. On my setup I am able to hear separate harmonizing vocals that did not come through on the Revels.

I have an Audiospace CD player and the Revels were hooked up to a McIntosh CD player - do not know which one. Maybe that has some thing to do with it.
cartier450
1 posts
 
I have had my 1.7's for a month now. They were initially too bright, even in a heavy carpeted room, C-J amplification and with vinyl as a source. The cure, in order of impact:
1. 1 Ohm Pathaudio resistors (significantly better than both the supplied ones and the Mills).
2. Quantum SR20 fuses (inserted with the 20 in the upwards direction). Much better than the supplied fuses and, in my view, better than the Hi-Fi tuning fuses.
3. pointers under the speakers (have not tried speaker stands)

I'm in heaven! I no longer worry about break-up time or potentially expensive mods, I just enjoy the music.
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