Magnepan 1.7

[mypasswordis]

FWIW, one of the best tweaks I found when I owned Maggies was placing a ficas tree roughly behind them. For example, if they sounded best 4-5' x 3-4' as you mentioned, stick the ficas in the corner.

How did you like your Maggies (which ones?) and what made you sell them? Seems like a decent pair of vintage Maggies would be a nice entry into speakers for me, since vintage Quad ESLs seem to have even more quirks and are more expensive, both to buy and to repair/maintain.

I think some sound absorbing materials put up on the back walls would be an easier way than using trees.

[mypasswordis]

Also, what do you guys think of the 2.5R in general and the one currently on the 'bay with shot tweeters? Seems worth a try to me, and my dad has always wanted to try some Maggies.

[luvdunhill]

I had the MMG and MG12s. I liked them a lot. The key with the trees was not as much absorption as dispersion.

[randerson3024]

Has anyone heard them with Mye Stands?

[luvdunhill]

Has anyone heard them with Mye Stands?

what "them" I had Mye stands on both my pairs, they're definitely the way to go.

[randerson3024]

what "them" I had Mye stands on both my pairs, they're definitely the way to go.

Yeah, they made a huge difference on the 20.1's.

[Lone Midranger]

Long-time owner of Maggies here. Had 3As in past and have the 1.6s now but will likely upgrade to 1.7s. A couple of things that really impact Maggie sound:

1. Room position and overall room size. The best I have heard them is using the Cardas speaker placement formula (planar formula). That really helped with my listening room.

2. Power. Maggies need lots of current, not necessarily wattage. My VT-100 amp is probably just enough to power them up; more juice would be better.

3. I prefer the tweeters on the inside which the manual suggests may not be good for the phasing. It works for me though after much experimentation.

Now on the 1.7s, what the team in Minnesota has started doing (and much overdue in my opinion) is upgrade the capacitor parts.

On the 1.6s I found that using internal bi-wire Kimber 8TC does really well. The 1.7s are not biwireable in this fashion any more.

My listening impressions on the 1.7 at Audio Alternative, our local Maggie dealer with large McIntosh amps driving them:

**Very open and clear midrange.

**Slight tendency to a brightness which may be due to sub-optimal placement or just needing the attenuator.

**Quality bass, especially the mid-bass a traditional Maggie strength.

**Even more cohesiveness across the range which was a 1.6 strength and better than the 3.6s.

Anyway, hope that is useful.

[faust3d]

Listened to Maggies 1.7 today at Lyric Hi-Fi in NYC. They were powered by large Macintosh amp and Lector Trasport/DAC combo and setup very nicely in a room dedicated just to them and Maggies 3.6. Not bad but there is still that issues with imaging. As with all Maggies I heard there is a lack of precession in imaging. Image is big and wide but somehow not pin-point type that I get with Apogees or dynamic speakers. I remember Soundlabs did better in this regard. Overall I think bass response is better than 1.6 and lower models and overall sound was very dynamic and tonaly accurate. Not bad for 2K, but I am not sure they will be an upgrade from Apogees, more side step.

[naamanf]

2. Power. Maggies need lots of current, not necessarily wattage. My VT-100 amp is probably just enough to power them up; more juice would be better.

.

Statement strikes me as a bit odd. How can you have a lot of current but not a lot of power with everything else being equal?

[Lone Midranger]

Listened to Maggies 1.7 today at Lyric Hi-Fi in NYC. They were powered by large Macintosh amp and Lector Trasport/DAC combo and setup very nicely in a room dedicated just to them and Maggies 3.6. Not bad but there is still that issues with imaging. As with all Maggies I heard there is a lack of precession in imaging. Image is big and wide but somehow not pin-point type that I get with Apogees or dynamic speakers. I remember Soundlabs did better in this regard. Overall I think bass response is better than 1.6 and lower models and overall sound was very dynamic and tonaly accurate. Not bad for 2K, but I am not sure they will be an upgrade from Apogees, more side step.

I find the 1.6s to image very well. I like Lyric (they were my first dealer) but they probably did not have them set up right. Their sound rooms are cramped in my experience. Maggies need lots of room to breathe. At least 3 feet off the back wall.

[Lone Midranger]

Statement strikes me as a bit odd. How can you have a lot of current but not a lot of power with everything else being equal?

This explains it well: Current vs Watts - AudioKarma.org Home Audio Stereo Discussion Forums

[naamanf]

This explains it well: Current vs Watts - AudioKarma.org Home Audio Stereo Discussion Forums

I know how they are related. It's just the way you said it sounded pretty ignorant.

[peli_kan]

Hmmm.. You're a good candidate for Team Ortho. Prepare for a late-night visit from three spectral ortho ninjas.

Intersting, a three-way from Magnepan.

Can't say I didn't giggle a little.

I'd have planar speakers if it weren't for the fact that my dorm room's tiny. Oh yeah, and I'm hobo-grade poor.

[Voltron]

It's a real shame that somebody who was able to work the words "hobo-grade" "coolios" "multiverses" and "nooblet" into his first few posts should be taken out of circulation. Haters gotta hate, I guess.

[Voltron]

something about that combination of words makes me think of the Insane Clown Posse and their fans.

[mypasswordis]

I hear it's pretty painful, especially when the blades are spinning at high speeds.

[manaox2]

something about that combination of words makes me think of the Insane Clown Posse and their fans.

Something about all of those things and that band make me think middle schoolers. I hate that they discourage teaching science to their fans, but in the end I guess they will be keeping their fans easy to manipulate that way.

[Driftwood]

The owner of the store is a Magnepan dealer and strongly supports the line I have to assume he has what he feels is a reasonable set up to represent a favorite of his. I do however do think that a better amp may improve the bass and imagining of the 1.7s. I did like them and hope my comment s do not come off as a bash I was just not bowled over once I level set with my speakers upon my return home.

I know I'm resurrecting a dead thread, and it has been several months since this post, but I have been recently looking at the 1.7 and had my first listen at the dealer you mentioned. I was very impressed by the 1.7 but was definitely underwhelmed by the bass response sans subwoofer, and thought that the specific sub he had paired with the 1.7 was a disappointment. As you mentioned, it was being driven by the Rogue Audio Cronus Integrated. Having read several places that Maggies thrive on MOAR POWAH, I decided I wanted to have a second listen somewhere else. I took a trip last weekend to a dealer in VA where I listened to the 1.7 driven by the Ayre MX-R and C-5xe. The dealer had a much nicer sub of the same manufacture as the first dealer, and I was much more satisfied with the bass response -- especially when I asked how he had the speakers crossed over with the sub and found out that the sub wasn't being used

I've become a believer that the Maggies need more than 55wpc to sound their best. However, I did think the low end wasn't quite as tight as I'd like, reading on the 1.5 thread here it seems that I'm not alone in this feeling on the 1 series Magnepans. I don't know if there is anything that can be done to correct that? What are the opinions around here on the C-5xe? I know that Ayre in general is pretty well regarded, and I certainly liked what I heard, but I wasn't much impressed by the internals of the amp when I looked for photos...

[deepak]

Since creating this thread I've been able to hear the 1.7 in two lengthy auditions. I have to say with more critical listening a couple of things started to really bother me. There is a particular "whiteness" in the 8 KHz and higher region that gave voices an unnatural tone. The imaging also seemed more floaty than normal for Maggies. On one audition we were rotating in the 1.6 and MMG. I actually preferred both of them to the 1.7 (ranked 1.6 > MMG > 1.7). I was really hoping to like them more than the 1.6 since I was still eligible for a full value trade in on my MMGs, but I can't get credit for the 1.6 since they are discontinued I think I'm just going to look for Sound Labs after I move.

[Driftwood]

Thanks for the impressions. What was the associated equipment used with the maggies in you auditions? I listened also to the 3.6 at the first place, that was powered by an audio research integrated and the Cambridge Audio 840c. Even with the better source and amp (but still very low power) my wife and I greatly prefered the 1.7. Though the treble sounded more even to me (maybe because of the lack of "whiteness" you mentioned, it was clear that the treble was coming from a separate point in space from the rest of the sound. I would have been pleased with it had I not heard the 1.7, but overall I thought the 1.7 was more satisfying even though the 3.6 did some things better. Perhaps I should have given the 3.6 a try on the Ayre amps but I am already seeing that the maggies are going to require a greater investment than I had originally anticipated due to their low efficiency.

[Voltron]

I know I'm resurrecting a dead thread, and it has been several months since this post, but I have been recently looking at the 1.7 and had my first listen at the dealer you mentioned. I was very impressed by the 1.7 but was definitely underwhelmed by the bass response sans subwoofer, and thought that the specific sub he had paired with the 1.7 was a disappointment. As you mentioned, it was being driven by the Rogue Audio Cronus Integrated. Having read several places that Maggies thrive on MOAR POWAH, I decided I wanted to have a second listen somewhere else. I took a trip last weekend to a dealer in VA where I listened to the 1.7 driven by the Ayre MX-R and C-5xe. The dealer had a much nicer sub of the same manufacture as the first dealer, and I was much more satisfied with the bass response -- especially when I asked how he had the speakers crossed over with the sub and found out that the sub wasn't being used

I've become a believer that the Maggies need more than 55wpc to sound their best. However, I did think the low end wasn't quite as tight as I'd like, reading on the 1.5 thread here it seems that I'm not alone in this feeling on the 1 series Magnepans. I don't know if there is anything that can be done to correct that? What are the opinions around here on the C-5xe? I know that Ayre in general is pretty well regarded, and I certainly liked what I heard, but I wasn't much impressed by the internals of the amp when I looked for photos...

I can't offer any help on the Maggies, but I own a C-5xe MP and think it is a very nice sounding player. It is audio only but can play any silver disk format. It's sound is clean and detailed but not harsh or digital-edged. Definitely a good deal in my book. I also own the K-XR but not the M-XRs. I'm not sure what you found disappointing about the amp's internals but they are anything but. From the solid aluminum billet chassis on up, these are SOTA amps with tons of power but plenty of finesse. If my speakers weren't self-powered I would likely own them.

[spritzer]

Yeah, the MX-R are nothing short of stunning terms of design and build quality IMO.

[Driftwood]

I'm not sure what you found disappointing about the amp's internals but they are anything but. From the solid aluminum billet chassis on up, these are SOTA amps with tons of power but plenty of finesse. If my speakers weren't self-powered I would likely own them.

Oops, I apologize for the confusion, I got my wires crossed. I was listening to them through the C-5xe which seemed like a nice enough player, but what I had meant to say originally is that I listened to the 1.7 first using the MX-R, and then through the V-5xe, both from the C-5xe. It was the V-5xe's internals I was complaining about, the MX-R are of course superbly built and was of course trying to find a way to justify their cost; I think even my wife who was thinking "around $700" for an amp was beginning to warm to them even after hearing the MSRP was $9000 until I explained that was each, and that they each only power one channel.

[Driftwood]

Here is what I'm talking about: Heatsinks to nowhere with nary a place for any heat to escape except a couple of slots on the top panel --

Granted, I really liked what I heard, but it was at volumes probably louder than I would listen to normally, and in a room that I'm not used to (and that probably behaves a lot better than my own). I'd really like good low volume performance, and I'd rather have finer graduations in the low volume detail even if it means giving up some performance at higher volumes. I guess what I'm trying to say is that intellectually I subscribe to the "first watt" philosophy and was thus considering something like the Pass Labs XA60.5 (if I could get away with the relatively low output) or the Parasound JC-1, but I don't see how I'd ever have an opportunity to audition those with the maggies before purchasing, and really I am looking to buy used to save some money. I could definitely be happy with the Ayre, but I'd just like to know how it compares to other amps around the same price, especially at low volumes.

[aardvark baguette]

There was a pair of Parasound halos at MSSHifi. I think they were going for $4k iirc. MSSHifi is hit or miss from what I've heard, though.

I've been thinking of getting JC1/JC2 system going in a few months. They seem like a pretty good value for a budget-minded system, which may be the way I go.

They also stay in Class A a little longer than the pass labs if I'm not mistaken.