New Magnepan 1.7

jaxwired
jaxwired Posts: 201
edited March 2011 in 2 Channel Audio
Hello everyone,

Yesterday I played hookey from work for an hour and demoed the brand new Magnepan 1.7 speakers :).

Magnepan-1.71.jpg

These were just unveiled at CES 2010 and they update a 12 year old model with an all new design/engineering ($2000). I have not heard maggies is a long time. I was very impressed. These speakers are fanstastic through the mids and highs. I've demoed and heard lots of high end box speakers and I feel confident that no box speaker could ever sound like that, period. The presence of the music was breathtaking. I would call the sound extremely vivid, but without any harshness that one might expect from that description. The speakers are said to go down to 40hz and that's definately the one dissapointing part of the speaker. The amazing high qaulity and deep bass of my Dyns was completely missing. The maggies do have bass, but it's softer, rounder sounding and has much less slam or impact. But that could be said for many box speakers as well when compared to good bass speakers like Dynaudio.

I have a demo CD I keep in the car that is all CD resolution music that I was able to use for the demo. This is all music I'm super familiar with so I could truly compare the sound to what I'm used to hearing. The midrange was so lifelike. Human voices are almost freakishly reproduced. There is a wow factor here that box speakers simply cannot have. Acoustic guitar and piano was spot on. I doubt I would be able to tell blindfolded a live acoustic piano from these speakers.

Of course the demo room was bigger than my listening room. And I love the relatively compact nature of my Dyns compared to the ungainly and clumbsy look of the Maggies. They would definately be a little overbearing in my little 11x14 room.

The dealer was using the new Musical Fidelity M6i Integrated amp ($3000) and matching CD player. He also played some vinyl. The Musical Fidelity gear is some of the best looking on the market and sounded wonderful.

M6i-Silver-Front-Close-Up-300x200.jpg
2 Channel
NAD C545 -> Benchmark DAC1 -> Bryston BP6 -> Bryston 4B SST2 -> Dynaudio Contour S1.4
Post edited by jaxwired on

Comments

  • jaxwired
    jaxwired Posts: 201
    edited March 2010
    That pic of the M6i makes it look small. It's a full size 17" chasis and is class A/B. It is very good indeed, but I wouldn't trade my Bryston for it.
    2 Channel
    NAD C545 -> Benchmark DAC1 -> Bryston BP6 -> Bryston 4B SST2 -> Dynaudio Contour S1.4
  • danz1906
    danz1906 Posts: 5,144
    edited March 2010
    xcapri79 wrote: »
    What is the approx. price of the Maggies?

    I think the Maggies are $2000.00.
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  • jaxwired
    jaxwired Posts: 201
    edited March 2010
    xcapri79 wrote: »
    But you would trade a pair of LSi25's for a pair of Magnepan 1.7's?

    I have never heard LSi25s, but I have heard many extremely good box speakers and none of them could best the realistic sound of the midrange on these Magnepan 1.7s. I'd put the midrange of these up against any box speaker under 20k. I've never heard better, period.
    2 Channel
    NAD C545 -> Benchmark DAC1 -> Bryston BP6 -> Bryston 4B SST2 -> Dynaudio Contour S1.4
  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,165
    edited March 2010
    xcapri79 wrote: »
    But you would trade a pair of LSi25's for a pair of Magnepan 1.7's?
    What is the approx. price of the Maggies?

    No contest, the Maggies all the way. IMO, the LSi 25's are weakest of the bunch.
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
  • SolidSqual
    SolidSqual Posts: 5,218
    edited March 2010
    I heard the Magnepan 1.7s last week in Ohio. They are more impressive than the 1.6s thats for sure. Especially, tighter more believable bass response. The midrange is still beautiful. But, the sweet spot sucks. You have to be in the exact freakin middle, which was also true for the 1.6. Also, these speakers are not for rockers or even dynamic classical pieces, basically any music with dramatic shifts.

    IMO, I'm still buying the new Emerald Physics speakers. You get the dynamics of drivers with the transparency of a planar.

    Of course, the Emmys' can be had for around $4000, whereas the 1.7s go as low as $1900. It's amazing what you get for the money with the 1.7s, but their weaknesses really kill what would otherwise be a great speaker for me.
  • Hawkeye
    Hawkeye Posts: 1,313
    edited March 2010
    That darn sweet spot again!:D I have Martin Logan's and the sweet spot is about 1.5 people wide, and that's on the generous side. That is actually enough for the two of us to do serious listening.

    When we have folks over for drinks and conversation, music is on for background effect. Not that many of our friends would ask to sit in the sweet spot to begin with, since they would have no idea what it is.

    I think the sweet spot is overrated unless your doing critical listening, and who does that with five other folks in the room? Clinking glasses and conversation tend to drown out any detail that may be evident or looked for.

    Gordon
    2 Channel -
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  • Conradicles
    Conradicles Posts: 6,081
    edited March 2010
    Got the enjoyment the other day of listening to my 1st set of maggies. Went to a fellow Agoner's crib to pick up an item, and he had a set of Magnepan 3 I think.

    I was floored and hopeully will own a set one day.
  • BigMac
    BigMac Posts: 849
    edited March 2010
    I picked up a pair of mint Maggie SMGa not to long ago and I have to say they sound amazing. I am thinking about doing the stand and crossover mod to them........but for a few hundred dollars more I could buy the 1.7. Hmmmm, decisions,decisions. After hearing Maggies I do not think I could ever go back to a box speaker again. Only issue I had was finding a sub that matched well with the Maggie sound. After a long and exhaustive search I did.:)
  • markmarc
    markmarc Posts: 2,309
    edited March 2010
    I'm going to be borrowing a pair of Maggie 1.6's with the Skiing Ninja modified x-over. Looking forward to how they play with the Sim i7 integrated amp. I'll be quite curious as to how they sound off-axis.
    Review Site_ (((AudioPursuit)))
    Founder/Publisher Affordable$$Audio 2006-13.
    Former Staff Member TONEAudio
    2 Ch. System
    Amplifiers: Parasound Halo P6 pre, Vista Audio i34, Peachtree amp500, Adcom GFP-565 GFA-535ii, 545ii, 555ii
    Digital: SimAudio HAD230 DAC, iMac 20in/Amarra,
    Speakers: Paradigm Performa F75, Magnepan .7, Totem Model 1's, ACI Emerald XL, Celestion Si Stands. Totem Dreamcatcher sub
    Analog: Technics SL-J2 w/Pickering 3000D, SimAudio LP5.3 phono pre
    Cable/Wires: Cardas, AudioArt, Shunyata Venom 3
  • SolidSqual
    SolidSqual Posts: 5,218
    edited March 2010
    markmarc wrote: »
    I'm going to be borrowing a pair of Maggie 1.6's with the Skiing Ninja modified x-over. Looking forward to how they play with the Sim i7 integrated amp. I'll be quite curious as to how they sound off-axis.

    IME they sound awful off-axis, no soundstage no separation. I'm really interested to see if you find the same opinion.
  • markmarc
    markmarc Posts: 2,309
    edited March 2010
    SolidSqual wrote: »
    IME they sound awful off-axis, no soundstage no separation. I'm really interested to see if you find the same opinion.

    Inquiring minds.............

    Hoping for a positive email this morning so I can run across town and grab them today. Especially since the chance of rain is slim to none and I don't have a shell or cover for the truck.

    Out of curiosity, what kind of power were feeding the pair you heard?
    Review Site_ (((AudioPursuit)))
    Founder/Publisher Affordable$$Audio 2006-13.
    Former Staff Member TONEAudio
    2 Ch. System
    Amplifiers: Parasound Halo P6 pre, Vista Audio i34, Peachtree amp500, Adcom GFP-565 GFA-535ii, 545ii, 555ii
    Digital: SimAudio HAD230 DAC, iMac 20in/Amarra,
    Speakers: Paradigm Performa F75, Magnepan .7, Totem Model 1's, ACI Emerald XL, Celestion Si Stands. Totem Dreamcatcher sub
    Analog: Technics SL-J2 w/Pickering 3000D, SimAudio LP5.3 phono pre
    Cable/Wires: Cardas, AudioArt, Shunyata Venom 3
  • SolidSqual
    SolidSqual Posts: 5,218
    edited March 2010
    The system consisted of a pair of BAT VK-600 monos, a BAT VK-52SE and Esoteric X-05. I don't recall the cabling brand . . . so yeah the whole system was completely underpowered:rolleyes:
  • markmarc
    markmarc Posts: 2,309
    edited March 2010
    SolidSqual wrote: »
    The system consisted of a pair of BAT VK-600 monos, a BAT VK-52SE and Esoteric X-05. I don't recall the cabling brand . . . so yeah the whole system was completely underpowered:rolleyes:

    Damn rats and their treadmill power:D
    Review Site_ (((AudioPursuit)))
    Founder/Publisher Affordable$$Audio 2006-13.
    Former Staff Member TONEAudio
    2 Ch. System
    Amplifiers: Parasound Halo P6 pre, Vista Audio i34, Peachtree amp500, Adcom GFP-565 GFA-535ii, 545ii, 555ii
    Digital: SimAudio HAD230 DAC, iMac 20in/Amarra,
    Speakers: Paradigm Performa F75, Magnepan .7, Totem Model 1's, ACI Emerald XL, Celestion Si Stands. Totem Dreamcatcher sub
    Analog: Technics SL-J2 w/Pickering 3000D, SimAudio LP5.3 phono pre
    Cable/Wires: Cardas, AudioArt, Shunyata Venom 3
  • xj4094dg
    xj4094dg Posts: 1,158
    edited April 2010
    BigMac wrote: »
    I picked up a pair of mint Maggie SMGa not to long ago and I have to say they sound amazing. I am thinking about doing the stand and crossover mod to them........but for a few hundred dollars more I could buy the 1.7. Hmmmm, decisions,decisions. After hearing Maggies I do not think I could ever go back to a box speaker again. Only issue I had was finding a sub that matched well with the Maggie sound. After a long and exhaustive search I did.:)

    I too own a pair of SMGa's in very good condition. I don't think there is a such a thing as "mint" SMGa's that have not been refurbished simply because of their age. I refurbished mine and they sound amazing!

    The upgrade you are thinking about is a good idea. It sounds like the Magenstand upgrade, which is based on the SMGa crossover for all other new models.

    I love my Maggies. Got 'em for $200.00. :)
    "The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it." Neil deGrasse Tyson.
  • BuckeyeTim
    BuckeyeTim Posts: 483
    edited April 2010
    I was able to listen to a pair of 1.7's today. They were being pushed through a Marantz amp and a Music Hall mmf 5.1 (which I took home with me). I am not one that is up on the vernacular of the audiophile, but they sounded pretty friggen good to me. My bro in law has 3.6's running through Denon integrated at the moment. He also has the MG1-improved that he bought in college in about '79. They are run through a Nad that he bought at same time
  • ViperZ
    ViperZ Posts: 2,046
    edited April 2010
    I have 2 pairs of MGII and love them. Hopefully, there is a pair of 2.5R or 3.3R in my future.
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  • Tony M
    Tony M Posts: 11,151
    edited April 2010
    I'm new to Maggies sound because I now own a pr. of 2.5R's (2 weeks now)and also could describe a sense of boxlessness. My JBL PB12 subwoofer matchs well I think. I'd compare the set-up to my SDA-SRS2's but with a narrower sound stage.

    They're cool..:cool:
    Most people just listen to music and watch movies. I EXPERIENCE them.
  • Bernal
    Bernal Posts: 991
    edited March 2011
    xcapri79 wrote: »
    But you would trade a pair of LSi25's for a pair of Magnepan?

    Good bye LSi and Welcome Magneplanar!
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    http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=117125





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