New Magnepan 1.7i speakers

[Bruce B]

Just picked up a pair of these for another system.

Long story short.... I hope:

Long time Maggie fan, with MG IIa speakers as my first set back in the late '70's. I've owned about 6 pair since, especially after every divorce!
Fast forward to this past week. The Pacific NW Audio Society was having their meeting at Definitive Audio in Bellevue. I told the wife that I wanted to listen to a pair of .7 speakers for the upstairs system. She really liked them... but not loved them. They didn't match the décor and wanted more "color"! As we were leaving, she spotted a pair of Maggies that had bright red aluminum trim with gray cloth. She instantly fell in love! A little bigger than the .7 speakers, but she just had to have them! Damn I love my wife!!

These are the newer .i model. I guess from what I've read that the only change was the crossover and maybe some tape? I really haven't seen any reviews of these, so I'll be doing a review for Stereomojo. Now I just need a beefy amp to push them! I'll put them down in the studio and pair them with the Pass XA-100.5 amps to burn in.

 

[joeinid]

Bruce,

Can't wait for your opinion/review. I am getting the Magnepan bug too. The 3.7i and Pass XA100.8 won best of show at Axpona 2015.

I am sure the 1.7i will be amazing too.



Best Sound (for the money): Magnepan 3.7i driven by Pass Labs and sourced by exaSound. The most natural and realistic sound at the show.

 

[Andre Marc]

Just picked up a pair of these for another system.

Long story short.... I hope:

Long time Maggie fan, with MG IIa speakers as my first set back in the late '70's. I've owned about 6 pair since, especially after every divorce!
Fast forward to this past week. The Pacific NW Audio Society was having their meeting at Definitive Audio in Bellevue. I told the wife that I wanted to listen to a pair of .7 speakers for the upstairs system. She really liked them... but not loved them. They didn't match the décor and wanted more "color"! As we were leaving, she spotted a pair of Maggies that had bright red aluminum trim with gray cloth. She instantly fell in love! A little bigger than the .7 speakers, but she just had to have them! Damn I love my wife!!

These are the newer .i model. I guess from what I've read that the only change was the crossover and maybe some tape? I really haven't seen any reviews of these, so I'll be doing a review for Stereomojo. Now I just need a beefy amp to push them! I'll put them down in the studio and pair them with the Pass XA-100.5 amps to burn in.


View attachment 22264

Bruce, by coincidence, I will be auditioning these next week sometime.

I am growing a bit tired of boxes and dynamic drivers.

In general, how close to the back wall can they be?

 

[Bruce B]

In general, how close to the back wall can they be?

I'd say 3' minimum with 4-5' optimal.

 

[Andre Marc]

I'd say 3' minimum with 4-5' optimal.

Thanks Bruce...i have about 3.5 feet..will just make it!

Will let you know how audition goes.

 

[Bruce B]

Just noticed lately on the Magnepan website, there are a lot fewer options for trim colors. I really loved a Blue set of 30.7 speakers I saw some time ago, but they don't offer it. Looks like the 1.7i that I have does not come in the cool Red Aluminum trim any more.

 

[cfgardei1]

I LOVE my 3.7i's - but it was 1.7i's that led to me owning them.

I've heard (and drooled over) several Maggies over the years, starting in the mid-1970's, but the "young me" couldn't afford them.

A decade or two later, I could afford most any speaker I wanted, but my local HiFi shop didn't carry Maggies and I had "forgotten the magic." (Oh, don't get me wrong: I didn't suffer too badly with my 801's/Mark Levinson system.)

Recently (well, I guess it's been a couple of years) I went into my local HiFi shop and they had 1.7i's playing. I was NOT looking for speakers at that time. But, I sat down and listened for about 30 seconds and told the shocked salesman that walked in, "sold"!

A week or so later, I called and asked if they had a trade-up program (yes) and I ordered 3.7i's, which took about 2 months to build and deliver.

Since that time, I have auditioned 20.7s (great, but not enough improvement over the 3.7i's for the money, in my opinion) and, most recently 30.7's (which I am ordering when my new house is completed)

By the way, I was warned "not to use a subwoofer" by, well, EVERYONE (including Magnepan), but TRUST ME, you will want to use one (or two) subs -- even with the 30.7's (I have some older blogs on this). As long as you limited the subs to SUB-bass, they vastly improve - and in no way harm - the Maggies.

 

[riverman]

Hello everyone, I would like to buy an MG 1.7 amplified by Classè Audio DR3, is it enough to make it sing well? My room is 20m. I'm not looking for stadium volumes. I listen to classical, jazz, melodic rock... thanks for your help, Best Regards Stefano from Italy

 

[Nuforce]

I had a pair of 1.7 for a while with external upgraded crossover. Great way to get into the Magnepan sound without breaking the bank. Enjoy!

 

[cfgardei1]

I haven't been on this (or any) forum in quite a while (the computer-savvy among you can probably see just how long...), but I am bored here at work today and I need to kill an hour or two, since the cleaning ladies are at my (new) house right now.

Glad to hear when someone new (or new to Maggies) catches the bug. I don't remember if I mentioned it in a previous "thread" (I guess that's the right term), but the friend and owner of _____ (a premier HiFi shop near Atlanta) invited me to audition the "new" (at that time) Vanderstein Kento Carbons (~$40,000; driven by about $200,000 worth of electronics). Mind you, I had recently acquired my 3.7i's from that same dealer.

After an hour or so of listening, in private, he asked me my honest opinion and I told him (after making sure that no potential customer was within earshot), "They pin-point image better, but in every other way imaginable they don't hold a candle to my Maggies." AND, after he confirmed that no potential customer of his was within earshot, he concurred!

BTW: I FINALLY did get my new home built on Lookout Mountain, GA and my new 30.7's are my ONLY system in it (my son now has my 3.7's).

WOW! If you can afford them, I don't think a better listening experience can be had at ANY price.

BTW: Just like my very first comments that started this whole thing, I did not initially use a sub with the 30.7's. But, once I added one (SVS PB4000), I could not go back to listening without it.

 

[Nuforce]

I still want to try a quality sub for my 20.1 even though the bass is already pretty good.

I plan on being buried with my magnepans I'm never selling them!

 

[Nuforce]

Just FYI for you folks using solid state amps with your Maggie's, it is very easy to bypass the crossover in any model and then run them active using a good quality analogy crossover.

Then you can use a relatively lower power 30-50w tube amp up top and SS for the bottom.

I use atma-sphere MA1 up top on mine and they have a silky top end SS cannot match. IMO.

 

[Kingrex]

Bruce, There's a guy making a active crossover with 2 to 3 amplifiers to run the Maggies. It really does sound good. It's an active analog crossover, so being a tape enthusiast as you are, it should not negatively impacting your sonics. Quite the opposite. At the cost of a large amplifier to run Maggie's, his system might be the same expense and give a lot better sound.

show - Danville Signal

Danville Signal Processing is a technology partner for high performance audio solutions. We provide SHARC-based DSP modules for a variety of OEMs, ODMs and oth

danvillesignal.com

 

[Kingrex]

Just FYI for you folks using solid state amps with your Maggie's, it is very easy to bypass the crossover in any model and then run them active using a good quality analogy crossover.

Then you can use a relatively lower power 30-50w tube amp up top and SS for the bottom.

I use atma-sphere MA1 up top on mine and they have a silky top end SS cannot match. IMO.

Are you Nuforce, as in the manufacturer of class D amps? I was Looking at one of your amps recently and was interested in purchasing one, but the input impedance was 22k, which is far too low for my preamp.

 

[Nuforce]

Bruce, There's a guy making a active crossover with 2 to 3 amplifiers to run the Maggies. It really does sound good. It's an active analog crossover, so being a tape enthusiast as you are, it should not negatively impacting your sonics. Quite the opposite. At the cost of a large amplifier to run Maggie's, his system might be the same expense and give a lot better sound.

show - Danville Signal

Danville Signal Processing is a technology partner for high performance audio solutions. We provide SHARC-based DSP modules for a variety of OEMs, ODMs and oth

danvillesignal.com

Are you referring to the sublime audio crossover?

 

[Kingrex]

No, but that one is also analog modules, correct. Danville Signal was at a show with the Magnepan 1.7 and did a demo of the passive and the active crossover. The active was very nice. And with amps direct coupled to the driver or ribbon or whatever is a megnepan, you need less power. They sell the amp too. But you could use a 6 channel Rotel or other.

 

[cfgardei1]

Bruce, by coincidence, I will be auditioning these next week sometime.

I am growing a bit tired of boxes and dynamic drivers.

In general, how close to the back wall can they be?

(3.7) I liked to keep mine at least 3' from the back wall. This entailed moving them every time I wanted to listen (as well as removing the velcro'd anti-cat-scratcher leatherette wraps)

When I retired, I decided to build a house with a dedicated listening room. My 30.7's sit 10 feet from the back wall (and never move) and my cats are not allowed in the room un-supervised...

Now I will speak some "heresy": Regardless of which Maggie you get, use a subwoofer (I have 2: SVS PB400's). No: it does NOT "muddy-up the sound" --- provided (and this is the key) that you use them as SUB woofers only: no bass. I cross them over at 30Hz @ 24db/Octave. Any higher and they WILL "muddy up the sound"...

 

[cfgardei1]

I still want to try a quality sub for my 20.1 even though the bass is already pretty good.

I plan on being buried with my magnepans I'm never selling them!

(Yes: another "I'm bored" day... might as well throw my 2 cents in...)

You definitely want to try a sub! Once you do, you won't go back. I use a sub (well: two) with my 30.7's, which certainly are NOT "bass shy". Guess what? A "sub" has nothing to do with bass. (If it does, it's not a "sub", it is a woofer...)

As for "quality", I am going to commit "heresy" and tell you that virtually ALL subs are good quality these days. When I was a young man, the Velodynes were "the bomb" (and at 10-20X the price of, say, a Sony sub, all I could do was dream.)

Today, I can buy (within sanity limits) whatever I want. I chose SVS because (like Magnepans), they are not priced ridiculously high just for the sake of a higher price... When I had 3.7i's, I tried the entry-level SVS (PB12; about $500) sub to "test my theory" that a sub can, indeed, be used with a Maggie. (Yes: it can). But, I liked it so well that I never upgraded it, which was my original plan.

As to being buried with you Maggies: I get it! You might want to give the 3.7's a listen, though (or 20.7's if you have the $$). Either one will sound better than your 20.1's. Enough to warrant the spending? ONLY you can decide that... But, regardless, get a sub.

 

[Nuforce]

(Yes: another "I'm bored" day... might as well throw my 2 cents in...)

You definitely want to try a sub! Once you do, you won't go back. I use a sub (well: two) with my 30.7's, which certainly are NOT "bass shy". Guess what? A "sub" has nothing to do with bass. (If it does, it's not a "sub", it is a woofer...)

As for "quality", I am going to commit "heresy" and tell you that virtually ALL subs are good quality these days. When I was a young man, the Velodynes were "the bomb" (and at 10-20X the price of, say, a Sony sub, all I could do was dream.)

Today, I can buy (within sanity limits) whatever I want. I chose SVS because (like Magnepans), they are not priced ridiculously high just for the sake of a higher price... When I had 3.7i's, I tried the entry-level SVS (PB12; about $500) sub to "test my theory" that a sub can, indeed, be used with a Maggie. (Yes: it can). But, I liked it so well that I never upgraded it, which was my original plan.

As to being buried with you Maggies: I get it! You might want to give the 3.7's a listen, though (or 20.7's if you have the $$). Either one will sound better than your 20.1's. Enough to warrant the spending? ONLY you can decide that... But, regardless, get a sub.

The reason I like the 20.1 is the external crossover. See earlier up in this thread for more detail, but running Atma-shere MA1 OTLs with the 20.1 is an extraordinary experience and not something that would be possible with the 3.7/20.7. I use relatively cheap class a/b monos for the bass panels and a good quality analogue active crossover.

I also don't believe there is very much difference (internally crossover changes) between the 20.1 and 20.7.

Unless I've misunderstood the various review sources on the matter?

3.7i isn't a push pull design and in my 10x6m room wouldn't pressurise the room enough IMO.

Re the sub, I will give that a go, good idea re SVS, thanks

 

[cfgardei1]

Nuforce,

One addendum: in case you haven't read previous threads (by me and others), it is CRITICAL that you roll off the sub very low and very fast. I use 30Hz, 24db/octave. If the sub(s) contribute any significant bass (not sub-bass) energy, they WILL "muddy up" the sound of the Maggies, diminishing the VERY REASON you own Maggies,,,