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What are some of the downsides of owning a Magneplanar .7 or 1.7i ?

Thinking of moving up speaker wise, and so am considering  the fabled Magneplanar speakers, that is, either the  the .7, or supposedly new 1.7i.   (BTW, I am not sure the Maggie .7 is necessarily an upgrade, and has less bass than my current box speakers...see below)

Besides "Maggies" having outdated speaker terminals that might be a struggle with banana plugs,, and they are generally power hungry, I am curious if anyone can honestly tell me of any other downsides of this design.  For the last 30 years, I have owned several traditional box design speakers. 

I currently have a pair of Golden Ear Technology model 7's....which I like and generally sound good However, I  would like to confirm what a planar design brings to the table in sound quality. I have read many times about the box-less sound  provided by this design, and its wide sound staging and low distortion. 

I think I have enough power with BAT VK-200 amp (100RMS) to drive the .7, but not sure that is enough to drive the MG1.7i. to higher volumes The pre-amp is a Conrad Johnson PV-14SE. 

The listening room area 12 X15ft, but opens into kitchen/dining area divided by a medium size couch. The rest of the space is approximately 12X18ft behind the sofa with a stupid counter island ( so I cannot move the sofa back any further.. The ceiling is 8 to 9 ft feet high ( not a cathedral ceiling, praise the Lord) . It is a bit of haul to the dealer I bought the Golden Ear T's from who also carries Magneplanar line.  All advice welcomed.    Thanks, SJ   

sunnyjim

Showing 2 responses by tgonzales

tgonzales
30 posts
 
I have had both the 1.7s and 3.7s.  They both are wonderful speakers which I can't imagine would disappoint any audiophile.  

The main downside (thesis question) centers on the sound.  Power is an overrated concern.  I've used Pass Labs XA60.5 and XA100.5 which both sounded very and could produce high SPLs--not eardrum breaking.  

The maggie sound is more a wall of sound (think being at a concert) versus pinpoint (listening to traditional hifi from something like a ProAc minimonitor).   If you love the hifi thing, it can take some adjustment.  I considered used Wilson and could have been happy either way.  Different but not worse.
tgonzales
30 posts
 
I agree with the 911 comments and subs.  I tried the DWMs with the 3.7i's which sounded nice but a pair JL Audio F110s gave the visceral feel that both the 3.7is and 3.7i + DWMs lacked.

I'm not one for loud or boomy sounds, but I was surprised how much deep bass information the two F110s offers below what the 3.7i offered.

The maggies plus sub still have different sound than other speakers but don't lack anything.

And the 911 (991) is as close to 'cycle as I've ever owned, I still prefer being on the bike but no other "cage" seems the same.
 
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