Magnepan 1.7

Hi Texas42, I agree with your assessment of the 1.7s. I have been looking into buying a pair of Maggies for quite some time and was looking forward to hearing the 1.7s. I was able to audition and directly compare the 1.6 with the 1.7 in the local dealer's showroom last February. Therefore, same music, electronics, cables and room set up. The 1.7s had been broken in for over 200 hours. To me the 1.7 sounded somewhat more forward and bright, perhaps slightly more detailed than the 1.6, but more "sterile" as well. Overall I preferred the sound and musical presentation of the 1.6. So would you believe it, I ended up buying a pair of the 1.6s !! Some may think I am nuts for buying the "old" model, but I liked it better so there you go...

I feel compelled to chime in as, I too, have to agree with Texas42 and Demosis. For the record, I have been a Magnepan user for over 20-years, having owned models from MMG to MG-IIIA, to include a pair of 1.6's which I based my comparison of the 1.7's on.

The 1.7's I listened to were being driven by a NAD integrated amp and CD player, with Nordost cabling. The speakers were completely broken in.

I'll be very brief; I did not like this loudspeaker. For that matter, I did not like the 1.6's either, finding the voicing of both speakers to err too much in the direction of the upper registers, thus imparting a cool, rather than neutral or warm, tone.

Granted, both speakers do all the things that Maggies do very well, so I am not quibbling about their performance; I just did not care for their tone. Anyone who has ever owned a pair of MG-IIIA's knows exactly what I am talking about.

Are they a worthy successor to the 1.6's? Only time will tell. As with all Magnepan's they will have their following. Whether or not you like them will have to be determined by a thorough audition.

Personally, I feel that Magnepan should have re-released the MG-2.7QR, as for about the same price as the 1.7's, it was simply in another league. JMHO.

WPM

The 1.7 like the 1.6 has "poor" bass response!

They only goes down to 40 Hz and drop off fast below that, even at high volumes.

The Maggies are also a bad match with sub woofers because they do not "blend" well.

Get a used pair of the 3.x series if you want "real" sound!

My approach to getting a sub to play well with my 1.6s is to cross over the sub nearly as low as possible.
When I first did the setup, I let it go for a day or so. Then I slowly, over a period of weeks turned the crossover frequency down and adjusted the level slightly.

At first with the crossover set at about 55 to 60hz, the overlap caused bloat. The bass was fat and indistinct. As I turned it down to where it is now, <40, it is much much better. The only time it lights up is when there is content that low. It fills out the lower end of string bass and timpani very well.

My room of 8 sides and very asymmetrical helps loads. The sub is on the longest wall, about 3 feet from the nearest corner. It sits next to the LH panel.
The sub? Don't laugh! It is a HSU set for max extension.

I'd be WAY surprised if this wouldn't work for the 1.7s as well, which in any successful setup now running the 1.6s, should be a drop in replacement.

Johnnyr, since you have experience with various amps driving 3.6´s, do you prefer an ARC amp over Bryston, Pass, etc?