Magnepan 1.7 Stand Out Demo from SoundStage
 

Magnepan 1.7 Stand Out Demo from SoundStage

Magnepan

Thank you for the link. I thought there might be a little buzz here at AA with these Magnepan 1.7's. I know the CES was the only place one could hear them. Jonathan Valin over at the absolute sound magazine seemed to be impressed. I guess one needs a big room (my living room is 13' X 20') and they tend to be tricky to set up. I guess I should stay the course for Sonus Faber Auditor M's or in my dreams GM's.



Magnepan MG 1.7: Unqualified Triumph | AVguide

13x20 should be fine for a pair. They just need to be 4-5 feet away from the front wall to breathe and sound better since they radiate the sound front and back. I've had a pair of Martin Logan SL3's in a room 14x17 and had them out about 5 feet into the room and they sounded extremely focused and coherent.

I have a pair of large Magnepans in my home theater as my left/right and although they are 23 years old I am amazed how fantastic they still sound. This is a fairly large room and yet it fills the room with transparent full range sound . I think that Magnepans are overlooked due to the poor waf . In a home theater the lights are out and they diseappear. You can usually pick maggies up pretty cheap used and they are very simple to set up.

Serge and David,

Thank for your input. I was going to post a picture of my living room after I swap my audio cabinet with my wife's piano. Pulling the Maggie's 4 -5 feet out from the wall would cause my wife some real heart burn but I could push them back easy. At around $2K it is really tempting. I have not heard the Magnepans before (listened to Accoustats back in the late 70's and was inpressed). Do you prefer the Sonus Faber sound over the Magnapan? I am thinking of Auditor M's and GM's.

Serge, what made you move back to a box speaker? I realize speaker selection is an individual choice but since I've gotten into an ESL, I have yet to hear a box that gives the mids that an ESL will. Opinions and thoughts?

Gordon

Depends on which room you are putting the speakers. While Magnepan's speakers sound better than just about any box speaker I have heard they are not always accepted with the same waf compared to SF. The Auditor's and the GM are fantastic speakers and image terrific but lack bass, you need a sub. ; your wife will likely like the appearance better with SF but they are going to cost you alot more than your 2 grand budget which she may not like. If you live near PA I would be happy to sell you my magnepan speakers for a lot less than 2 grand (private message me) as I am thinking of something else for my home theater.

Gordon, the answer is rather simple. Back when I had the ML SL3s, I could not afford an amp that had a "richness of tone" to suit my preference and what I was looking for in overall tonal balance. The revealing nature of ESL and Magneplanar speakers in general, made it pretty difficult for me to be happy with the somewhat "grainy" nature of budget amps in combination with those types of speakers. It took quite an effort to come up with a combination of gear that was more or less pleasing to the ear, an Audible Illusions Modulus 3A tube preamp and the original McCormack DNA.5 amp with Meridian 508.20 CDP as a source with Cardas cabling.

I eventually sold the whole setup and moved on to high efficiency speakers/low tube power setup that was much richer in tone but ultimately lacking in detail and transparency.

Many systems have followed since but I have not returned to ESL speakers as of yet. I find the box speakers have evolved quite a bit since then as well. My current Wilson speakers make me very happy indeed. :music:

Thanks, Serge. I was just curious.

Gordon

I've got a pair on order, should be here in March. Once I'm done with the review, they will be on sale for a very reasonable price. Anyone that wants a pair of 1.7's and wants to save a few bucks, drop me a PM....