3.7 vs. 3.7i

[mgard]

I hope I don't get in trouble for this post. I bought a subscription to Hi-Fi+ just so I could read Chris Martens full review of the new 3.7i upgrade. These are just some of his comments and not the contents of his full article. Just some of the differences he listed between the 3.7 and 3.7i. I must admit I have the itch to upgrade....

Magnepan 3.7i planar
magnetic/ribbon loudspeaker
by Chris Martens


As I listened carefully to the 3.7i, my assessment was that
it not only preserved but actually expanded upon the 3.7’s
overall coherency. If you heard the original 3.7 in isolation you
would rightly think it to be a very fine loudspeaker, but if you
then switched to the 3.7i you would soon realize that, from
the heart of the midrange and on up into the upper midrange,
the new speaker sounds noticeably smoother and more at
ease with itself. Moreover, levels of internal ‘self-noise’ seem
to be reduced in the 3.7i, so that backgrounds become
quieter, making it easier for low-level details to be revealed.
To hear these qualities in action, listen to the track ‘Big
Brother’ from Jen Chapin’s reVisions [Chesky SACD], which is
a brilliant jazz trio’s update on a selection of classic songs from
Stevie Wonder. Listen, for example, to the feisty, provocative
edge in Chapin’s voice as she sings a line accusing politicians
of only visiting their constituents “…around election time.” The
3.7i’s really bring Chapin’s voice, with its many tonal colors,
emotional moods, and engaging inflections, vividly to life.
Note, too, the fascinating passage near the end of the song
where saxophonist Chris Cheek takes a walk from the front
left side of the stage to the rear as he continues to play. As
Cheek turns and moves, the Magnepans capture small spatial
details that help you know where Cheek is standing and
which way he is facing as he moves.
The 3.7i also differs from the original 3.7 by offering
noticeably more expressive and expansive dynamics. The 3.7i,
like most Magnepan speakers, is relatively power hungry and
low in rated sensitivity, but give the speaker the power it needs
and it will respond with impressive energy and grace—areas
where the 3.7i clearly outperforms the original 3.7. When pushed
hard by challenging musical material the earlier speaker could
eventually start to exhibit faint traces of strain in the form of a
subtle, hard-edged or even ragged-sounding quality. In contrast,
when you lean hard on the 3.7i it simply plays more loudly, always
maintaining a smooth-tempered sonic disposition.
To appreciate what I mean, listen to John Adler’s
Confronting Inertia [Origin Classical], where Adler explores
both the pensive and more fiercely forceful voices of his
trumpet. On the more delicate end of the dynamic spectrum
the 3.7i captures the subtleties of Adler’s horn with admirable
finesse, but as Adler probes the other end of the dynamic
envelope the 3.7i answers with its own unflustered yet
decidedly muscular response—delivering acoustic power
tempered with an easy-going kind of grace. I won’t tell you
the 3.7i can compete with horn-type speakers in terms of
dynamic clout because that would be ridiculous, but I will tell
you that it produces a much bigger, more forceful, and yet
more relaxed presentation than the 3.7 did.
Good though the 3.7 was and is, there is something
audibly and inarguably more ‘right’ about the new 3.7i.
Interestingly, from a musical perspective, the new design at
once sounds more revealing of low-level textures and details,
yet also smoother and less prone to edginess (a package of
virtues that don’t often travel together in most speakers).