tgrisham, it sounds like you're "in the driver's seat," which is a good place to be; not desperate and not starry-eyed. Some thoughts for you from my experiences with Maggies and other panels over the years...
As can be seen in my virtual system I own both dynamic and panel technologies as they both have virtues and drawbacks/limitations. I noticed your HSU sub which you can pair with panels. I happen to have two HSU STF-1 subs in my office system with a pair of Eminent Technology LFT-VI speakers. I have been very pleased with the HSU subs and would consider them again for future systems if needed. I think they have blended quite well with the magnetic planar technology as they are quite configurable.
If possible you may wish to own both speakers. I'm sure at first you will be bowled over by the panel sound, but over time you will notice that aspects of the sound which only a dynamic speaker can convey are missing. It is possible the sound of the panel will be wierd/strange to your ears at first, but your ears will adjust over time. Likely after a week or so you will start to love the sound, if not sooner.
But at some point you will realize that you are missing some of the performance characteristics of a dynamic speaker and you would likely start to yearn to own one again. The seesaw action would have begun - back and forth between speaker types. I finally put a stop to that with ownership of both and have never been happier as an audiophile in 25 years plus of being in the hobby.
I did start with an MMG many years ago and rapidly advanced to the 1.6. You would be leaping upward in sound quality hugely to go for the 1.7 over the MMG.
Whatever you decide, it appears as though you will have an enjoyable time! Just remember that you will never own the perfect system, as it doesn't exist. Think of the process more as a journey than a destination which is supposed to give perfect satisfaction.
Do not skimp on cables; explore aftermarket cables as this is a critical factor in exploiting all the newfound performance of speaker changes. If you find a cable brand with a high performance to cost ratio it will be worth every cent you spend on it! I do not see any mention of designer cables in your system listing; I assure you that you will see a huge benefit to your rig's sound if you spend time investigating/trying cables - including power/digital/interconnect/speaker. Over the years of using dozens of sets of cables from different makers I consider cables to be as important as any other component of a system. You can literally kill a rig's sound or elevate it incredibly via cabling.
I don't know if you still have the EE DAC or not, but if so and you like it I strongly urge you to upgrade to the EE DAC Plus version. The benefit is way beyond the $400 or so difference in price.
Finally, I caution you that you may not be happy entirely with the W4S/Maggie combo. I have used the W4S Class D with the Emerald Physics CS2 in my room and tried the W4S with the Eminent Technology LFT-8B speakers (reviewed; I reviewed a lot of the stuff I'm discussing but not the Magnepans). Class D and the maggie may sound too strident for your ears. You can ameliorate the issue with cabling to a degree but may have to consider a different amp. In the long run while macrodynamics and transients can be thrilling with Class D amps I was never fully satisfied with the tonality of them. They are recommendable for certain purposes and systems and for some peoples' preferences but definitely not a perfect solution across the board, especially for panel speakers. It is very good that you have the subwoofer, and you may want to consider a second one as this does make a significant difference in the experience, even with panels.
As can be seen in my virtual system I own both dynamic and panel technologies as they both have virtues and drawbacks/limitations. I noticed your HSU sub which you can pair with panels. I happen to have two HSU STF-1 subs in my office system with a pair of Eminent Technology LFT-VI speakers. I have been very pleased with the HSU subs and would consider them again for future systems if needed. I think they have blended quite well with the magnetic planar technology as they are quite configurable.
If possible you may wish to own both speakers. I'm sure at first you will be bowled over by the panel sound, but over time you will notice that aspects of the sound which only a dynamic speaker can convey are missing. It is possible the sound of the panel will be wierd/strange to your ears at first, but your ears will adjust over time. Likely after a week or so you will start to love the sound, if not sooner.
But at some point you will realize that you are missing some of the performance characteristics of a dynamic speaker and you would likely start to yearn to own one again. The seesaw action would have begun - back and forth between speaker types. I finally put a stop to that with ownership of both and have never been happier as an audiophile in 25 years plus of being in the hobby.
I did start with an MMG many years ago and rapidly advanced to the 1.6. You would be leaping upward in sound quality hugely to go for the 1.7 over the MMG.
Whatever you decide, it appears as though you will have an enjoyable time! Just remember that you will never own the perfect system, as it doesn't exist. Think of the process more as a journey than a destination which is supposed to give perfect satisfaction.
Do not skimp on cables; explore aftermarket cables as this is a critical factor in exploiting all the newfound performance of speaker changes. If you find a cable brand with a high performance to cost ratio it will be worth every cent you spend on it! I do not see any mention of designer cables in your system listing; I assure you that you will see a huge benefit to your rig's sound if you spend time investigating/trying cables - including power/digital/interconnect/speaker. Over the years of using dozens of sets of cables from different makers I consider cables to be as important as any other component of a system. You can literally kill a rig's sound or elevate it incredibly via cabling.
I don't know if you still have the EE DAC or not, but if so and you like it I strongly urge you to upgrade to the EE DAC Plus version. The benefit is way beyond the $400 or so difference in price.
Finally, I caution you that you may not be happy entirely with the W4S/Maggie combo. I have used the W4S Class D with the Emerald Physics CS2 in my room and tried the W4S with the Eminent Technology LFT-8B speakers (reviewed; I reviewed a lot of the stuff I'm discussing but not the Magnepans). Class D and the maggie may sound too strident for your ears. You can ameliorate the issue with cabling to a degree but may have to consider a different amp. In the long run while macrodynamics and transients can be thrilling with Class D amps I was never fully satisfied with the tonality of them. They are recommendable for certain purposes and systems and for some peoples' preferences but definitely not a perfect solution across the board, especially for panel speakers. It is very good that you have the subwoofer, and you may want to consider a second one as this does make a significant difference in the experience, even with panels.