I've owned a few different pairs of Maggies, going back over thirty years. Love them! I'm sure others will chime in and answer your question but, for me, your question is purely academic. In other words, it's an interesting question with lots of answers but it's mostly beside the point of your speaker search.
We can debate "true ribbons" and bang-for-the-buck, etc, but the first and most important question you need to ask is: what size will work best in your room? Everyone talks about the space Maggies need, but until you've owned them, you can't really know how true it is. If you have a room that can handle 1.7i's, they're lovely. (That's what I currently have in my relatively small room.) If your room can do the 2.7i's, better. 3.7i's? Now you're talking! If I had the room and the budget, I'd get the 3.7i's.
In other words, get the speakers that will work in your room. If you've got a small room, don't try to jam the bigger models into it; won't work. If you've got a ginormous room but can only afford the .7's, get a different speaker. (They'll sound nice but won't give you what you want in Maggies.)
You might have better luck if you name your budget (don't forget the amp! and subwoofers???) and describe your room. In a smaller room, with a good amp, the lower end of the line will sound beautiful. People love the LRS and .7's. If you can afford the 3.7i's and have the right room for them, they're majestic. But you'll ... need ... the ... right ... room.
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depends on room and budget
most would say 1.7i or 3.7i or somewhere in between as the sweet spot
leave $$ for serious amplification to bring out their best
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@mhwalker
Here is an excerpt from the Magnepan website. From what I understand the upgrade to the "x" is quite expensive. I agree with what @northman said and I think after deciding which version fits your needs you might think about paying the upgrade price, or maybe you might prefer to buy a used set at a much lower price and then DIY an upgrade yourself or hire a professional.
I ran a pair of 1.7 for many years but found a great deal on a pair of used high end box speakers and prefer them. My next move will be to do the improvements/mods on the 1.7 to see how they stack up. You may find as well that many prefer to run sub(s) with their Maggies.
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"It was one of Jim Winey’s founding principles to provide, “hifi for the every-man.” In order to continue this tradition we have often been required to compromise the quality of components and construction in order to fit a price point. The X series is the answer to the question: “What if we didn’t?”
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As an afterthought, for many years users complained about the parts quality of the Magnepans. Magnepan pushed back on that idea. Then a few years ago they came up with the improved "x" series.
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IME, the .7 is the sweet spot of the standard offerings. It has superior coherency and bass dynamics to its larger brethren. I suspect that’s due to fewer crossover components in the signal path. It’s the only Maggie I have experienced that can do bass “punch” nearly as well as a decent dynamic cone speaker. I have not heard any of the models with the X upgrade.
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I would agree that the 3.7i is definitely the best sounding for the price. I’ve had 1.7, 1,7i and a friend the LRS+ , the 3.7 is definitely a giant step up in overall performance. You can usually find a decent used pair for under 5k if that fits your budget. I have mine in a 12 x 15 room with a pair of subs and the sound is tremendous.
good luck, get out and listen.
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3.7i is the sweet spot.....because inevitably upgraditis will get you and you will be selling some lower model you bought now (at a loss) to get to a 3.7 anyway.
However, a magnepan is not exactly a complete speaker. You could stick with just a magnepan if you don’t have an eclectic taste in music.
Otherwise, you will need a second pair of box speakers, horns or concentrics or something very different from a magnepan.
In other words, there shall be no one swing and a home run for you. There are a lot guys in audiophilia who lie to themselves about such things, one swing and one home run n all. Such things don’t happen.
These will likely be my last “forever” speaker. So I want to get it right - one swing and a home run is what I need. Yet, I have more desires than I have money.
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I started with the Tympani 1D in 1977 with the Audio Research SP-4 preamp and D-100A amp - fantastic - had them for 25 years.
Then tried the 1.7s with Rel subs - very nice. Then the Larsen 9s. I just got the 2.7x - Wow!! What a difference - the 1.7s sounded veiled by comparison, and the Larsens didn’t have the soundstage I needed. I have a 25’x 30’ room with 13’ ceilings - they sound absolutely superb with the Lyngdorf TDAI-3400 amp. I considered the 3.7i, but wanted something newer. Highly recommend the 2.7x if you have the space and budget.
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Thanks Gang! Y’all read my mind, that’s the kind of experiential feedback I am looking for. Shout out to Northman and Ravimaui in particular.
So, to help pull this thread together, what I’m hearing (ahem, pun intended) is that – basically – Maggie’s model range are more similar than they are different. There is no “giant leap for mankind” between them. General agreement is the 3.7(whatevers) may be the “technological” sweet spot.
HOWEVER – and please chime in on this last question – it appears that mating the size of the Magnepan to the size of the listening room may be a better approach than simply making them bigger. It may be that, a 1.7(whatever) set up correctly for room placement, may outperform a standard 3.7(whatever) in a room that’s not able to support its larger dimensional / placement needs. Maybe. Kinda. Sorta. Are we on to something here? Is that the basic general take-away?
So, even if I (we) have enough money to afford the 3.7’s, a properly placed and mated 1.7(whatever) may be just as good, or even better than, a 3.7(whatever) in an average size listening room and not properly set up for room placement. So, to Deep_333’s point, "upgraditis" may be held in check by the listening room itself. Agreed?
This thread has been very helpful. Thanks for your 2 cents (while cents last).
As I always say, it could be worse, we could be into collecting classic cars. God help you if you’re into both!
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I heard the 20.1 X’s at CAF driven by the new Audio Research solid state preamp and amp. Very impressive…but do remember that the sense of imaging is very different with planars than with more point source, dynamic drivers. You don’t get pinpoint imaging, you get lateral placement in the soundstage without a sense of relative height and with less sense of depth.
I would try to listen to the X version of whatever Maggie you decide on.
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The .7 was considerably better sounding than the 1.7i in my room, despite the room dimensions being better suited to the 1.7 in theory. Yes, the 1.7is could dig a bit deeper in the bass, but that was all they could do better. The .7s had superior imaging, coherency, midrange and bass dynamics.
Best thing you can do is attempt to find a dealer that sells multiple models and can facilitate an audition.
The 3.7i and above have the true ribbon tweeter. It is indeed better sounding in the highs than the lower models. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have nearly the coherency of the .7 or LRS. Definitely doesn’t do mid-bass punch as well as the .7 either. Some of the Maggies are downright anemic when it comes to playing certain genres like hard rock. You can attempt to ameliorate that by adding a sub or two and crossing them over at the mid-bass freqs, but most subs cannot integrate correctly due to the dipole design of the Maggies.
All Maggies are incredibly finicky about placement. For example, a couple degrees difference in toe-in can make or break their tonality. IMO, there are dynamic box speakers that do nearly everything better for the same money and less fuss.
That’s just my experience. YMMV and all that….
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If you’re a Maggie newbie(and looking for best bang for the buck), then the elephant in the room for some of us in discussions like this is take a hard look at the Eminent Technology LFT-8b or LFT-8c and any reviews comparing any Maggie to the LFTs. With both models, but particularly the 8c, you won’t need a sub. I have the 8b model and find the off-axis response to be excellent...not at all finicky. I have a somewhat exotic speaker set that I built to give a hard listen to. If they don’t beat the LFT, then I’ll be upgrading the my 8b model to the 8c..easy to do, and inexpensive.
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I started with the LRS+ in my office to replace the KEF LS50 Meta. The room was small 12x11x9. I used the KEF KC62 sub with both. I was very surprised to find that the Maggie was EASIER to place than the LS50 Meta. The LRS+ was not as clean sounding as the LS50 Meta, but the overall wall of sound Maggie presentation was a more fun listen for me.
I lost that room and went to an even smaller space (my virtual systems has photos). I sold the LSR+ and got the Maggie Mini Panels. This was better sounding than the LRS+ on top. Though not the ultimate in resolution. Still a very fun listen.The Mini panel uses the same panel as the 3.7. I would spring for the upgraded "i" variant if the Maggie was my main speaker.
I have owned amps from $1k to $16k that I have used with the Maggies. I posted such a list on A’gon in the past.
The amp I am using today, the $2k Schiit Wotan is the second-best amp on the Maggies. The best is my CODA #16 but it cost 8x more. The Wotan needs a lot of burn-in to sound optimal.
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3.7i But don’t skimp on the amp. Need lots of current.
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A quick postscript - the 2.7i and 2.7x also have ribbon tweeters (48” vs 60” on the 3.7i). Stunning!
I don’t need huge bass sound, and the 2.7x delivers all I need - Michael Jackson, Steely Dan, etc all sound fantastic!
Yes, placement is finicky. But it’s also fun. I finally settled on the ‘right’ spot after about 15-20 little tweaks. And put a small piece of tape on the floor to mark exactly where each one should be (in case moved by mistake by someone).
Fair warning - maybe it’s just me, but after 4 decades of Maggies I can’t listen to most cone speakers without getting listener fatigue after 30 minutes - I’ve heard many but they sound too bright/harsh. My ears are spoiled.
Happy hunting!
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