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What are some of the downsides of owning a Magneplanar .7 or 1.7i ?

Thinking of moving up speaker wise, and so am considering  the fabled Magneplanar speakers, that is, either the  the .7, or supposedly new 1.7i.   (BTW, I am not sure the Maggie .7 is necessarily an upgrade, and has less bass than my current box speakers...see below)

Besides "Maggies" having outdated speaker terminals that might be a struggle with banana plugs,, and they are generally power hungry, I am curious if anyone can honestly tell me of any other downsides of this design.  For the last 30 years, I have owned several traditional box design speakers. 

I currently have a pair of Golden Ear Technology model 7's....which I like and generally sound good However, I  would like to confirm what a planar design brings to the table in sound quality. I have read many times about the box-less sound  provided by this design, and its wide sound staging and low distortion. 

I think I have enough power with BAT VK-200 amp (100RMS) to drive the .7, but not sure that is enough to drive the MG1.7i. to higher volumes The pre-amp is a Conrad Johnson PV-14SE. 

The listening room area 12 X15ft, but opens into kitchen/dining area divided by a medium size couch. The rest of the space is approximately 12X18ft behind the sofa with a stupid counter island ( so I cannot move the sofa back any further.. The ceiling is 8 to 9 ft feet high ( not a cathedral ceiling, praise the Lord) . It is a bit of haul to the dealer I bought the Golden Ear T's from who also carries Magneplanar line.  All advice welcomed.    Thanks, SJ   

sunnyjim
koestner
621 posts
 
I owned 1.6 and one day someone opened my front door and a gust of wind blew one of the Mags over. So the stock feet are OK, but put some weight on them as well.
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,408 posts
 
Owners of the Mye stands like them not just for their front-to-back stabilization of the Magnepan panels, but also for their ability at reducing/eliminating the flexing of the MDF frames used in Maggies.
limniscate
241 posts
 
I'd buy the MYE stands again on looks alone.
randy-11
1,913 posts
 
again, the MDF frames are not a problem - call Wendell if you want

there is a lot of engineering AND testing in their speakers

if you like the look, that's fine
helomech
1,488 posts
 
Magnepans are good speakers but all who claim the 1.7s can compete with anything under $10k need their hearing checked. Are they as good as many $4k pairs? Sure, definitely. However, go listen to the 1.7i and then some Stirling Broadcast LS3/6s ($5k) or Spendor SP100s. The Maggie's don't hold a candle, not by a long shot. Those boring, tired looking boxes with conventional cones make Magnepans sound darn ordinary in comparison.
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