Magnepan LRS compared to the .7 or the 1.7i ?


With all the hype about magnepan’s new LRS, I am wondering if anyone has compared them to the slightly bigger and slightly more expensive .7 or even the 1.7i?  (I assume they are better than the MMGi that they are replacing, so no comments about these two are necessary.)

I suspect they are new enough that there may not have been many chances for such a comparison.  

So, lacking a side by side, I wonder if anyone who heard them at Axpona or otherwise (I was only there Friday and missed them) is familiar enough with the other Maggies to offer comments/thoughts/opinions between the LRS, .7, and 1.7i.  Comments from dealers who sell Maggies are welcome.

finally, brief conversation with one area dealer suggests they will be more of a factory direct item that he will not carry, while another area dealer hoped to get a pair but did not know the time frame. Has anyone heard a more definitive story on availability?
meiatflask
Hello kingbarbuda,

     In my experience, it's very difficult to integrate a single sub, no matter the quality or price, seamlessly and well with Magnepans.  You'll get more bass but it won't be the same fast, smooth, tight and articulate bass that Magnepans naturally produce although with significantly limited authority, extension and impact, with the exceptions of the top models. 
     The bass from single subs with a large driver typically sounds slow, lagging and disconnected from the fast, smooth and detailed response of planar-magnetic panel speakers producing the remaining frequency range because a single large point source bass driver lacks the speed and agility of a planar -magnetic panel transducer. A single sealed sub with a smaller driver or a dipole sub are better matches but lack the bass authority, extension and impact.

     2 sealed subs with smaller drivers or 2 dipole subs are a better match for Magnepans.  Based on personal experience, however, the Audio Kinesis Swarm and Debra distributed bass array systems using four relatively small subs, each 1ft W x1ft D x2ft H and 44 lbs, with 10" drivers are definitely the best bass system solutions I'm aware of for use with planar-dynamic and electrostatic panel type speakers.  
     The key features of a dba system's effectiveness being the presence of 4 separate subs and their rather random positioning within the room.  This means that an effective custom dba system can be created using virtually any 4 subs an individual prefers, for example 4 larger ported or sealed subs with larger 12-15" drivers if even more bass authority is desired.
 The bass produced by a 4-sub dba system has the speed, smoothness,agility and detail required to blend seamlessly with the fast, smooth, agile and detailed sound performance characteristics of planar-magnetic and electrostatic panel speakers while also producing the bass authority, extension and impact smaller Magnepans lack. 

Tim 
Post removed 
Here is a review comparing to the .7 at about 5.5 minutes into the video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdqchci3AhU

The .7 has more bass, greater dynamics, and a larger sweet spot. It’s the same speaker, you just get more of it. 
"Elizabeth- good insight on the backlash. And I hope my quest is not futile"

Sounds a bit like Debbie Downer to me.

With Magnepan's 60 day return policy at least you can try them at home to see if they work for you without too much hassle.

Sure it may take a bit more to make them sing (amp / placement /
etc) but isn't that part of the fun of this hobby.

Magnepan asks what amp are you planning to use when buying them to help folks understand what they are getting into.