ARRIVED!!! Pulled the trigger: Maggie 1.7's...

[klinemj]

Ronny - I can't begin to tell you how lucky this whole deal was. Before 2 weeks ago, I wasn't really thinking of new speakers. But, the more I listened to the ERC-2, the more I felt my speakers were limiting my sound.

Then, I saw the thread about Martin Logans and was reading through it thinking - I should go listen to some options. Conveniently, the wife and kids were out of town (and I was supposed to be in germany for work, but my trip got cancelled at the last minute), and I had time to give my stuff a critical listen, then go listen to the options of interest, which by then included the 1.7's.

Along with this, P&G stock spiked $6/share over a couple days...and I just happened to have some options I needed to sell and pocketed enough to cover the 1.7's and pay off my car a few months early!

Then, this quick sale came along.

Amazing series of events...maybe I should go buy a lottery ticket!

Your story of the Quads is a key reason I didn't get the 3.7's...I don't think I have the room for them. The Maggies do have an interesting sidedness aspect to them which allows me to create narrower or wider soundstages by swapping left and right speakers.

I look forward to playing w/them once they arrive!

Mark

[earwaxxer]

Mark - you are going to love those suckers. I have had my MMG's for years. Its like sex. You have the range of frequencies to play with in the 1.7's. I have my sub close at hand at all times. To each his own.

[rclark]

One thing I forgot to mention, in stock form the MMG, and I have to think also the 1.7, is going to have a fairly defined sweetspot. On the MMG it's about a 2.5 foot area that you don't want to leave. It still sounds good outside of it, but that sweetspot is definitely the place you want to sit. After the mod, the speakers don't beam like that anymore and just sound ridiculous from any position up front.

[GreenKiwi]

I believe that part of the changes from the 1.6/3.6 to 1.7/3.7 was improvements over beaming issues.

An interesting note, I went to one of the local dealers out here in Walnut Creek and he had a paper that was written where they were experimenting with really rotating the maggies dramatically, close to 80 degrees... particularly when using them for ambient sound situations. I've played with it, it is definitely helpful with smaller maggies (like the MC1s) when using them for ambient music with a sub like I do at my office. It tends to "fill" the room with music in a different way that isn't bad if you don't have specific seating spots. I'll try to find the doc and scan it in.

[rclark]

but then you aren't really benefitting fully from the tweeter either.

[GreenKiwi]

Oh, I don't think that it is as good for the sound when seated in the sweet spot, but it is an alternative if you are using the speakers to fill a room/multiple rooms with ambient sound while you're working/reading/moving around/etc.

[klinemj]

I tend to sit in a fairly specific spot (kind of like Sheldon on Big Bang Theory) when I listen, so narrow sweet spot won't be an issue unless I have a guest listener.

I do look forward to trying them out with different positioning and left/right swapping that is supposed to impact the "beam" width w/the 1.7's. As the store mgr said..."just play with them to find what you like best". I do plan to!

Mark

[rclark]

Hey that sweet spot... It's pretty damn sweet can't wait to read for first impressions of it. You made the right choice

[klinemj]

For anyone wondering, I followed up w/Emotiva re. my post #9 in this thread. I sent Lonnie and e-mail and he promptly responded that the XSP-1 will have the toggle switch on the back. So, I will easily be able to use the 1.7's in full range for stereo, add in the sub easily if I feel I need to, and have the sub in the mix for surround.

Awesome! That alone will drive me to the XSP, assuming all else is at least as good as the USP-1!

Mark

[Dark Ranger]

Jul 26, 2012 16:28:55 GMT -5 klinemj said:

I sent Lonnie and e-mail and he promptly responded that the XSP-1 will have the toggle switch on the back. So, I will easily be able to use the 1.7's in full range for stereo, add in the sub easily if I feel I need to, and have the sub in the mix for surround.

Fantastic! Somebody was thinkin' there. As you mention, I think this will be an attractive feature for many customers.

Thanks for sharing, Mark.

[rclark]

When do you get them? In a few weeks I get to put Hypex Ncores on mine, some premier league amps. Let you know how it goes.

Did he confirm the xsp-1 was coming on Sept1?

[klinemj]

Lonnie didn't mention arrival date...hoping for word on a podcast, like...tomorrow! I am hoping the word from the last podcast stays confirmed...which was likely present and on sale at Emofest! If I recall properly, I bought my USP-1 at the '09 Emofest...it would be great to bring home the x at the '12 Emofest!

Also, I should get the Maggies in 1-2 weeks, but it's still not confirmed.

Mark

[sorbe]

Got your maggies 1.7s yet? I think you'll be super happy with them once you tweak a bit. They need to be very precisely positioning pointed towards your shoulders. Also, you need to get them away from the backwall at LEAST 2-3' if not more. I would also recommend adding some diffusion (or at least absorption) room treatments behind them. (I used some stacked QRD diffusers kits I built and wall mounted behind them). Then go after the primary reflections with absorption wall panels from the left and right sides. High end dealer show rooms are usually VERY well treated and thus produce ideal results.

Even without the room treatments, the 1.7s will put a huge smile on your face with some nice Emotiva amps.

[vincedog3]

Jul 21, 2012 16:02:13 GMT -5 klinemj said:

So, they're not 3.7's or 20.7's - neither of which really fit my room...but man do they sound good with the XPA-2, ERC-2, and USP-1.

I took my gear into a showroom today and gave a broken-in pair a listen, and they made everything that didn't sound quite so good sound a LOT better. The bass they deliver is quite amazing for what they are spec'd at. Only on really bass-heavy stuff would I need a sub (so, like Metallic's "One"...Lars' bass drum kicks just didn't quite have it; same on various cuts on Chili Peppers' "Blood Sugar...").

I did most of my listening in "full range" on the USP-1, then I switched to the hi/lo pass inputs to try my sub with the Maggies. Bingo! It blends in quite well and makes up for what would be missing with the 1.7's in just full range.

So, I bought them.

But, my local dealer does not carry stock and places orders as needed. So, it will be 2-3 weeks before I get them. That's OK...that will allow me to put my Paradigm Studio 100v3's on sale, and if (hopefully) they sell before the Maggies arrive I will drag out my old B&W's (which still sound great!). (Any tips on how to set a price on my Paradigm's? I saw asking prices of $750 to $1200 for recent ads, but I don't know what a good selling price would be...)

Mark

Congrats on your Magnepan 1.7's. Great Speaker!

[klinemj]

Just got word the Maggies will arrive next week. The anticipation is killing me! At least the old B&W's sound great and I am out of town on vacation this week so I couldn't enjoy them this week anyway.

[AudioHTIT]

My Maggie dealer gave me a CD with "break-in sounds" and told me to play it for 50 to 100 hours or more before I really listened to them. I actually did leave it playing when I left the house for a while, but I didn't hear a big difference until I modified my CD player to play it backwards. Once I did that the disk played "I buried Paul" and things begin sounding much better 8~)

Seriously, my Maggies did smooth out a bit after some break-in (but I don't think you need a special disk).

Oh, and congrats on the new speakers!

[klinemj]

Good one on the backwards! I think 100 hours will be easy to reach....kids out of school for 3 more weeks. And wife not working. Plus "my time".

[Deleted]

Congrats on the 1.7s. I bought MMGs a year ago and love them. I was tempted to upgrade to 1.7s to fully express my ERC-2, USP-1 and pair of UPA-1s, but to save money did the P. Gunn mods DIY, thanks to an uncle with a complete woodworking shop in the Nashville area. (We will both be at Emofest with pics). Each step produced audible improvements in SQ, and the final result is outstanding.

Straightening and stiffening the MDF frames with braces helped, but the real kicker was the serial crossover per a schematic Gunn emailed me; the obbligato caps are now broken in and my two Outlaw M8 subs are just not needed anymore with most music. I finished the red oak frames this week and I expected that, while they would be lovely, there just couldn't possibly be much sound improvement, but I was wrong. Wow. No beaming, strong bass, clarity, power --- all for $500 in wood and parts over the original $600 for the speakers. Doing that to 1.7s would be a bit scarier, I admit, and they may not need it, but it could be fun.

Enjoy.

[rclark]

So I have the Ncores in my system and they are absolutely mindblowing in every way, shape, form. You have to build them, and they're $2,000 built, it they are the most advanced amps out right now.

The retail units will be in the 12k range so out of the wheelhouse. If yiy want more description pm me.

[klinemj]

cecilg...I do wonder what the mods would do for 1.7's. I plan to enjoy them "as is" for now. And, if/when I get tired of them "as is"...I will look to the mod's or 3.7's.

rclark...I looked at the Ncores, but I don't totally get it...it looks like you would buy the amp cards, a power supply, a box, and outputs and put it all together. But, it's not clear from their website what I would want to buy and why. Plus - I could not readily find prices. Have you ever compared an Ncore to an XPA-2 or pair of XPA-1's?

Thx,

Mark