Magnepan 3.7i vs 20.7

I feel yah… my order took exactly 11 weeks. I would have them today if it wasn’t for the fact that my amps are in transit from Audio Research for maintenance. Again I’ve had 20.7’s and 3.7i’s before and I can say with 100 percent certainty that you’re going to love the 20.7’s. Happy for you man. Mine are scheduled for delivery for 4/21 by my dealer. I’m bummed at ARC because my speakers have been at the dealers for a week. ARC had my amps for 12 weeks.

1 Like

I have mine about 18” from each sidewall in a 17x30 room. I think they will work swell in that room

1 Like

We need a 20.7 club. :grinning:

2 Likes

I agree. IMHO best speaker under 30k

2 Likes

What happened to the wife?

1 Like

I used to have the 20.7s and spent a bunch of time testing room treatments. Here is a post documenting some of the things I learned.Acoustic Treatments for Magnepans/Dipoles - Diffusion not Absorption

1 Like

The enclosed I-beam above the left speaker keeps me from the 20.7 temptation. Not enough height available no matter what.

6 Likes

My dedicated listening room is smaller than yours, also the basement. I’ve held off on larger Maggies as I have limited space to let them breathe. Alternatively, cone speakers excite room nodes more, even with bass trap additions. 3.7’s with subs or a planars/ cone hybrid like the FR30 might be the way to go. Have always chosen planars but I’m intrigued with conventional driver advances.

1 Like

Very nice looking sound room, David! :+1:

Ted

Great looking system! Is that a Mark Levinson No. 39 or No. 37 CD player/transport?

Thank, I did all the work in the room myself. My wife said I could do whatever I wanted to do as long as she got bookcases. There are something like 14 custom book cases down there.

The player is a 390S. I was fortunate enough to see an add on craigslist. The original owner was moving to Italy which made that player the wrong voltage. He had it fully service last December. I bought it from him in January. I was tempted to buy his 336 amp as well but I’d just bought M1200s and I can’t pick up the No.336 anyway.

1 Like

That is awesome! It’s so much easier when the wife approves. My wife was so supportive of me getting another pair 20.7’s. It cost me a trip, a new bag and a pair of shoes but it was worth it…:joy:

2 Likes

Actually, she was very supportive. In addition to the bookcases I built her an oak ladder to make it look like one of those roll around tracks. You don’t really need a ladder with a 7’ ceiling but she likes it.

3 Likes

Just got my confirmation that speakers will be delivered and setup next Wednesday. I ordered the Mye stands which are supposed to be delivered on Tuesday. I feel like a kid before Christmas😀

2 Likes

I love those speaker cable exit ports. Slick!

I didn’t realize you could see those. After looking again I see you can. As with most things, there’s a story behind those. When I met my wife, the first time she was over the house she was wondering where my TV was. I don’t even believe I owned one at the time. I pointed to the stereo and said that was all I’d ever need. She made a remark about the rat’s next of cables behind it.

When we moved out of that house into the one we’re in now she ask if she was going to have to look at all those cables on her living room floor. I offered to put the stereo in the basement. That was OK for the first 5 years. Then we had the water problem. To make a long story short, my music room was in an unheated basement for almost 20 years. When I finished the basement I had pretty much free rein as long as she got her book cases. I hid all the cables for her that I could. Obviously, speaker wires must run to speakers. The interconnects are hard to get to. You pretty much have to install the equipment from the bottom up, making the connections as you go. The countertop is hinged with a couple stops to keep from dropping on your head while you work. It’s an elegant solution to something I didn’t see as a problem but she did. I figured it was the least I could do for her. Don’t tell her, I actually think it looks much better that way too!

3 Likes

The Levinson No. 39 was the first high end player I got to experience in my system! The 390s is the upgraded version but I’m sure you already know that! The 336 is awesome but very costly I heard to refurb once the caps and power supplies start to go! Enjoy the great system!

I’ll confess when I bought my Rega Saturn R about a year ago I thought that was as good as it got. When I had the opportunity to buy the 390S I did so without being able to audition it in my system first. It was a leap of faith. The Rega has been sold, the Levinson sounds so much better, something I didn’t think possible. He was willing to give me a package price on the 336. I’d just bough my M1200s and am still thrilled with those. I can’t move the 336 by my self. I’d read about the service cost of a 336, it was about 17 years old and nothing had been done to it. It sounded great but I’m sure it wasn’t long before it would need a re-cap. I can’t imagine the cost of shipping the thing to New York to have it serviced. No, I’m fortunate to have picked it up. I’d long considered buying a used 37 - 360S combo but now I only have one box to have serviced when the time comes. Beside, I’m out of outlets on my P12!

Simply brilliant!

You know what they say about a picture being worth a 1000 words.

1 Like