Magnepan and room size

I’m so tempted to trade in my LRSs for a pair of LRS+. Everything I’ve read about them is so positive. Time to start being nice to the CFO . . .

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Maybe you shouldn’t.
Let me tell you a story about our audio friend Phil.
Phil upgraded from his LRSs to the LRS+ and he can’t stop babbling about how great they are and our group are getting so sick of his endless babbling about how good they are that we’re thinking we might have to take Phil for a ride. Ya know, “leave the gun, take the cannolis”.

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So I went back to the same dealer again yesterday. He spent some time earlier in the day dialing in the 3.7i’s and yet again, I walked out of the room underwhelmed. As much as I would have loved to love them, they just don’t “connect” with me.

I then listen to the 1.7i’s in another room and was blown away. Everything I got from the LRS+, just more of it (and extension in both direction). Went on from the store to a friends how to listen to his setup, 1.7i’s, pair of REL S510’s and a Boulder 866. WOW, amongst the absolutely best systems I’ve ever heard. Blew my mind!

So is it just that the 1.7i’s connect with me on a different level, or was it something with the 3.7i setup that fell flat? Definitely a case of audiophiliac neurosa…

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I also like the 1.7i over the 3.7i. A sweet spot choice if there ever was one.

I have never directly compared the 1.7’s to the 3.7’s.
Memory tells me the ribbon tweeter on the big one was impressive but the 1.7 was more cohesive, balanced. The price of the 1.7i is a steal but it need lots of good clean power. Had them over 10 years.

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I have a 18’x24’ modestly treated room. I agree that 1.7i is the sweet spot based on value vs. performance. I have owned, in order, 1.7, 3.7, 3.7i and 1.7i. BUT, modest room treatment and adding a sub is highly recommended. 1.7i with a REL S/3 is a “bang for your buck champ!”

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I had the 1.7i’s and they were good but something was missing. I traded up to the 3.7i’s and a big difference. The ribbon tweeter is the key. I would guess the dealer’s setup was not ideal. The 3.7i is definitely more difficult to dial in, but once you do its magical. I wouldn’t doubt that your room is just more friendly to the 1.7i.

Like @DennyD , I suspect that the dealer setup on the 3.7’s was off.

That’s pretty much what I heard in the demo at the dealer. The 1.7i’s just sound like live music whereas the 3.7i’s sounded like a hi-fi setup. The 3.7i’s are probably more accurate, but I found them less involving.

In terms of power, I have a Gryphon Diablo 300 so gobs of clean power.

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Thanks @DennyD. It wasn’t setup in my room, it was at the dealers. Maybe the solution is to bring the 3.7i’s home for a demo. All I’m reading is how the 3.7i’s are everything of the 1.7i and more, but somehow I never felt like that during the demos… no doubt the 3.7i’s sounded amazing, but it was something amiss… no “flesh and blood”. The LRS+ delivers that with spades, but it’s a small speaker and I fear it would underwhelm my room. The 1.7i’s weren’t far behind at the dealer, but well ahead in my buddy’s setup. Now, he’s using a pair of REL S510’s so that will most definitely influence the experience.

I would would be using a pair of REL S812’s (but my room is also larger). No matter what, driven by a Gryphon Diablo 300 (which I’ve heard driving the Maggie’s and it’s super impressive!!!)

The Gryphon is a great amp, that will drive any Maggie. I haven’t heard the LRS but it has so many great reviews. Just will depend on your room size. My large 30 x 20 basement listening space is also very dead, so it took many months of get the positioning right. I also am using a pair of JL e110 subs to supplement the bass. They are dialed in perfectly so you don’t hear them they just add that low end slam. Here’s the key that I have recommended to others, but most folks don’t do. I have a JL electronic crossover set to crossover at 60 Hz with a 24dB slope. This takes the bottom octave stress off the Maggies (and amp) letting the Maggies really sing. Most folks run the Maggie’s full range with a sub and wonder why they can’t get them to integrate, to two are fighting each other. In addition I have the subs placed adjacent and flush with the Maggies and adjust the phase and levels on the subs to make them seem less.

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I’ve demoed the 1.7i, 0.7 and the LRS+ at home. Interesting the 0.7 sounded better than the 1.7i. More relaxed yet more detailed. The bass is no question that the 1.7i was superior, if I didn’t have my REL S812’s, it would be much closer between the two.

The LRS+ are very interesting, definitely not enough bass in my room, but the midrange is magical! The treble is a bit “harder” than the 0.7 but I’m not sure if that has to do with breaking, the 0.7 has more hours of them.

I think I’m leaning towards 0.7’s…

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Thanks for the evaluations. I have an LRS in a small bedroom 12 by 15ft and have almost too much bass. Thought about upgrading to the 1.7i but don’t need more bass. Sounds like the 0.7 would be the next step up. Decisions decisions.

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I’m one of those folks who run their Maggies full range. I have never had any issues of integrating my subs to them. I also have no worries about putting extra strain on the amp as it provides a clean and hefty 500 watts per channel at 4 ohms.

Our rooms are very similar in size. Mine is just a touch smaller at 13.5’ wide and 22’ long with an 8’ ceiling.

I have a pair of 1.7i’s mated to a pair of SVS PB-1000 Pro subs which are getting fed their signal by the same amplifier that’s powering the Maggies, just like REL recommends (and Paul McGowan for that matter).

I haven’t heard many Maggies other than my 1.7i’s, the MGLR-1’s I had 20 years ago, the MMG’s and LRS. I have read about many people saying the 1.7i’s seem to be the sweet spot in the Maggie lineup for several reasons. I can’t say one way or the other. What I can say is that they have zero issues filling my room and giving me that excellent, large Maggie sound stage and image that they are known for.

For our rooms and Maggies in general, playing around with speaker positioning and listening position is key more than anything else. You have to take lots of time to mess around with placement with the tweeters on the inside to get the best possible stage and image as you can and mark with tape where you end up… Then flip the tweeters to the outside and do the entire process all over again and mark those locations. Once you do that, you have to flip flop back and forth, tweak more and more until you find which you prefer best.

Heck, as far as that is concerned, I just flipped my tweeters to the outside again about an hour ago. They’re currently about 20" from the side walls, 5.5’ from the front wall which puts them 8’ center panel to center panel and 11.5’ from my listening position. And I’m about 6’ from the rear wall.

I have very little in the way of room treatments at the moment, just a pair of GIK 4" Alpha panels behind the speakers, 2" Impressions panels at the 1st reflections and two more right behind me on the rear wall. I didn’t want to deaden the room to the point that it removes the “air and openness” from the speakers.

Funny, I’ve had these Maggie 1.7i’s since last March, and I’m STILL messing around with the positioning. But after today, I feel I’m getting really close to where they need to be.

The SVS subs come in at 42 Hz and roll off at 24 dB. You don’t even know they’re in the room, and they really do open up the sound stage and give real scale to the recording venue. It’s actually quite amazing that I will sometimes turn the gains all the way down on the subs just to see how much of the bass I’m hearing/feeling is actually coming from the Maggies… The short answer… Most of it is coming from the Maggies!

Pics just taken a few moments ago for reference…

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I have my 3.7is (and two subwoofers) powered with a Musical Fidelity Nu Vista 800 amplifier (a high current amplifier is needed to drive these). The tweeters are oriented towards the edges of the room (felt this gave me a wider soundstage). It took awhile for me to get them dialed in properly and to work synergistically with the subwoofers, but once setup, it would be hard for me to part with them. Would be curious to try out the 20.7s to see what improvements might be gained compared to my current setup.

Just a testimony, by the way. I bought two Magnepan 20.7s nine months ago, and they had remained in the original installation position.
I tried shifting them: only about 15 cm laterally toward each wall. And I moved them forward 15 cm as well; they are about 1 metre from the rear wall. I didn’t expect such a difference in sound! I had to increase the amplification volume (about 15%) to find the same level sensation. But the result is very different: a wider stage of course, but also more clarity, impact, transparency, enhancement of the low-medium, midrange and treble. I am listening to some well known records to hear if I have lost extreme bass, which is not the strong point of these panels.

Even with the larger 20.7s, subs can still add another dimension.

I was enjoying 20.7s for over a year, but when I added two REL S510s, it was a different experience.

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The blessing and the curse of Maggie’s is the ability to shape the soundstage you desire by shifting them in your room. Highly recommend a lot of painters tape, laser tape measure, and laser square tile edge to help track the various positions.

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