Magneplanar MG1.7 loudspeakers. Light cloth + oak trim. Excellent, boxed

[Sherwood]

I have these speakers in black with aluminium trim. If as advertised then this is a great price.

However, it is not true that they are easy speakers with regard to room placement. They are dipoles, so emit the same amount of energy from the rear as they do from the front. Placing them close to a rear wall kills them dead. Consider 1 meter a minimum distance, although because they are only a few inches thick, this means that they only intrude a meter into the room. Since they emit very little lateral energy they can be placed close to side walls but not less than about 40cm in my view. They sound at their best in larger rooms (say 4m by 5m plus), though I am currently running mine successfully in a spare bedroom (now a dedicated music room) which is around 3m by 4m.

The other factor to take into account is amplification. They are extremely demanding of amplification requiring both high current and stability down to 2 ohms. Forget valves, unless you can afford the likes of ARC and similar. Yes, they can sound very pleasant with a lot of amps but if you want to realise their full potential there are not that many amps that make them sing. Get the amplification right and they are startling in their speed and attack. They have one of the best mid ranges that I have heard and deliver a quality and weight of bass that their appearance would suggest is impossible. i guess their real strength is their ability to sound closer to real music than 95% of speakers I have heard, and few if any at their retail price.

Geoff

[loonytunes]

I'm interested - I'm just little low with my saving on your asking price but if you don't mind me asking - how old are these particular ones? And their dimensions please (height and width - I'm not worried about how thin they are).

[Bamby]

Hi looney,
Thanks for asking …
Can't say the age l'm afraid.
They are 166cm high, 46cm wide.
Hope that helps.

[Sherwood]

If it's any help the 1.7s were introduced in 2010 to replace the 1.6 model.

i'm sure Magnepan can give the the date of manufacture based on the serial numbers.


Geoff

[macsiemus]

I had the 1.6 version, really enjoyed them, great wide expansive sound. Swapped them for a pair of Acoustat Spectra 1100, just for a bit more bottom end.

[Bamby]

Thank you Geoff/Sherwood, that's helpful.
Cheers, Paul