[NIGHTFALL1970]

I called Magnepan today to ask about the 1.7"i".  They are available now for $1995.  Unfortunately they will NOT do an upgrade.  I asked what the update was and was told to ask Wendell.  We all know how that goes.
I wonder why they kept this upgrade such a secret?
Anyone hear a 1.7 and 1.7i side by side? I would like to know if it would be worth selling what I have now, at a loss, to buy the new version.  Anyone here thinking of upgrading to the 1.7i?

[Davey]

The whole "i" thing is just surreal, isn't it?  A real head-shaker.

Dave.

[rw@cn]

Perhaps they decided that shipping and update wasn't cost effective for a $2k product. Perhaps the improvement wasn't significantly better. Perhaps the folks at Magnepan will explain in the near future.

[jsm71]

I sold my 1.7s a couple of years ago but I keep up on Maggie news because I still respect the value of their speakers.  The whole i campaign is very strange however and sadly smells like a pure marketing push.  Had this change been significant and Magnepan was forthcoming with what it entailed threads like this would not be happening.  The .7 campaign OTOH was done correctly and they sold a ton of speakers because of it, including mine.

[SteveFord]

I have not heard the new ones so I can't comment as to the sonic changes.
For what it's worth I'm not planning on dumping my 1.7s to buy the 1.7i's.
I suspect we'll see a .8 line up before 2020.

[Maritan]

Didn't even know about the 1.7i till a few days back. We'll probably never find out what the differences are. FWIW, I still love my 1.7s and plan to keep them around for a loooooong time. The 1.7i don't make my plain ol' 1.7 magically sound worse... 

[jarcher]

I'm going to have to guess it's a crossover improvement, which presumably is what the 3.7 "i" upgrade is about as well. 

Because of the greater cost of the 3.7 it makes marketing sense to offer an upgrade at $500, whereas for the 1.7 it wouldn't make sense if, e.g. $500 is their minimum required gross to make it worthwhile, and presumably it doesn't make sense to try to charge $500 (plus shipping each way) on a $2K speaker for an upgrade. 

Anyway - not going to loose much sleep over it with my 1.7's.  Next upgrade path would probably be 3.7i's or 3.8's in the more distant future.

[SteveFord]

My 1.7s aren't going anywhere, either.
They always sounded good in the upstairs system so no audio nervosa here.
The downstairs, well, that could always be better! 
2016 will be the year I compare the 3.7s to whatever else is available. 
This year it's motorcycle, stereo amplifiers and another guitar.

[Hasse]

I'm going to have to guess it's a crossover improvement, which presumably is what the 3.7 "i" upgrade is about as well. 

They added "damping tape" behind the midrange on the 3.7i (pic). My 3.6´s had the tape vs.no tape on my 3.7´s.

I suspect we'll see a .8 line up before 2020.

My guess is within 3 years 

[SteveFord]

The "i" stands for idhesive?

[KKM]

Interesting that on their website, they indicated that the .7 incorporated the 3.7i and 1.7i improvements, so don't expect a .7i in the future.

[KKM]

So, now I am curious if the .7 has the improvement from the 1.7i, does the .7 sound better than the original 1.7 besides not going lower? Hmm.

[jimdgoulding]

I have a hi-fi guru down here.  I mean seriously this guy as been at it for decades and builds his own amps.  He has a pair of smaller Mag's and some stacked 2-way acoustic suspension speaks.  My room is 12x15x8' and he tells me that the 1.7's might overpower my room.  I would propose to bring them out into the room some 53" from the short wall behind them (he knows this) same as my current set of speaks and about 62" apart from their centers.  What do you guys think?  My head is about 68" away typically from each speaker with an open backed record cabinet behind me some 4'.  I listen to a lot of music made on location and as tho I were seated some 10 rows from the stage.  My current set of speaks put me there pretty convincingly.  What kind of compromises do YOU think I might expect?

Thank you.

[josh358]

I have a hi-fi guru down here.  I mean seriously this guy as been at it for decades and builds his own amps.  He has a pair of smaller Mag's and some stacked 2-way acoustic suspension speaks.  My room is 12x15x8' and he tells me that the 1.7's might overpower my room.  I would propose to bring them out into the room some 53" from the short wall behind them (he knows this) same as my current set of speaks and about 62" apart from their centers.  What do you guys think?  My head is about 68" away typically from each speaker with an open backed record cabinet behind me some 4'.  I listen to a lot of music made on location and as tho I were seated some 10 rows from the stage.  My current set of speaks put me there pretty convincingly.  What kind of compromises do YOU think I might expect?

Thank you.

I think they'll be fine. 4-5 feet is about the minimum you want between the speakers and front wall, you're OK there and can do even better if you put some QRD diffusors at the first reflection point behind the speakers (the point at which you see them in a mirror from the listening seat). You're seated a bit close but Maggies generally sound good at that distance, if you don't mind the monoliths looming over you. You're too close to the rear wall but that's true with any speaker. I don't think your room is so small that they'll be bass heavy. As with any dipole, be prepared for a lot of experimentation with placement! But by the same token they're less sensitive to room acoustics than omnis.

[I.Greyhound Fan]

I have a hi-fi guru down here.  I mean seriously this guy as been at it for decades and builds his own amps.  He has a pair of smaller Mag's and some stacked 2-way acoustic suspension speaks.  My room is 12x15x8' and he tells me that the 1.7's might overpower my room.  I would propose to bring them out into the room some 53" from the short wall behind them (he knows this) same as my current set of speaks and about 62" apart from their centers.  What do you guys think?  My head is about 68" away typically from each speaker with an open backed record cabinet behind me some 4'.  I listen to a lot of music made on location and as tho I were seated some 10 rows from the stage.  My current set of speaks put me there pretty convincingly.  What kind of compromises do YOU think I might expect?

Thank you.

You should be fine.  I have a friend (edn4x4, you may want to send him a PM) who is on this forum who has a room if similar size and has his 1.7's in a near field config with a Rhythmik sub and it sounds awesome.  But he is using an AVA 400R amp which is very dynamic and musical at lower volumes.  Maybe he will chime in.

I keep my 1.6's about 2.5-3' from my back wall in a 17x17x9 room and they sound the best at that distance in my set up.

[AlvaroOc]

Hi! i´m in some sort of doubt, my dealer has the new .7 at the same price of the older and bigger 1.7's -1800 USD- (he doesnt have the new 1.7 i's yet) so i was wondering, in your opinion, which one is better in resolution, transparency, separation, etc. I wish i can buy the best of both. I don´t care much about the room, because i have different size of rooms where i can place them .

[SteveFord]

Going bigger is always a good thing with Magnepans.

[KKM]

Hi! i´m in some sort of doubt, my dealer has the new .7 at the same price of the older and bigger 1.7's -1800 USD- (he doesnt have the new 1.7 i's yet) so i was wondering, in your opinion, which one is better in resolution, transparency, separation, etc. I wish i can buy the best of both. I don´t care much about the room, because i have different size of rooms where i can place them .

Well the 1.7 is 3 way with super tweeter and the .7 is a 2 way, but does have the same improvements as the "i" models, I am assuming at that price it includes that optional feet. If it were me, I'd go for the 1.7. Actually, I would wait and pay more for the 1.7i.

[Paddlefoot]

Having had the 1.7 and the 1.7i...the 1.7i is clearly a better speaker...at 1800.00 for the older 1.7 is to me not a good deal, for a 198.00 bucks more you can get the 1.7i in black or white with no trim, add another 100.00 bucks you can get aluminum trim. The 1.7i does sound better for the extra money.

[NIGHTFALL1970]

Can you describe what the differences are?  I am curious.