Magneplanar MG1.7 loudspeaker

In the hi-fi world where the “next best thing” is the lifeblood of many companies, a company that doesn’t change their model line-up as regularly as the seasons stands out as a rarity. Twelve years ago Magnepan revitalised their aging range of magnetic planar loudspeakers to produce the landmark 1.6 (masterfully reviewed by Craig Fenemor back in 2004). By revising driver design and speaker construction, Magnepan rewrote the performance and value for money rules, resulting in a highly acclaimed, best seller that remained unchanged for its production life. Even in far off New Zealand, which is about as far from Magnepan’s native Minnesota as you can get, the 1.6 was tremendous value at $4,300 when reviewed.

Like the old guys in the cheese adverts, time moves on, even at a relatively conservative company like Magnepan. So it was at the 2010 Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show that Magnepan announced the long-awaited replacement for the 1.6, model MG1.7.

On paper, the new 1.7 appears to be a doppelganger for the old 1.6. Both speakers stand proud at 489mm x 1638mm x 51mm (WHD). The 1.7 introduces a new modernistic look with aluminium side pieces framing the traditional cloth covered panel. Revised metal feet with thicker bottom pieces and repositioned uprights provide a more stable support. Both speakers offer a frequency response of 40Hz–24kHz with sensitivity of 86dB, 500Hz, 1 metre with 2.83V input. Impedance remains at 4 ohms. Crossover details are now a mystery as Magnepan have not published details. The speaker remains made in the USA with almost all US parts.

The 1.7 is the first Magnepan to use quasi-ribbons for all drivers. Unlike a true ribbon, the foil is not the driver; instead it is attached to a Mylar strip and conducts the signal to the Mylar which produces the sound. Past Magnepans have used either all magnetic planar drivers (like a conventional speaker that has been flattened by a steamroller) or a combination of magnetic planars, true ribbons and/or quasi-ribbons. The 1.7’s quasi-ribbons are in a three-way bass, tweeter, super-tweeter configuration. Gone is the 1.6’s bi-wirable capability but the two pairs of fiddly, grub screw locking sockets remain; one pair for amplifier input, one pair for inserting the supplied tweeter mollifying resistor.

Set up
Set up remains crucial in order to get the best from these speakers. The 1.7s need space and lots of it, stay well away from any walls, put nothing between the speakers and don’t have anything between the speakers and your listening seat. Feed them with the best sources you can muster (Well-Tempered, Marantz, Denon, Nakamichi in my case), give them lots of clean, high quality power, at least 100 watts per channel (Krell, Rotel, Naim) and allow plenty of time for them to run-in. Mine were used for a week by the importer and still needed another week or two as they were fiercely bright straight-out-of-the-box.

Superbly balanced
Meet these relatively simple requirements and you will be greeted with superb playback that will be nigh-impossible to better at the price. The 1.7s do almost everything a magnitude better than the old 1.6. The result is a superbly balanced speaker.

Where the 1.6 was soft on top, the 1.7’s tweeter/super-tweeter combination brings extra HF extension and detail. The new speakers sound more transparent and are electrostatic-like in their airiness, neutrality and transient response. This extends seamlessly into the midrange and bass, banishing the slight hint of opaqueness that clouded the 1.6’s midrange and increases the sense of realism. The coherence is stunning; here is a speaker that delivers on the promises of a single-driver speaker, without the drawbacks.

Gone is the 1.6’s slightly diffuse presentation. As a result of using all quasi-ribbon drivers the 1.7 is the best imaging/soundstaging Maggie I have heard. Performers and instruments are reproduced with life-sized scale and focus on a wall-to-wall soundstage (recording and system permitting) that is simply jaw-dropping. This is a level of spatial performance the equal of the best dynamic speakers.

Likewise the 1.7s dynamic performance is class leading. The 1.7 also play more loudly than the 1.6s, with improved sensitivity and with an expanded operating envelope they sound more realistic at low volumes.

There are surprisingly few caveats. The new tweeter/super-tweeter pairing brings excellent performance but they can be overdriven, when this happens the highs get fierce and glare. It’s a simple matter to back off the volume control but the old 1.6 was more forgiving, with a bigger margin between loud and too loud.

Secondly, the new tonal balance may not be to everyone’s liking. Even when fully-run in the 1.7s are brighter and leaner sounding than the model they replace. The ear is drawn to the midrange/highs as the quasi-ribbon bass panel doesn’t quite have the playful nature or authority of the old magnetic planar bass panel. To use an automotive analogy, this is like comparing a supercharged Mini Cooper S to the latest turbocharged version. Both are great but some will prefer one over the other.

A Magnepan for the 21st century
Despite my reservations, the 1.7 is an excellent speaker. It builds on the lessons learnt from the 1.6, resulting in a Magnepan for the 21st century. In absolute terms it’s not perfect but it does offer a near-perfect balance of abilities at a very reasonable cost. If you are shopping in this sector of the market and have a suitable room/system, then this speaker is a must-listen. You will be amazed.

Magneplanar MG1.7 loudspeaker $4699