We sold some Magnepan MG 1.7i’s recently to a fellow who is building a new system. The 1.7i’s are a beautiful way to start a system with GREAT resolution. He settled on the Maggies quickly.
MG 1.7i’s ability to cast a life sized vocal and guitar presentation, for example, is just about as good as it gets! They have excellent resolution and tautness in the bass register. Maggies are flat out great for acoustic music.
This fellow has been reading forums until all hours and has formed opinions that people in the flesh will have a tough time changing. He has copious hours of surfing in the middle of the night with experts and hobbyists all over creation. Some of these “characters” have become “friends.”
Well, when friends give you bad advice, it is STILL bad advice.
He beamed as he told me of what he was planning on mating with the Maggies. The wind blew out of my sails as he told me where he was going with this system. It didn’t stand a chance. Despite corresponding with rabid hobbyists, he was getting poor advice and poor sound.
It started well with the Maggies. Then it went right in the tank with an $800 subwoofer which is basically a home brew. While it has a brand name on it, it’s a plate amp with sub driver right out of a bin. The cabinet is heavy but can’t save the generic amp and woofer. You and I can buy the same parts for a modest price from Parts Express and get the same soggy performance.
It went on. He was going with a $1400 passive preamp which had gotten raves from his amigos. Oh no. 0-2. You want to talk about a death spiral? A soggy sub. A boring preamp. The Maggies will show you what’s on the other side. It’s not their fault if the sound isn’t ALIVE.
The power amp in the plan would be OK, if a bit bland also. It’s 100×2 for a grand. A lot of the web hounds like it cuz you buy direct. It has to be a better deal than what any store could provide, right? Well, you look inside and the box is more than half empty with 4 unmatched output transistors and a modest power supply. Ah, no thanks. We can do a lot better.
Rather than be a jerk and say, “Danger Will Robinson!” I politely say thanks for the biz. Be sure to save your receipts in case you don’t like how the associated gear shakes hands with the Maggies.
In short order he visited with head down. He had gotten these new products and could tell his system didn’t have the definition, attack and spaciousness he’d heard in our shop. He asked me where I thought the problem was. What do I do? Whiz all over these three products he bought because everyone and his brother on this or that forum was WRONG?!
Atoll IN100 Signature Integrated Amp (100×2)
Atoll is made in France with a 3 year warranty like a battleship. It’s a true dual mono design with exquisite parts and TLC that his purchases can’t touch!
If he replaces his $3k spent on a boring passive preamp and garage made power amp, Atoll will wake up the Pans! I promise… for about a grand less this system will come alive. Atoll not only has power, but it has refinement and finesse. I can brag about the details for an hour. But I’d rather take that time to just play it for you. You’ll HEAR what I mean in 30 seconds!
Further, Atoll’s integrated is so muscular that he won’t need a tubby sub to obfuscate the definition of his great Maggies.
By listening to people with opinions instead of knowledge, you can spend a lot more money and get substantially worse sound. I can prove my claims. Stop in and I WILL!