Magnepan MG 1.7i, $3000 Per Pair
Shock of all shocks, Magnepan is catching up with providing us inventory! We actually have MG 1.7i in stock (black cloth/dark cherry wood) for the first time in… 3 years.
C19 hit Magnepan as hard as any company. It was almost immediate in March of 2020, that Magnepan’s back orders became extreme. Orders of MG 1.7i, one of the best speaker values in the hi-fi hobby, ran 6 months or more. We always had orders in cue. We would get one pair here, then maybe a pair or two there. Still, we ran way behind on providing product to customers. It was even worse on the MG 3.7i and MG 20.7.
MG 1.7i is my favorite bang for the buck model in the Magnepan line. It runs a reasonable $3k per pair. What I love about 1.7i is, it has enough bass that I don’t require a subwoofer to enjoy it. The size of the image cast by 1.7i is mammoth. It will fill the ENTIRE wall in front of you. It will center a vocal with precision. Due to Magnepan’s hand built, low mass design, driver precision is virtually exact. For example, there are no worries about using mismatched tweeters (or mids or woofs) which can obfuscate detail- like multiple tuning forks playing at different pitches.
MG 1.7i runs 86dB SPL. That’s not very efficient. BUTTT, it is a 4 ohm purely resistive load. That means it always shows your amp a 4 ohm load, at all frequencies. Let’s contrast that with the well known KEF LS 50 Meta, which advertises that it’s an 8 ohm speaker. LS 50 drops below 2 ohms at some critical bass frequencies. Despite the fact that LS 50 has a higher SPL rating, it’s actually tougher for your amp to drive.
Now, make no mistake. MG 1.7i will reward you for having a great amplifier. My favorites are the Brystons. They are high current, fully complementary amp designs.
For significantly less money I recommend NADs or Hegels. The integrateds made by these companies are absolutely reasonable in price.
If someone tells you Maggies need zillions of watts to drive them, pay no attention. The guys that say that – are trying to drive them like Klipsch LaScalas. The simple fact is, if you’re trying to drive your living room system to club level volume levels, the Maggies aren’t for you. No amount of power will make them thump and pulse like Arkansas built Ks.
Maggies are made for reasonable music lovers who like their music at enjoyable, but not insane volume levels. For this kind of listener of largely acoustical music, Mags are very tough to beat and can be driven nicely by integrateds as inexpensive as Rogue’s Sphinx V3 or NAD C389 & C399, or more refined Marantz Model 30 or Hegels.
Bluesound Node X Streamer, $750
NAD has just introduced its tenth anniversary, limited edition streamer, the Bluesound Node X. Node X is basically a souped up Node. It has a superior DAC (Sabre 9028) and headphone amp- housed in a fancy schmancy silver box.
If you’re running your streamer analog out into your preamp or receiver, you can up your sound with Node X.
Keep in mind, NAD has been running Bluesound streamers since 2013. They WORK! We have plenty of stories of very expensive streamers that do NOT work as promised. Streaming without hiccups and sputters is very difficult. NAD does the upgrades to keep Bluesound flowing better than anyone else.
Isotek Polaris $500 Promo Price!
The Isotek Polaris has gone up to $700. But we still have a few we bought on a massive Christmas promo at $500. Why not save $200? Last call on the best mains conditioner value on the market!
NAD C3050 Integrated Amp $1400: 100×2
(5h, 17 5/8w, 13 3/16d, 22 lbs)
NAD has just introduced this NEW, vintage looking, integrated amp with very fun power meters. It has a modern build quality and features. It just LOOKS vintage. That’s exactly how we want it. It has to be modern under the hood. Do not waste your money trying to fix vintage gear.
While there is high interest in the vintage product market, such purchases are almost always a big MISTAKE. First of all, as a guy who has been in the biz since the early 70s, I can tell you those products weren’t built anywhere near as well as what we have today. Think of the car you drove then vs the car you drive now! Please don’t make the mistake of throwing money down the toilet by trying to fix something from yesteryear. It is the proverbial money pit and CAN’T sound as good as modern gear.
I GET that many people love the classic look. C3050 has that. It has a contemporary NAD UcD amplifier of 100×2. It is impedance invariant and sounds smoother than amps that run mismatched transistors.
It has inputs of:
1 OPT
1 Coax
1 eARC
1 MM Phono
1 Set analog RCA inputs
Outputs are:
1 Set RCA analog L&R out- looped to main input
1 Single Mono sub out
It has some nice features as well. They include Bluetooth, bass & treble controls, speakers A, B, A+B, or off. It has a 1/4” headphone jack. C3050 doesn’t have an on board Bluesound streamer. I always recommend you buy that as an outboard component anyway. Technology will change.
If you’re after the most pure, open, airy sound at this price point, look to Rogue Sphinx V3. NAD’s C389 is $1500 and more power and punch. But if you want all the features in one component, pleasant sound and vintage aesthetics, C3050 is for you.
RIP Gordon Lightfoot (1938-2023)
Every hi-fi store in the country was playing Gordon’s “Sundown” LP in the mid 70s. It was classic rock with a mellow vibe. It appealed to everyone and reached #1 on the charts in 1974. It was great demo material for us because it sounded good and how could you not like it?!
