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.7's enter our home

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Posted on May 3, 2017 at 16:16:59
paul3
Audiophile

Posts: 253
Location: Pacific NW
Joined: January 2, 2015
After restoring and enjoying a pair of MMG's, for the past couple of years or so,I decided to purchase a nicely broken in pair of .7's. As you know, physically they're not significantly larger, but the sound? Yes. In our small listening room -rear wall open to the LR- soundstage is almost side wall to side wall, and bass response is surprisingly, shockingly good. As many have observed, Magnepan have managed to expand the horizontal dispersion and I find the "sweet spot" to be superior- much larger- than the MMGs.

I'll sell the MMG's.

 

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RE: .7's enter our home, posted on May 3, 2017 at 23:53:35
Satie
Audiophile

Posts: 5426
Joined: July 6, 2002
Congrats. The .7 is really a nice step up and a real maggie rather than a taste of one.

 

RE: .7's enter our home, posted on May 4, 2017 at 09:06:04
paul3
Audiophile

Posts: 253
Location: Pacific NW
Joined: January 2, 2015
Thanks very much, Satie. My first high-end speaker was MG1 - about a hundred years ago. We loved 'em but eventually were converted to conventional 3-way floor- standing boxes which we used until a couple of years ago, when I replaced them with Sonus Faber monitors.

The MMGs were an experiment- I very much missed the planar presentation but was concerned that our cats would use Maggies as their scratching post. Fortunately, they ignored them so I was confident in getting the .7's, which I'm quite thrilled with in every way, and am eager to hear them powered by my highly-upgraded mono tube amps, which should be within the next few weeks.

 

RE: .7's enter our home, posted on May 4, 2017 at 10:17:56
Satie
Audiophile

Posts: 5426
Joined: July 6, 2002
Well, congrats on the amps too then.

Which ones did you get?

 

RE: .7's enter our home, posted on May 4, 2017 at 12:49:51
paul3
Audiophile

Posts: 253
Location: Pacific NW
Joined: January 2, 2015
Hi Satie,
Thanks again. :) The amps are MFA M120's which I've had for many years. They are being upgraded now as far as Mr. Frankland can take them. He's spent the past few weeks reworking the amps and then using extended listening sessions to evaluate the improvements. He's quite happy with his work (Scott is a master of understatement) which means I'll likely be amazed.

 

RE: .7's enter our home, posted on May 5, 2017 at 01:26:24
Satie
Audiophile

Posts: 5426
Joined: July 6, 2002
Cool. Always wondered what these classics could do with modern parts. I am a fan of his old partner's preamp designs.

 

RE: .7's enter our home, posted on May 5, 2017 at 07:17:57
paul3
Audiophile

Posts: 253
Location: Pacific NW
Joined: January 2, 2015
Scott did a major number on my Luminescence pre-amp a few years ago. The improvement, in an already excellent pre, was significant. The first word I uttered upon hearing the post-mod was "WOW"! There's another significant LUMI upgrade in the works, based on modern parts and knowledge and insight gained over the past 30 or so years. I may have to have that done as well. :)

 

RE: .7's enter our home/update, posted on July 12, 2017 at 16:24:30
paul3
Audiophile

Posts: 253
Location: Pacific NW
Joined: January 2, 2015
My newly-modified/highly upgraded M120 mono tube amps came home yesterday. The work was performed by Scott Frankland - the extremely gifted audio engineer/designer. He took a pair of already very good amps and made them substantially better. My .7's are singing! Even at very low listening levels, they sound great. There is a new ease of listening, with greatly increased holographic, detailed, dimensional sound. Instrumental timbres are lovely.

Sweetness and Happiness.

 

RE: .7's enter our home/update, posted on July 13, 2017 at 10:57:24
timm
Audiophile

Posts: 778
Location: Ann Arbor Mi
Joined: January 15, 2008
Congrats on the new found sound!! Did I miss the pictures? :)

 

Congrats ..., posted on July 13, 2017 at 12:40:36
emailtim
Audiophile

Posts: 5323
Joined: July 2, 2017
Congrats on your new Maggies. They are addictive. Enjoy.
.

2022/03/30 Historical Records CENSORED

 

RE: .7's enter our home/update, posted on July 13, 2017 at 13:58:54
paul3
Audiophile

Posts: 253
Location: Pacific NW
Joined: January 2, 2015
Zen listening room with MIO acoustic tiles and tube traps/ .7 Magnepans
Laptop for streaming, showing a piece of my audiophile yoga mat. :) Neither my wife nor I think we can live with a couple of artificial ficus trees.



Here's a snapshot of my DIY equipment rack, located in the adjacent living room. Luminesence Preamp, power supply, MFA M120 mono amps



 

RE: .7's enter our home/update, posted on July 13, 2017 at 14:16:21
timm
Audiophile

Posts: 778
Location: Ann Arbor Mi
Joined: January 15, 2008
Very nice!! Guessing that hardwood gives you more bass response!?

 

RE: .7's enter our home/update, posted on July 13, 2017 at 14:22:14
paul3
Audiophile

Posts: 253
Location: Pacific NW
Joined: January 2, 2015
Thank you. I tore out the w2w a few months ago and laid the ash. The acoustics improved dramatically. Especially bass response. I was a bit surprised at the degree of improvement. I think the room could use some sound panels and maybe some diffusion. Both are on my DIY list. I've got the lumber and Roxul batting waiting patiently.

Speaker wires are 22' runs of 12 gauge Monoprice because I had some lying around. I'm not sure if I need to change 'em out. Maybe for some Blue Jeans Belden. I'm not going to spend a lot of money on speaker wire at this point. Been there.

 

RE: .7's enter our home, posted on July 13, 2017 at 21:30:38
Desafinado
Audiophile

Posts: 183
Location: Alberta
Joined: March 10, 2013
Beautiful room that shows restraint but great attention to detail!
What size are you working with?

Perhaps a new light fixture would provide the finishing touch.

 

RE: .7's enter our home/update - nice DIY rack, posted on July 13, 2017 at 23:03:10
gmack
Audiophile

Posts: 20
Joined: November 19, 2015
I like your DIY audio rack. Attractive room as well. Nice job!

 

RE: .7's enter our home/update - nice DIY rack, posted on July 14, 2017 at 01:23:20
paul3
Audiophile

Posts: 253
Location: Pacific NW
Joined: January 2, 2015
Thanks for the kind comments. The hardest aspect of the rack was sourcing materials and finding someone with a drill press. :)

 

RE: .7's enter our home, posted on July 14, 2017 at 12:27:15
JBen
Audiophile

Posts: 3082
Location: South FL
Joined: May 18, 2008
Contributor
  Since:
July 26, 2010
Neat setup, best wishes on your new babies!

My own MMG's ran naked for a long time until my wife noticed my face as I listened to music...got jealous. I said, "But, but dear, that's how they sound their best"! Fruitless plea, I had to put on a cover. Some audio tweaks later, the SQ got taken care of. Yet, I kind of miss the naked look; old and wrinkled as mine are after almost 2 decades since they were built, they still look sexy.

Please do take and post a few close-up snaps of the front and rear (including xover for us tweaking perverts :-)). The day I finally kill my beloved if ancient pair, I've thought of the .7 to replace them. So, I might as well start looking for where the scalpel should make the first cut, LOL.


 

RE: .7's enter our home/update, posted on July 14, 2017 at 12:33:46
Satie
Audiophile

Posts: 5426
Joined: July 6, 2002
Magnificent electronics. Knowing how well these do as they were originally made, I can't imagine how well they do after upgrades with more modern parts. So a congrats to you and kudos on all you have done.

 

RE: .7's enter our home/update, posted on July 14, 2017 at 12:49:18
paul3
Audiophile

Posts: 253
Location: Pacific NW
Joined: January 2, 2015
Thank you for your comment, Satie.
My Lumi was "highly upgraded" a few years ago- the improvement was substantial, and I thought that was "it." Now that Scott Frankland has another "Wow" level upgrade for the Lumi in the works, I'd be foolish not to go for it. :)

I feel very fortunate in many ways. In our house, there's no WAF factor, except for a brand of speaker which will remain nameless- my wife disliked them intensely, which was likely due to the cheap "super-tweeter"
Cheers to all.
PS

 

RE: .7's enter our home, posted on July 14, 2017 at 13:00:19
paul3
Audiophile

Posts: 253
Location: Pacific NW
Joined: January 2, 2015
Jben,
Thanks for your comments. The photo of the .7s is misleading. The socks are actually on the speakers. The flash on the camera makes it look otherwise. Since the .7s are in pristine shape I'm not going to modify them in any way. :)

 

RE: .7's enter our home, posted on July 14, 2017 at 13:09:13
paul3
Audiophile

Posts: 253
Location: Pacific NW
Joined: January 2, 2015
:Beautiful room that shows restraint but great attention to detail!
What size are you working with?

Perhaps a new light fixture would provide the finishing touch. "

Thank you. The room is 11' wide by 13' long with a 7' opening on the rear wall to the living room. Outside bottom edge of speakers are 15" from side walls and the inside edges are 42.25" from front wall.

What, you don't approve of my budget Ikea ceiling light? :) Actually, I so rarely turn that light on I'm almost tempted to remove it and cover the receptacle. :)

 

RE: .7's enter our home, posted on July 14, 2017 at 15:00:22
JBen
Audiophile

Posts: 3082
Location: South FL
Joined: May 18, 2008
Contributor
  Since:
July 26, 2010
"Since the .7s are in pristine shape I'm not going to modify them in any way. :)"

Bummer, no mods? Well, at least DO NOT remove the Ikea lamp. It's not just that I love it, it may well be the best audio tweak we never heard of, one never knows. Besides, if I have to start dumping our Ikea furniture for the sake of style, then what? Back to good ol' bean bags? Hmmm, cheap damping... :-))

Seriously, I am glad that you feel that way about them. I'd also like to propose that you do revisit the speaker cables at a later time, and it seems you suspect so anyway. Along these lines, no pun, I may have something to contribute depending on input from another .7 owner, though it may take weeks.



 

RE: .7's enter our home, posted on July 14, 2017 at 15:12:49
Desafinado
Audiophile

Posts: 183
Location: Alberta
Joined: March 10, 2013
It looked great in the IKEA showroom circa 1990!
IMO it is too modern for your classic Craftsman-like room.

I really like your idea of staining the quarter-round to match the new ash floor versus the contrasting white baseboard.

 

RE: .7's enter our home, posted on July 14, 2017 at 15:39:05
paul3
Audiophile

Posts: 253
Location: Pacific NW
Joined: January 2, 2015
My wife and I have very eclectic tastes. She was a professional ballet dancer and I went to art school and subsequently made a living as an advertising photographer. While our home has Pacific Northwest farmhouse style bones, the art on the wall, and the rest of the "decor", is all over the map. The DIY "garden design and landscaping" will never get us listed on any garden tour. :)

I mean who the heck mixes Rhododendrons with bamboo?

You have a keen eye and a fine sense of humor!

 

RE: .7's enter our home, posted on July 14, 2017 at 15:46:14
paul3
Audiophile

Posts: 253
Location: Pacific NW
Joined: January 2, 2015
Well, I will be interested in the info you receive from another .7 owner. At the moment, if I ran long IC's I could hook up my Grover Huffman Empress cables which are a mere 5' pair. But then the amps would be in the middle of the room and easy-access to the cats. :)

The Ikea lamp could very well be the audio tweak of the century but A/B is impractical.

 

RE: .7's enter our home, posted on July 14, 2017 at 16:29:40
JBen
Audiophile

Posts: 3082
Location: South FL
Joined: May 18, 2008
Contributor
  Since:
July 26, 2010
"The Ikea lamp could very well be the audio tweak of the century but A/B is impractical."

LOL! I'd say.

I'll let you know as soon a I find out more. It would not do to have your cat test Schrödinger's ideas :)


 

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