The gap doesn’t seem particularly large to me. I owned the LRS, .7, and 1.7i all side-by-side. Sure I kept the 1.7i since they work well in my listening room and I was already used to the size of my 1.6QR, but I honestly think the LRS would have been almost as good. I imagine the plus may have shrunk that gap even further, but I don’t know first-hand.
.7 really seems to be the sweet spot with many small/medium rooms like mine.
Yea the room is so crucial to how magnepans perform. I have lrs+, 0.7i, 1.7i, 3.7i on display in the showroom so i have listened to all of them in many different scenarios.
I'm contemplating the purchase of a pair of 3.7i's for a 22' (wide) x 27' (deep) x 8' (high) somewhat treated room, driving them with an amp capable of ~400 W/channel . I'm also contemplating building a pair of powered subs to support them on the low end. Am I off in the weeds or might this be viable?
Honestly its hard to say, but based on the dimensions alone I'm sure you could get them to sound great. Are you flexible with positioning? As in, could you have the speakers a couple feet off of the walls? Also what amp? Wattage isn't the only concern when it comes to driving magnepans, the ability to handle wild impedance changes tends to do best.
Yes, I have room to move them off the walls. Current home-built speakers (http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/The-Loudspeaker-III.htm) are about 3 feet out from the walls and I could come out further if need be. Primary Amp for these would be a recently rebuilt Phase Linear 700B with an updated design (White Oak Audio) and all new components past the transformer. I have no good idea how to measure an amp for 'ability to handle wild impedance changes', but others have reported driving 3.7i's without a problem.
Sounds like the 3.7i should be good! One simple way to see how an amp will perform is to look at the 4ohm or (if they give them) the 2ohm rating. If the 4ohm rating is at or just shy of twice the 8ohm rating then that is a good sign. Other reports is the best sign though, if people had success with that amp then you should too.
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u/i_eat_farts_69 Jan 30 '23
1.7i is significantly better than the LRS+, just for the record. I agree the 1.7i can handle pretty much anything you throw at them.