| Magnepan products are sold through a network of authorized dealers and for that reason Magnepan Speakers can not be shipped into another dealer's territory. If you have a local dealer, you should support them; they are probably good people that have a passion for great sound. If you have no local dealer call us and we will see if we can assist you. To check for a local dealer, click this Magnepan Dealer Locator Link.
After a 12-year history, reaching a near-iconic standing, the
Magneplanar 1.6 has been improved with value engineering. No costly
tweaks of questionable sonic value. Magnepan is all about better ideas
which give high-value sonic improvements that can be verified in
blind-fold testing. The 1.7 is a departure from Magnepan's
40-year history of using planar magnetic drivers for the bass or lower
midrange. The use of quasi ribbon technology down into the lower
midrange and bass will provide a new level of coherence. What
is a quasi-ribbon? The quasi ribbon driver is a deviation from the true
ribbon design. A very thin film backing is used to hold the delicate
ribbons in place. One of the advantages of quasi ribbon drivers is
extremely wide frequency band width and high power handling. The result
in the 1.7 is low distortion and seamless ribbon clarity--a sound so
clear and effortless that is has changed the thinking of thousands of
audiophiles about planar speakers. The 1.7 also boasts a quasi
ribbon super tweeter with a wider "sweet spot," and one step closer to
the delicacy and detail of Magnepan's true ribbon design. A
new, modern styling with wrap-around aluminum trim on the 1.7 is also a
departure from Magnepan's more conservative cosmetic styling. The
standard wood trims of the 1.6 are available upon special order.
The total design concept for the Magneplanar 1.7 results in a speaker
that measures exceptionally well by all the standard criteria, but more
important, sounds even better. A Tradition of Innovation and Advanced TechnologyHave you ever
noticed that instruments
projected from small boxes sitting on the floor sound like they are
coming out of boxes on the floor? This problem can be partially
corrected by placing the box speakers on tall speaker stands. However,
the sound still seems to be coming out of a box, because that's
precisely what it is doing.The patented Magneplanar principle
eliminates these problems by a fundamentally different approach to sound
propagation. The Magneplanar projects sound from top to bottom, giving
the sound height as well as stereo width and depth. In the concert hall,
instruments project in all directions. Instead of projecting sound out
of a box, Magneplanars project in all directions, which closely
duplicates the original performance. With your eyes closed the Magneplanar will allow you to
"see" the original performance suspended in space. The full height,
width and depth of the concert hall can be heard. Loading Theoretically, loudspeakers should use
massless drivers suspended in space with no box, magnet structure, or
framework around the drivers. Most conventional box speakers are far
from this ideal. The mass of the driver is high and the rear wave is
contained within the box or magnet structure. While the frequency
response can be smoothed out in a box speaker, the character of the
sound is inevitably affected. The music sounds like it is coming out of a
box-constricted and unnatural. The Magneplanar diaphragm comes
closer to the ideal driver. The mass is low and the diaphragm is not
contained. The sound is permitted to radiate freely into space. With the
box removed, Magneplanars sound more like you are there. Uniform Drive The power from an ampilifer causes the
conventional cone speaker to react as if it had received a sharp blow at
the voice coil. Since the outer portions of the cone cannot respond
instantly, the cone will flex. The resulting cone breakup gives music a
"fuzzy", "blurred" quality. The Magneplanar eliminates cone
breakup by driving the Magneplanar diaphragm over its entire area. The
force from the amplifer is distributed over the entire diaphragm so that
it all moves at the same time. Cone or diaphragm breakup is
dramatically reduced and the integrity of the music is preserved. Mass The effect of mass on a loudspeaker can be
illustrated by the comparison of a balloon and a beach ball. In the case
of the balloon a nominal force such as a puff of wind will cause the
balloon to accelerate quickly. When the force ceases, the balloon
decelerates quickly. The same force will move the beach ball, however,
the ball is slower to start and slower to stop. High mass is one of the
main causes of sonic degraduation in conventional speakers. Magneplanars
use ultra low mass components. For example, the Magneplanar ribbon
element is so thin, that on edge, it is invisible to the naked eye. It
is so light that when a piece of it is dropped from a height of 6 feet
it takes and average of 5 seconds for it to reach the floor.
Conventional speaker designs prohibit such low mass-the force from the
driving amplifier would crush conventional speakers made of such light
materials. Only by driving the transducer over its entire area can you
use materials of such low mass. |
