Newid91
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I like the DSP'd and tweetered F-18 much, much better than the Magnepan 1.7i (+ two cheapo velodyne subs crossed at 60 Hz). As I noted in a previous comment, the sound signatures are very close - natural, big soundstage, lifelike, fast bass. The F-18s are incredibly more dynamic compared to the Maggie's. I never understood what the fuss was around Cantate Domino or Felix Hell Organ Sensation on the Maggie's, but they Really come alive on the F-18, including the deep, satisfying bass (I DSP'd it flat to 25Hz). They lack the resolution of the 1.7i. The finer microdetails and spatial layering that is obvious on the Maggie's (with the right, sterile DAC), are absent on the F-18. It particularly struggles in complex passages of electronic music - sounds like a mess. But I've experienced it in very few tracks. The F-18 is ridiculously fast compared to it's size. Even without an added tweeter you can hear both the shimmer of the cymbals and the deep bass notes on Take Five - on a full ranger! From one speaker! This coherence is revolutionary. With the dynamics and coherence of F18, it feels like hearing the 1.7i with more accurate spatial localization, more accurate size, and most importantly, more correct space around the instruments. While the Maggie's are great at the wall of sound, the F-18 are able to reveal the 3 dimensional nature of instruments and singers in good recordings. I don't miss the resolution of the Maggie's anymore. I consider the F-18s significantly more musical and 4-5x the better speaker (I haven't heard anything like these). It seems to take them a while to break in, though. They were shouty and unpleasant for a while.
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