Magnepan .7 Quasi Ribbon planar speakers Review

The Exogal Comet and Ion PowerDAC system

How one configures the system carries vast influence over how any speaker performs. Especially with the .7 this should be explored. I was quite impressed by Exogal’s first product, the Comet DAC. The Comet eschews reconstruction of the digital source’s signal and instead uses its own algorithm, replacing the source’s analog signal. I find it to yield a result with very high-end sensibilities. Having been privy to the Comet for well over a year I have had a chance to stretch its performance.

Exogal Comet/Ion PowerDAC

Now Exogal has produced its second, companion product, the Ion PowerDAC. This is a proprietary “amp” designed to work only with the Comet. The Comet can be used with a variety of amps, but the Ion works only with the Comet. The name PowerDAC should tip off the curious that this is not just another amp. The Ion is a true digital amplification device that synergizes with the Comet. I go into great detail about this in my Audio Blast article on the Ion, but for now you need to know that it operates entirely in the digital realm, taking the digital signal from the Comet and directly digitally modulating the power versus pushing the power through an amplifier circuit. Does it work? Better than any other amp I have used at its price point, bar none! It is immediately perceived as cleaner, more robust, more tonally accurate, richer and with more “meat on the bones” of performances than the previously discussed classes of amps. The emergence of such technology bodes very well for the audiophile public and for the health of the industry long term. It does not bode well for traditional amp makers because from my perspective they are using a technology that has been bested and will eventually be neglected.

I find that most audiophiles anchor to their current sound and find it difficult to imagine far better. That is typical, as we have many motivators for satisfaction, including the moral impulse to be content and the fiscal impulse to avoid unnecessary expenses. However, for the listener who wishes to advance, these impulses can inhibit the potential to experience much better sound. Especially when a new technology is revealed the audiophile has an opportunity to advance their system dramatically. Certainly not all proffered technologies are efficacious, but the PowerDAC is, and at a price point that many can enjoy. If that sounds like a ringing endorsement of the performance, it is, and I strongly recommend you investigate further.

My experience with the Comet and Ion in use with more efficient speakers, such as the Vapor Audio Joule White 3 and Legacy Audio Whisper DSW Clarity Edition, was wholly splendid. These speakers reacted as though they had been retooled with new internals and drivers, as though the manufacturer had snuck into the house by night and replaced the mechanicals of the speaker with new, much more capable components. These are easy-to-drive speakers but the Magnepan .7 is not, and this is where the issue with the PowerDAC lies. Simply put, the PowerDAC doesn’t drive less efficient speakers well. When I used the Comet and Ion with the .7, it was easy to hear the characteristics of cleansed sound, suppleness, and ripeness of tone that they brought out from every other speaker, but presence in the low end was disappointing. When I questioned him about it, Jeff Haagenstad of Exogal was very direct in noting that this is the weakness of the Comet/Ion combo. It’s not that the bass is qualitatively poor, just that it lacks the macrodynamic punch that is so needed for an inefficient small panel, like the .7.

The team at Exogal is alert, so responding to the issue they have created an upgrade feature to fix it. This software upgrade is for the Comet (the Comet can pack special tricks that the Ion doesn’t contain) in the form of a special output to supply subwoofers with a tailored signal. The power structure of the Ion at 125wpc is not ideal to pair with the .7 alone, but paired with subwoofers the calculus of the system changes. With subwoofers and a configurable set of RCA outputs from the Comet, the Exogal combo goes from being disadvantaged to once again being advantaged.

Those familiar with systems can see that with a crossover function that would send the .7 only the signals above a certain point, say 120Hz, it would operate far better than having to handle lower frequencies, which would cause the majority of distortion (I do not use the term “distortion” pejoratively) in its operation. This approach effectively turns the .7 into a two-way mid-bass and treble speaker with outboard subwoofers. The subwoofers handle the frequencies they were designed to, supplementing the .7 with far more bass than the speaker can provide. Game, Set, Match Exogal! Why? Because the Comet and Ion combo with subwoofer(s) maximizes the .7 in an idealized system.

While I did not try that configuration, I used the alternative to my alternative setup. I paired the Comet outputting full signal to the .7, but I also used the Comet’s second set of outputs to drive the Legacy Audio XTREME XD Subwoofers, which are active. That allowed me to contour their contribution to mesh with the .7 adding much needed low-end solidity. In that system configuration, though the .7 was still hoisting the lowest frequencies, it shone more brightly than when used on its own.

The choice to add a subwoofer to the .7 is a calculated one in terms of payoff in performance. Cost of the subwoofer relative to the .7 should be considered. I used the nearly $10K/pair XTREME XD Subs because I had them already. They play to 16 Hz, so they profoundly enhanced the .7. In general, if I had to consider adding subwoofers to the .7, my decision would be based on cost of the subs (I do not care for single subs, but always try to use them in pairs) relative to the cost of moving up to the Magnepan 3.7i. The 3.7i is a huge sound quality leap over the .7, so the subs would have to be both heavy hitters and an exceptional value to merit bypassing the larger speaker.

Listening Impressions

I have always liked tight Magnepan sound, not meaning strained, but rather the opposite of so many dynamic speakers’ cabinet resonances that come off as sloppiness. I have owned the MMG and 1.6QR in the past. From recollection, I hear the .7 as more nuanced than the 1.6QR, and I find it easier to tame the tweeter. The bass seems to have claimed better definition with the .7. Personally, with the new Magneplanar speakers so affordable, I would not seek a used Maggie on the secondary market but would opt for the new .7.

The idea that a panel speaker inherently has more resolution than other types of speakers is mistaken. The .7 does not have as high resolution as the Vapor Audio Joule White or the PureAudioProject Trio15 TB. The .7 also congests more easily when pushed very hard. This is not so much a criticism as an observation of the technological limitations of the speaker. When someone pays MSRP $23K for the Joule White with its 11” Audio Technology woofer, Accuton midrange and RAAL ribbon tweeter, along with a massively overbuilt custom crossover, they will get an entirely revelatory performance over the .7, but that is what expending multiples more money can buy when it comes to audio.

PureAudioProject Trio15 TB open baffle speakers

You are not as well served to play Techno, House or Pop music on the .7 if your goal is to rock the foundations of your home. “Dance With Me” by Felix Jahen featuring Thallie Ann Seevyen rolls along with a decidedly heavy bass beat and, while the 11” Audio Technology ramps up accordingly with higher listening levels to capture both the clean bass burst of energy producing more tactile pressure waves, the bass portion of the .7 begins to bleat out the notes. Alternatively, the .7 struggles to capture accurately the distorted bass of The Record Company’s “Give It Back To You”, intentionally distorted by effects on the electric bass. Essentially, the more a recording is compressed and played back at a higher level, the more the .7 struggles to keep up with it. This is nothing new, as generations of Magneplanar speakers have to one degree or another exhibited such weakness when it comes to an overpowering signal; it comes with the territory.

The sweet spot for listening to the .7 comes in less congested music and live recordings. The speaker thrives on uncluttered performances such as Sara Bareilles’ “Let The Rain”, a live recording with interplay between her and the audience. The .7 opens up the venue and lets both her vocals and the audience interaction feel intimate in the smallish venue. The Comet and Ion with the Legacy subs made the moment remarkable with lushness uncommon for a speaker of such a price.

No overhang

The calling card of a speaker like the .7 is the lack of bloat, by which I mean the overhang of the bass, a tubbiness that makes a dynamic speaker sound “slow”. Play Yello’s “Electrified II” and the .7 flits through it without delay. The dipole design adds to a sense of vastness without the heaviness of a cabinet. If the speaker is far enough from the front wall there is no secondary reflection to smear the primary wave launch. As long as extreme LF at high playback levels, which can make the panel distort, is avoided one can enjoy techno-oriented music with a high degree of cleanness.

Older synthesized tunes clean up nicely. One of my references is Emerson, Lake and Palmer’s “Lucky Man” which was well delineated. Grouped horns also find a welcome with the .7, such as Chicago’s “25 or 6 to 4”. Certainly, do not avoid nostalgia music with the .7, as you will find it can, with the proper electronics, breath new life into rusty recordings. Flaccid recordings can be opened up to breathe better by the Maggie.

The Dragon revisits

Panel people like amps with more current output, and in this respect the Red Dragon S500 is superior to the Exogal Ion. If I owned only the .7, likely I would default to the Red Dragon amps for that reason. The Ion simply can’t push them to the limit like the S500. “Dance With Me” was forceful, light and punchy, with articulate bass and more slam than the Ion could muster without the subwoofers. The Red Dragon amps illuminated the .7 with more forwardness and profound intensity. “Let the Rain Fall” was more electrifying, edgy and seemed to have more movement to it.

Essentially, the owner can make the .7 the equivalent of a floral tapestry, easy on the ears by use of tube electronics, the tweeter attenuation and appropriate cabling, or it can be sassed up with an ostentatious character, removal of the tweeter attenuation, and more aggressive cabling. That result is more like a street art mural.

But is it capable of sound worthy of the audiophile? I recall that perhaps 20 years ago when I had a pair of MMG speakers in my office some local Vandersteen enthusiasts with a nice system wondered about Magnepan, as they had never heard one. I hauled my MMGs to their home, put aside the Vandersteen 3’s, and we spent the afternoon hearing the MMG in their big rig. They simply could not get over the performance for a bargain speaker. Apply this astonishment to the .7, because Magnepan works their magic through the entire line.

In summary, the .7 represents a compelling sound with a generous slice of the Magneplanar “larger than life” experience. Despite its idiosyncrasies, because of the uncommon value in the quality of sound obtained for the dollar, the .7 is highly recommended.

Associated Components:

Source: Salk Audio StreamPlayer Generation III with ROON interface
 Streaming Music Service: Tidal
 DAC:  Eastern Electric Minimax DSD DAC Supreme with Burson, Dexa NewClassD and Sparkos Labs Discrete Opamp Upgrade; Exogal Comet DAC and upgrade power supply, LampizatOr Big 7
 Preamp: TEO Audio Liquid Preamplifier; VAC Renaissance Signature Preamplifier MkII; Cambridge Audio 840E
 Amps: Red Dragon S500; First Watt J2 (two); Exogal Ion PowerDAC
 Integrated: none
 Speakers:  Kings Audio Kingsound King III; Legacy Audio DSW Clarity Edition; Kings Audio King Tower omnidirectional; Vapor Audio Joule White 3; PureAudioProject Trio15 TB (Tang Band) and Trio15 Voxativ
 Subwoofers: Legacy Audio XTREME HD (2)
 IC’s: TEO Liquid Splash-Rs and Splash-Rc; TEO Liquid Standard MkII; Clarity Cable Organic RCA/XLR; Snake River Audio Signature Series Interconnects; Silent Source “The Music Reference”
 Speaker Cables: TEO Cable Standard Speaker; Clarity Cable Organic Speaker; Snake River Audio Signature Series Speaker Cables; Silent Source “The Music Reference”
 Digital Cables: Clarity Cable Organic Digital; Snake River Audio Boomslang; Silent Source “The Music Reference”
 USB: Verastarr Nemesis; Clarity Organic
 Power Cables: Verastarr Grand Illusion; Clarity Cable Vortex; MIT Oracle ZIII; Xindak PF-Gold; Snake River Audio Signature Series; Silent Source “The Music Reference”
 Power Conditioning: Wireworld Matrix Power Cord Extender; Tice Audio Solo

Copy editor: Dan Rubin