Magnepan / Magneplanar 1.7i

Founded in 1969 in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, by engineer Jim Winey, Magnepan emerged from his dissatisfaction with electrostatic speakers during his time at 3M. Seeking a superior alternative, Winey invented the Magneplanar—a thin-film magnetic driver that rivaled electrostats without their limitations. Bootstrapped with funds from friends and family, the family-owned company has remained American-made, now led by Winey's son Mark from a 50,000-square-foot facility, upholding over five decades of planar innovation.

Magnepan specializes exclusively in planar magnetic loudspeakers, from compact Mini Maggies to towering flagships like the 3.7i. These full-range or hybrid panels eschew traditional cones for quasi-ribbon and true-ribbon drivers, delivering expansive soundstages and lifelike transients. The lineup avoids amplifiers, turntables, DACs, headphones, or cables, focusing solely on speakers that demand high-current amplification to thrive.

Positioned as a high-end niche leader, Magnepan commands reverence among audiophiles for neutral voicing, room-filling dispersion, and value that outpaces competitors dollar-for-dollar. Handcrafted in the USA with domestic parts—"Made in America. Sold in China"—its panels offer unmatched transparency at premium prices, cementing a legacy as the pinnacle of planar magnetic reproduction for discerning listeners worldwide.