VonSchweikert VR4JR vs Magenpan MG 1.6

I owned 1.6's for many years and have heard the VR4jr's on several occassions, although not in my house. Personally, I never found the VR4jr's sound very compelling, maybe I just got so used to the large, diffuse soundstage of the Maggies. Obviously, many others disagree as they are a popular speaker. Like Dave says, you need to have a room you can let them breath in, they don't like to be close to the walls. I also found they needed a sub to reinforce the lower frequencies. Again, others disagree on that point.

Dave,
My room is 15' x 21' with the current JRs on a short wall where their front faces stand 48" from the wall behind and are about 3-4' from the side walls. Think that will work with the 1.6s?
Another few questions. Do the maggies make images larger than life? And, how durable are the Maggies? I've read a number of threads that describe separation of the film from the wires. Is that an old, remedied, problem or does it persist with newer models as well?

Thanks for the responses.

I've owned the JR's and Maggie smga at different times.
Think that both are great speakers, although I preferred the jr I can understand the allure of the "maggie sound" & transparency with the 1.6 The only aspect that moved maggie's out of my house was the sweet spot only listening. With the JR, even at extreme location's, there was always a plausable presence and soundfield (80-90%). That's the only aspect you may want to consider.

I think the spacing you are using for the VS's will work fine for 1.6's, that should be plenty of room. Yes, the Maggies will make some images larger than life, solo acoustic guitar for example. At no time did it ever bother me though. On the whole, they present a well integrated image. Durability was never an issue for me. I had one pair for about seven years and then the 1.6's for about five, never a hiccup. I think there is some consensus that delamination of the mylar is likeliest to occur if they are left in direct sunlight for prolonged periods. No product is 100% failure proof, but on the whole, Magnepan makes a very reliable speaker line. FWIW, if I were inclined to jump into the planar speaker pool again at that price point, I'd also look very hard at the Eminent Technology LFT-16, a very interesting design that's getting some great reviews. Bound for Sound & Affordable Audio both recently reviewed them very favorably.

I've owned the 3.6s and heard the 1.6s at length, as well as owned the VR 4JRs and now I own the 4SRs.

Personally I'd say that it would be a big step in the wrong direction to replace the JRs with the 1.6s. I think the JRs are in every way a better speaker.

If dynamics are a major concern for you, it won't happen with the power you have and the Maggies, in fact you could do well to feed those JRs even more power, they will love it and so will you.

They do present a much taller and bigger soundstage, but to my ear it is vague and not spot on like the JRs. The bass is no contest the JRs are radically better. I see you have a sub so this may not be as much an issue.

My comments all relate to the 3.6s vs the JRs. I would have like to hear the 3.6s with some real power like 1000 watts. I bet they would sound really good and my opinion would be a lot better. They are really cool looking speakers and seem to have some real potential, but I just have never heard them snap even with 400 watts.

Ryan