Newbie Maggie question: Best bang for buck?

The .7 was considerably better sounding than the 1.7i in my room, despite the room dimensions being better suited to the 1.7 in theory. Yes, the 1.7is could dig a bit deeper in the bass, but that was all they could do better. The .7s had superior imaging, coherency, midrange and bass dynamics. 

Best thing you can do is attempt to find a dealer that sells multiple models and can facilitate an audition. 

The 3.7i and above have the true ribbon tweeter. It is indeed better sounding in the highs than the lower models. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have nearly the coherency of the .7 or LRS. Definitely doesn’t do mid-bass punch as well as the .7 either. Some of the Maggies are downright anemic when it comes to playing certain genres like hard rock. You can attempt to ameliorate that by adding a sub or two and crossing them over at the mid-bass freqs, but most subs cannot integrate correctly due to the dipole design of the Maggies.

All Maggies are incredibly finicky about placement. For example, a couple degrees difference in toe-in can make or break their tonality. IMO, there are dynamic box speakers that do nearly everything better for the same money and less fuss. 

That’s just my experience. YMMV and all that….

If you’re a Maggie newbie(and looking for best bang for the buck), then the elephant in the room for some of us in discussions like this is take a hard look at the Eminent Technology LFT-8b or LFT-8c and any reviews comparing any Maggie to the LFTs. With both models, but particularly the 8c, you won’t need a sub. I have the 8b model and find the off-axis response to be excellent...not at all finicky. I have a somewhat exotic speaker set that I built to give a hard listen to. If they don’t beat the LFT, then I’ll be upgrading the my 8b model to the 8c..easy to do, and inexpensive. 

I started with the LRS+ in my office to replace the KEF LS50 Meta. The room was small 12x11x9. I used the KEF KC62 sub with both. I was very surprised to find that the Maggie was EASIER to place than the LS50 Meta. The LRS+ was not as clean sounding as the LS50 Meta, but the overall wall of sound Maggie presentation was a more fun listen for me.

I lost that room and went to an even smaller space (my virtual systems has photos). I sold the LSR+ and got the Maggie Mini Panels. This was better sounding than the LRS+ on top. Though not the ultimate in resolution. Still a very fun listen.The Mini panel uses the same panel as the 3.7. I would spring for the upgraded "i" variant if the Maggie was my main speaker.

I have owned amps from $1k to $16k that I have used with the Maggies. I posted such a list on A’gon in the past.

The amp I am using today, the $2k Schiit Wotan is the second-best amp on the Maggies. The best is my CODA #16 but it cost 8x more. The Wotan needs a lot of burn-in to sound optimal. 

3.7i But don’t skimp on the amp. Need lots of current.

A quick postscript - the 2.7i and 2.7x also have ribbon tweeters (48” vs 60” on the 3.7i). Stunning!

I don’t need huge bass sound, and the 2.7x delivers all I need - Michael Jackson, Steely Dan, etc all sound fantastic! 
 

Yes, placement is finicky. But it’s also fun. I finally settled on the ‘right’ spot after about 15-20 little tweaks. And put a small piece of tape on the floor to mark exactly where each one should be (in case moved by mistake by someone).

Fair warning - maybe it’s just me, but after 4 decades of Maggies I can’t listen to most cone speakers without getting listener fatigue after 30 minutes - I’ve heard many but they sound too bright/harsh. My ears are spoiled. 
 

Happy hunting!