Magnepan..the sun rises and sets on..or does it??

In their price range they stand out as one of the very best speakers. In ANY price range, they are a contender. I owned a set at the same time as a set of $12,000 vandersteen 5's. Vastly different speakers yet in all honestly I considered them ALMOST in the same shooting gallery as a combination of merits. (the van 5 was def. better)

A little lightweight in presentation, unmatched on orchestral works, very detailed but not in the 'ultimate class'. A little haze blanket in the background when used with very quiet electronics such as pass labs. FAST FAST FAST in all ranges. I haven't yet heard a dynamic speaker that can match them in that respect. Sometimes this can make large heavy instruments sound a little surreal. A bass for example seems like a 2d paperweight version of the real deal. A full range dynamic speaker can communicate that a bass a large, heavy and powerful instrument. With a magnepan a bass and a flute seem to have a similar sense of weight and presence.

I personally think they should have a tube amp on them to sound good. They tend to expose any grain in a solid state design yet revel in the soundstaging and liquid presentation of a tube amp. Solid state can make them sound a little dead. The slight noisiness of the speaker is also masked by a tube amp. They do eat tubes so get an amp that's cheap to retube.

But a set used and see if you like them. They're easy to resell but shipping can be difficult. Make SURE they are insured in shipping. You may want to buy a subwoofer to go with them. Rel is consistently recommended. I'd skip the sub myself.

I think when you get into planers in general taste of music is very important. How you listen and how you plan to set the speakers up (as already been mentioned) are also critical. I personally don't really like the Maggie's, but I do agree they are a great value for those that do. The bottom two octaves just don't do it for me on the Maggie's. But that is just my personal taste, and I know many people are very satisfied with these speakers. I have Martin Logan's and I wasn't very satisfied with the bass response there either--so I changed it--now I like it. I love the transparency and speed of planers on the mids and tops, but the dynamic drivers in the bass. Even Sound Labs M-1 (haven't listened to the U-1 yet) are too soft in the bass region. Even though you are remote, (I'll go out on a limb here) I would consider posting: I live in 12345 zip code--any one with Maggie's care to let me listen--considering a purchase. I'd let a fellow A-goner listen. Particularly if it was a remote location (knowing that the next 100 people wouldn't be knocking on the door). Even if you had a drive an hour or a little more--I think it's almost impossible to purchase a speaker like this without having heard at least one Maggie (even if it's not the exact model) first.

I used to own a pair of 104/2's. Great speaker in their day. The maggies are a pretty different sound. If you love bass, you might want to add a sub to the mix. very carefully match it though. If you value imaging, depth, etc...you'll love the maggies. All the comments above are great.

I have the older version of the 1.6 (the 1.5Qr) driven by Musical Fidelity A3cr power/pre combo and love them. I would not buy anything else even at 3x the price (though I would get the 3.6's if I could. I listen to mostly classical and I think maggies are almost universally loved for acoustic music of all types and especially for classical music. They do not have the pounding bass that some Rock or heavy metal lovers seems to want. Also HT listeners tend to want a sub with them. I'm a classical musician and I find the lowest register of double basses very realistic with well setup maggies, but it doesn't do the huge electric bass and drums of some recordings without a sub.

Maggies sound very different from conventional speakers (better to my mind, but definitely different), so it is really important to hear a pair. As mentioned above the family resemblance between all maggies is strong, so you don't necessarily need to find a pair of 1.6's.

Good Luck,

I've had the 1.6's since Nov. '98 and I power them with the same pre and power amps that Fineberg uses, MF A3cr, an excellent match. I replaced the crossovers with Hovland caps and Alpha-Core inductors in 2000 with an 80% overall improvement in sound. You can read all about the crossover upgrade in the Planer Asylum at Audio Asylum. I think the biggest weakness is the lack of clarity you get with something like a 2A3 SET powering efficient speakers. The tonal quality of the MF and Maggie combo in my opinion is at least the equal of the SET's that I have heard. Low powered tubes done right just sound cleaner. The problem with low power is dynamics, something I am addicted to. I heard a small tube amp powering ElectroVoice horns at this months Bottlehead meeting and I was quite impressed. The owner said the crossover was a bear to set up, which is the biggest problem with horns, getting them to work right in this lifetime. Good dynamics for a small amp though. I use a PSB subsonic II sub that works quite well with the rock that listen to.