B&W 802 N or Magnepan 3.6 ?

Smaller room: the B&W's if you have a large room to accomodate the 3.6s' and a little patience in getting them just right in the room I'd go with the magnepan's.

totally different approach IMHO.

Listen first and find out what you like.

Long time Magnepan fan here and current owner of the 3.5s. But I heard the N802s at a dealer a year ago and this was one of the most impressive (read synergy) systems I have heard in a long time. The dealer really had put much effort to get this system to sing. So I know the N802s have excellent potential.

The Maggies do the mids so beautifully and the ribbon tweeter brings on qualities like few other speaker systems can touch. But the Maggies have their own problems here as well which have been covered over and over in other threads here.

There's so much said about how well the Maggies work with Bryston amps but once you hear these speakers with tube amps (200w just barely works here) you may never want another speaker again.

It all comes down to personal preference. Just keep in mind that the amp you choose is just as important as the speaker you choose here. Go into this search with an open mind and try to hear both of these in systems as close as possible to yours.

John

I have a pair of Maggie 3.6R's and would never even consider changing to something else. This speaker is absolutely incredable in there presentation of music. No cone speaker that I know of can play non fatiguing music like these. I've owned lots of cone speakers and though they are quiet good, they just can't match a pair of 3.6's This is the best speaker bargain going today. I'll never sell mine!!! You can't go wrong with this "GREAT CLASSIC"

I have owned both. Maggies first then went to B&W 802's, just sold them for B&W 800's. The Maggies were great, my only complaint was the lack of bass. I installe the Vandersteen 2wq sub which made a big difference but, it was another component. The other issue with Maggies is the overall size, while not deep they are tall and you have to have enough room both behing and to the sides or they just will not sound as they should. I had 3' to each sidewall, 10' to the back wall and still could have used more room to the sides. The Maggies are much more forgiving as far as source equipment, B&W's will let you know about all the flaws in your components, cables, and disc's or vinyl. But once matched with the correct components they are just as musical in the mids and highs as the Maggies, and have a deep well controlled bass that is awsome for jazz, rock, blues which you just cant get out of Magnepan's. If you purchase the B&W's you will find that you own some cd's you will only listen to in your car. Poor recording quality is extremely noticable. Having owned both, I prefer the B&W's, they are just as musical, easy to drive and have good deep bass, and take up less room. On the down side they are twice the price of the Maggies. If you can afford the B&W's go for it. If you really want to torture yourself listen to the Nautilus 800's.