Anything better than 1.7 Maggies

Someone just sold, or tried to sell, a beautiful pair of factory rebuilt Tympani IVa's for $2000 something. "Maggies with bass," as a friend described the Tympanis -- they'll smoke even the 3.6's, if you have the room for them. Maybe he still has them? Otherwise I agree, the 3.6's are a good choice, the true ribbon will do what you want with the highs.

http://tinyurl.com/76flblj

I don't think you'd have any trouble fitting 3.7's in a 19 x 18 room.

I think 400 or 500 watts is a very practical amp for Maggies. Still, I've owned MMG's, and also Tympanis. I love the MMG's, which seem to me one of the most amazing bargains in audio. But comparing the MMG's to the Tympanis is like comparing a lap dog to a great dane.

I know someone who has 2500 watts on the bass panels of his Tympani IVa's. He's measured 120 dB SPL's with them! My MMG's started to show signs of strain in the mid 90's. Not to mention that they went down to about 55 Hz, while the big ones go down into the mid 20's. And the true ribbon tweeters are a lot cleaner than the quasi ribbon tweeters.

Man, I've been discussing levels on two groups for the last two days and I'm getting a bit fatigued. :-) I guess I'd say that in my experience, the Tympanis will rock, but the MMG's won't, not without a sub, anyway. On classical, the MMG's can sound strained on large ensemble material if you listen at natural levels, but not at typical home listening levels, which are lower. The Tympanis cut though natural levels like butter. But these days, I don't listen to anything at those levels.

I guess I'd add that while long-term 120 dB levels are hazardous to your ears, short-term 120 dB peaks are pretty uncommon in classical music and very brief and so probably won't harm your ears unless you're a musician and exposed to them all the time. A concert grand for example produces 120 dB peaks up close. So it isn't as extreme as it sounds.