Comparison of Magnepan 1.6QR to the 3.3R

Pricewise the 1.6 and 3.3 are close, within $200, so there's not much to save with the speaker purchase. On the flipside though, I would have to spend more on the amp(s) to drive the 3.3. The 1.6, from what I've heard, is an easier speaker to drive than the 3.3.

Someone selling a 1.6 made the following comment to me. I welcome your comments and observations:

'The 1.6s are much better: more coherent and
musical. The ribbon on the 3.3s does not have the same character as the planar woofers. Secondly, the speakers sound
better out the back than the front, because the woofer is blocked by the front mounted perforated steel plate like the older
maggies. This was corrected in the newer maggies like the 3.6s and the 1.6s, where the plate is in the back.'

Thanks for all the posts, good comments. I'm going to audition some 3.3Rs tonight. I'll be looking for how well they present themselves as a single driver and how the ribbon compares to the 3.6.

Played with some room layouts last night and looked at speaker placement options. The top of a 6' tall 3.3R will be about a foot and a half from my 7'3" ceiling. Any thoughts on what effect that may have?

I listened to the 3.3Rs tonight and liked what I heard overall. A few songs into the audition I thought the speakers were going home with me but still listened to more of the CDs I had along. I played the speakers louder and thought I heard some tones in the left speaker that did not sound right. Listening with my ears next to the mid-woofer panel I could hear a vibration in the panel and suspected delamination. I'm a bit disappointed. I thought the price of $1300 was fair and the speakers were in good condition appearance wise. Now I'm debating next steps... keep looking or lower my offer and pay for repairs. Magnepan quoted $300-500 for what they termed a "strip and repanel".
Having the panels replaced is attractive, gives a new lease on life to the speakers but requires expensive and potentially damaging shipment. What to do...