Comparison of Magnepan 1.6QR to the 3.3R

The ceiling height should have no particular effect on a line-source driver, which is why Maggies can start at the bottom with their driver surface in very close proximity to the floor. The reverberent soundfield of low-ceilinged listening rooms is never preferable to those with somewhat more generous boundary spacing (relative to the listener's ears) in my view, but in your room that would be the case no matter what speaker was used. (Like most of us, I have an 8ft. ceiling which isn't very different in height from your own, and would probably prefer if my room was a couple of feet taller.) The bigger question with dipole radiators is giving them adequate room to the rear, I would usually say a minimum of 5-6ft. out or more, and since flat panels must be toed-in to point directly at the listener's ears (so as to avoid severe HF roll-off), that distance requirement also affects how close you can place them to the sidewalls, probably 2-3ft. min. Compensating virtues are that you don't need to sit quite as far away from the speakers as with many multi-point-source speakers for the sound to be coherent, and yet you also won't lose the immediacy of the response as quickly when you move farther away either, plus the bass response is not as sensitive to boundary reinforcement effects. Which is important because with dipole panels, midrange interference effects can cause changes in where the speakers and the listeners sit to have a greater impact on the overall perceived spectral balance than is usually the case with conventional monopole quasi-point-source speakers. In other words, Maggies can sound pretty great just plopped down anywhere, but really fine-tuning speaker (and listener) placement can still be a bitch (no matter what the ceiling height :-).

Agreed...the Maggies have little vertical dispersion so ceiling height will not play a major role...the main thing is to have ample space behind them...3-4 ft. is not uncommon...most dealers dont even have them probably set up in this configuration since space is a premium...but that is what it will take to truly take advantage of their awesome soundstage depth...space=depth....

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...

For that kind of money u could just buy the 1.6s brand new...and not have to monkey with shipping,repair costs,etc...just my .02

I own the magnepan 1.6 speakers over 11/2 years. I actually
owned maggies for over 10 years. The 1.6 has excellent coherency & very good bass. The 3's were a loser & not that popular at all. Bass was poor, no seamlessness at all. If you are interested I want to see my maggies because I am relocating in August to florida. Believe me you will not go wrong with these speakers especially with tube electronics.