Eminent vs MLs vs Maggies

If you are going to have a big, stange looking planar speaker in your house, you really aught to consider an Apogee. Parts are now available and there are two websites available for support so don't be afraid to investigate them. Specifically, I can recommend the Stage, Caliper Signature, Duetta Signature and Diva, for the full range models (and yes, they do respond well to adding a modern, well made sub) and the Slant 6 & 8, Mini Grands, Studio Grands, and if you have the mula and can find'em, the Grands for the hybrid, cone/ribbon models. Like almost all di-poles, they need room to breath and distance from the listener so this translates to 3-6 feet out from the front wall and 8-15 feet from the listening position. However, once properly settup and fed, they can be astonishing performers.

I've owned Maggies (1.2s and auditioned the 1.6s, 3.5s), listened quite a bit to a friend's Apogee Divas (phenominal speakers). Maggie can be very seductive. Although I love some things about planars - coherency, speed, musicality, imaging - getting them to work in my room was difficult. Planars need plenty of space, and most of them also have a very narrow sweet spot. I've admired, but never fallen i love with stats. (Did fall in love with Quad midrange, however.) One speaker that you might check out is Newform Research. They use a ribbon driver with a dynamic woofer. Gotten lots of praise from hard to please people and they are very affordable. Available direct from manufacturer with 30 day money back guarantee.

I have owned versions of Quads, MG, M-L’s, and ET’s, but only the MG1.6's and Quads in recent times...all were very good speakers. Regarding the ET's, I think that all of the advantages that current electronics and cables can make in a system verses what I used 10 years ago effect what my recollections are. I owned a pair of the LFT-IV's and the LFT-VI's in the late 80’s and early 90’s, and I still can't recall hearing a faster speaker than either of these two. In a decent size room, they throw a huge soundstage and produce a deep and very fast bottom-end. These speakers “let go of the notes”! I do recall wishing for better upper extension, but that could have also been related to electronics/cabling. Both models were power hungry and I used several amps with them: first, a Counterpoint 220, and later, an Audio Research D-240. I tried an ARC D115 with them, but it really couldn’t drive them. I ordered my LFT-VI’s with Audio-Quest Clear wiring, which I provided, which made a nice improvement over the stock units. I also got a nice improvement on the top-end through bypassing the factory capacitors with .68, .33, and .01mf WonderCaps. That said, I do not know what the current market is for used ET’s, but that may be important to consider if you decide to try them. I hope you can arrange to audition a pair. Good Luck!