I'm a little stumped

You folks are being very helpful & I appreciate it very much. Once upon a time I was reasonably fluent in things audio..then life happened and now it's 25 years later.

Sean,
Trading variables is an accurate thought & very true. I enjoy boating quite a bit (started in power boats, now I'm a sailor) and boats are the same way. For every one thing you want (performance, accommodations, handling..) you have to give up something else you really want. It seems about everything is diametrically opposed. It all comes down to priorities & balance.

I had breakfast this morning with a guy I went to highschool (grade school..) with, he said basically the same thing...choices..and it's very personal. He got into audio when I did in the 70's & never left. The last time he was looking for speakers it took him two years. He travels on business a fair amount and in his off time he'd find an audio shop and listened to something...whatever they had. After about 50-60 pairs of speakers he ended up with Snell's C 2's? 4's? 5's? ...he couldn't remember the exact model as he bought them a number of years ago. He also grew up on Mac amps & Klipsch speakers. In fact the speakers before his Snells were Chorus II's. I've heard the Snells a couple times & from what I remember they were very nice, but I need to go and listen them for real. He said this morning that he's identified his next purchase...he auditioned them at the factory a copule years ago...Legacy "Whispers". I received an email from A-gon today that said they were auctioning off the CES demo equipment & a pair of Whispers were on the block. He guessed they'd be up to $16K by now..."aahh Kev, but what a sound...!" I have no doubt he'll get them when he's ready.

Ruebent,

The other components beyond the Mac amp & Chorus speakers are average at best. I don't have much vinyl left anymore. My main source years ago was a Tandberg 7" reel to reel...very nice unit, best they had at the time, but the heads are now burned out & it's unusable. I did check on what it would cost to fix it some years ago...$900..just $300 less than I paid for it in '76.

I have a CD player, Denon...maybe $300 when I bought it 5+ years ago. Forgive me if I'm showing my ignorance, but can one CD player be THAT much better than another? I see them listed for good money, but at this point I'm not sure what that money is buying.

My existing tuner is on it way out, a digital NAD, nothing special & it's getting weak. I'm working on a deal with a guy on an analog tuner that I'm having sent to Don Scott for mods.

I too heard a pair of Tympani's back in the 70's...awesome..took me a couple days to get my the jaw off the ground.

Marco,
Right now Diane Reeves' "Quiet After The Storm" is playing...excellent(!) CD if you're partial jazz/vocals. I listen to alot of jazz...Miles Davis through Norman Brown, Sting is a class act, some rock (Who, Frank Zappa, Hendrix, Phil Collins) some classical, & lately Celtic music is seeing alot of airtime.

Budget...within this framework, without losing all control, money isn't so much an issue...getting me to part with it however probably is... :-). I'm willing to pop a few bucks (thousand?) if I can see (hear) the value in it. I would like to upgrade my system, I'm just not sure what that means yet. As I mentioned, my first foray didn't go so well. :-)

I tossed around the tube-amp suggestion with my buddy this morning & he thought it was as interesting an idea as I did. I appreciate your offer for a listen, but I'm in Wisconsin...long commute, but please suggest away on options. To be honest, much/most of the equipment I see for sale on this site I've never heard of. The variety of equipment available today is mind numbing. I suspect some of it is primarily show & without much go, other pieces are good solid equipment, and others still are good & priced into the heavens without offering much more beyond an inflated price tag.

You mention Jolida & integrated amps...my current Mac is an integrated amp(MA6100, ~80wpc last time it was checked). Is it possible to use my 6100 as a pre-amp into a tube amp...or is this "bad form"?

I checked ebay on the Klipsch speakers...LaScalas are going for reasonable prices. There's a pair of rosewood Khorns on there right now (ugh...pretty speakers). The money isn't bad, but I don't have corners that will fit them.

Blkadr,
To be honest I've lived with Klipsch horns for so long I guess I (wrongly) assumed that 'dynamic' was an attribute of any good speaker. I'm learning that it's an attribute than can be had, sometimes easier than others, but can't be taken for granted. As I mentioned, I haven't given up on the maggies. They may end up being a longer term project while I freshen up the system I have.

Thanks again to all...you're a great help & have offered (are offering) some very level-headed thoughts to mull over.

Thanks for all your thoughts. This is my first post here and I hoping I wouldn't get "...are you nuts man? have you no ears?!" I've been out of the audiophile game for many years & was all pumped up to dive back in....seems I did a face-plant on my first outing. :-(

I haven't written Maggies off by any means. Maybe it's just a memory ripened with age, but my buddies MG1's from almost 30 years ago sounded "stunning". It could be I was young & impressionable...but I was running this same MA6100 amp and a pair of LaScala's at the time.

There is a guy locally that has a pair of MMG's that are well broken in. He runs them with a sub..I'll try to get in touch with him and listen for a bit.

The 1.6's I listen to were said to be about a year old and "...I'm sure they're broken in"....though I wonder if that was the case. They may have been a year old, but who knows if they were seasoned as well as they should be. The room itself was hard surfaces (scattered with equipment on shelves) everywhere...it occurred to me that kinda sucked for an audio shop.

Plato,
Your "..surpassed by a wide enough margin to warrant their retirement" is exactly it. You mentioned "dynamic"...this was a significant shortcoming of everything I listened to, including the Thiels. I didn't realize how much of a shortcoming until I listened to my own setup last night. Horns & drums were jumping out of the Chorus MUCH more than any I auditioned, no comparison. As I've lived with the Chorus speakers for about 10 years now I was (am?) ready to move on & was prepared (hopeful?...willing?) to be blown away by the Maggies ...to a point where I'd bring a set home. Then all I'd need is a boost up in power & I'd be rockin & rollin so to speak. Time to fall back & regroup I guess.

Marco,
My speaker 'history' over the last 30 years is a pair of JBL 100's, Klipsch Lascalas (then I went back to school & my apartment was just slightly larger than the two LaScalas...so I moved to -> ), B&W DM1200's, then the Chorus II's. I see the LaScalas are really going for larger money these days..I saw on pair for $4K new & he would sell them for 3200-3600??? Sounds like a lot as I paid $1100 or $1300 back in '76ish. I haven't considered the Klipchorns-corner horns...good thought! Your tube amp idea is intriguing also. That too never occurred to me, may have to look into that. Any suggestions on make?

Slip,
I'm down, but not out. I haven't written Maggies off. If anything I'm a bit more determined to listen to them 'right'. I may have to look for a used pair of MMG's to play around with. 1-2 hours in a audio shop can't compare to living with them for a while.

Jgeyer/Frogger,
I suspect you're both right. The one's I listened to were not broken in & they are different, very different, than I'm used to. Chalk it up to experience, but I'm going to see if I can hear them for real before I end with a go/no-go.