Maggies 3.6 vs 20.1

You really need about 7' behing the 20.1's to make them really shine. So you need a relatively large room. If you have the room, the 20.1 is more coherent through the crossover regions and, goes a little lower in bass response. Also a bit more dynamic.

This takes nothing away from the 3.6 though so be careful interpreting my comments. Properly positioned (and they need some room too) the 3.6 will produce a stunning soundstage.

Actually, I could argue the 1.6 is a more coherent speaker than the 3.6. But, the 1.6 treble will not match the true ribbon for transparency and truth of timbre. The ribbon does a better job of separating out the individual textures and naunces in the music. But again, this takes nothing away from the 1.6 because it is also an outstanding speaker - especially considering it's price.

You can get a quality active crossover for the 3.6 from this place:

http://www.magnepanstudio.de/Magneplanarstudio-uebersicht.htm

Sorry that it is in German but, email them and Mr. Schneider will respond in English. His English is excellent. The crossover is about $500 and he has been making these for several years. He is an authorized Magnepan dealer. Mr. Schneider is an astute audiophile so you don't have to worry about his implentation of parts or circuit topology in this crossover. He knows what he is doing. He is not a shyster trying to make a fast buck with some fashionable mod.

On the Eminent Technology LFT-VIII subject, I too have owned these and, they were credible speakers. The soundstage is where I had reservations. It had a constrained (or perhaps recessed) air about it. And, it was not very wide. And, the vertical dispersion stunk. But to many, these will not be issues. After all, depending on the room one may not want too much vertical dispersion. And, many audiophiles prefer a more relaxed or laid back soundstage. I happen to prefer a more vivid and immediate stage. So preferences will play a big role. In any event, as someone pointed out, the Eminents are very competitively priced at $1500 so they deserve consideration.

Those Martin Logans are more of a mixed bag for me. I like them and, I don't like them. The stunningly pure tonality of the midrange was accompanied by the glare (or beaming). The Innersound Eros does this as well. In auditioning them, they sound immediately impressive and it is easy for one to overlook the bit of glare. But living with them worries me. When it comes to electrostatics I like the Soundlabs. Their method of panel construction tends to solve the beaming and limited dispersion issues.