Maggies a waste if only 3' from backwall?

Thanks so much for the replies so far. It seems that some are finding success with 3', but others are suggesting less than max performance. Nice to know that James thinks the sweetspot is no smaller than a B&W, since I do have N803's right now, lol.

I am very surprised at the suggestions to drop down as low as the 1.7, as I would have thought that the maggies just get much better across-the-board farther up the ladder. Especially since, at least according to everything I've read, the 3.6 or 20.1 is not in any way a bass-heavy speaker that can overpower a room. I'm willing to pay over 10k for a speaker like the 20.1 and have read that it kills the 3.6 (which is wonderful in it's own right), yet some are recommending the 1.7 like it competes with 10k speakers (box spkrs included). I am really confused by that. I do love the maggie sound, but I can't see a 1.7 competing at 5x over it's head. Help me out here, what am I missing?

My other option for the open airy sound might be open baffle like a Legacy Whisper or a NOLA Ref3 or Micro, but the palpable presrence of that maggie sound is undeniable, dynamic shortcomings noted.

Keep those thoughts coming. Much appreciated.

Philjolet, that's one of those things I've recently come to understand about the maggies, the concept of spending way more on the amps than the speakers to coax the best sound out of them. This is a concept I'm just starting to wrap my head around, having always believed that the speaker was the biggest budget item. However, space is still my issue. Yes, I can move them out farther than 3', but then they get in everybody's way, and it's just not practical unless I can put them on casters like the B&W 802D or Legacy Whispers.

Johnnyr, you are a maggie dealer, you've got the 20.1's, and you know your stuff. What say you about my dilemma? (and don't say go with vandies, lol!). Is 3' just not enough? For what it's wrth I can stretch to maybe 3.5 ft, but no practical way to leave them 5-6 ft out.

Seems like my next thread will be "what box speaker sounds most like a planar/stat but can be placed closer to wall."

Ah, sthomas, but the magic of the maggie is only available in planar/stats, although open baffle comes close. The HD's have a ribbon tweet I think, so there is some resemblance, but not that holographic, palpable, 3D sound. Yes, the HD, as with other box speakers, will do some things better, and as far as I've read, nothing else comes as close to full range deep bass response in it's price class, but it's still a box. On the other hand, the Whisper, with an open baffle design, seems to have similar qualities to the planar/stat crowd, at least from what I've read (and they can be placed closer to a wall)

Duke, if I diffuse or absorb the backwave, don't I kill the ambiance, depth, palpability, etc of the dipole sound? It seems to me that the bi-directionality (maggie, soundlab) or the omni-directionality (mbl, ohm)or the boxlessness (nola, legacy whisper) is what makes these speakers different (and to me, better) than boxes.

stthomas, am I wrong to assume that the bigger maggies afford better bass, dynamics, etc? If I can afford 10k or more, why would I want to drop down to smaller maggies? As much as i like maggies, i don't think the smaller maggies will compete with far more expensive spkrs, as the things the boxes (or baffle-less) do better will far outweigh what the small mags do well.