What don't you like about these speakers?

I really appreciate the opinions so far. To answer several of the questions posed....I will take my Dynaudios with me to sit next to the speakers, I am going to Primus Audio and he strikes me on the phone as the perfect guy for me, and he has the right equipment, I currently have inexpensive Outlaw Audio monoblocks but am looking to change out to something else this year. Whichever speaker I choose, I will take with me to audition the amps. I'm not a tube guy, so I will shop for something SS. My Dyns (or my ears!)took 2-3 months to break in, so I assume the same for theses Dyns. To be truthful, I took my Dyns into a dealer in St. Louis and compared to the Focus, there was not a great deal of difference. Some on the high end, a little in the midrange, no difference in the low end. Maybe I'm so used to the ones I have....... I will have an entire day to listen to speakers while my wife does her shopping. It's not easy for me to spend $3000 and I want to make the right decision. Again, I appreciate the opinions so far. Is there anyone who just didn't like any of these speakers? It would be quite a statement if these speakers were so uniformily liked.

Tpsonic-always good advise to just listen and enjoy. The problem with auditioning speakers in a store is that it's not your room, there is a breakin period and the mind gets confused comparing speakers, but it still is a blast to listen to great music reproduced by great equipment!
Entrope- my home is an hour west of St. Louis. I bought my VR-1s from Primus and liked the experience. I have been around St. Louis long enough to watch retail audio stores go by the wayside-some fine ones too. A sad consequence of mega electornic stores and the WalMart phenomenon of buying cheap stuff, even if it breaks in 6 months. St. Louis still has a few stores left, and I like to visit them. I fear one day they may not be there either. I have been guilty of some mail order purchases, but only a few. The majority has been from local shops. Thanks for the responses so far. I look forward to hearing more about these speakers.

Mrtennis,

I have a friend in St. Louis who is a Magnepan dealer. He closed his shop but still carries the line. He is sold on them. He has a pair hooked up at his house, not sure which one. I have considered them and like the idea. I don't know if my layout presents a problem. I cannot bring the speakers out more than 36" from the wall I face, there is a 60 inch RPTV recessed flush in the facing wall between the speakers which projects 12 inches into the room (and I usually cover it when I am listening), and I sit about 11 feet from the speakers on a sofa. I'm afraid I won't know if they would work until they are set up. Maybe my friend would loan me his, but I know I can't order a pair just to try out. Any thoughts on my placement?

I am very fortunate that my measurements of in room frequency response are +/= 3 dB across the range, except for a hump of 6-8 dB at 40 Hz. I am sure that is the room and where I sit. That is something that can be tuned with room treatments. Otherwise, the room is working well with difraction on the sides and quilts hanging behind the speakers. The only issue is how far away from the back and sides do Maggies have to be to sound right. Wish me luck!

Bartok fan,

I understand your view, but it is difficult for me to actually audition speakers becuase there aren't enough shops nearby. Speakers are so individual that my ears need time to adjust and appreciate them. I am sure there are very many in the $3000 range that are wonderful, but I have to narrow it down to those I can compare. The other problem is side by side comparison, which is a must for me. My brain can't remember the subtleties of a speaker heard yesterday while I'm listening to another today. Luckily, Primus has all three (and more, such as Triangle) on display and can be heard side by side. It would be enjoyable to spend a week just swapping and comparing , but unfortunately work gets in the way. On the other hand, I can think of few things more enjoyable than listening to music all day long, reproduced by great equipment. Grab a pizza and a bottle of wine and make the most of it!

KkM and Mrtennis,

I really appreciate the sincerity of your responses. I haven't found another forum with so many caring people and so few troublemakers. I will contact my friend and go to his house to audition the Maggies. I will place them in a way to simulate the restrictions in my room. I spent the better part of the day adjusting my Dynaudios and have (again) found out that every speaker has its sweet spot and trial and error is the only way. In fact, I suspect that when I listened to the Focus 220s that they were not ideally placed. They are one of the least expensive speakers in that shop! Anyway, the journey is the destination and the road goes on forever.

Kkm,

Nice summary of the two speakers. Good info in that post...things to listen for when I start comparing speakers.