What speakers can make a convert of Maggie lovers?

VR4-JR's were the first speaker that really got me out of my Maggies. My living room is my listening room and Maggies are just not a possibility. I'm not sure I could go back to them after having the JR's because I have really gotten used to the really great bass they deliver.

My new GMA Calypso's are stat-like in the mids and highs but with more slam in the bass than Maggies. My jaw has been transplanted permanently on the floor I do believe.

The only speaker that would get out of my Maggie 3.6/Vandersteen 2WQ combination driven by the 500wpc @4 ohm Classe'25, would be a big Apogee such as the Diva. In my current room which is fairly spacious(4500 plus cubic ft)but quite live, planar speakers just sound right. In a more acoustically dead room, I would probably choose a Vandersteen speaker. Perhaps a 2CE or 3a Signature or maybe the basic Quattro. The 5a is wonderful but beyond my means.

I have owned the 1.4 and MMG with sub. I now own the Triangle Celius (I like tube amps now)

3 speakers have blown me away over the years.

mbl - every time I hear them they amaze me - nothing is close

ProAc Response 3's - heard them in a heavily treated room and the imaging was awesome

Triangles - for the money I have heard nothing close (especially with medium power tube amps)

pro-ac reponse 3. Imaging is the point source's forte. Of course the draw back is that the highs have to be excellent because they tend to beam the high frquencies.

Not necessarilly a personal recommendation, but, perhaps more of a thought for consideration: Eminent Technology.

Maybe VMPS would fit the bill.

I have to agree with 04-05-06: Rkeman above - any of the Linkwitz speakers will meet and exceed your expectations (if you can find them used, or build the kit)... but... so will the Emerald Physics and Spatial Audio speakers.

Or, you can have your Maggies modified into Magnestands, which improves their sound to make them sound a lot more dynamic with bass, while retaining their great staging and imaging.

I've tried all of these... and... settled for the Linkwitz Orion's and LX521's. But, the rest are superb!

I moved from Magnepan to Triangle and Ohm.

Eminent Technology, Sanders.

I'm an old planer guy ... Acoustat IIIs, Acoustat IV's, and Martin Logans. I never thought I'd ever leave the planer camp even with their hunger for power.

Then, I had the opportunity to buy a pair of used Legacy Signature III's. Original cost of the Sig III's in the finish I have was around $5000. If you can find them, they can be bought today for under $2000 per pair.

At 93db one can drive them with a 25 watt receiver. My ARC Ref-75se just coasts with the Sig III's. With good electronics they just disappear, and they're every bit as transparent as any planer I've had. They have a ribbon tweeter for the upper highs making for a sweet treble, and they move tons of air.

If your room would allow, I'd even go for a used pair of the ORIGINAL Legacy Focus speaker. Don't go for the newer "A" version. The originals sound better. A good used pair should go for around $3000 to $4000.

The Focus is more relaxed sounding (more natural) than the Sig III's, but they need more room to breath. Still a very efficient speaker so there's no need for tons of power from an amp. I think they are 93db efficient too.

Here's the thing about the Legacy sig III's and the Legacy Focus speakers. A lot of guys bought them and used solid state electronics to drive them. Big mistake. They don't sound their best with solid state, so onto the used market they went.

Tubes are the only way to go with these two Legacy speakers. The first time I heard the Sig III's was at a friends home being driven by a modified Dyna 70. It was enough to convince me to sell the Martin Logans and go for the Legacys. I've never looked back. Every time I upgrade my system these speakers improve right along with the upgrade. At this date, they are amazing.

If I had to get rid of the Legacy speakers, I'd seriously consider the Harbeths.

Happy listening ...

Well, here's another thought. This thread started and had seemingly died over nine years ago. It was only resurrected three days ago.

The original post is sort of irrelevant now because it predates the current *.7 and *.7i Magnepans, whose improvements minimize the negative dogma that accompanied Maggies for so long.

I've had 1.7s for two years now. They are dynamic, they play well at lower levels than the .6s before them. Their volume sweet range kicks in at a lower SPL than before. You can get really good sound out of them with a current production 150wpc NAD amp. I'm using a 30-yr-old Perreaux PMF1150B that I picked up for under $500. It's a good match. So they aren't as amp-picky as before either.

You still need 40-50 inches behind them. I'm sure the DWMs help flesh out the bottom, but I already had twin Mirage MM8s. The modern high powered sealed box subwoofer can integrate very well, despite what many people say.

So in 9 years, dynamic speakers have improved to where their speed, dispersion, and lower box resonances challenge panel speakers. But the panel speakers haven't stood still in that nine years either. Jim Winey's son has taken over design and product launch. It appears that Maggie models will be upgraded and improved far more often than they were before.

In very little time the 1.7 and 3.7 have become the 1.7i and 3.7i respectively.

Spatial Audio M1 Sound open baffle they sound like a planer on steroids