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Vandersteen 5a vs. B&W 802D vs. Maggie 3.6 vs.?

I've had this addiction for over thirty years and am ready to purchase my "last" set of speakers. I currently have Vandersteen 3A sig's. with v2q (pair) driven my Mac c2200 and mc402. I'm looking for the best MUSICAL speaker I can find. I've owned a ton of stuff over thte years and know that I want to stay away from anything bright or even remotely tilted in the high end. I listen to mostly rock although I don't like to listen at terribly loud levels.

I know my choices seem diverse in cost as the 3.6's are signifigantly lower but I would retain the Vandersteen subs with these.

I'm looking for advise from fellow A'goners as I believe I can trust your opinions far better than any dealer. I have heard from way too many dealers a promise of musicality only too find a product that may be rated highly but sounds like sand paper to my ears.......Thiel 3.6's!

Unfortunatley, the only high end dealer near me sells only B&W. I must travel three to four hours to find any other brand.

I'd love to hear others thoughts and input and I thank you one and all in advance!

Tim
128x128timball
usblues
1,217 posts
 
You cant trust us anymore than any other source.We all have different systems on different power grids in different countries.We all like different types of sounds.We would like to help you but cant.All we can do is present you with our likes/dislikes as posted above which will do nothing to help you.To test my theory,buy all above recommendations and report back after listening to them.We cant even help you a choose a car or type of peanut butter or religon.We want to,desperately,but cant.Good luck,were all in this together,Bob
tboooe's avatar
tboooe
1,009 posts
 
I used to own the BW 802D speaker and for certain applications and tastes, they could be great. I thought they had a wonderful midrange that made especially made female voices sound magical, albeit at the expense of a bit of coloration and warmth. The diamond tweeter is smooth and seductive, though not as extended as I would have preferred. I think the 802d is great for jazz, vocal jazz, and small ensemble chamber or acoustic music. To my ears, they are not the most dynamic or fastest speaker out there which may not be a good fit for your musical tastes. In my room, I also had an issue with the bass which was a bit boomy and flabby (i.e. slow and uncontrolled). Good luck!
pbb
1,140 posts
 
I was more than unlucky with my Maggie 3.6 experience: bought used right here, down most of the time, sold for a song to an engineer who had the technical skills to rebuild them. More power to him.

Vandersteen 5s are some of the best speakers I have heard and they have it all: deep taut bass, a beautiful midrange and very good performance for normal dynamic tweeters and delightful imageing. My two cents worth: a great all around speaker.
rackon
301 posts
 
If you like Vandies then why not go with the 5As or Quatros? They sound great on all kinds of music and they can rock.

Personally, I'm not a big fan of the 802s, like the poster above I didn't find them very dynamic (ompared to other options (I listen to a lot of large scale symphonic BTW).

I do like Maggies, but you'd want to augment them with subs for rock, plus you need to bring them out well into the room.
If you mostly listen to rock, I hope you have a vinyl rig.
joey54
432 posts
 
As your post says "the best musical speaker" out there, I would suggest that you look into the Harbeth Monitor 40.1 as it becomes available this month. They are the most musical and natural sounding speakers I have ever heard.They play great at low levels as well. I currently have the Monitor 40's and think it's one of the best speakers I have ever heard.
I have owned many Vandersteen speakers as well (5's, 3A's Quatro's, 1C's) The Vandersteen 5A's are very musical speakers and would be another good choice. I am not a fan of B&W speakers so I can't really comment on them.
Try to hear the Harbeth's before you make a decision.
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