Detail, balance, colour, cheap.

It needs a powerful amp to really enjoy it's strengths

You go out in search of an amplifier. You have a bugget of about € 4000 ($ 4600). You go in to the first store you stumble upon and you tell the salesman what it is you're looking for. He looks at you and says "maybe you would like to hear an alternative". He didn't have an equivalent of my speakers so he said he would try something on me. He came back with a Primare amplifier which he hooked up to these pillars. So I wanna know what kind of speakers he uses. Magnetostats he tells me but also tells me to shut up and listen. Within 5 minutes of listening I was hooked up. Next thing I know he is talking about prices. "What do you think these Maggies cost?" I think about € 2500 each. He laughs at me. "What would you say if you had to pay half of that for the set". Do you want to get rid of them??. "No, that's the price.

I owned these speakers as part of an all-Maggie surround set-up. I since sold off the whole system, and I haven't yet re-constituted the system. However, I did want to endorse the suggestion below that the REL Storm III makes a perfect complement. Maggies are wickedly fast, and if you are a demanding audiophile you will hear most any resonably priced subwoofer you can think of (a very BAD thing). This is not the case with the REL--all you hear is your Maggies goin' all the way down to 20hz. The seamlessness and speed was just perfect. If you've got the scratch, do not fail to consider the REL--the combo makes a truly full-range speaker, and a giant-killer.

Sound stage clarity detail

maybe size but that was no problem with me and when you think about it the depth makes it take LESS floor space than most floor standing speakers.

I have gone through a lot of speakers like the rest of my audeo equipment because I'm never satisfied,thanks to e-bay this is easy to do but I'm stuck with the sound of the magnepan 1.6 and will never go back to conventional drivers. The magnepans are that good! Detailed and open sound especially in the mid and high frequency probably because the tweeter is also the midrange and is still crossed over low for a midrange! The sound from low end to high is so even it sounds like one driver! Yes,one FAST driver! The only speakers I could go to now are the next magnepans up.I have an old sealed AR subwoofer taking care of the low end impact and they blend nicely.I got the magnepans in white with the lightest wood thinking it would blend nicely and thinking that black or grey would look like monoliths from 2001 in the room. Well the white blended in great ,better than I thought.The build quality of the magnepans are great to. One thing, it took about a year to break the speakers in because I don't listen to them every day over that time they exagerated about 1000hz but even then they where great but now I just love them.

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mmgs

Imaging, sound stage, dynamics, speed, sounds as warm and close to live as I've heard for under $6,000.

Size, correct placement takes some time and effort.

I built my original system primarily for DVD/movie playback, not for music purposes. Turns out I spend a lot more time with music than movies so it was time to rearrange/upgrade. My originals were 5 M&K S-150THX's plus an MX-350 sub, a Harman Kardon AVR65, and some cheesy Panasonic progressive scan DVD player. I used the DAC in the HK for CD music playback. IMHO, the M&K system was and still is outstanding for movies. The 150's seem very accurate and precise, and imaging isn't as important with 5.1 movie sound. The sub was very tight and could shake the walls nicely when needed. However, I did not like the system at all for music. It was very harsh and digital and I could only listen to one or two tracks of my favorite tracks, even at modest volume, before I would tire of listening. So, I set out to bring a more musical nature to my system. I knew my speakers were the place to start so I went out and started auditioning. I should add here that I did *not* read *any* reviews before going out so as to not prematurely influence my decision making. I listen to a wide range of music and usually use a few Dave Matthew's tracks along with Clapton as I am very familiar with their sound on CD and live. For female vocals I like to use Charlotte Church. Anyway, I figured I was going to spend around $4000 on these new speakers and listened to almost everything up to and in that range including Paradigm, Klipsch, B&W, etc.. Several stores and a lot of tracks later, I was almost ready to give up as nothing had really grabbed my attention. Then one store suggested I listen to the Maggies and everything changed. The speakers disappeared and the depth was simply amazing. Cymbals sounded like cymbals and I could hear sweaty hands squeaking on the fretboard. On live CD tracks, the audience sounded so eerily real that I had a moment of deja vu about previous live concerts I had been to. I won't go on and on here in technical detail--you have to hear these to understand. An hour or two later (the longest I had been able to listen in forever), I was hooked and was ready to be disappointed when I asked what the price was. "Sixteen" the guy told me, and I honestly assumed he meant 16,000. "Excuse me, I didn't catch that" I said. "Sixteen hundred" came the reply. Stunned, I asked "Each?" "No, the pair." For the second time that day, I couldn't believe my ears. I never whipped out my Visa so fast! I also ended up ordering a Rotel RB-1080 amp for $1,000 (200x2 @ 8ohms) to power them. In retrospect, I think nowhere near this much power is needed for the Maggies. I respectfully disagree with those reviewers on here who say you need tons of power; what you really need is good clean power. All in all this is the best kept secret in affordable audio.

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M&K, B&W, Paradigm, etc.

Imaging, Soundstaging, Transparency, Beautiful mid range, Musicality, Transient Response, space between instruments, Realism & lifelike.

None.

This is a superb speaker. Soundstage is huge and engaging. Midrange and highs are tuneful. Bass is tight but no impact. You need a sub if you want "OOMMPP" impact, recommended that you integrate it with Rel Storm III. The maggies must be placed at least two feet from the rear wall. I can safely say that I will never go back to box speakers again, no regret! Warning: Must let it run for at least 1 month before you can hear the full potential of what this maggies is capable of producing!!! My system : Sunfire Power Amp Conrad Johnson PV11 Pre-Amp Musical Fidelity X-Ray CD Player Magnepan 1.6QR Speakers Rel Storm III Subwoofer JPS Lab interconnect & speaker cables

Transparency, mids, coherence, image placement and image SIZE. Amazingly affordable. High-end receiver friendly. Forgiving character that mates well with less than esoteric electronics. Musically invlolving like no other.

Quasi-ribbon tweeter has lower resolving power than excellent midrange. (Think of a line-source array of Danish soft-domes rather than titanium. Try Synergistic, Better Cables, or Kimber interconnects-- and possibly speaker cabling as well-- with silver content.) Gobbles up power like Scooby-do on snacks. (Easy constant 4 ohm load, however.) Large and somewhat monolithic compared to the "cuteness" of Logans (which DO fit nicely into the set of "Friends").

Like most of us who pen our thoughts here, I'm an audiophile on a budget. Shopping for a reasonable home theater, I began my journey by auditioning virtually every well-regarded speaker in the $2000 to $8000 range. After that adventure, I found it no small wonder than Magnepans have the highest overall customer ratings extant. I heard both the 1.6 and 3.6. Though neither is perfect, they WOWED me with their uncanny and MUSICAL transparency, coherence, and life-sized "virtual reality" imaging. Allow me to digress. Quads and Martin Logans have their own kind of magic. However, Quads look like Peterbilt radiators, beg to be tube-fed, produce a smallish wavelaunch, and are pricey ($6000 to $8000). MLS are techy-pretty, but, as one reviewer put it, are mermaid-like--gorgeous from the mid-point on up, but disappointing below that. Sonically, that means poor woofer integration and a diminishing image size as you dip into the lower registers. Furthermore, for all the bell-like transparency of electrostats, I agree with Michael Fremer that they sound "plasticky," and lack image body and weight. Magnepan detail, on the other hand, is MUSICAL detail, as another respected audio journalist put it. Although I haven't yet heard the offerings from Innersound, it seems they have overcome these 'stat ahortcomings, at prices of $3000 to $6000. GREAT people to deal with, too: I got a warm and informative e-mail from Roger Sanders himself in response to my queries. He was willing to go all-out to make me a happy customer. If you want the best electrostats on the planet, my bet is that you won't be dissapointed with Innersound. Check 'em out. I decided to go with Maggies (1.6 or 3.6) because they're a bit less demanding electrically, and have all the bases covered for home theater at affordable prices. If you MUST have affordable high-end "box" speakers, try the French or the Brits. Energy Veritas is impressive for the money, but tends to the cooler/brighter side of neutral. Same for NHT, Thiel, and Revel. Meadowlarks are great for stereo, but not home theater. Paradigm, Pinnacle, PSB and Energy Conoisseur are tubby and can also be "hot" on top. Paradigm Reference is neutral, but emotionally uninvolving along with Infiniti and B&W. Boston Reference is warm and engaging, albeit with limited transparency. (Not unlike the Italians in this regard.)

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Nothing compares for the price. See above--I did my homework.

Detailed and transparent with a high musicality

Large, require lot of space, although i do not have a very spacious room, they look well. My wife loves them.

These are the best speakers I have ever had. Imagine that I traded my Sonus Faber Extrema for them. This change have resulted in more detailed, fast and transparent music. Although I have used it for only one week, it works well out of the box. I expect that the performance will improve greatly after a coupl of month. With the 1.6 I can hear lot of details unheard with the Extremas. Also, the speed is incredible regardless of the fact that I use them with a tube amplifier (Mesa Baron). In short I am delighted, enthralled with these speakers. My system: Mesa Baron amplifier with 4881 tubes Sonic Frontiers preampifier SFL-2 tubes Magnepan MG1.6 QR main speakers Triangle Titus 2002 rear speakers Jolida tube cd player Sony SACD-DVD 550 player Cables: MIT-500 (Spectral) with Harmonic Technology Truth Link and Audioquest Midnight Hyperlitz speaker cable (biwired). ADCOM GSA 700 video amplifier SCE (Harmonic Recovery system) Sunfire MKII subwoofer Before buying them I heard some good speakers like Triangle Cellius, very good, but active speakers, Martin Logan Aeon , very good but expensive. Finally, I decided for the Magnepan because of a higher utility/cost relationship. This is a highly recommended speaker and a real bargain for the price.

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Infinitys,JBL,Mirage,BW, Near and Sonus Faber

All the qualities possible when you find the best setting.

There's only ONE position to listen to them.

I use to live, in the beginning of the ninenties, with a pair of Maggies SMGB. The value for yhe money (even in Europe) was great. When I decided to upgrade my hifi system, the 1.6 was the only model (for my money) I could think about. Of course a 2.6 (doesn't exist anymore, too bad), a 3.5 or 3.6 should have been better yet, but couldn't afford the price. Anyway, the 1.6 was a huge progress in my quest to the best possible for my money. The lack of deep bass is not a problem for me. Most of the time, deep bass just make your window or even your wall trembling and your neighbors screaming (Aniway , I mostly listen to jazz and chamber classical and contemporary music). But I can assure you than a symphony (any Malher), a concerto or an opera (try Alban's Berg, "Lulu" in Boulez version)will be handling perfectly by the 1.6. Even rock music, if you don't push the level button of your two hundred watts amplifier to his bottom, is perfectly "translate" by the Maggies. Aniway, if you are listening mostly to accoustic music, the 1.6 are for you: the scene is large, (the instrument/singers have their real size: The maggies are the only speakers of this price who make a difference in size beetween an double bass and a violoncello). The quality of the mid and upper range are far better than any classic boxy speakers of the same price (and as in Europe the price is much high than in USA, it means than lots very acclaim speakers are, here, disqualified). Now, lets's come to some points who can interest maggies owners or future buyers. My quite long experience with maggies has learn me this: they don't need a powerfull amplifier, they just need QUALITY amplifier. I use to drive the SMGB with to mono old french valve amplifiers (a push pull of EL84. Their power didn't go further than 18 watts per channel and it was largely suffisant to make those maggies works perfectly, with a precise and very warm sound). For the 1.6, I bought a pair of mono amplifier from Cairn (also a french design). They produce 50 watts by channel BUT in A Class. They give to the 1.6 the warmth of the tubes with a sound more analytic who match perfectly with the speakers. You can push the button of your preamp and not fear any distorsion at, nearly, any level. The bass are deeper than with other amp (I try some very famous one as Krell, Jeff Rowland or Mac Intosh and it didn't work as well).

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Martin Logan Aerius, Quest, JBL, Infinity (With rubbon tweeter), Proac.

clarity. transparency. detail. and they're not even broken in yet.

Pretty darn big.

I just set up these guys a couple days ago, right in front of my Mirage OM-7 speakers. Didn't really get much of a chance to fiddle with it's placement other than to get the image centered. Played a few tracks to make sure it was working properly and it sounded pretty nice. Last night I fiddled with the positioning a bit more, although the tiny room doesn't allow for much. My wife came in while I was sitting there listening and the second comment she made was that these were so much more detailed than the Mirages. (The first comment was how imposing they look.) As I was listening, I did notice that the music was more...like...the only thing that comes to mind is like opening a window upon a nice cool (perfect humidity and temp), refreshing spring morning in the mountains overlooking the valley with snow capped peaks crystal clear in the distance. Can't wait til they get broken in. Associated equipment: some Monster cable speaker wire, Rotel RMB-1075 amp, Tara Labs RSC Prism interconnects, RSP-976 processor, some Tara Labs optical cable, Pioneer 333 DVD player. Unfortunately the current room is way too small. 7x15x8. I guess some house rearranging is in order.

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Rock Solid Mirage OM-7

Amazing sound for the price. Select your favorite audiophile terms: imaging, micro/macrodynamics, tonality, resolution, smoothness, etc, etc.

Size can be a constraint. Placement can be difficult.

I was just forced to put my 1.6QRs up for sale, since due to a temporary oversees relocation for work, they don''t fit into my small apartment. So this review is from a different standpoint, but the end result is the same. I''ve auditioned many box speakers that will fit into my apartment -- JMLabs, B&W, Tannoy, Snell, Thiel, Triangle, etc up to $5000 and nothing comes close to the maggies. When I get back to the US and get a bigger house the first thing I will do is buy another set, maybe even 3.Xs. I can''t recommend them highly enough. For now, I am using B&W Nautilus 805s, which cost about $2000 with stands. They are a very good speaker, with an amazing tweeter, and technically sound great, but don''t grab me emotionally like the maggies did. "You are there" just isn''t there. A couple of points from experience: 1) I''ve auditioned many maggie models at probably 7 or 8 different hifi shops over the years. Exactly one shop was able to give a reasonable demo. All others had a horrible setup that were an injustice to the speakers. Definitely demo them at home if you are at all interested. 2) I''ve run them with solid-state and tube amps, and although the high-power solid-state definitely helps the bass, the tube midrange magic wins me over. I was running them with a Mesa Baron, rated at about 60W per side in triode mode, with good results -- bass not perfect but good enough. I also drove them with a 60W per side Threshold class A solidstate amp, which drove them much more powerfully than a 200W Adcom GFA555. My experience is quality of power first, then quantity. They will suck as much current as you can give, but they can also work well without it. 3) Bass depends not only upon where the speakers are, but where you listen. You can get great bass if you try. You''re living room arrangement may look ridiculus when you get done, but you can find a way. Also, you will be able to get good bass at your listening position, but it will probably not be consistent around the room. So if your goal is to have bass everywhere in the room for parties, you probably won''t get it. These are not really party speakers. In summary, I''m completely converted to maggies. Everything else I listen to just doesn''t compare, even at 2-3 times the price. Give them a try at home, invest some careful time, its worth it.