I agree with every comment you made. I also have never thought the price tag matches the "quality" for MANY of the consumer products bought and sold over the history of commerce...especially in the automotive, electronics, and "bling" categories. I was just initially really surprised at the low cost (low in my humble opinion -- $995 may just as well be $1 million to other members) considering the unreal prices I see on many products highlighted on this site. It pleases me to know a speaker with highly reviewed sound qualities is in the reach of music fans such as my 31 and 28 year-old sons, both who are Public School teachers.
My first experience with Maggies was in 1978. I arrived at my High School girlfriend's house for the first time, I was 16 and she was 15, to pick her up for a date and to meet her parents. As I approached the front door, I heard Black Sabbath's "War Pigs" rocking the front of the house, and my eyes and libido lit up as I thought to myself, "I thought Vicki said her parents were going to be home!". To my surprise, her Mom opened the door to greet me with her Dad sitting in his listening chair in the den, those beautiful Maggies being pushed by a McIntosh MC275 while "Paranoid" was spinning on a Thorens TD125. Needless to say, I got along with her parents VERY well.