Magnepan owners : past / present

I have had MMGs and MG12s for 4 years.
I loved them: superb imaging, dimensions, overall tone, no box coloration, etc...
What I did not like was the directionality, the need for big amplifiers, and the lack of sub-bass. I did not want to loose the boxless sound so I replaced them with Vandersteen 2Ce signature to get more bass.
Later, when I agreed to move the speakers from my dedicated room to the living room, the speakers were too close the the front wall and too big for the decor.
Tough to find something as good or better for the price. I replaced them Paradigm studio 40. Not much bass below 36-38hz but a much more developed midrange, and more transparency. the studio were a good surprise, very different. My next speakers will be either the fb1i PMC when I am rich or vandersteen 1C.

i unhooked my 500 watt [into 4 ohm load] emotiva from my mmgs and hooked up my decco integrated [50 into 8 ohms i don,t know about 4]. nope.....no way. this isn,t exactly the final word at all, but for me i will keep magnepans and power. thanks john. when i get a larger home i will get some 1.7s..one day//ha

I had 1.6's (twice), and 3.6's in Mye stands. I enjoyed both, but could not get the 3.6's to mate well with my room. i went down in size and bought Merlin TSM-mme's. I have had no desire to upgrade from the Merlin's. They do the job for my room.

"i went down in size and bought Merlin TSM-mme"

Good small monitors are a reasonable option to Maggies for many IMHO.

Not exactly the same in terms of the nature of the sound, but a lot of the same strengths in a slightly different flavor.

Good small monitors are a reasonable alternative especially if what you are seeking is more kick and impact in the dynamics than one typically gets with planars alone.

I started with Magneplanar - Magnepan speakers when they first arrived on the scene - Tympani 1U, a couple of other Tympani, ending with the Tympani IV-A, also owned MG-3.6r and MG-20.1 speakers.

To my way of thinking, nothing at similar price points to the various Magnepan speakers comes close in direct comparison.

The biggest problem with the Magnepan speakers, in my situation, is the physical size. My several music rooms have required that speakers be placed in front of windows and the wonderful things do mess up a view.

I replaced my last pair of Maggies (the 20.1's) with a pair of Avalon Eidolons which cost almost twice as much and sounded so good that I was reasonably satisfied with the trade. But note that as I stated earlier, I had to spend a lot more money to equal the Magnepan sound.