I have owned MG12s, 1.6s, 2.6s, 3.5s, and 3.6s. I think your best overall bet would be to try to find a pair of 2.6s, which have the true ribbon tweeter and is one of the best speakers Magnepan has ever made (according to my ears and Jim Winey), and, put the money you would save in to a new amplifier. Not a lot of people are familiar with the 2.6s, so they often get overlooked, but I think they are astounding, considering you can get an excellent condition pair on the used market for ~$1000.
I think the 1.6s are wonderful speakers, but there is no question that they sound somewhat veiled next to the true ribbon designs. As other people have said, the 3.5s are hard to drive properly, noticably harder than the 2.6s.
I don't think you should buy the 1.6s for the warranty alone. Magnepans are harder to abuse than you would imagine. The greatest risk with buying used, either 2.6s or 3.5s, is that the shipper may destroy them in transit. I actually had to have Magnepan do serious repairs to both a pair of 2.6s and a pair of 3.5s due to shipping abuse. The good news is that Magnepan is wonderful to work with on these sorts of issues and will charge you very reasonable fees. Also, if only the tweeter gets damaged, they are designed to be easily removed and replaced by the owner, at relatively low cost.
All of their speaker designs produce wonderful, if somewhat different presentations. All three of the models I discussed are dynamic and coherent. As you go up, you get more bass output and airier highs, but, to be frank, the 1.6 is the most coherent of the bunch.
Tradeoffs are inevitable in the life of an audiophile, but if you go with Magnepan, it is hard to make a bad decision!
Good luck to you!
I think the 1.6s are wonderful speakers, but there is no question that they sound somewhat veiled next to the true ribbon designs. As other people have said, the 3.5s are hard to drive properly, noticably harder than the 2.6s.
I don't think you should buy the 1.6s for the warranty alone. Magnepans are harder to abuse than you would imagine. The greatest risk with buying used, either 2.6s or 3.5s, is that the shipper may destroy them in transit. I actually had to have Magnepan do serious repairs to both a pair of 2.6s and a pair of 3.5s due to shipping abuse. The good news is that Magnepan is wonderful to work with on these sorts of issues and will charge you very reasonable fees. Also, if only the tweeter gets damaged, they are designed to be easily removed and replaced by the owner, at relatively low cost.
All of their speaker designs produce wonderful, if somewhat different presentations. All three of the models I discussed are dynamic and coherent. As you go up, you get more bass output and airier highs, but, to be frank, the 1.6 is the most coherent of the bunch.
Tradeoffs are inevitable in the life of an audiophile, but if you go with Magnepan, it is hard to make a bad decision!
Good luck to you!