Maggie 1.6 vs Von Schweikert VR 4

OK, I am going to chime in. For more "slam" try more power. Byston makes great amps, you would be surprised at how much more slam you could get by moving up in the Byston's, to the next power level. I had a 14 SST with my Maggie 1.6Rs and I couldn't believe how much the lower end tightened. Also, adding the excellent Vandersteen 2wq (or older 2w actually), is a great way to augment the Maggies.

That said, I really like the Von S's as well. Great speaker, detailed, open, definitely more of a "Slam" factor. Try the Vandersteen 2ce Sig as well if you want to move away from Planars. Or a hybrid, such as the Innersounds (I like the older, rather than the newer models), or there are some very adament fans of the Eminent Technology speakers.

Good luck.

I have not heard the VR4's but I have Maggie 1.6's in a second system with a REL StormIII and they will ROCK. I'm driving them with a 300 watt SS Classe' amp in a 16x21 ft. room.

the maggies are made in minnesota. the vr4's are of dubious origin. the maggies are classics. the vr4's give a great audition. there are no 3 fingered kids working at the white bear lake facility.

Well Fellas - These are some interesting and educated responses. Your perspectives have helped quite a bit. I am especially taken by using an even more powerful amp than the 4BSST. I thought I had plenty of power. I am also intrigued by the sub suggestions. These are the two I have considered.

Hi,

My local dealer has been trying to get me to purchase the same speaker for quite some time- IMHO, for imaging nothing beats a planner. But subsonics are another story, what our local high end dealer has been doing, offering 8", 10", and 12" Velodyne subs with the maggies for the "bass" lacking customer. With the right room/crossover point, the maggies are breath taking. If I didn't have the money I have in my self built speakers, I would own what you have and a decent sub. I am presently looking at Martin Logans to clear some space and allow for a much more spacious sound that the maggies/ml's provide, yet the ML's offer this in a single package due to the addition of an actual cone woofer present. Floor space is saved and spl comes up due to the cone woofer.

Even so, if out right impact is what your after, the Von's will get you far better performance then your maggies or the Martins, but then so would any cone driver speaker of decent quality- imaging, however would suffer.

Remember, air movement is what creates the sound we humans hear, it's how this "air" is moved that creates the sound(s) we want and desire to hear as music.