Maggie 1.6 vs Von Schweikert VR 4

Part with the planars, test the waters. But you will be back, that's what I did. Once you go Planar, you never go back.

Sorry, but all of you are wrong. The ultimate speakers are not planars, and they are not point-source speakers (no matter how good they are). The ultimate speakers are very large line sources. Once you've lived with them for a few months, you can never go back.

The Maggies are very hard to beat, regardless of the cost. If you find a sub that will integrate with them you will come out ahead, you will have it made, at least in terms of cost perhaps. In my case I was all set to go with the Maggies 1.6, but then came across the VRjrs. They seemed to match the sense of air and sparkle and detail of the Maggies which I loved but could handle the low end better without the need for a sub. And could be driven with less power, in my system, a integrated 55 watt tube amp. The Vr's seemed a little more room friendly which may be a factor to consider as well.

i think the issue regarding china is....as with other big ticket items, manufacturers should disclose information to the origin of parts and assembly. cars, major appliances, tv's,etc....high end companies that use 'built to spec' factories or one's who source components from china should be forthcoming to consumers. also wood products(i.e. speaker cabinets etc.

The Line Source comment is a little off, it is first only an opinion, probably the best would be a single driver if it was possible to get everything right, second to that would most likely be a dual concentric driver...notice I only said probably....I feel everything in this hobby can be "probably" at best.