I'm about to get new speakers and considered exactly the same 2 you are considering. As well as a used Innersound Kachina or Isis - but small sound stage eventually made that option go away (inside the sweet spot - those are shockingly good speakers). I have owned Maggies for 10 years or more (1.4, SMGA), and on this next purchase it has come down to 1.6qr vs VR4Jrs. I found a pair at I think 35/40% off, and they still were twice what the Magnepans cost. That really says something, no? But, yes, to really compare you have to get a 1k sub otherwise its not apples to apples.
I did extensive listening tests and decided that 1) You *must* get the rear tweeter dialed in perfectly - and at that point the VS do as good as a box can do at the 'holography' 3D kind of sound that planars do perfectly compared to what else I've seen in boxes. 2) At 95/100db+ the VS kick serious butt and have little/no competition anywhere - panel or otherwise (note that I also decided during these tests that I don't listen to music at those levels, but nevertheless...) 3) Magnepan much more sensitive to amplification, but I have a Pass Labs amp, so no problem there for me, 4) Magnepans much more sensitive to set up (room behind them, to sides, etc.), my room can handle it, 5) sub/Magnepan will never compete right at crossover point with the Jr, 6) I decided ultimately after much consternation and thought that the Maggies did have a better midrange/low part of high freq's - that is after all their specialty.
I ultimately decided to stick with Maggies. Your amp situation and room interactions would be a big part of it -if I had a different situation I might choose differently. If the room were really large and you wanted to play super loud music then Jr is way to go.
Of course, based on prices, you would compare 3.6+sub with Jr - and if you could afford the requisite amplification for that, that would be a whole other comparison. With the right amps that ribbon tweeter is awesome and fills a large room really well.
I'm open to LFT-8b but would want to hear them first, not buy over internet/mail. 'A' didn't really match the 1.6, 'B' cleaned up the highs quite a bit from what I hear and might be a real competitor. That is all 5th hand as I have never heard them.
