Vandie 1c or Maggie MMG?

I have an idea!! Buy the Vandy's used here on Audiogon, then order the Maggie's from Magnepan. That will work since when the don't come for sale here very often and when they to they go in about 10 minutes, and the price used for the Vandy's is close to the Maggie's new. Then compare them.

I believe Magnepan has a 30 day trial period. Just send them back if you like the Vandy's better. If you like the Maggies better, then sell the Vandy's again. I have done similar comparisons a bunch, thank God for Audiogon.

Good luck.

PS - I would love to see the numbers on how many sets of Maggies have actually ever been returned.

I would never say Magnepan in that size room, I owned the MMG and its a nice speaker but the Vandy will work better for you right now, if you ever move then maybe move into Magnepan but once a Vandersteen man then many times you will just move up to better Vandersteens.

The issue with Maggies will be placement - they need to be at least 2-3' out from the rear wall, and a couple of feet in from the side walls, which may be a problem in a small room. My old MG-IIAs (roughly the size of 1.6s, so bigger than the MMGs) are 5' out from the rear in my 13'x20' room, and 3' in from the side walls. I love the Maggie sound, but they are difficult to "blend in" to anything other than a dedicated room (unless you have an understanding 'significant other').

I've owned MMG's and 1.5's, as well as 1c's, 2ce's and 3a Signatures. I think the Vandies would work best. The Maggies are tough to place and can sound pretty harsh on poorly recorded/produced music (60's & 70's rock).