Maggie owners (past, present, future) what do (did) you love and or dislike about them?


I've always owned dynamic speakers, but I'm ready for something different. I remember about 15 years ago auditioning a pair of Maggie's at a small shop on the Plaza. Don't remember the model but I was astounded by the clarity. Couldn't afford them then, had 2 kids in college. Presently own a pair of Monitor Audio Gold 300's and they're very good speakers, but I've been reminiscing about the clarity of those Maggie's and I want a pair of the 3.7i's. Those of you who have experience with Maggie's let me know your love (hate) relationship with them. My room is 17 x 15 with a sloping ceiling up to 10 feet. Is that enough room for the 3.7i's to perform at their best?
mewsickbuff

Hey Mewsickbuff,

My first OB's were Emerald Physics CS 3's   ( Clayton Shaw design) and loved them in that small room. The down point with them was the separate equalizer/crossover prevented me from using my Manley Stingray for power. After much research ( lots on line ) I ordered a pair of Spatial M5 Sapphires. Still have not received... I trust Claytons design , check out his past work. Call him , cool to talk about his work. I find OB's to be like loud Maggies with great bass. I do believe they even have better imaging. They truly put the musicians in the room. Have fun with your journey, I have been on mine since 1973 .

I have had multiple Maggies over the years, SMGa, .6, MG-12, 2.7, currently 3.5s with Mye Stands rebuilt by Magnepan last year.  I have also had many dynamic speakers, Celestion 15, NHT SB-2, Vandersteen 2c, Vandersteen 3A Sig, currently Totem Mites on my desktop.  My observations relative to your questions:

1)  Maggies have compromises, as do all speakers, depending on the persons, the benefits of Maggies outweigh the downsides.  People seem to either love them or wonder what the fuss is about.  

2)  Your room is large enough.  I ran a set of 2.7s in a 14x17 foot room for years and they were wonderful.  You should treat the room, GIK acoustics is a great source of help and reasonably priced treatments.  

3)  You amp has enough power, barely.  The larger Maggies want more power.  I found with my SMGa's, .6, and MG-12s, about 200w a side (into 4 ohms) got the job done.  The larger maggies really like 500w/ch a side or more.  You might want to consider 1.7s if your sticking with your amp, you are what I would consider on the edge.  

4)  They are big.  The 3.7s will dominate your room.  
I have had 3 sets of Maggie's with 1.7i's the last.  I have struggled with setup for 4 years until quite by accident had to push them into the wall against windows that had two layers of heavy curtains. Somehow everything came into focus with all the details I had been looking for. A fluke or have I stumbled onto something? 
It is likely the dampening of the backwave by the heavy curtains helped. I have found that if maggies are closer than about 4 feet from the wall behind them, the wall needs absorption, or they get shouty.
No audiomaze you just killed the primary reflection off the front wall. I tell people to do this with acoustic foam tile. You did it with the curtains. All roads lead to Rome!