magnepan 1.7 or 3.7 vs spendor s8e

"Going to the fruit market. What tastes better, oranges or bananas?"

Not trying to be cute. Just trying to highlight the huge differences in sound/ presentation between the two.

If you can't borrow some or are not familiar OR if you just want to hear them in your own home, a Low-Risk idea would be to send off for a pair of MMG.
They have some deal, which you should check out FIRST about upgrade at full credit for 30 or 60 days....some such.

Maggies have a house sound so going up-line just gets you more, not different. And depending what what you value, you may find the more.....attractive, though some simply stop at MMG.

Another alternative in the Maggie line would be some heavily Modd'd 1.6s or similar. Real wood frames, crossover mods and aftermarket stands are all on the table as well as those who take 'em apart and add various damping materials to the pole pieces.

And yes, Frog's got a point. Very different things, sound-wise.

Maggies, for the great unwashed out there, bring an 'Oh My God' moment to listeners.
Their lack of cabinet sounds, which nobody ever knows they're hearing until they've heard otherwise, is really startling to most people.
This is why I said what I did in my original answer to the post.
I'm really thinking, once again, that you might love Maggies. They have a glorious midrange, though very different from the Spendor. Frankly, they're more neutral in the tonal balance sense...but importantly, they're more transparent, detailed...and we could go on.
Give them a listen--and then share your experience with the lot of us.

Larry

Best is to listen and judge for yourself as others here have mentioned. I've listened to the 1.7s driven by the latest Bryston 4B-SST few months ago. That was the first time I listened to a pair of planar speakers. Couldn't warm up to the sound although they do exhibit a total lack of boxiness. The 1.7s are definitely very detailed and transparent speakers. However, sound of instruments will not have the body or tonal qualities of box speakers, particularly the warm and rich sounding Spendors. Play some saxophone and trumpet, or piano and string instruments such as violins, violas and cellos on both speakers and see which sound you prefer. All these instruments will sound very different through both designs. As to which is more accurate, that is up to one's listening preferences or expectations. If you attend live performances, you may be able to judge better.

Though I have to add that the Spendor S8e is not a very well-received model in the range when compared to the classic SP models, or the A series.

3.7s have body and weight that I didn't hear in 1.7s so don't give up on Maggies for that reason...