Planars/ Electrostats benefits over box speakers?

Thanks again to those who responded, especially "Almarg" who always provides valuable technical information.
Yes, Al. I still have the Rogue Sphinx which has performed excellently over the year since I bought it.

To a degree I am still chasing my tail about speakers, but at a reduced pace which means I might give up. I am trying to find a smaller, slimmer speaker just as potent as the AZ Adagios. (BTU, I am using Grover Huffman speaker cable which is very good, and better in many areas of sound than the Audio Art SC-5. The GH's offers good balance and excellent bass)

But back to the focus of the thread: Maggies, even the new .7 would overwhelm the listening area of 12X14. As you mentioned, Maggies need power, and I was also told before, they have a inconsistent impedance to amp ratio which could spell trouble for the Rogue class D amp. Nevertheless, the M-L's EM-ESL might be the better and more practical choice. The ML Theos are too big and would create a nuclear meltdown on the homefront( which is now in Los Angeles). Member bpd24 recommended the Eminent Technology 8B, so I might take look and listen

On another related speaker issue, the Dynaudio Excite 16, or the Reference DeCapo 3A BE could be contenders if I should to go with a monitor speaker. Cheers to all!!

"05-06-15: Mapman
Zd what's behind the speakers and distance to it certainly matters and worth tweaking for owners but I've moved on to omnis and not looking back anymore"

Sorry, I didn't mean for my post to be just for you. It was just a general statement. I brought it up because it seems like a counter-intuitive thing to do. It's worth a try if you're looking to get more focus.

A major difference is the "waveform Launch" of a big Magnepan Vs a cone speaker!

If you want "punch" of heavy rock a long throw 12" cone works best, and is identical to what rock bands use.

If you want the "tone" of a big acoustic standup bass, or even a cello, a six foot tall panel launch is much more realistic.

Panels also give "Big" realistic images that boxes do not.

One of the couple of best systems I've ever heard was a pair of big SoundLab ESL's driven by big Atmasphere amps. I think the SL A1 or A3 was a favorite of J. Gordon Holt. For my money much preferable to Martin Logans, with Quads in the middle. But now Roger Modjeski of Music Reference/Ram Labs is making a direct-drive (no transformer) ESL/amp system that I'd love to hear.

"A major difference is the "waveform Launch" of a big Magnepan Vs a cone speaker!"

That is a common difference.

The difference between a wide range omni and either planar or cone speakers is even greater. Some will love it and never look back. Others might not ever take to it.

Most people are conditioned towards the sound of box speakers at home. Those with good ears who are also well conditioned towards what non-amplified music sounds like live are most likely to take to the omni sound. IMHO of course.