Maggies or Martin Logans?


I think it is time to upgrade again and I am thinking about going with electrostatics. I don't know much about them other than I fell in love with a pair of Martin Logans at a local shop. My room is somewhat small (16' x 18') and I have 2 NHT 1259 home built subs so I am not concerned with low end. I would like to stay under $1200. Does anyone have a suggestion on what speakers would fit in my room and sound good? Is placement as critical as I have heard from others (more critical than regular tower speakers)? They will be used as mains in both two channel and HT. Thanks for the suggestions.
kemp
Placement is important, but you have enough room. I use homebuilt subs also using NHT 1259s, and a pair of Martin Logan CLS - have yet to hear anything better, really. The only thing that comes remotely close is perhaps Avantgarde Duos, (though still not as detailed or smooth). No dynamic speakers compare. used you may be able to find within your budget. IMHO the best speaker made by ML (or nearly anyone, really), save for perhaps the Statements. I also used to have the Aerius i, and also have several pairs of dynamic speakers, inluding Aerial, Aliante, M&K, a/d/s/, etc.

-Ed
Well, I have owned a pair of Maggie 1.6Qrs for about four years now, and will offer the following advice. In the right room they are amazing--my last listening environment was a wide and deep space, which gave the maggies plenty of room to breathe, and I didn't have early reflection problems. The sound was nothing short of magic, and I could listen for hours without becoming fatigued. BTW, I use a Vandersteen 2Wq for the bottom end, along with BAT pre/power amps). Having recently moved and with the Maggies in a less-than-ideal listening room (narrow, rectangular shape), I have faced some real challenges. My next move will be to add some room treatments, as I've got a lot of energy and excitement in this room in the upper midrange. Don't get me wrong, the speakers are still stellar, but probably less forgiving of their environment. I'd use caution about putting either of these dipole type speakers in a smaller room, unless I was willing to deal with some room treatment as well.

Lastly, the M-Ls are electrostatics, where as the Maggies are planar magnetic with ribbon or quasi-ribbon tweeters. There is a difference in that the Maggie is typically a more lively speaker at the top end (all other things being equal).

I have owned both. My suggestion is listen to both with the music you *really* plan to play and you will make your choice very easily.

I currently run the ML CLS with a REL sub. It is a really nice combination. It has its limits though...

For maggies, I would only look at the true ribbons. I have owned some of the quasi ribbons, and they are not the same.

mdl.