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
Based on my auditions of Magnepan and Martin Logan products Cwlondon is on the right track. I too found the ML's dynamic woofers to be less than seamlessly integrated. One question though: Have you heard the ML CLS's, too? I have not and wonder how they stack up against Magnepan's offerings.
Fpeel -

The comparison between Maggie 3.6 and Martin CLS is a tough one. I prefer the tonal balance of the Maggies, and the coherence and low-level performance of the CLS. I'd probably go with the CLS, as to me it does more of the goosebumps thing, but I like 'em both very much.
I really like both of these. I prefer the Martin Logans sans cone, but then they can be hard to drive become a bit bright and glassy and of course leave some thing to be desired in the bass region. But my oh my can they sound transparent and coherent. I strongly prefer the 3 series Maggies over the smaller ones. They are easier (not by a huge margin) to driive than the ML's. They don't have the coherence of the ML's (or other speakers for that matter) but their not too shabby either. I think the ML's are more startling but long term the Maggies might be easier to live with. I haven't heard them but the Eminent Tech's and the new Quads look promising.
I consistently over the years have preferred Maggies but I think this is almost totally a matter of individual taste. You can't really go wrong with either one.

Let us know what you decide.

will