Magnepan 3.6r or Apogee Divas?


There is a pair of Apogee Diva's (and coincidentally Duetta 2's) nearby for sale. I have just heard the Magnepan 3.6r in an excellent room with new Macintosh 501 monos (sounded excellent). However, I do not have experience with the Diva's or Duetta's. How sonically comparable are these speakers (Maggie vs. Apogee) in your exerience? Is service a problem for the Apogee's now they are no longer in production? Thanks to all for your advice!
campbelr
Thanks to all for the responses. There is a pair of Diva's up on Ebay right now from a guy who lives near me (he's a really decent guy - hope he does well with the auction). The Diva's had very good bass response and could put out more volume than I ever heard Maggies put out (although I haven't heard the 20.1's). However, I felt the upper mid-range and treble to be a little veiled relative to the Maggie 3.6R's. This could be the room though...Sounds very, very good...Thanks again! Bob
Buy the Diva, put a couple of H2O amps behind them, and you will never look back.
Campbelr,

I would also go with the Apogees over the Maggies.

The Apogees have so much potential - but you do have to
set them up properly since they are more setup sensitive
than the Maggies.

If you don't optimally setup the Apogees - they could easily
lose to the Maggies, which are more tolerant of poor setup.

But setup the Apogees properly, provide them with the
amplification they need - and the Maggies can't touch them.

Dr. Gregory Greenman
Physicist
I've owned Apogees and Maggies 3s in the past. If you can find the right amp, the Apogees will sound more transparent and coherent than the Maggies. Also, you'll get more dynamic and extended bass. I think the Apogees are harder to set up and more amp dependent than the Maggies.
I would guess that the Apogee Duetta Signature would be the model to compare with the 3.6's as far as size. The Divas are larger and harder to drive.

IMO, all of the full-range Apogee need a fairly large room and need to be well away from the wall behind them. While I understand that you can stick any speaker in any room...it's not going to sound as it should.

Dave