Maggies New or Older Models???

I've been listening in a small room to SMGa's for years now. They are so musical, they are astonishing. Don't expect booming bass but for vocals and violins they're are excellent. It's like Senn 600's six feet away from my ears. You can pick them up used for perhaps $250. Note they devour power logarithmic to volume.

As I write this and listen to my brand spankin new (refurbished) Maggie 3.5s I am glad I researched at length what Maggies sound like. First realize that if you purchase Maggies 1.6 or higher you will need to spend mula for power. You don't have enough! They need +500 watts per channel mono/bridged to sound good.

My suggestion is if you like the maggie sound and can afford $1,800 look at used 3.5s and spend the rest on amp/preamp ugrades. You will be happy.

Happy listening :)

Other than concerns about adequate power, you could also save some $ by looking for a pair of the older 3.3's or 2.6's, both of featured the true ribbon tweeter like on the current 3.6 or the previous 3.5 (not employed on the discontinued 2.7 or current 1.6), but at a lower cost than those typically go for. I agree about the need for real estate behind the speakers, but feel that they're actually not that sensitive to closer side-wall proximity. One good thing about Maggie's, though, is that they're relatively easy to move, so you can mark their optimum floor placement with a little tape or something, move them back out of the way when you're not listening, and bring them out only when you are.

The 1.6's are hard to beat. Especially if you can pick up a used pair. Make sure you have plenty of amplification power and current to drive them with.

KF