Vandies or Maggies?

I've owned both Vandys (1c's and 2ci's and 2ce's) and Maggies (both MMG and 1.6). The Maggies gave short-term thrills -- amazing transparency. The Vandys provide long-term satisfaction -- eminently musical and more forgiving on less-than-stellar recordings. After many years and many audio changes, I still have Vandersteens in my system, and feel no urge to go back to Maggies.

As for the child on the way -- when my kids were toddlers, lo these many years ago, I used a portable playpen -- it's a sort of netting on an aluminum frame (about 2 feet high or so) that folds accordion-style. By folding it open in a zig-zag pattern, I could make a stable "fence" in front of the speakers, and it was pretty much acoustically transparent. Not lovely, but it kept the prying hands away.

My vote is for the Maggies.Not a perfect speaker but it does so many things well. I am also bias and prefer a panel speaker . So take my suggestion with a grain of salt.

Good luck!

Well, my wife and I have been talking about this (she somehow manages to take a mild interest in my audiophile obsession). I think we're going to end up combining both the stereo and the Home Theater for a while, which changes everything. I think I'm going to stick to my original plan and get the Vandies. I just think that they'll handle the double duty a little bit better. Now, if it involved higher-tier Maggies, and not the MMGs, my decision could be different.

And, as JHold mentioned, I listen to a lot of crappy recordings of music I enjoy, and want to make sure that I can still enjoy them. I've heard bad recordings through Maggies, and he's right-- they'll kill your ears. Yeah, I suppose this doesn't involve the absolute search for truth in audio, or whatever, but hey, I don't get too much time to listen, so I might as well enjoy the time I get.

Thanks for the advice, all.

I spent many sleepless nights with my first kid on my lab listening to maggies. The biggest problem is that she didn't always let me sit in the "sweet spot". Off center seating is a problem with them. The good news is that we spent so much time in front of thier replacements, coincidents, that she now loves classical at 4 years old!
The only downfall, she and her little sister are too interested in how the speakers work-lots of pushed in drivers. Keep the grilles on tight and start the kids off right!

I don't think the Vandies are series crossover speakers, but I'm not an expert. Series crossovers would be found in Reynaud, Fried and Diaural licensees' speakers, among the better known sources.