Vandy or Maggy?

Teh determining factor might be how optimally you might be able to set up one versus the other in your room.

I suspect Vandies in general can work better closer to front wall than Maggies.

Maggies tend to work best well out into the room.

Vandies will most likely have better macrodynamics, but Maggies are hard to beat for transients/microdynamics and classical music in general, when set up well. If not, then not so much.

I tend to think of Maggies as more neutral tonally and Vandies more towards the "warm" side of things in most cases, if that matters.

Two different sounds/set of requirements for best results. Both can be really good if done right.

Vandies are probably more versatile in general for all genres of music. But for classical mainly/only, I could live easily with most any Maggies done well.

Normal listening volume is probably another factor to consider. Maggies are hard to beat in particular at lower to moderate volumes, but at louder volumes, the difference in macrodynamics between the planar speaker and a good dynamic design like the Vandies will most likely become more noticeable. You'll probably hear the music just fine with either. The question becomes how much do you need to feel it as well in order to be fully satisfied, in other words, how much "meat on the bones" or visceral impact is needed for those orchestral crescendos, etc?

Thanks Map.I've owned 4 sets of Maggies, I'm a master of Maggy set-up if I do say so myself .
Maggies failure in Classical, IMHO, is the lack of dynamic range.

You have answered yourself a few times in your posts I think. Sounds like you have had Maggies and are sick of it's drawbacks. No way you can make a Maggie be more dynamic in your price range. I'd get a pair of Vandy's in your room if you have a local dealer. When set up properly (the latest gen) the vandy's will sing. I'm a Proac guy and am now selling everything I own off just to get the Vandy Treo's. That's how much I fell in love with the musical Vandy's and what else it give me. That's just me. I've heard the 2's sound great with Quicksilver tubes as well as Ayre SS or Rogue. Can't go wrong with either, but if you want Dynamics and listen to Classical, then it's Vandy I would think

01-13-14: Ctsooner
You have answered yourself a few times in your posts I think. Sounds like you have had Maggies and are sick of it's drawbacks. No way you can make a Maggie be more dynamic in your price range.

I think the Maggie 1.7s finally blew threw most of the Maggie stereotypes. True, there still isn't much bass below 50 Hz, but the quality of the bass is excellent and I already had a pair of small, fast subs to fill out the bass. Unlike Maggies' previous reputation I find the 1.7s involving, transparent, extremely quiet (I didn't know how much cabinet noise there was until I got some speakers without cabinets), quick, dimensional, and phase coherent.

They also aren't hard to power to satisfying listening levels. I'm powering them with a 100 wpc amp in a vaulted ceiling living rooom that opens onto the front hall and dining areas. In fairness, the amp is a Perreaux PMF 1150B, so it has probably 200 wpc avaiable into the 1.7's 4-ohm load. I haven't had to drive the amp anywhere near that level.

Although I love what they do with symphonic music, I also love them for choral music, jazz-based singers (Sinatra, Bennett, Krall, Holly Cole, etc.) a capella vocal groups, soloists and ensembles/combos of all sizes. They are captivating on classic rock--Pink Floyd, The Who, Beatles, Steely Dan, Rod Stewart, Clapton, Santana, etc. With my little subs blended in, the 1.7s do very well on every kind of music that I like, and I listen to everything but hip hop and thrash metal.