Vandy or Maggy?

"Are you sure it wasn't the interior decorator convincing you.

No, but my old 80's vintage Maggies that I had for many years (and even had successfully rebuilt by Magnepan once) in smaller quarters mostly could never cut it on their own in my larger listening room in my current home compared to the modern dynamic speaker competition.

The little Triangles basically did most everything the 6 foot tall Maggies did when I tested those out for comparison in the same room and with the same gear, but perhaps even better.

"There is no substitute for cubic inches."

Depends on room size and need for bass extension, but I agree in general. When needed, I used separate subwoofers as well, and that pretty much covered it.

The answer is: Eminent Technology LFT-8B
Many years ago all I could afford was either the Maggie 1.6 or the Vandy 2CE. I used them both and felt that both had significant shortcomings. I longed for a speaker which could meld the strengths of those others.

The Eminent Tech does so, imo. It was cleaner than the 1.6, likely closer to the current 1.7 (perhaps not the 7i just released, but a comparison would need to be conducted), and it had a good proportion of the weight in the low end that that Vandy carried.

I reviewed for Dagogoc.com and owned the LFT-8B with great enjoyment. I only released it due to moving to the King Sound King, and then the King III electrostat, a far more formidable speaker than any of these others.

I am not suggesting the LFT-8B will be clearly superior in all aspects than a Vandy or Magnepan, but for what you seem to be seeking, as I was, it may be the right speaker.

Thanks Douglas, I 'll look into them.

Mapman, I still have a pr of Triangle Titus 202, which was a class B stereophile speaker, that I used to use on my TV system.
I've tried them in my "serious" room but they were nowhere near as good as the Totem Dreamcatchers even though they are larger.
The Totems might not have many cubic inches but they have one hell of a supercharger !

In my quest for speakers that could do classical well I did try the ET LFT-8B for a few months. While the highs very polite I could never get tight bass from the woofer in my room. The biggest drawback was they could not play loud. With bass heavy music, I would often hear the panel slap. I wish the panels were crossed over a bit higher to avoid that. The newest Martin Logan hybrids are much better IMO. They sound very clean at high volume.

Schubert,

Have not a/b 'ed Totem/Triangle but does not surprise.

Titus XS are teh smallest and smallest sounding of all my speakers. But pretty top notch in the right application. Maybe the best at low volumes (like Maggie). Output levels are limited, but using with subs remedies that. My Dynaudio Contour monitors are more extended and can go louder than the Titus as well, not even close. Dynaudio and Totem sound have a lot in common IMHO. Use of a sub is more optional in general with these. BOth deliver a lot of good sound and pop out of a smallish box. My old OHM Ls that I rebuilt myself are somewhat larger and can hit bigger than either Dyns or Triangle, but are not as refined overall.

Of course, the OHMs still rule in my house. I've used all my speakers in each room, big and small at one time or another. OHM 5s turned out to be my Maggie replacements in my largest room. OHM 100s, Dynaudio, and Triangle can each pinch hit for each other in any other room of my house. Each is unique, but the 100s are the best of the three all around. Triangle's are a different breed, more efficient and tend to work best of different gear. Those play best with tube gear clearly. WOuld like a tube amp for those someday. Dynaudio and Totem are not very tube amp friendly TTBOMK. OHM is somewhere in between.

Using baseball analogies, The Triangle Titus are like Ozzie SMith, fast and athletic and a good hitter, but limited power.

Dynaudio Contour monitors are like Joe Morgan. Fast, athelic, refined and decent power.

OHM 100s are Micky Mantle. More powerful yet still versatile all around.

OHM Ls: your typical better than average hitter, .280 average, 20 home runs.

OHM 5s are my Miguel Cabreras. They can do it all pretty much as good or better than most. Just thank good they work for less. :-)