Vandy or Maggy?

Every speaker has it's pro's and con's and you have to decide what you can live with. I have Vandy 3A Sigs in one system and Maggie 1.6's(with a Vandy sub)in another and they both do wonderful things in different ways. They certainly move air and energize the room very differently.I've had to really spend time setting both up properly in my rooms to get them to perform the best they can with what I have.If you're willing to take some time and do that, you will be rewarded with great sound from either brand.Vandersteen and Magnepan have been around for decades and for good reason. They make products that have proven to be quite good and reasonably priced. Each company has it's fans and critics. All I really am trying to say since I own and love both, is that they're different and only you can decide which are right for you. As others have mentioned, maybe neither one is.A different design is going to give you something altogether different. A Klipsch Cornwall will be very different from a Martin Logan.I just heard a friends system which had Tannoy Edinburghs,SET Fi 300B Mono Blocks, etc. Completely different kind of presentation than either of my systems and I totally dug it.Which one is right? They all have their attributes. Good luck and enjoy the journey.

Tj said it well!

Tonyjack, If I had enough money for a Tannoy Edinburg SET 300 system I wouldn't be asking any questions.

"Tuneful Bass" is how I described the base I heard on the Vandy's at Audio connection. He always has them set up properly right down to the cables that are realistic in whatever the price range of the speaker, so it's realistic.

I guess to me that meant that I heard bass the way it sounds when I hit my drums. It's got the proper speed, pitch and tonality. Sorry that my description didn't make sense. I have MS and often times don't make sense when I post on message boards, sorry.

As for the question, you will get everyone elses ears pointing you in one direction or the other. Go listen, especially if you have both speakers at the dealer. I was blown away by the Treo's as well as the rest of the updated Vandy line. I have been Proac for years. I got them over Maggies ironically as well as the ET's (my friend carried all three). I loved the Maggies and always have, however my ex didn't like panels in her house. I've been happy with the Proacs and they really sound incredible since I got my Ayre and Music Hall DAC 25.3 from Johnny.

For me, I've never heard subs integrate as well as when they are built into the speaker itself. That's just me. I think that for orchestral music (I don't listen to much of it), I need REAL bass and that means going deeper than 50hz. Vandy 2 sigs will give you real bass much lower I believe. I sure seems like it. If you are spending this kind of money on audio, why would you consider how difficult it is to set up? I never understood that part. Just take an extra hour of your time and set things up the way they should be set up. (not trying to be snide at all, so please don't take it that way). It's the least expensive and best tweek you can make in any system.

Whenever I go to someone's home I always notice how messed up the speakers placement is, don't most of you? If they just set them up properly, they would sound so much better. Aren't we the same way? Sorry, enough of that talk, lol.

I think Vandy's used to be a bit congested and I never could hear an unveiled sound with a soundstage. It may have been the way they were set up, but they just never sounded as great as my Proacs did. That was me then, but after going to Johnny's in NJ, I was blown away and I went in to buy the Proac D series.

As for the new Maggies, I've heard the new ones and liked them, but for me, I like that each speaker is time and phase correct full-range loudspeaker.

I've recently heard all the higher end Dynaudio, Vandy, Aerial, Totem, Maggie, Focal, B&W's, Proacs, Legacy, Wilson, PSB and Paradigm.

Each and everyone sound so different. In the price range you are in, you have to figure out what you can go without. Bass is expensive when done correctly, but it's also the foundation of music. Size really does matter. When I think of Timber, I think of Vandy right now, but that's just me.

I look forward to your thoughts after you A/B both. Make sure you listen with the amps, cables and source that you'll use with either. That's the most important thing obviously. I really do look forward to reading what your own ears like and not ours.

Good luck and have a ball with it.

One more thought:

Right at the $2k price point, a pair of sealed SVS 12" subs and a pair of Magnepan MMGs is another option to consider. Lots of folks complain about mating planars to subs, but I've paired MMGs with dual Rythmik subs (just a little too pricey to suggest here) and gotten GREAT results. The MMGs definitely come alive when you relieve them of duty below 80ish herz (my active x-over point) and the full range system might really surprise you with its dynamic capabilities.

Caveat - I use Audyssey's DRC/bass management software in my system which IMHO delivers virtually seamless speaker/subwoofer integration.

I've spent some time in front of all three options and, personally, I'd go that route ahead of either 1.7s or Vandy 2s, but you're still talking about three very good choices here.