[koven]

magnepans are a love/hate type of thing, i would not buy them unless you've actually heard them.. they are also very sensitive to room acoustics

every setup sounds different and i would take all advice with a grain of salt... people usually only recommend what they have

what you really need to do is find local dealers and go demo as many brands as you can

i'd also frequently check audiogon as you can get some very nice speakers for a good price

some other brands to look into are Harbeth, Dynaudio, Totem, Linn, PSB... but like i said:

the biggest mistake u can make in buying speakers, is taking online advice

but i gotta say, b&w + mcintosh is seriously heavenly.. ive tried a few different amps (rotel/nad/parasound/etc) before getting my mcintosh and it really opened the speakers up.. i'd consider some used b&w 805s if i were you

 

[OCD,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,]

Quote:

Originally Posted by koven /img/forum/go_quote.gif ...what you really need to do is find local dealers and go demo as many brands as you can...

It is a long drive to Phoenix and I reeaaally hate the traffic, but that is most likely what I am going to have to do.

 

[koven]

it would definitely be the smartest thing to do

pick out some brands u really want to hear, then look up the dealers and go to each dealer all in the same day

i'd take notes too while listening, just so you can look back at the end of the day and have a nice summary, instead of going all from memory

 

[melomaniac]

Quote:

Originally Posted by OCD,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've been researching the magnepan 1.6QR, and they seem to be well thought of. Will the MAC 4100 (100W at 4 ohm, 75W at 8 ohm) work well with them?

maggies are greedy for current, so matching them with amps is tricky. try, and try again (the fun part of the hobby, other than listening of course). maggie owners also get greedy, so many will recommend 200w into 4ohm or even more, while other caution that the right kind of stable-current amp even at lower wattage can work wonders. it's a matter of expected dynamics in your favorite music, too, and average loudness etc.

Quote:

Originally Posted by OCD,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've also read good things about Vandersteen, Thiel, Infinity, and JBL. Any thoughts on any specific used or new models from these manufacturers in my budget (that might be better than the 1.6QR's)?

well, we've all read good things about those brands, and many other brands. and 'tis the season for buying guides etc. - but you can draw perhaps this verycrude generalization of a sum from decades of reviews: rooms matter, music preferences matter, customer service may matter (more than one thinks at first). having heard is not the same as having listened to, and so forth - nonetheless some brands in your price range (increased or not) have consistently been reviewed very favorably everywhere, and that includes magnepan - but you'd have to hear them to decide whether it's what you like!

I only bought my two magnepan pairs after hearing, trying, and even building lots of other speakers. after many changes over the past two decades, I haven't felt the need to switch to anything else for about the past five years.