Overall tremendous sound. Especially for the money.

Overall quality depends upon the speaker placement.

I have owned these 'baby mags' for a few years now and still love 'em!
The look great but more importantly sound awsome. The bass is excellent despite what people may think on first appearance. A very 'neutral' sound. Vaule rating must be a 5 as I purchased mine for $400 a pair. Of course there are better speakers out ther but for much more $.

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I have not personally used any other electrostatic speakers.

Natural timbre of instruments, smoothness, air, soundstage.

Need a medium size room. Panels develop problems with age - the wiring on the panels comes loose, but could be re-glued.

I've had my speakers for a few months, driven by a Leak Stereo 20 tube amp. They are fine at lower levels, but the amp overloads at higher levels. Try different o/p trannie settings - my Leak works best on the 8 ohm setting, and even sounds better on the 15 ohm setting than the 4 ohm. I'm waiting to get a bigger amp - possibly a CJ Premier 4. I'd stick with tubes for panels, but I think you need to start at the EL34 level, not the EL84. The wiring for my panels is coming slightly loose at the top and bottom, but not buzzing. They are 1990 models. I'm told that they can be glued back with Copydex or a similar adhesive. I'll check with the factory before I do anything. Before I got them I had 3 way electronic xover, 3 stereo amps etc. A lot of unnecessary gear! A pair of Maggies and a stonking big tube amp is all you need for happiness. End of story.

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Nothing is really like a Maggie except another good panel, and a good panel is better by far than a good box.

everything. superb sound quality.

just the color. and a bit sensitive to placement.

WOW! These are the Best speaker I have ever listened to. I bought them used for $225, and it was a great deal. I recovered them, the beige/burlap thing going on didnt do it for me at all. they are now black cloth with black wood, and look marvelous. The sound it absolutly amazing. I listen to a wide variety of music and it fits the bill for everything. when you listen to music, or a movie for that matter, these speakers don't exist. I dont even like to call them speakers, they are better than that. When i say they dont exist i mean that you dont hear a left speaker and a right speaker. you hear a huge sound stage in front of you coming from infinity. the quality and clarity just plain ol kicks ass. I am running them off a Denon AVR-1700 rated at 75 watt/channel, and that pushes them just right.

The look, the sound, and everything else that you look for in a great speaker! The biggest bang for your buck i would say!

It's probably not for heavy metal/rock music (I can't say that's a weakness as I don't listen to that type of music). Also need some experiment for positioning

Well, to summarize, if you like classical/jazz music and are trying to look for the biggest bang for your buck. This IS it! Look no further! My friends were so surprised by the vivid sound and stage of this speaker. When you play Carol Kidd's jazz CD (female jazz vocal music), gosh, it's like the singer is standing right in front of you! You will need to do some "tuning" though, that is - the positioning. It is very sensitive about how you place in your room and do require some distance from your wall. But if you have a small to mid-size of listening room, this is a great pair of speakers! I really love them very very much.

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B&W, Definitive Tech, Paradigm, Energy Encore

Excellent Imaging.Reproduction of vocals,piano and acoustic instruments.

Need room to breathe.

I have owned my Maggies for over 10 years and they are still Utterly Georgous! Anyone who pay $600 for a pair of speakers and don't come home with a pair of maggies certainly didn't do their homework.They have been extremely refreshing to listen to and I have never ever tired of their sound. With the exception that they don't go real low into the bass I have never been dissatisfied with them. {a subwoofer took care of the bass}.But to be perfectly honest i didn't buy the subwoofer until last year, and it was a bargin so I got it...but what do you want for $600, perfect clarity or full range sound that sounds like crap in comparison!!!! They play Full Orchestral pieces with the touch of a velvet glove, almost showing you exactly where the players are..Try Capriccio Italien, or the 1812 Overture.. They play jazz the way is should be heard, untarnished and clean, clean i tell you..try Itzhak Perlman & Oscar Peterson Side by Side.. and they rock with the best of them...go ahead throw on your old Sticky Fingers album, They love it. My kids Dance in the living room to Brown Sugar..throw on Natalie Cole's Unforgettable, they love that one, throw on K.D Lang's Ingenue, Forget about it,that cd was made for these speakers...lets face it for the money the things rock..But they will show you the difference between stereo and multi-mono. Be prepared for that experience and get used to it.....Anyone that don't have a ton of dough but wants to enter the world of audiophile quality goods, these are for you. If you have problems with them return them to the Dealer, they know how to fix them... The speakers are only sold by Hi Quality dealers and are not price negotiable items...With these baby's you certainly do get what you pay for and then some....

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none, theres none like it.

Supposed good imaging

Poorly built, speaker is fragile with time, poor customer support from Magnepan,

Being an avid jazz and classical listener and having read the reviews here at this site for this speaker as well as many high end articles I enthusiasticly picked up a pair of these speakers used. I was very disappointed. They rattled & vibrated at random times, the coil tweeter was loose on one speaker and didn't respond. They have some odd ball speaker connections which I have struggled with as well. The grill cloth is burlap--as butt ugly as it gets! Might as well sling an old 100 pound potatoe sack on them.

I use well cared for vintage Marantz gear with adequate amplification, and have tried them with other gear with even worse results, so I know that is not the problem. Simply put, the integrity of this speaker is suspect, and makes a review of thier sound a waste fo time.

.....okay, I rationalized , I can take them to the factory (I am in the general area of the factory about once a month, so no probelm). Think again...they are not accepting repairs!! They keep telling me in a month or so, but it has been 3 months!!! And to boot they weren't even nice about it. Piece of crap speakers from a poorly run outfit, imo. Magnepan is over rated . Maybe one day I can get them repaired and unload them and get my money back. Until then, they are gathering dust in a dark closet.

I could see how others found the sound sweet on occasion, and I do not doubt the other reviewers assessment of thier sound when the speakers are in good shape and properly placed. The problem is that these speakers are fragile and fickle. They may be good speakers if I can get them fixed up a bit. There lies my problem! I am very disappointed.

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Have used classic Advents, Definitive Technology, Paradigm...have listend to many other speakers.