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I don't think it's that simple

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Really, it depends on a number of factors.

Room size:
If you have a large room the 1.6s might produce the best sound. If you have a smaller room the 1.6s might be more speaker than you need.

Amplification:
The 1.6s will require more power than the MMGs or MG12s. Power costs money. It’s kind of a double wammy with maggies. Not only does the cost of the speaker go up, but so does the cost of amplification. If you like loud music IMOHO I would recommend at minimal 60 watts for MMG, 80 watts for MG12s, 130 watts for 1.6, 225 watts for 3.6 and 300 watts for 20.1. Magnepan advertises less, but I don't know what they are listening to. I have 125 watts per channel on my 12s and I can hit 3/4 volume without overdriving the speakers.

Music tastes
While all the maggies can be used for most types of music your listening tastes might make some models more practical than others. For instance if you don't listen loud and like music that is lighter than average i.e. female vocals, light jazz, chamber music ect... you might consider one of the smaller models (or bigger models with less amplification).

Budget
This one is pretty simple. If you want bang for buck the mmgs will give you plenty of satisfaction. They are much better than their $550 price tag would suggest. If you like the 1.6s but have a smaller room the MG12s are a great choice. They are essentially mini 1.6s, benefit from high WAF, and sound good when driven hard. At $1100 bucks they are well worth the money. If you have a larger room and plenty of $$$$ for good electronics the 1.6s are a classic choice, and not far more expensive than the 12s. On the flip side, if cost is no object the 3.6s and 20.1s offer true high-end performance.

So to sum it all up, I don't think that there is a quantitative way to describe the ratio of the speakers overall quality. It really depends on the application of the speakers.



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Topic - 1.6Q Vs. MG12 or MMG - GeorgeN 11:00:31 01/28/04 ( 6)