Ideas on speaker like Magnepan but with high WAF

I would urge you to consider Eminent Technology LFT-8, absolutely stunning in the price range, my very good friend owns it and I have been listening to them in his ever evolving system since 4 years on a regular basis (twice a month for a 6 hour non stop session each time).

I have owned Maggies as well as Kef Reference in the past and can say for sure that if I was in the market today with same budget as yours I would not hesitate to get the LFT-8's. Sound stage to die for, and extremely open life-like sound.

To CDc2's WIFE:
Let your man have his Magnepan speakers. He will be forever grateful. He will stop thinking about that hot babe down the block and just concentrate his lovin' on YOU.

Then also, you can get stuff YOU want, and if he complains: you got him by the balls, (I mean Magnepans) when you can say "Honey ,even though I hated those speakers... just for YOU I let you have them.. Let me have this______."
It will work.
And you may like the sound of the Magnepans...
One nice feature of Magnepans is reasonable bass, that is no disgusting booming. (just do not let him add any subwoofers!!)
Way too many speakers just have too much bass, not Magnepans.

Also the Magnepans can actually BE a plus in the way you arrange the place. They are kind of like Japanese Screens, and can be an interesting addition to a well planned decore.
I own a pair of big Magnepans and love them. They make great music.
Show this to your wife CDc2

Audition some omnidirectional speakers, such as Ohm, or open baffle dynamic speakers. These give you the wide dispersion pattern that helps deliver the stereo imaging/soundstage you want to hear and they do it without the beaming problems of panels, which includes MLs and other electrostatics.

However, high WAF is a matter of taste. And face it, men buy their toys with looks in mind too.

Buy speakers that sound best, Man up!!

good price for a speaker many like (ML's) but i do not know if i would call their sound at all like the presentation of maggies. i find the martin logans i have heard far more 2D than the 3D of maggies & the logans have a narrower sweet spot. (by the way, just sold my maggie III series after 23 years & find myself going thru maggie withdrawals trying to find another speaker near the price of maggies &/or smaller that i could live with.) i have also gone to listen to many well-regarded speakers & been unimpressed, not because they aren't really special, but because i have been so pleased by maggies presentation. obviously, the reviews & suggestions by any of us has to be tempered w/hearing speakers yourself. it's all in what makes us breakout in watermelon smiles the illusion of real we have chosen is pleasing to our ears. elizabeth has mg3.6's - to die for sound, i had IIIa-3.5 but seriously considering the smaller maggies. we'll even tell you our sound systems are preferable to a live performances for intimate sound quality.