Magnepan vs Ohm/Walsh ?

...an intimate sounding system for a smaller room (11 x 14), likely powered by tubes.

That is a small room for dipole speakers that need to be out from the walls to sound their best. I found the 1.6QRs to be the wrong choice for my 13 X 15 room after my move. (Though it should be noted the room is not dedicated to listening so other furniture added to placement problems.)

I fared much better with the more tightly controlled directivity of the Spendors, even though it meant a smaller sweet spot. That didn't bother me much since I'm the only critical listener in the house.

I think it simply points out the need to hear speakers in your own room. Which one you find "best" is going to be highly dependent on circumstances unique to your situation.

Plato,

With Ohm's 120 day in-home trial, it's easy to make a risk free assessment. Also, there's currently a lovely pair of rosewood finish Micro Walsh Tall's up for sale on Audiogon. You might check those out as well. They're made for a listening room your size, and they don't require tons of power, either, to sing.

Mlsstl,

Your point is well taken. But recently, I did have a pair of the older MG .5QR in that room (same panel size as the MG-12QR). With the QR tweeters inboard, the presentation was simply magical, although a bit truncated in the bass. I think that if I locate the MG-1.6's in the same spot I will get a similar presentation, but with more bass. If it's too much bass, I could possibly bi-amp and turn down the amp slightly on the bass panel to get a good blend. At any rate, I think it's worth a try. A 13x15 room to me would seem almost ideal if it were dedicated to the task. But those smaller Maggies in my room didn't merely sound "good," they sounded marvelous... so I'm hopeful.

Rebbi, yes, I saw the Ohms you spoke of the other day, but I dragged my feet too long and now it appears a sale is pending. I'm sure there'll be another opportunity down the road to try the Ohms. Then perhaps I'll let go of my sweet little Silverline Preludes.

Thanks!

Plato, you're a leg up on most people since you already have experience with the little brother of the 1.6QR in that room. I hope this pair fulfills your expectations.

My prior listening room was 25 X 15 and it was just about the perfect size for the 1.6QRs in my estimation. I was able to get the speakers about 4' from the rear walls and 3' from the side walls and still had enough distance to the listening position for everything to meld perfectly. In the new room the speakers were either too close to the wall or too close to me.

Mlsstl,

I know what you mean about the room size. I'll be real curious to see if I can get the Maggies to strut their stuff like I know they can. I have a couple of tricks up my sleeve. Originally, I was going to go with the MG-12 because I'm 99.9 percent sure they would work. But the folks at Magnepan sort of prodded me toward the 1.6 (and one of my audio friends who has Quad 57's and KLH 9 electrostats). They said the bass could be managed... So I'll find out about that soon enough.

I have a larger 14 x 30 foot room that I could use, except that I've already got a very good pair of NSR Sonata D3's in that room and I know my wife would not go for 2 large pairs of speakers... nor would I want to push my luck...!