Have Maggie 1.6s, looking to switch it up.

If you are still running the stock x-over or have not updated the resistors to the tweeters then you have not heard your 1.6.

Updating them with stands also makes a difference, i have a friend who has done both mods and powers them with Bel canto's which replaced his Krell(KSA250) you will not surpass their performance for 1500, not even if you doubled that amt. for a box speaker IMO...

Not even stock 1.7's better's the sound he currently have...we did the comparison when he was thinking of upgrading .

http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue37/magnestand.htm

take a look , there are other mods and people doing mods, i have no affiliation , just throwing another option out to you from what i have heard and was pleasantly surprised by the sound ...

Ohhh. many rave over 3.6's and 20.1's i have never heard any of those in stock form sound better than modded 1.6's , sounds strange until you hear it for your self......

regards,

Here is a letter from a guy who liked his magies also but want to try something different and This is where we took him.
In your case i think like many circling the drain you may never put a hand on it whats wrong with digital amps but if 45 min later you are wanting to watch the news play with the dog or wife and not wanting to listen please don't say I didn't tell you how a turntable and regular amp could fix ya up.
Hi John,
I was writing to tell you how pleased I am with the Vandy 3aSig speakers I purchased recently. They are an ideal match for my Musical Fidelity gear and have proven to be surprisingly versatile across a wide range of types of music. (and movies!!). You've done it again!!

Thanks and Best Regards,

I think your budget is too low to compete with the magnepans in a box speaker. Used I think you could get into a comparable speaker for $2000-3000. I would not consider Gallo or ZU conventional (never heard either).

You might like some used Thiels too. Being that they are quasi point source they will stage/image much differently than the magnepans. That is if you are just looking for different for the sake of different. PSB is another band that has very good "cheap" speakers. The list of box speakers is nearly endless but very few (if any) will outclass the magnepans in your price range.

It make take a few hours to get back into box speakers. At first they may sound odd. So give your first demo a little more time to adjust.

Try turning your panels around.....just where they sit. Front/Back swap. Tweeters will now be on the 'inside'.
Let us know if you note a better / worse difference.

I don't know when, but years ago, Magnepan swapped orientation of there drivers. I personally think it was a mistake.

I flipped my 1.6s and won't go back. Smoother, better dispersion, and less strident highs.

Take a woodworking class and build full frames...not those bridgework stands. My class starts in 3 weeks and I'm looking forward to it.