How many 'listen outside of the box' design?

For years I listened to box speakers, but then tried a pair of Quad 63's for awhile.

I loved the Quads on small-scale works, chiefly classical and jazz. Their coherence was breathtaking. But they fell flat on large-scale stuff, orchestral and operatic. And they were a disaster on rock. I tried a pair of good powered subs with them, but never got the combination to integrate well.

I eventually went back to boxes and never regretted it. I think it is easier to get good full-range response and achieve good room integration with a well-designed box speaker than with a planar design. Maybe that's why the majority of high-end speaker designers go for boxes.

I am very happy with my current speakers and have no plans to change them. But I would love to hear some modern Magnepans, just to see what the fuss is all about. But that's not likely, as I would have to travel several hundred miles to do so.

Anyway, whatever speaker turns you on, go for it!

i have had a pair of maggies (mg12)in my main listening room for quite a few years now and love them to this day. i love the detail you can get even at low volumes. i do have small monitors in my smaller listening rooms (sonus faber and triangle)but that is just because i love to have music going wherever i am in my home. but if i am just going to listen to music it has got to be the maggies.

With Open Baffle speakers do they require extra special up-keep clean-up wise since the back of the drivers are exposed? Do extra air-filters or de-humidifiers need to be employed in a room that has Open Baffle speakers. The reason I ask is that I have to dust my speakers every couple of weeks to keep them presentable. Also I noticed some oxidation in some of my monoprice speaker wiring that is over 3 years old. I couldn't imagine having to dust the actual speakers themselves. Now with Maggies and other Electrostats how are those cleaned? If ever I venture "outside the box" I just want to make sure all that is needed.

Thanks in advance.

On my soundlab's I have custom covers that slips over them when not in use;but before that I vacuumed them with the attachment that has soft bristles and lowered the suction to keep them clean;also they were not powered up when sitting idle;I thought that helped control the dust that could be attracted to the membranes.

I have Hawthorne Audio Open Baffle speakers and really enjoy them. There is something about the sound that just seems very natural and effortless. I have also enjoyed listening to other boxless designs like planars (Maggies) and ES (Quads). Of course, no speaker does everything well but I find that OB's do a better job than most across the full spectrum of musical genres. It's also a bonus that OB type speakers tend to be much less expensive to build than box speakers.