magnepan 1.7 or 3.7 vs spendor s8e

Maggies, for the great unwashed out there, bring an 'Oh My God' moment to listeners.
Their lack of cabinet sounds, which nobody ever knows they're hearing until they've heard otherwise, is really startling to most people.
This is why I said what I did in my original answer to the post.
I'm really thinking, once again, that you might love Maggies. They have a glorious midrange, though very different from the Spendor. Frankly, they're more neutral in the tonal balance sense...but importantly, they're more transparent, detailed...and we could go on.
Give them a listen--and then share your experience with the lot of us.

Larry

Best is to listen and judge for yourself as others here have mentioned. I've listened to the 1.7s driven by the latest Bryston 4B-SST few months ago. That was the first time I listened to a pair of planar speakers. Couldn't warm up to the sound although they do exhibit a total lack of boxiness. The 1.7s are definitely very detailed and transparent speakers. However, sound of instruments will not have the body or tonal qualities of box speakers, particularly the warm and rich sounding Spendors. Play some saxophone and trumpet, or piano and string instruments such as violins, violas and cellos on both speakers and see which sound you prefer. All these instruments will sound very different through both designs. As to which is more accurate, that is up to one's listening preferences or expectations. If you attend live performances, you may be able to judge better.

Though I have to add that the Spendor S8e is not a very well-received model in the range when compared to the classic SP models, or the A series.

3.7s have body and weight that I didn't hear in 1.7s so don't give up on Maggies for that reason...