MMG or Vandersteen


Hi I have come down to two possibles and are looking for a recomendation. I am trying to find a set of new main speakers for my HT/Music setup. The choices I have come up with are Magnepan MMG's or a used set of Vandersteen 2ci's. For the around $550 which would be the better choice to go for music like Norah Jones, Patty Griffin, Dave Matthews Band, Damien Rice, ect. These will be run by a Rotel RB-980BX amp which is 4ohm stable. My CD player is an Usher CD-100. I am looking for very good Music playback for the Folk/Classical/Jazz type's of music, but also good in HT formats. What do you think?
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How much space can you give he MMG, as that will play an important role? For the price I think you will be hard pressed to find another speaker that will equal it's Folk/Classical/Jazz performance.

I don't know much about the Vandersteen (other than the fact they have horrible customer service).
Right now my Front speakers are about 2 Feet off the wall to allow the speaker to be in front of the TV stand. And they are about 8 feet apart. I also have a VMPS sub run by a Rotel RB-980BX bridged mono for the low end especially in Home Theater.
Is that 2 feet to the back of the speaker or the front?
Because Maggies need at least 30" minimum (but 40"+ is better) behind them.

If you can give them the space, and you have the power, I think it's an easy choice. Since you have a sub, I think as long as you can meet the first two requirements you should go for them.

You can try them for 60 days and if you don't like them send them back.
Here is two other tips.

1. Magnepan offers slightly used (returned from demo) speakers for $500. All speakers are inspected and still come with full warranty. According to Margaret (the girl that always answers the phone), most people can't even tell they are used. She recommends them.

2. If you mention you are an audioreview.com reader there is another $10 off.

That brings the price of the speaker down to $490 with a money back guarantee. So I would say order a pair. Then once you have some extra money get some good stands for them.