My system includes axiom and magnepan products so I feel qualified to comment.
My front speakers are heavily modified MMG speakers. The sub is an EP500. I had MMGW rears but have ordered QS8s to replace these. For a while I had M22s and a VP150 in the system. I preferred the MMGs for music and the M22/VP150 combo for HT. In the end, music won out. I would have kept the VP150, but I couldn't get it to blend well with the maggies. I use a phantom center.
You will probably want to use a subwoofer with the 1.6s for most applications. That said, maggies aren't bass shy. The mmg bass extends to 50Hz. I have the xover set to 60 Hz. 1.6's will go lower.
Maggies require power to sound their best. I went from 120 W to 1000 W (ICE class D) and there was a big improvement in dynamics.
Maggies respond well to modification. These range from the simple (bypassing fuse, more rigid stands) to the complex (complete wooden frames, new crossovers, bi-amping). This can become a hobby in itself.
Maggies have low WAF. They need to be placed away from the wall and are fairly huge.
The optimal setup for me would be a dedicated magnepan stereo room and an axiom home theater. Unfortunately I would need to buy a new house to have that.
