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Can Magnepan survive Wendell Diller?

I bought my first set of Magnepans in 1976, and I currently have a pair of 1.7i's.

It is difficult for me to upgrade to the 3.7i's because their are so many things that the company can do to improve their product that they simply won't offer; upgraded crossover components, a solid wood/rigid frames and better stands are examples.

Other companies are now doing this, but Magnepan always says Wendell doesn't think that is a good idea.

Can a man who suggests using lamp cord for his speaker line really have that much control over an otherwise unique technological approach to speaker design? I must be missing something obvious when a product is hand assembled in MN and any of these upgrades would, in my mind, warrant factory upgrades. Who wouldn't spend an extra $1k for a 1.7i with a hardwood frame and an upgraded x-over? Adding a ribbon tweeter to the 1.7i would warrant an additional $1k, still bringing them in $2k under the 3.7i.

Is it common for one person to hold an entire company back in high end audio? 
william53b

Showing 2 responses by mijostyn

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mijostyn
8,570 posts
 

Wow, this is very informative. Nice stuff to know🤔

mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 
Wendell's personality is a matter of perspective and it depends very much on the way you approach him. He does not like the "Tweak" crowd. If you come at him from that angle you will get the' "oh no. nota an other one" personality. If you come at him with a real concern he is very friendly. I had a conversation with him about making the woofer panels of the 20.7 7"10" tall to make it a line source in rooms with 8 foot ceilings. It had been on his mind but apparently the marketing folks shut that idea down. It would make the speaker more expensive and the look more intrusive. The primary goal of a company is to perpetuate itself and Magnepan has obviously been good at it. It cost them a sale to me but probably made an additional 20 sales they would not have made with an 8 foot speaker.

As for dipoles making bass, they certainly can if the panel is big enough. But if the speaker is one full range driver making bass distorts everything else. The Magnepan does not use a full range driver but neither is their woofer panel big enough to prevent cancelation at very low frequencies. Although using subwoofers with Maggies is a good idea, it does not produce the kind of improvement in performance you get with a full range ESL.

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