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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? 
128x128william53b
william53b's avatar
william53b OP
211 posts
 
For everyone who is saying Magnepan is about value.

Exactly how bad could they make them for you to still want to buy them? 

I can live with the paperboard circuit board and the cheap connectors, and the imprecisely applied diaphragm conductor tape, but you must realize that those are more a result of lack of manufacturing savvy than necessities to keep the price down.

Handmade can have several connotations.
ml8764ag's avatar
ml8764ag
502 posts
 
Then buy something else... These are one of the few Audio Manufacturers left in this country and clearly have been very successful.

They’ve been in business for 47 years... Possibly longer than many here have been on the planet..but you’re going to diss their leadership and straighten out their very successful business model!😂

This has got to be Satire... Right?
larrymagoo's avatar
larrymagoo
3 posts
 
Well the only pair of Maggies I owned where the Tympani 1-D's back in the 70's.  Even they looked like Room Dividers, they played the female voice like no other speaker I have heard.   

They required a lot of juice to make them sing...I drove them with a Phase Linear 400  and did all right once it was modded with huge capacitors to help with the power supply.


grossman616
123 posts
 
I love mine!!!
I've upgraded the fuses and replaced the the factory tweeter/attenuatorwith a pure silver one. Other than that the are stock and sound great.    
daveyf's avatar
daveyf
2,858 posts
 
When I first started in this hobby, I bought a pair of Maggie 1’s improved. They were, at least to me, not only a spectacular sounding speaker at the time, but compared to anything else I could buy for the same money ( or even considerably more), a real eye opener. At the time, i had a choice between a big box stores' Magnavox speaker or the Maggies...the choice was easy. I remember thinking at the time that the sales person must have misquoted me on the price of the Maggie’s, and was expecting something not even close to my budget. As a twenty something year old novice, it was a pleasure to have a speaker like these available to me. Today, i continue to applaud Magnepan for their ongoing value in the market. I would suspect that there are a lot of folks on this forum, and others, that are in the hobby solely due to their products, and the value that they offer. Just as an aside, i have a very good a’phile friend who happens to be a pro audio reviewer....and yes- he uses Maggies as his reference!
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