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?
Wouw , many here that love it and a few that really hate it.
So let's start with a story here , I got since 3 years now a completely rebuild Tympani I (magnepan rebuild it) , aside from that a mgII I rebuild myself, a mgI I rebuild myself and I have a couple of mmgw. My past maggies, were smg and a mgI
I saw someone post a rather lengthy "they are hard to drive and cheap blabla" no they are actually not hard to drive , at all. Planar speakers are a resistive load, many amplifiers out there will not have any issues running them. They don't dip in impedance that crazy much, and for sure do not "peak and valley" like cones do.
That's okay, it's a generic misconception about magnepans in general. Then the crossover parts, you ever opened up a Revel ? Sonus faber? Klipsch ? A infinity (arnie nudell) ? You, think they have all polycaps and air gap inductors?! Keep thinking that😉
There is always, a cost saving factor present with ANY (not talking exotic here) speaker you can possibly think off. Magnepans, have been consistent with their friendly prices, a lrs performs way above it's $650 price tag. New !
"But I got a a speaker I bought of ebay and that one sounds better at the same price" well ya! As you bought a speaker, that's most likely vintage, and at the time was a good BIT MORE expensive ! So account for inflation, you're comparing a speaker that cost a good bit more than a new Maggie does. That's the apples and oranges comparison that holds, 0 merits imho.
Magnepan 30.7 was not the speaker they intended to build. I spoke to Ryan (production service manager) he told me straight up "the whole idea was to make a Tympani again. But improved , they steered away from it and made the 30.7 which sells sporadically! From a commerical point of view it's indeed a fail. However, take a look at the specs a planar that specs 20hz at 3db or so , is a incredible design feat! He did tell me to never get rid of my Tympani, I won't it's by far the best speaker I got and this.
Keeping in mind I have a infinity rs1b ,kappa 9 , kappa 6.1, renaissance 80 , rsII, rs4 ,QE, and tons of cone speakers to compare. None of them can produce the open soundfield the Tympani (caveat I use subs and active crossovers) does. It's not even close, and that doesn't mean I hate cone.
Again I got plenty cone speakers and enjoy the. Just as well. So not being biased because I have so many maggies. I got more cone than maggies.
Aside from their speakers being incredible, let's talk about their service ! I had mine rebuild,imagine that okay folks. A 1974 speaker ,being rebuild by the company that designed then is unheard off. Rebuild kits readily available they support their customers ! USA made , very competitive prices... .
They let you hear what your gear is doing, they guys that I heard saying "they sound thin or terrible" the second they throw a amp on there that FITS the speaker they are running.
Wow.....it's a revelation, it really is key is equipment. These type of speakers don't color the sound field like cabinet speakers do. The quasi ribbon tweeter is more than capable to give you fantastic highs, their ribbon (true) is better but extremely fragile.
I don't get the haters, but yet again I don't really care. Each to their own, but me going back to cone again ?! Is virtually proven to be impossible for me... I don't miss the boxiness of them .
I hope the following will be regarded as a constructive contribution to this thread.
"The fallacy of begging the question occurs when an argument’s premises assume the truth of the conclusion, instead of supporting it. In other words, you assume without proof the stand/position, or a significant part of the stand, that is in question."
While I wish that Magnepan were better repped by dealers who believe in the product and are willing to really demo it to its full potential and not make it an also-ran, those dealers need to make a living too. As with most things "its complicated." The high end is a hard business to succeed in right now whether you’re a manufacturer, distributor or retailer. Its tempting to think that with "just the right personnel or strategy" Magnepan could expand its footprint. But largely I think this thread is a solution looking for a problem. Magnepan seems to be doing just fine with plenty of backorders on many of their designs. I’m listening right now to my 20.7’s powered by ARC electronics and its SUBLIME. The .7 series is far and above the best thing they've ever done. The LRS has gotten TREMENDOUS ATTENTION. I'm really not sure they're doing anything wrong given the size of the market to begin with.
Folks, you don’t have a clue as to what the 1.7i’s are capable of. I installed Danny at GR Research’s 1.7i’s upgraded X-over, eh, marginally better. Basically a waste of $290.00
I just approached the whole thing from a different direction, and this design is better, and cheaper. I have to dial back the mid’s and hi’s to the bigger punch bass. No problem matching the speakers to a lowly Velodyne sub now. So now I've wasted about $500 in inductors and capacitors to find out this out.
On the other hand, my Maggie’s sing like no single panel before them. I like that. And 100 watts is plenty to achieve 100db.
Never apply box speaker X-Overs to planer speakers, you’ll just fail.
Give me a break. My 1.7i's arrived with the one inductor in the x-over wired in series at the end of the circuit between the x-over and the ground.
They sounded brilliant up to about 3khz. Do you want to defend the nimrod that soldered that up, or Magnepan's QC department? And how do we know mine were an anomaly?
So yeah, I have earned the right to criticize Magnepan by being abused by them.
Have to laugh at the post above. Not sure it will last before mods, but it does seem to well describe a lot of the 'characters' that are attracted to this industry! I agree that Wendell does seem to be one of the very few exceptions, and therefore a breath of fresh air.
Of course you can bitch about whatever you want. It just looks ridiculous on the face of it, bitching about Wendell not offering mods or whatever when the guy is a saint compared to just about any other sleaze ball sales douchebag in this industry. I think personally attacking someone like Wendell over something so inherently mentally ill, says a lot about your perception of what people should be doing to somehow make you happy.
@testpilot There are companies that help take Maggies to the next level! I replaced my fuses and jumpers with the Mike Powell Ag upgrade. I replaced the stock stands with MyeStands from Grant vanderMye. Lastly, I added a pair of REL T/9i subs which finished them off and revolutionized the sound. These companies are part of the audiophile economy. Complaining about how Maggies don’t have this or that is like complaining about how your DAC doesn’t include an SR fuse or an SR ground block.
Long time happy maggie owner here. I still have my MG1-c and MG2.6R speakers though they are not my primary ones. They are, however, set up and ready to be moved into their listening positions at any time (white gloves not needed!). I enjoy them for what they are- great values and still impressive to this day. I may even buy another new pair some day since they are still affordable even on my limited income (retired).
First, I reserve the right to bitch about what I want to where I want to. I'll never ring you up to see if you approve before hand.
We have gone over, ad nauseum, what Wendell does and does not do for the company. He mostly tells customers and retailers no. As in no, we don’t really want to hear what you think about our product. Doesn’t matter if it's an end user or retailer.
Being a Magnepan owner/s we reserve the right to discuss whether the company offering upgrades to customers has any merit. While some people have not read the discussion the fact of the matter is that other speaker manufacturers are now doing that, so dreaming that the company may some day do this when Wendell stops saying "No" is a dream we can hold in our hearts.
Offering upgrades does not affect the base price model for cost conscious buyers, only affecting those of us that are bats enough to buy a speaker that has to be repeatedly pushed and pulled from a wall without acceptable handholds to do that.
This is false, Wendell does not take credit for designing anything at Magnepan but he is intimately involved with the design regardless.
It sounds to me like the OP would rather obsess over the shortcomings of someone who has worked tirelessly to promote what is a highly niche product that very few individuals I have met are even willing to consider taking the proper approach to implementing in the first place, than to realize that it's a miracle a brand like Magnepan is even still around given the plethora of available loudspeaker technologies out there.
Obsessing over things like why the crossover parts aren't different/better is just another reason why Magnepan has failed to reach a broader market. The product attracts hobbyists and tweakers who think they can take a $2,000 retail speaker and improve upon it instead of just looking at a better approach to their HiFi in the first place.
The issue with Magnepan isn't Wendell, it's Magnepan. Most affluent consumers of HiFi simply aren't interested in a speaker that looks like an obelisk from Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, requires a Hoover Dam to run properly, and need to be six feet away from a wall to sound any good in most rooms. The few that are, are few and far between.
If anything Wendell is the lifeblood that has kept that corner of the HiFi world alive and if you appreciate it (I certainly do) one might realize just how wacky one has to be to consider purchasing a system given the profile I've outlined above. I'm quite surprised they even sold 50 pairs of 30.7's if that is to be believed.
I bought a pair of the LRS just for fun. I've had a lot of expensive speakers over the years and these little guys just blew my mind. You sure as hell don't need 1000s of watts. They play just totally killer with my Pass 30.8 amp. Not breaking glass but def 95 DB or so level. I have the LRS in a big room and no they don't rattle the walls with bass but it's not terrible and the sound is just such a shock with the right type of music these things are just totally magic. I would have to consider building a Maggie room if I ever built a house. I thought about trying to have two sets of speakers set up in the same room. I think I'll just pull them out every now and then and just soak it in for a few days or more and then put them back for a while. I would encourage anyone curious to try them, has to be the best bang for the buck in hifi history
From what I can tell from testing cables so far is that you want mass. After hating my Audiquest 14 gauge side by side cables that should have satisfied Magnepan's directive, and getting Benchmark's, 11 gauge equivalent, and liking them I decided to test what I had laying around. Some of that was an industrial grade 10 gauge extension cable, and a 4 gauge one. Mass matters. I am theorizing that since the signal doesn’t go through the wire, that the signals from the amp require maximum throughput capabilities for minute bursts of energy, regardless the length of the peak power output. But if anyone knows that, it's a closely guarded secret.
And no, Magnepan has to charge less for it's speakers because they require $10,000 worth of watts output. How is that saving me money?
But I could now write a book on this, an example being: Regardless of the cables gauge, the ends of multistranded cables have to be tinned to the connector that attaches to the binding posts on both ends. And if you are using Magnepan's steel ones, you should tin the cable with no addition at least, however if you tin a copper tube over the end of the cable to match the inner diameter of the sockets, there is better definition.
This makes sense when you view the signal from the amp as a field of energy, and any restriction of the signal carrier diameter as something that deforms that signal. And don't ask about the interior wires on Maggie’s, I had to rip that crap out and replace it with Cardas Chassis wire, 12 gauge. Does owners for the bass, mids and highs. But with no inductor on the bass panel, it's trying to be a full range driver itself.
And everything you do to get bass out of Maggie makes you aware of how deficient the 1.7i's are in midrange and highs.
OP, that Wendell would dismiss the need for better cables reminds me of another audio manufacturer here in MN who's niche was always SOTA amps and preamps that won't break the bank. He has also had a disdain for better cables---patch cords were just fine, captive AC cords served the purpose well. In recent years, he agreed to offer IEC connectors to meet market demands. It seems these manufacturers, who market to budget-conscious folks, do not recommend buying expensive cables and cords because that spending just takes away purchases of their own products. They want to sell you on their stuff, not someone else's.
I had a pair of 1.6s about 20 years ago. The biggest improvement was in an upgraded, outboard xover. I later owned 3.5s and I swear the 1.6s were more engaging.
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.
Seriously? The 1.7i's I got IMHO might just be the best value in speakers anywhere near it's price range. Could it be better, maybe but at the time I ordered them, it was at the top of my budget, so it didn't really matter.
They made a great replacement for my dead Apogee Duetta IIs and have given me hundreds of hours of listening pleasure.
If you don't like the company, don't buy the speakers. I had to wait almost 4 months to get mine, so there's no shortage of customers who want them.
I spoke with someone inside Magnepan a couple of years ago when I had a suggestion to resolve a mkting issue they had. that. He confided in me that Wendell would not let any new ideas be implemented & that the co. was barely profitable & he was intent on doing things exactly the way they'd always done it. It's not going to go under any time soon perhaps but definitely treading water with no growth indicated on any horizon.
I own a pair of MG-1.5/QRs that I bought from the original owner 6 years ago that were in immaculate condition. I regularly am amazed at sounds I hear coming from albums I’ve heard numerous times before but suddenly there’s a previously unheard before guitar here, or a keyboard there - in other words they expose information other speakers don’t.
That said, imagine you run a speaker company and for whatever reason, the demand for your product(s) exceeds your ability to manufacture them as quickly as your customers would like. Unless you’re unprofitable, it’s doubtful you would consider any changes other than ones that might speed up the building process without effecting your quality standards.
While I understand and certainly support those offering advice and tweaks to make a good speaker even better, from a business standpoint, you have to consider how would incorporating additional steps, parts etc make more $$ without creating more stress on the existing manufacturing process?
As consumers, we can reach for higher levels of quality, remaining within our own levels of cost vs results. A successful business often runs by the "if it isn’t broken, don’t try to fix it" policy unless something cataclysmic occurs that forces change. I suspect that’s what’s at play here with the occasional let's try a new product and see how it sells campaign.
I would love to own Magnepans, the reviews are so enticing. But they dont appear to be available anywhere else other than the USA, certainly not online buying anyhow.
If you want to hear the real potential of the Maggies you need look no further than to the Magnestand mods - hardwood frame and improved cross-over, better lamination, etc.:
They do provide much better dynamics, clarity and bass - eliminating the deficiencies of the stock Maggies.
And... yes... with all the available tweaks out there from frames to cross-overs, etc. - you do wonder why Magnepan does not offer these upgrades, that so improve their sound. It would not add that much to their cost.
Anyone jonesing for a pair of 30.7's, but doesn't have the $30k it takes to buy a pair, there is a cheaper alternative:
- Find a pair of the last Tympani model---the T-IVa, of which the 30.7 is an updated modern incarnation. I have a pair, and love 'em. A pair of the T-IVa will set you back less than a tenth the price of the 30.7.
For you wanting the "30.7 For Condos":
- Just add an OB sub to your existing Maggies. GR Research/Rythmik offer an excellent one, though it is available only as a DIY kit. GRR has a woodworker in Canada who makes a great H-frame in flat-pack form, and it's not that much harder to assemble than an Ikea dresser.
@william53b… I get what you’re saying. I’ve had some great experiences with some audio manufacturers, and there have been some where I came away feeling annoyed. I’ve had to call Magnepan a handful of times over the years, and I’ve always been treated very well. I felt each time as if they valued me as a customer. But everyone has their own individual experiences. Honestly, I haven’t spoken to Wendell for many years, but when I had, I found him direct, somewhat short, but never demeaning in any way. Just sort of confident in his product, and in his experience, and not one to sugar coat. This can be a bit off-putting in the wrong situation, I’ll give you that. Quick story… I bought a pair of 1.7s in 2011. In 2016, I noticed a ripple in the quasi-ribbon driver. It sounded fine, but I wanted to have it corrected. The speakers were out of warranty, so I was prepared to pay for the repair. Magnepan evaluated the issue, determined it was a defect, and shipped me a pair of the new at the time 1.7i’s off the assembly line. They asked if I’d agree to pay for the labor and return shipping. I said sure… so they gave me a labor bill for $45.00. Forty Five Dollars!! (Plus shipping) I was super happy, and I felt very appreciated as a customer. This is why I defend their customer service practices.
Wendell is the public face of Magnepan. He is their marketing philosophy. The make great speakers that have room for improvement at extremely competitive prices. Many hifi components benefit from upgrades such as capacitors and wiring. One poster commented that the 30.7’s are a failure. A few years ago I met Wendell and his comment to paraphrase, was they are basically an engineering exercise as the ultimate extension of the Magnepan design. They are massive and few have rooms big enough to house them. The large room at the dealer where they were demoed could barely contain them.
I don’t mind your comments, some valid points. Actually I helped a little, I bought three pairs of speakers from them. Others heard mine and bought more. No one has heard these and bought some though, mostly the MGII.
I only became upset when Benchmark told me it may be my cables and I bought some from them. Night and Day. And they didn’t think I was imposing on them by contacting them, they were very helpful. They put Customer in customer service.
So I bought one of their DAC’s as well. There is exceptional attention to detail in these two boxes.
Sorry, I meant to say that you being put off by them saying they can’t keep up with all the amps doesn’t make sense. I should’ve proofread my post before I sent it. Lol
To OP: I was simply relaying my own experience, which is one that differs with yours, so I was offering “possible” reasons for the disparity. I have no experience with your amp, which I’ve read is nice, so I have no constructive comment to make there, other than to say it may not be a great match, but who knows..? Frankly, I don’t understand why you just don’t sell your speakers to someone who will appreciate them, and move on. I respect the fact that Magnepen will openly admit that they can’t keep up with every new amp that comes out, and that they entrust their dealers with offering customers the opportunity to audition associated equipment, with their owns ears, so they can make a decision based on that audition. There’s too much BS in this industry, and some of it comes from manufacturers. That said, your point that they say the speakers need the right amp to sound their best doesn’t seem to make sense. It’s true of most speakers. It’s a synergy. That is not to say that the speakers won’t make sound with any amp.. they will (of course)! Just like they’ll make sound with any speaker cable. Better cables, better sound, but that doesn’t mean the sound will be “bad” with simple 14 awg wire. Recommending simple cable, for most people, isn’t the same as saying one cannot hear the difference, it just means it’s an acceptable place to start. The bigger point here is this: This company HAS stayed in business! For FIFTY YEARS! And without your help. Imagine that! One more thing I disagree with you about… I, personally, would NOT want a company, or anyone else for that matter, PRETEND to listen to me when their not! I’m a big boy, and if you don’t agree with me, or don’t want to take my advice, I’ll be just fine. I don’t really want to argue with people on this forum, but I felt compelled to do so in this case for whatever reason. I can agree to disagree, so it seems that’s where we are. No problem. I’m listening to my Maggies right now, and they sound amazing. I guess I just got lucky 😉
I love the concept and would move on to open baffles if I didn’t have planar speakers.
Good enough is a term I dislike. It seems incongruous to me that a speaker company in the high end business should strive for perfection first while paying attention to the bottom line a close second. It stands to reason that you would want to sell as many of your product as possible, and to do this would try and create a product that defines the market.
If I didn’t care about Magnepan, I wouldn’t waste time on them.
I have a question for the OP...why do you own Maggie's?? Seems like you hate the company so much along with their philosophy, that they should not be playing in your system. I say this, and I don't even own their products, LOL.
I am a retired product designer/developer and have a fairly good idea of what it would take to offer a factory upgraded XOver; a second set of picking bins at the XOver assembly station.
Like everyone here you offer good insight from the customers perspective on the issue, but I disagree with other points you make, and so I will address these.
I drive mine to from low to moderately loud volumes, from time to time, with a AHB2 amp. With upgraded cables it sounds as rich and dynamic as a Para A21 or a Bryston. It has all of the power I need. If I got the 3.7i's I’d just use two of them. So this discussion is not about what I'm doing wrong, or all of the old saws we already know about the speaker line, it's about what the factory can do for us as consumers and if there is a need for that.
Another example of where this company lets customers down is contacting them for amp recommendations. They go to great lengths to point out that these speakers require a "special amp" before a purchase, and then tell you that they don’t have time to test amps to tell you which ones work better? How do they know the speakers require a Special Amp if they have listened to some they have rejected?
A company that makes speakers doesn’t have the time to review amps? What do they do all day at work, watch television? Perhaps they should listen to their speakers with different amps while working? That would require doing two things at once, I know, but I am sure that as a professional courtesy amp companies would provide "loaners" so that they could be on a thumbs up list? Amp arrives on Monday, put in house system and listen for a week or two, ship back to manufacturer. Does that sound like a difficult task to anyone?
There simply is no rhyme or reason to their persnickety behavior, and there are no shortage of complaints about these things on this or other forums regarding this company. I am not the first person to broach this subject, and I know I won't be the last. It's part of Magnepan's job to listen to the consumer, even if it isn’t about how broke they are, that is called only hearing what you want to, and that is the exact opposite of what someone with a marketing background would recommend, in most cases. This is how companies stay in business, and why some have to close their doors. Their story isn’t over, so cut me a break on defending abusive behavior, I would prefer a company pretend to be listening to me, and then ignore what I have to say, rather than have them tell me openly to piss off, I'm bothering them. If that's too much to ask of a manufacturer, I must be mistaken about all the companies I have dealt with over the last 65 years where I walked away feeling reassured that I am important to them and that I and others are the reason they have a successful business.
Winey invented the first Magnepan drivers, back in 1969. 50+ years later: the company is alive, well and prospering nicely. I've not yet found a piece of audio equipment, that couldn't be improved upon with well chosen/upgraded, component parts and/or some judicious tweaking. On the other hand: if your business model is working for you, DON'T FIX IT! "Made in America. Sold in China."
I'm in agreement with op as to in house upgrade paths. Being an inveterate modder I often can't leave things alone. There have been a number of instances in which I was able to directly contact owner/designer of said equipment to relate my experience with mods. In all cases these owners/designers felt offended that I even felt the need to improve their product. While I can empathize with their perspective of having designed and built a great product, I can't understand their unwillingness to improve it.
Now, in one case I modified an unnamed speaker with upgraded capacitors; contacted the owner/designer with my findings, no positive response. Low and behold, a few months later those very same speakers had those capacitors in an upgraded version! Iconoclasts at work here, many of these guys only like their own ideas. While I still modify some of my equipment, I no longer contact manufacture as I don't expect positive response. I see so much equipment that could be improved by simple parts substitutions, resistance comes from positive reviews and sales figures of stock configuration equipment. I do see some manufacturers are beginning to grasp the idea of high quality parts such that I've now been able to limit my purchases to equipment that doesn't need my mods.
I’ve heard Magnepan speakers at audio shows here on the left coast and was generally impressed with their sound.
But, both times, I will say the demos were some of the most bizarrely conducted I’ve ever been to.
Strict sign up slots, then ushered into a dimly lit room with the speakers hidden behind a curtain so you can’t see the set up, quietly seated while the demo of sound effects and musical excerpts are shuffled into a CD player by an assistant. Then ushered out of the room with no Q&A for the next group.
I don’t agree that Magnepan doesn’t work to improve their speakers… they just don’t turn over new models every year or two as some speaker companies do. I’ve owned several of their speakers over the last 35 years, including every “1” series since then (1C, 1.4, 1.5qr, 1.6qr, 1.7qr, and 1.7i), as well as the 3.3r, and 3.5r. Each revision was a clear improvement over the outgoing model. I’ve also had other brands/types of speakers in other systems while the Maggies were in house, so I was able to swap them out, using various amps, and rooms. I’ve fallen in love with other speakers briefly, only to eventually return to Magneplanars. They just present music in a way that I find very appealing, and “real-sounding”. While I agree that they can be improved (all speakers at all price points can), I can say that, for Me, in stock form they handily outdo other speakers I’ve spent time with that are multiples of the respective retail prices of the Maggies I’ve had at the time. Regarding the notion that the company should offer “upgrades”, I also disagree. I’ve considered this in the past.. eg: a modern version of a 2.5/2.6, which were in the market for several years.. a bridge model between 1.x and 3.x.. but realize that if these were a hot models, they would’ve continued in the line. They just didn’t sell well. So customers “told” Magnepan with their wallets that they didn’t need a bridge model. Something those of you throwing “upgrade numbers” around are not considering this: The cost to the end user would be MUCH higher than the cost of the upgraded parts (frames, xovers, wiring, etc.). Why? Because there is (and should be) a Process to this. Beyond the design and engineering phase, there would be the making of prototypes, testing, listening, adjusting, retesting, re-listening, etc..etc.. In addition to that, machines would have to be built to make new frames (and exist alongside the current machines), and employees would need to be trained in incorporating these new parts (These speakers are hand-built by real people, not by robots)… All these things have their own cost components, which would drive the retail prices to a point beyond reasonable value. And, for what? A small incremental “difference”? As some others have pointed out, if an owner WANTS to tinker.. have at it. Magnepan is providing an excellent platform to build off of! Have a blast! Or just listen to them as they are, which is great, and know that every single speaker out there will have strengths and weaknesses that can be nit picked. Find the compromises that you’re willing to live with and be happy 😊. As for “surviving Wendell”, the original posted question…. I would answer “They have, and they are”! And quite well. With or without your approval! There are definitely people who share your dissatisfaction with certain aspects of the company, but there are many times more people who Love their Maggies, and will continue to support the company into the future. You have to remember that Wendell has been in this game a very long time, and has heard it ALL! If you think you’re the first to suggest they change “this or that” to make their speakers better, I’ll tell you, you’re not. He’s human, so may not respond to your suggestions with the enthusiasm you expect. He knows most customers love their speakers, and he’s likely sick of hearing uneducated (in planar speaker design) suggestions after 40 years. I would be. He’s worked tirelessly FOR Magnepan all these years, and it would be more appropriate to say that they’ve survived so long, in part, BECAUSE of him. So take it easy on the guy. One more point, from a long time owner of this brand: Set up, and amplifier choice are extremely important to successfully getting the best from these speakers.. that goes for most speakers, but especially these. IMO, more important than which capacitors are used in the crossover, or using a “better” frame. All things will make some kind of a difference, but positioning, and amp choice are tops. I’ve used over a dozen amplifiers over the years. How you listen will determine which amp works for you. Also, time spent adjusting the position of these speakers will reward you with amazing sound quality. Again, all speakers benefit from this exercise, but it has a major influence on the sound of planars. As always, this is only my experience. Ymmv.
This isn't getting anywhere. I thought someone might lift a veil that helped me to understand why the company is so ridged regarding all of their customer base, but that hasn't happened.
Maybe It's Wendell or maybe it's part of his job is to take the heat for company decisions, apparently no one knows.
Several agree that they would like to have an upgrade option, and that would satisfy both the people that like the product as it is and those who would prefer to spend more on factory upgrades. But nothing has been accomplished and I didn't post this to bash the guy or the company; I do have their speakers in my system and that is a testament to their brand.
We are planning on expanding the listening room in the fall to enlarge it from 12x22x8 to 14x22x9 and with that additional space I can rotate the system 90 degrees to accommodate our furniture and our system and will then have the room for 3.7i's if they are needed/desired.
I don't expect the world to accommodate me, but if enough people left responses that encouraged them to offer factory upgrades, there may be enough public sentiment to institute a new policy at the company. I don't see that happening from this informal poll, so I will fiddle with expanding the upper range of mine and see what I can do without adding Maggie’s Little Helpers. Then if I'm successful I will post those plans and any XOver info info someone else might need if they would like to mod theirs.
Yes, you caught me. I mixed up film and foil while trying to make a point about the limitations of a true ribbon. Sorry. I have a bad habit of admitting my mistakes.
Duder, if the man needs to he will. Magnepan is probably saying . Why is this Mr. big Nose talking about how i should be running the place. Plus the Speaker company wants to let the upgrade / tweaker guys also make some money
I am running 3.6 Maggie’s and two things stand out about them. One, they crave power. Until I bought mono block amps that put out real measured 750 WPC, the sounded thin. The other is that room treatment is more important than ANY other tweak with regard to Maggie’s.
I understand various comments regarding crossovers and other components, but at their price point, nothing in my experience compares, YMMV
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