Opinions on Magnepans sales/marketing approach to


Is anyone else somewhat frustrated at the inability to audition the 20.7s except at a very very few locations in the country? The fly to MN to hear does not really appeal to me either because let's be real, an hour listening to decide on 14K speakers in a strange system is simply not enough and in MN they do not do a side by side with the 3.7s to allow auditioning both through same electronics any way.

I recently purchased Maggie 3.7s with the option to upgrade to 20.7s within 6 months . The 3.7s to my ear are a cut above the 3.6s when it comes to sounding like a single cohesive speaker versus the ribbon tweeter always drawing some attention to itself.

Problem is how do you tell if upgrade from 3.7 to 20.7 is worth it if the dealers do not have them on floor? The best would be to audition in you home on your equipment but at least if the dealers had both you could audition where the only variable is the speaker.

I have spoken wo Wendell about it and there is 1 dealer who Boston who will let you try and return but that is virtually an isolated approach..one which I applaud. Of course they have to really qualify the buyer but again, if you have 3.7s and want to upgrade, Magnepan and most dealers expect you to "buy on faith or reviews" which in my mind, in today's economy, is simply ridiculous. While I am sure some have bought them "blind", the argument that the 20.1s were better than the 3.6s so imagine how much better the 20.7s are the the 3.7s will not make me pull the trigger.

Long winded way of asking about others experience and opinion of how Magnepan and dealers are handling the 20.7s

MikeH
mn2hifi

Showing 2 responses by nonoise

Bryon,

I agree with your idea but the logistics of something that large can scare off the maker. A buyer with that kind of disposable income could manage such an arrangement but for the maker, it is a different story. I'm sure their bean counters looked at it from every angle and decided this is what's best for them.

Over at AC they do it all the time with various makes of equipment. They call it 'tours' and the prospective buyers/listeners simply agree to handle the item with kid gloves and pay shipping to the next person. But I've never heard of something that large making the rounds. The impetus comes from either the maker, who wants to get it around to trained ears with the caveat that they comment/review the item to a group of listeners who petition the maker to let them hear it. Heck, sometimes one just buys it and sends it around to folk he trusts.

Maybe there's a formulae in there that those interested can follow up with. When I bought my Legacy Classics, all those years ago, they had a program that listed some owners who were more than happy to have people come over and have a listen. All of those Legacy models were just too damn big and heavy to lend out.

All the best,
Nonoise
Ah Bryon, dreaming.

It's my favorite pastime.

My uncle one time told me that If I ate candy and watched cartoons, I'd never grow old. Add dreaming to it and you have the perfect recipe for whatever ails you.

All the best,
Nonoise