There have been alot of post's concerning Meadowlark going out of buisness and waranty issues, etc. I've owned three different pair of Meadowlark speakers. NEVER any problems or failures to operate perfectly everytime. Build quality was top notch. I seriously doubt there have been very many Meadowlark speakers that quit. Do prospective buyers really have much to worry about, given the price , sound quality, and the beautiful workmanship put into these speakers? I'd like to hear from Meadowlark owner's and hear what they have to say instead of folks who automatically wave the red flag. thanks!
Of all the audio components (not talking about racks, cables, cones, etc.), speakers are by far the most reliable.
Think about it, there really isn't a whole lot there. A couple of drivers, a few crossover components, a bit of wiring, and a cabinet. Even poorly designed and constructed loudspeakers, of which the Meadowlarks certainly are NOT, can last for years and years and years without trouble.
And, if anything ever does go wrong, competent speaker repair people can make things right in very short order, usually at minimal cost.
One should have no qualms in buying Meadowlark loudspeakers based on this, their sonics, workmanship, beauty, and the like.
I have a pair of 18 mo. Blue Herron 2's. They are absolutely perfect. I can see no reason for any concern. Others can disagree. The cabinets may get dinged or scraped some day, that will not affect the sound. The drivers are of the shelf. However, i believe that Pat McGinty "voiced" my set of speakers personaly, obviously along with many others. I am not sure what that means, but in an email with him during the making of my speakers, he commented that he still needed to voice them.
I had a pair of Kestrels for a couple of years and I had a tweeter go bad twice. They did send me a replacment, which I soldered in myself both times. In speaking with them regarding this they did mention that they had been having trouble with this with other customers.
Currently own Shearwater Hot Rods which are perfect so far. If my room was not so small I'd consider Blue Herons, the i series has my interest. I also have a pair of Kestrel Hot Rods with a broken binding post. I was trying to purchase the posts when Meadowlark went under. They still sound fine (I tie-wrapped speaker wire on post). One of these days I'll get a pair of replacement posts but I'm in no hurry. It's hard to beat the value these speakers present on the used market!
Have owned the Osprey's, Nighthawks, and now the Blue Heron 2's. No trouble to mention. However, now that everything is boxed up (building a new home) and crated, I certainly don't want to sustain any damage at this point, eh?
I'm using Kestral Hot rods in my second system. First with a Belles 150 SS amp,and now with a CJ MV 55 Tube amp. They sound great with both amps, and I've had no problems.
If anything did go wrong, the replacement parts can be ordered, so I see no need to worry.
My guess is they went under because their expertise is in building speakers, not running a business. There is a lot more to running a small business then just making a great product-regardless of whatever you are selling. I own a pair of Shearwater Hot Rods and enjoy them very much.
I own a pair of Ospreys and Nighthawks, and I still think that designer Pat McGinty had an excellent product design, cabinetry, superb quality sound and investment value before his company closed earlier in 2005. The speaker high-end of the market is indeed on the downside, as the home theatre market has taken over the hifi industry, with smaller size speakers and inwall speaker installations growing at the expense of companies like Meadowlark. In addition, I get the impression that neither Pat or his wife Lucinda were real "marketing or financial people" or had staff members to strategically target their company's direction, combined with the fact that their company was moved to Watertown, New York, (from San Diego, CA) with very little financial injection (under financed)obtained from the New York State industrial incentive program. Although that regional area provided Pat McGinty and his Meadowlark company choices for fine wood and cabinetry, as they were next to the Canadian border, their transportation costs on finished goods must have been extremely high in addition to their operational expenses, combined with the fact, that they utilized expensive drivers only manufactured in Europe, and the dollar vs. the Euro in the last 24 months had a disadvantage of close and to as high as 30%. That would certainly burden any manufacturing operation. In the end, the McGinty's should have learned a bit of marketing from the Orange County Bikers, as they are also in New York State, but marketed themselves to stardom via non-network television and by originally copying California bikes to achieve their marketing goals. The US audio speaker manufacturing industry has had many closings throughout the years, all mostly due to the failure of its management (usually the speaker designers)not having a marketing plan and the right people around them to help them execute them. Only Dr. Amar Bose has been able to accomplish that with tremendous success with a still privately held corporation selling in the billions every year. That's a true marketing success. The McGinty's should have adapted or copied from Bose Corporations history. In summary, I still think that Meadowlark has a place in the audio entertainment industry and that can be salvaged with the right marketing and management personnel. Obviously through their history, many people bought their Meadowlark products (like myself), and I just wonder if Meadowlark ever researched that fact as to it why's? Who were my end customers? Why did they buy my products? What are their demographics and psychographics? The many etceteras and the many why's give you the direction and a mission, many times to focus ahead of the curve. Just ask the P&G and the Colgate people about that. Anyways, I still think that Meadowlark was one of America's best speakers manufactured in the last 10 years. Now they have become a collectors item, much in the McIntosh realm.
I am so satified with my BH2's, that I would buy more of them as an investment if I had the money. They are selling for $4500 used right now(if they sell), down from $7000 used that was being seen in Feb 2005 when Meadowlark went under. The drivers and components are so expensive in these, and the cabinetry first rate, with solid tops and fronts, that they are a work of art and a great buy at $7k. The sound is fantastic, WAF is high, and they are VERY tube friendly. Mine were demos, the price was right, and came with a full warrantly, that is now worthless. There is little to go wrong on these, as others have mentioned, with parts available. Any good audio repair shop can easily repair these, should repair be needed. Amps and CD units break,but I have never had a speaker break!
Hello there 9 years late. I bought a pair of used, mildly cosmetically compromised Kestrels in April 2013 and I just have to say that I would have been happy paying double that for them. They're incredibly musical with bass that is far more realistic than Totem Hawks - which are pretty damn good - one of the best speakers I've owned and one pair that I will never let go of.
I own the Meadowlark Nighhawks - currently up for sale now. No issues what so ever and one of the most satisfying speaker I have ever owned. Building my own components now so I need money to fund those projects. Not sure I agree with expensive drivers (Seas and Vifa) compared to what I have seen in other manufacturers. Pat went out of business because his speakers were priced to low for the quality of the wood he was using. In building my own components, I can make a preamp, phone stage, DAC, etc, with parts costs of $1000 - $1500 that will completely crush what you can buy but the cost for me to produce a really nice chassis is $1000-$1500. That is more than the parts I am using and I use the best parts I can purchase. That would mean I would probably have to charge 2.5 to 3 times that price just for the chassis if I were to sell through a dealer network!
My speakers are up for sale on US Audio Mart if anyone is interested, send me a message (sorry to advertise here!)
I just read my post from nearly 10 years ago. Still own Kestrels. I've bought and sold many speakers since then but not the Kestrels. They never ceases to satisfy when called in to duty.
1-21-14: Oblgny Hello there 9 years late. I bought a pair of used, mildly cosmetically compromised Kestrels in April 2013 and I just have to say that I would have been happy paying double that for them. They're incredibly musical with bass that is far more realistic than Totem Hawks - which are pretty damn good - one of the best speakers I've owned and one pair that I will never let go of.
time-coherence strikes yet again (in a most positive manner)!!! :-) very nice to read this....
I am a devotee of time coherence at multiple places in the chain. Amazing how that stands the test of time. I loved the Kestrels when I heard them but ended up with Intuitive Design Summits which are also time and phase correct....
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