In 1989 I was at long last finally getting around to building my first "serious" system (at least in terms of what I could spring for in those days). Everything back then was pretty much brick and mortar, but I had spent some time over the prior 3 yrs driving to nearby states to put my ears on various speakers in the $2k or less range...a lot of money for me at the time. As a baseline of performance I was comparing them to a pair of floorstanders that I had already discovered in my own hometown that I truly loved at only $1k a pair, but wanted to see what else was out there. By about the end of ’89, and after exhausting all the hifi shops in a 500 mile radius, it had become clear to me that my hometown speakers for the money were the real thing - Magnat MSP 120’s that were being made in West Germany.
But, right around the time I could scrape up the cash amount (about $1050 with tax), the Berlin Wall was coming down. The sense of a new era was in the air at the time that a lot of people, including myself, were caught up in.
The only problem for me was that reunification meant essentially a total collapse of German bureaucracy...costs of shipping overseas in and out of Germany for example skyrocketed overnight...to send a screw to there, as I would find out through the store owner, would have cost $50...a tweeter, more than $200...Let alone a whole speaker (70 lbs each)??...the Pair???...would’ve cost thousands! And as much for them to send out.
I had been flirting with buying these speakers for almost 3 years now, but when the time had actually come for me to close the deal, the owner then informed me that there were only 2 North American distributors, the other in Boston and that the only pairs left in either location were the floor models and that no new stock was forthcoming...and that his price had just gone up by 450 bucks. It was 450 bucks I didn’t have.
Ok, alright, I could tell straight away when he told me all that, that I was being screwed. It was a bit too much for me to take...all that time and effort to arrive at the best solution for me, and one that I was ecstatic about at that, only for it to blow up in my face. I was disgusted with the owner and the whole deal. As soon as he told me that, I just looked at him sternly and walked out...after that, I didn’t think I’d ever have another reason to walk back in there again.
So, I did the only thing I could think to do...go down to my local billiard bar with my friends and do my level best to drink the whole damn thing off my mind. While there, as they frequently did, they were raffling off tickets to a pool cue. I still had the $1050 in my wallet, so I sprang for a ticket for 5 bucks. To my shock and amazement, I won...had been buying those things on and off for several years without any luck...and then suddenly that night - out of all nights. The cue was worth $600. I turned around and sold it immediately to another patron that night for...450 bucks!
I went back to that store the very next day and asked the guy point blank "Has your price on those speakers gone up again?!?" After a second, he said "No..." I plunked the total amount in cash down on the counter, shoved it in his direction and, without a hint of a smile, I simply said "Here..." That was that.
A few days after getting them home successfully, I learned that Magnat had been forced to nullify all their warranties in North America (out of self protection, really), since they would be contractually obligated to pay return shipping, as horrendous as that would’ve been had anyone managed to cover the costs of getting their speakers back to the company. But, even so, it didn’t matter...the speakers never had a hiccup in the 20 yrs I owned them before moving on, and they were the first speakers I ever fell stone in love with their sound. Soon after the purchase I powered them with some Luxman amps and the sound was great!
One of my better purchases, that very nearly wasn’t to be.
But, right around the time I could scrape up the cash amount (about $1050 with tax), the Berlin Wall was coming down. The sense of a new era was in the air at the time that a lot of people, including myself, were caught up in.
The only problem for me was that reunification meant essentially a total collapse of German bureaucracy...costs of shipping overseas in and out of Germany for example skyrocketed overnight...to send a screw to there, as I would find out through the store owner, would have cost $50...a tweeter, more than $200...Let alone a whole speaker (70 lbs each)??...the Pair???...would’ve cost thousands! And as much for them to send out.
I had been flirting with buying these speakers for almost 3 years now, but when the time had actually come for me to close the deal, the owner then informed me that there were only 2 North American distributors, the other in Boston and that the only pairs left in either location were the floor models and that no new stock was forthcoming...and that his price had just gone up by 450 bucks. It was 450 bucks I didn’t have.
Ok, alright, I could tell straight away when he told me all that, that I was being screwed. It was a bit too much for me to take...all that time and effort to arrive at the best solution for me, and one that I was ecstatic about at that, only for it to blow up in my face. I was disgusted with the owner and the whole deal. As soon as he told me that, I just looked at him sternly and walked out...after that, I didn’t think I’d ever have another reason to walk back in there again.
So, I did the only thing I could think to do...go down to my local billiard bar with my friends and do my level best to drink the whole damn thing off my mind. While there, as they frequently did, they were raffling off tickets to a pool cue. I still had the $1050 in my wallet, so I sprang for a ticket for 5 bucks. To my shock and amazement, I won...had been buying those things on and off for several years without any luck...and then suddenly that night - out of all nights. The cue was worth $600. I turned around and sold it immediately to another patron that night for...450 bucks!
I went back to that store the very next day and asked the guy point blank "Has your price on those speakers gone up again?!?" After a second, he said "No..." I plunked the total amount in cash down on the counter, shoved it in his direction and, without a hint of a smile, I simply said "Here..." That was that.
A few days after getting them home successfully, I learned that Magnat had been forced to nullify all their warranties in North America (out of self protection, really), since they would be contractually obligated to pay return shipping, as horrendous as that would’ve been had anyone managed to cover the costs of getting their speakers back to the company. But, even so, it didn’t matter...the speakers never had a hiccup in the 20 yrs I owned them before moving on, and they were the first speakers I ever fell stone in love with their sound. Soon after the purchase I powered them with some Luxman amps and the sound was great!
One of my better purchases, that very nearly wasn’t to be.