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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
stickman451
553 posts
 
Another week with my new 20.7's and I have to repeat what I said above; WOW! These are one of the very finest speakers that I have ever heard!

They crush all of the 3 series Magnepans (all of which are damn good!). The 20.7's are rich, full-bodied, amazingly detailed, draw a HUGE stage in all directions, have a considerable amount of slam and 'grunt', and just plain sound REAL...

Very happy with this purchase; if you have a room that is large enough for these monsters (ie you can set them at 5 - 7 feet out into the room) and still sit 9 - 11 feet away, you must audition these before buying the 3.7's or any other speaker in the $12k - and up range!
mn2hifi OP
31 posts
 
Stickman,,
It is amazing how a 79 inch tall speaker can simply disappear and all you really seem aware of is the music.

Maggie's have always sounded musical to me but the 20.7s seem to do more than reproduce, they recreate with a realism that startles me on occaision.

Simply a wonderful speaker. Jim Winey would be proud.
misterneutron
7 posts
 
At this point in time (June 2019) I wonder if anyone knows if there is still a big backlog of 20.7 orders, and thus still a 20.7 waiting list?

I live in the Minneapolis metro area, where we have a single dealer for the whole state.  I was told the dealers are allocated 1 pair of 20.7 speakers per 20.7 manufacturing cycle, which I gathered was maybe 3-4 times per year?  The dealer said they order 1 pair of 20.7 per manufacturing cycle and by the time that pair is manufactured, they have been sold to a customer.  Thus, they never have a pair of 20.7 on the demo floor.
I would guess that if the dealer is only able to order/sell 3-4 pairs of 20.7 per year, a customer would end up in a waiting list that could be 12 months long or more?

Would there be any time advantage in ordering direct from Magnepan, and sidestepping the wait list that the dealer likely has? 

Thanks for any insight.
Post removed 
misterneutron
7 posts
 
Oh yes, I've been thinking I should call the factory and see when I could drive over and listen to 20.7s.  It's only 33 miles from my house.  To date, I've only heard 1.7i and 3.7i.

Is there any benefit in buying from the a dealer when Magnepan is right here "in town"?  I believe the Magnepan warranty coverage would be the same, either way.
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