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Can Magnepan survive Wendell Diller?

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? 
128x128william53b
daveyf's avatar
daveyf
2,894 posts
 
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.
secretguy
1,743 posts
 
With fans like that, Mozart doesn't need enemies. So clueless.
william53b's avatar
william53b OP
211 posts
 
@ironlung,

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. 
ps
760 posts
 
I like my .7's very much.  Have a good day.
william53b's avatar
william53b OP
211 posts
 
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.
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