Planar Speaker Asylum

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Planar Speaker Asylum

addendum: remember new coke?

68.1.131.10

In Reply to: RE: your point begs the question posted by wazoo on May 31, 2009 at 21:27:01

That's an example of changing a perfectly good product (for no good reason) and facing bad consequences. If you're doing something right, don't change what you're doing. In my view, Magnepan is doing soemthing right. I agree that they should improve their QC efforts though.

I replaced the Mini Mag Light in my toolkit with the 'new and improved' LED version until I realized how much I hated it. The old Mag Light is back in service and I gave the LED version to someone else (who is young and seemed to like it better). Why do I prefer the old one? The LED version is actually too bright and does not permit focusing of the beam. It may be new, but I don't think it's improved. I'm glad they still sell the regular version.

"Jazz is not dead - it just smells funny" FZ

Follow Ups:

RE: addendum: remember new coke? - Green Lantern 05:51:51 06/01/09 (2)
I love Magnepan to death and all it represents, but aside from the MMG home trial program, the marketing side of the house could use a good shot in the arm (perhaps the 'quote-end quote' Wendell visit).
And you really don't have to look far..
-observing their website which shows a pair of 3.6's pushed up against a wall in a waaaay too small room
-Also the 20.1's being model'd with someone who's dressed like she's from the old TV series 'fame'.
Sure; keep cost down, but do it without being cheesy.
I think the stagnation in presenting 'new and improved' Maggie products has to do with Jim's retirement and the addition of their home theater line.
I remember some of the best turntables to hit the streets were being churned out around '81,'82; only to be crushed by the new wave of CD players hitting the scene.
The fact Magnepan is still standing is a testament to their business model. Businesses don't survive from customers, they survive from banks and apparently their bank has enough faith in them-so far.

"You don't have to be faster than the lion....
just the guy running next to you.." -anonymous

Edits: 06/01/09 06/01/09
- RE: addendum: remember new coke? - MaggieLover 07:34:14 06/01/09 (1)
  "-observing their website which shows a pair of 3.6's pushed up against a wall in a waaaay too small room "
  
  Hey GL,
  
  You and everyone else on this thread are correct IMHO. Almost all the changes suggested would be wonderful in a perfect world. Their web site and marketing strategies seems old. They don't accept email. Much of their line (except perhapss the 20.1s) is marketed as value for price to an audience with some money to spend but who are generally not hobbyiests or perfectionists.
  
  If Magnapan told their potential customer base that their speakers would sound their best:
  
  * in a rooms of certain dimensions,
  * with the speakers well away from rear and side walls,
  * with the addition of room treatments,
  * with larger glass, concrete or tile surfaces covered,
  * with the listening postion well away from room bounderies,
  * with the listener sitting dead center between the panels,
  * with large amounts of very clean high current power,
  * and with top quality cd playeres and preamps,
  
  then I suspect their sales would plummet.
  
  There are proabaly many tens of thousands (or more) maggies owners living blissfully in ignorance of the truths we believe in. Many of their setups might well appall us and make us wonder why they even bought maggies in the first place. They in turn would probably think most of us were a bunch of anal retentive geeks with too much time on our hands.
  
  This is a business first. They design and build what they think they can sell in a specific market segment, and price the speaker based on the costs of parts and labor and the profit they want to make. They market it to sell the most product they can.
  
  Unlike the maufacturers of box speakers who have to compete with perhaps hundreds of brands of similar looking and often similar sounding speakers, Magnepan has relatively little competition in the panel speaker market, and almost none at the various price points of their models. As a result there is little incentive to redesign their line often. R&D is time consuming and expensive. It doesn't mean Magnepan is not interested in production quality or developing improvements, but staying in business, selling product and making a profit is their primary goal.
  
  Maggies, because you can never be too thin!
  
  Mark
  - not sure if - Green Lantern 12:48:24 06/01/09 (0)
    the photo of the 3.6's was a 'conscience' decision for a universal placement example made to appeal to a mass market.
    I mean why not use the MMG's instead?
    It's almost an insult to the larger Maggie users.
    Oh well; it is what it is..
    Good points though; thanks for the reply.
    
    "You don't have to be faster than the lion....
    just the guy running next to you.." -anonymous
    
    Edits: 06/01/09

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