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Got this interesting press release from Wendell today:
Dear Press Warrior,
We understand. Show coverage is exhausting. And those long hours writing show reports......................
Magnepan and Wisdom Audio are teaming up to give you something new and interesting.
A pair of motorized MMC 2s and 2 Maggie Woofers retails for $3,600. For your show report, we would like you to compare us to those expensive box speakers down the hall.
Oh, you aren't assigned to cover on-wall speakers at this show? Tell the editor they are "free-standing". The MMC 2s are discreet and tuck away when not in use. And to further liven up your show report, ask a "interior designer" what they think of the MMC 2s.
Magnepan-- Room 221 Atrium
Wisdom Audio-- Hilton Crystal Ballroom A
At Magnepan, we think outside the box (speaker).
We also like to have fun at shows.
Follow Ups:
I believe all Wendell is saying (in his way)is, it is less expensive to buy power for Maggie's than to pay for more efficient planars.
Dave
That's certainly true.
I'm scratching my head on this one; by saying "I want to be brand 'X' when I grow up' are they (Magnepan) in essence conceding their inferiority to another product/brand?
Sure Magneapan may not be the best speaker in the Universe but for their price point, they "cannot" be beat by any brand..
Maybe it's just me but I don't get it.
Somebody please tell me I'm wrong! lol..
may the bridges I burn light the way....
They aren't really in competition. A pair of Wisdom LS-4's with the Wisdom subs costs $100,000, the MMC-2's and DWM's cost $3600. The MMC-2's aren't going to give you 100 dB efficiency and 130 dB SPL levels at the listening seat, but I wouldn't be surprised if the sonics of the MMC-2's compare favorably at the levels at which most of us actually listen.
I see a set of MG 20.7's along with a pair of Mini Maggies accompanied with the slogan regarding 'growing up to be Wisdoms'.I have no doubt the Wisdoms are a fine speaker (for a hundred grand they sure as heck better be).
But I've also had the opportunity to hear another $100K speaker, the Wilson Alexandria X-2 ($125,000 per pair); on the same day I heard a pair of MG20.1's. I had the advantage of listening to both (albeit in seperate rooms; both as about as ideal as it gets)..and let me tell you brother, it was no contest; the Maggies had me by the gonads and wouldn't let go. The Wilsons were phenomenal, don't get me wrong, but the Maggies for what they do, did it better than any other speaker 3,4,5 times their price IMO.
So in a sense regarding this ad; I guess I just don't get it and thats fine, I'll sleep good at night, but it kind of leaves the impression of Maggies who were once leaders in a pack, were all along simply just another speaker trying to 'catch up' to another far superior product...just my opinion..
may the bridges I burn light the way....
Edits: 05/12/12 05/12/12
Wilson sells a lot of speakers, but a lot of people maintain that there are better speakers for the money.
Magnepan is almost a contradiction in terms -- a value high end speaker manufacturer. While most high end companies think in terms of the best sound possible, Magnepan thinks in terms of amazing sound on a budget. That's central to their philosphy, and, I think, central to their success -- because who in his right mind wouldn't choose the speaker that's the equal of speakers several times its price?
In a sense, they're the speaker for the rest of us. Most high end manufacturers sell a handful of speakers, Magnepan has sold 200,000.
I think Magnepan is counting here on the ability of their product to compete sonically with a much more expensive one. The two companies aren't really in commercial competition with one another: the Maggies cost $3700 and the Wisdoms $100,000 a pair, so they're selling into different markets. Those with $100,000 in cash will walk away saying "Whoa, I can get a speaker that does 130 dB SPL," and those with $3,700 will walk away saying "Whoa, those Maggies may not go quite as deep or play quite as loud as the Wisdoms, but where they play they sound as good." It's a gutsy move that to me suggests faith in their product -- how many manufacturers would invite people to compare their $3700 system with a competitor's $100,000 one?
would be perhaps if Magnepan had a vested interest in Wisdom; the ad mentions 'shared technology'; perhaps there's licensing agreements between the two which could in the long run benefit each company; who knows.
And if this were the case then yeah- I'm with the program; but once again I never thought I'd ever see Magnepan admitting (or implying) to playing "second fiddle" to anyone in the planar game.Kind of like seeing an ad for a Chevy Corvette announcing when it grows up, it would like to be.. (insert your choice of exotic car here).
-but hey what the heck do I know...
may the bridges I burn light the way....
Edits: 05/12/12
That would be conventional marketing wisdom -- never say that another company's product does something your product doesn't. But Wendell has never been much for conventional marketing, I think he prefers to upend things. In this case, maybe people are going to be saying "How can anyone be crazy enough to put a $3700 system against a $100,000 one"? And so they'll go listen, which is what both companies want.
I think it's a stroke of genius myself, since the two products really don't compete, any more than a Corvette competes with a Ferrari. An analogy might be an ad inviting you to test drive a Ferrari, then test drive a Corvette. In making that comparison, the implication would be that you'll be surprised by what the Corvette can do.
I don't think I would have included the 20.7 in the photo, though. After all, this is a competition between two on-wall products. I haven't heard either the 20.7 or the Wisdom, but if the reviews I've read are to be trusted -- and my experience with true ribbon tweeters vs. quasi-ribbons, an dipoles vs. boxes -- the 20.7 should be a better speaker for music. Technologically, the Wisdom is more a 1.7 on steroids than a 3.7 or 20.7. Better for home theater, perhaps, because a quasi-ribbon tweeter with a novel cooling scheme can produce much higher SPL's than a true ribbon, but is it going to have those true ribbon highs, both silky and detailed at the same time?
Respectfully submitted; although everyone has a right to their opinion I think 'stroke of genius' might be a bit of a stretch; in fact I think it's a rather confusing display..after 2-3 days I still don't know whether if it's the Mini mags, MG20.7's or the little girl that wants to "grow up to be Wisdoms".Yeah sure I'm probably reading way too much into it, and I'm aware it's essentially just a tongue and cheek 'insider' display that will probably only be seen at the convention, but little things like that tend to irk me, which in turn distracts me (and who knows, maybe others) from it's original intent.
In any event I will contiune to consider Maggies the speaker to beat; and second to none. This consideration extends all the way to the top (Wendell, Winey sons) right down to the fabric cutter.
v/r
GL
may the bridges I burn light the way....
Edits: 05/13/12 05/13/12
I think they're just photos from previous ads. They don't even illustrate the product they're showing, guess it wasn't worth doing.
Anyway, I think the point here was to get members of the press and show attendees to hear the speakers. And to do that, you need to get their attention and arouse their curiosity. That's why I think the idea is so clever. Even if you think they're being total idiots for praising a competitor, you'll be curious enough to listen.
And for similar reasons the Mini Maggies (with true ribbon tweeters and DWM bass panels with 20.1/7 technology) and the Maggie 20.7 probably represent Magnepan's current best speakers.
Of course there is no comparison between the Mini Maggies and 20.1/7 speakers in terms of power and bass extension but those limits aside I would assume that the sonic characteristics of both are quite remarkable and untouchable for many times their respective costs.
If you modified the multiple Mini Maggies to create a huge two-channel speaker system, does ten Mini Maggies equal one Maggie 20.7?
I think it would probably take more than ten minis. :-) You'd have to glue them together to equal the radiating area and baffle size, and get a floor-ceiling line source.
What they do do is sound like the big ones when you're sitting at a desk, listening in the near field, and still excellent though not quite as stellar when you're back some in a small room, as long as you're seated (the tweeter beams vertically when you're at a distance).
Reading the Wisdom ad, it looks like they licensed some Magnepan technology and developed it further as a "cost no object" project. Magnepan, of course, always has cost as an object, even in the 20.x. I wonder if Magnepan gets to use that that technology after some period of time, and can engineer the cost down and/or leverage it w/ volume.
Dave
--it's close enough for jazz...
Wisdom has used a clever cooling scheme for their quasi ribbon tweeters, there's a video somewhere that describes it. I'm not sure if you could adapt it to a dipole, or what the economics are.
Classic Wendell!!! :)
Best regards,
Jim Smith
Isn't it, though. :-)
Wendell is no dummy.
He didn't pick Martin-Logan CLXs, or big Wilsons or Vandy 7s, or even Quad 2905s, etc. Or for that matter, not even the big SoundLabs.
Instead he chose a speaker with some performance creds, but with no real presence or likelihood of success in the marketplace... :)
He's crazy as a fox. That's why it amuses me that when he goes hunting (as often as he can), I think of a fox hunting other prey.
I can say this and would say it to his face, because I love him like a (slightly twisted) brother. :)
Best regards,
Jim Smith
Only /slightly/ twisted? :-)
One shouldn't be terribly surprised by comparing similar items with substantially different prices. A good friend of mine selling art raises the price of items not selling ... until it is sold. There is a portion of our population that buys at a price point with little regard for substance or quality. Wouldn't we all like to acknowledge our ownership of a $100K thing-a-ma-jig.
Well despite all of Wisdom's high tech manf, of their planer magnetic diaphragm's, they still do not have a True Ribbon Tweeter:D
Nor are they dipoles -- they have an enclosure, and we know what that can do to the sound.
I have heard a pair of Wisdom speakers before, huge soundstage, covering the whole room. Should be awesome for home theatre, however I did not think they were so great for music. The imaging was too diffuse for me, of course this was just one listening session. Perhaps in another room and a different set up the results could be better.
Wish I could hear this comparison, it sounds fascinating. I've wanted to hear both the MMC-2's and the Wisdoms for some time. In particular, Wendell tells me that the MMC-2's compare favorably in A/B tests with the floorstanders and that they recommend them for people who have small rooms, a common problem. So I wanted to listen for myself. But as things now stand, I've only heard them as part of the tri-center.
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