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In Canada we often hear stories of rare species being sighted- Bigfoot, Sasquatch, Yeti all come to mind.
Today, however, I can report a confirmed sighting of something even more scarce, namely
a new bricks and mortar Magneplanar dealer.Sound Lovers is a relatively new audio store in Medicine Hat, Alberta. I
know, the city's name is almost as weird as Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan!
In a bout of insanity worthy of gold member status in the Planar Asylum
the owner has 3 sets of Maggies in stock. The MG .7 and 1.7i are in the store.
while the MG 3.7i are available to audition by appointment in his studio.
There is also a local asylum member with a strange alias that may
even be willing to show off his silver/black 20.7s.Seriously though, planar speakers have traditionally been under-represented
in the southern Alberta and Saskatchewan markets. I am not sure if the owner's
actions are a stroke of genius or a cry for psychiatric intervention but they
deserve support from fellow fans of box-less speakers.
soundlovers.ca
Edits: 11/15/22Follow Ups:
Medicine Hat, population 65,000 - has a Magneplanar dealer
Chicago - metro area 9,000,000 - NO Magneplanar dealers
New York - metro area - 18,000,000 - NO Magneplanar dealers
What's wrong with this picture?
https://magnepan.com/pages/dealers
==========================
Science doesn't care what you believe.
South Florida - Population 9,340,480 - Has dealer listed, but .......
They closed their store a few years ago at the beginning of the pandemic. If the main purpose of a dealer network is to have a physical location to demo your product line to potential customers, this misses the mark in a pretty big way.
What's strange is that this dealer still has a website that appears like it did before they closed. Same location, product lineup, hours, etc. I've heard several complaints from people that went there only to find the place is gone! Is Magnepan aware of this? It seems to me this type of negative and somewhat deceptive "marketing" could do more damage than good.
It's a large and wealthy demographic and I'm sure Magnepan would desperately love to have a legit showroom there, but come on. This seems a little sketchy.
-Joe
They're not that big!
Is said dealer listed on the Magnepan site?
Really nothing Magnepan can do to remove another company re their site, short of a law suit I would think.
That's the thing Grant. They are listed on Magnepan's Florida dealer list with a link to their website. They have been a dealer for probably 30+ years. I would have to think that Magnepan would know their physical store is closed, yet the dealer's website has not been updated to reflect that. Many of the other brands that the dealer still list on their website and that they once represented, no longer list them as a dealer if you check the manufacturer's website.
I don't have the details, so keep in mind this is pure speculation on my part, but I am guessing that they are still developing some sales for Magnepan. Why else would Magnepan still list them as a dealer? It just seems like a risky and somewhat deceptive way of being represented on Magnepan's part IMHO. I'd be pretty ticked if I drove an hour to an audio "store" to see and hear a product only to find out it's now a restaurant or what ever. It's definitely a tough time for retail audio shops, or retail anything local for that matter. The hand writing has been on the wall for a lonf time for audio stores. Unfortunately, the pandemic was the final straw for many of them.
-Joe
They're not that big!
I'm not sure which South Florida dealer you mentioned, but I'm on the West coast of Florida with no local dealers so I called a dealer on the East cost to order my 3.7i's sight unseen. All went smooth so I have no complaints, but I'm not sure the dealer really earned his commission.
The erosion of the high end deal market is sad indeed. As Davey says, they're making their money now off installations for the wealthy (and cables). Magnepan's problem is that, as Wendell puts it, it's the sound that sells them -- why else would someone put a big pair of slabs in their living rooms? The LRS program is an attempt to circumvent that by introducing people to the Maggie sound, knowing that some will go on to buy the larger models.
It's a problem that's affecting the whole industry, but is particularly problematic for companies that sell large speakers and don't design their products for the mega rich.
I think it's just a matter of time until Magnepan (and many other manufacturers) abandon the dealer model completely.
Dave.
But I hope you're wrong...
The dealers exist now to pedal high-profit items like audiophile cables and install work in high-buck homes. That sort of thing.I haven't walked out the door with a product from a brick/mortar dealer in about 25 years. For me, I have no use for that type of transaction.
There's no value-added when transacting through a dealer.
Dave.
Edits: 11/16/22
You're so spot on Davey. My local dealer that I purchased my 20.7's from wanted me to pay a additional $200 bucks to have them setup them up. This is after a $150 delivery fee. But then want to complain when folks use there stores as showrooms to try before they buy online or out of market. Definitely not what it use to be but I must admit there is some really good dealers out there. But again when you find one you should cherish them.
Hmm, it seems that the owner's plan to offer free local delivery and provide help
with set up at no charge may be a quaint notion out of touch with current dealer mentality.
That service used to be standard practice at Maggie dealers!
Well, if you're a small audio shop in the middle of nowhere in Canada, that no-charge setup model might work. But probably not.....at least not for very long. :)
The ultimate way to market and sell Magnepan products is via an existing owner audition program, with some sort of incentive for the demonstration owner.
But, currently, we have a company that can't even come close to meeting demand for their products. So, it's probably moot.
Dave.
I hope they can make it work in this world of online buying.
To a fellow Canadian, those cities are bult into my head, and almost not odd at all.
Now, "that" place in Newfoundland, starts with a D.... I'll never get over that one.
Years ago one of my daughters had a boyfriend over for dinner. I was cooking chicken pot pie with dill biscuit topping. He came into the kitchen while I was needing the dough and asked me what I was making. I looked at him and said, "dill dough". He went a very deep shade of red.
Edits: 11/15/22 11/15/22
Maybe they could rename the infamous city to Dill Dough!
Back in high school, I went to pick up my date. Knocked on the door, nothing. Knock again, thought I heard something, but still nothing, knock again, and heard "I'm coming!". The door finally opens and there's no one there until I looked down and there was her father on his two leg stumps. He says, "I was coming as fast as I could". Much stuttering from me...
She tells me later that he has prosthesis but he likes to do that to her first time suitors.
You need to hit a campfire and tell some stories! You have some goodies.
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