The Future of Magnepan | The Audio Belle meets "Magnepan Mick"

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The Audio Belle interviews the incoming torchbearers of Magnepan, reflects on her relationship with Wendell Diller et al, and gets the scoop on Magnepan's past, present, and future.
About Cynthia Blankenship:
Cynthia converted to audiophilism 5 years ago when she first heard a pair of Magnepan 3.3Rs playing Die Moldau from Smetana's Ma Vlast. The ensuing journey would have her be a recurring guest on the Audiophiliac's channel, a Magnepan 1.7i ad in The Absolute Sound magazine, and shadowing Alan Sircom of hi-fi+. With what began as a hobby with a focus on human interest stories, 5 years later she will now be delving into the world of audio gear reviews for The Absolute Sound, HiFi+, and her own channel @TheAudioBelle
What Is The Absolute Sound?
The Absolute Sound magazine has been a leading publication in high-end audio since 1972. Since the early 2000s, The Absolute Sound has expanded to include web, newsletter, digital magazine, social media, RU-vid and Substack platforms. The Absolute Sound platforms have a global audience of over 500,000 audiophiles.
For more show reports, expert reviews, features, and commentary subscribe to our newsletter at: www.theabsolutesound.com
Follow us on Facebook: / theabsolutesound
Substack: theabsolutesound.substack.com
#hifi #audiophile #theabsolutesound

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Опубликовано:

22 июл 2024

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Комментарии : 85

@Revelator2025 Год назад

There is Magic to be found in Magnepan speakers. Perhaps THE best value in hi-end audio. We appreciate your passion, Cynthia!

@davidkosa 8 месяцев назад

I bought a used 1.7 sight unseen and sound unheard on a whim. I have drunk the KoolAid and understand why Magnepan has the reputation it has. I enjoyed this video.

@TheCharlesAtoz Год назад

Ms Belle- Please don't stop your short form docs like this. Excellent.

@sidvicious3129 Год назад

I’m quite proud of this young man, he took the criticism very well, especially from the older gentleman that said that his music was garbage, which was quite rude and disrespectful. This is one of the problems in our great hobby, people complaining about the music being played, particularly older men, wanting to her classical and jazz, so that they can listen to the speakers instead of the music. I love classical, jazz, r&b, hip hop, folk, grunge, rock, progressive rock, heavy metal, Reggie and religious music. Most people listening on RU-vid and some of those listening in person want to here the kind of music that they will play at home and not just jazz, classical and the occasional soft rock. This young man took the courage to play hip hop through Maggie’s never the less, probably knowing the reaction that he might get at an audio show. That takes serious moxie. I say if you don’t like someone’s music choices please keep your mouth shut as there are people that surely won’t like your music choices. Concentrate on how the speaker reproduce the sound playing through them and be as respectful to others as you want them to be toward you. Cynthia went after him enough, especially on the bass issue, but he was able to dance around it like a future executive. I think this young man will do well and he is what our industry needs, young blood to bring in new blood that will do both his father proud and future generations to come proud as they succeed us. Well done young man, we’ll done young manager and future CEO of Magnepan, Wendell did a good job of hiring you. Good interview Cynthia!!!

@TheAudioBelle Год назад

@sidvicious3129, You saw exactly what I wanted everyone to see! Your comment sums this all up very nicely. --Cynthia, The Audio Belle

@FrankZappa1959 Год назад

I live since 30 years with my Maggies and I will die with them!!!!!!❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

@hamidrezahabibi8111 Год назад

As an audiophile and high end audio businessman and and and 😂 former Magnepan exclusive authorized dealer for Iran ❤️🤍💚 and speaking many times to Mr. Wendell Diller and the late Mrs. Margaret Ann Roush; I have to say that Magnepan is truly the best value in our beloved hobby. My birth year is identical to Magnepan; 1969. I was around 12 years old that I heard SMG and I was blown away. It was a short encounter but it changed my perspective on loudspeakers. Then in 1991 I heard the Tympani and that was when I picked up the phone 📞 and talked for the first time to Margaret and then to Wendell. I placed our order and imported Magnepan to Tehran Iran. The first two clients were yours truly and my business partner; my late father. He picked MG-3.3R & mine was MG-1.5QR. We both had a blast 💥 We couldn’t tolerate conventional box 📦 loudspeakers anymore. They sounded out of this world 🌎. I have heard and lived with many loudspeakers but no loudspeakers couldn’t outperform the maggies in terms of soundstage, image, timbre, nuances and minuscule details of music 🎶 with the humble price tag 🏷️ they bear. Real value. Last but not least; I admire the Proudly Made in USA 🇺🇸 stickers on the white shipping cartons. 😊❤ On fine day I will import them again.

@Beyondabsence 3 месяца назад

Thank you for your wonderful commentary. I have the 1.7i, 150 hours playing so far. I l love the refined and smooth sound. But I've noticed my entry level Focals are easily driven but my 110w amp, as the Maggies seem to need more volume to catch up to the forward and bold sound of the efficient Focals. May I ask if getting a more powerful amp, will I experience the blossoming of the Maggies? And which amps do you recommend? Thank you in advance!

@user-pj1cg5qy3n 3 месяца назад

Mullahs and Magnepans - not a good fit.

@adsph Год назад

Mick seems very grounded. I wish him well.

@drde4010 Год назад

Mick is awesome! Great video!

@deangale4496 Год назад

Unfortunately most younger people today were brought up in the era of "Loudness wars mastering " everything was exaggerated especially on the low end . This bass emphasis has led to young people not understanding bass isn't 6db louder than the core of music . Box speaker manufacturers at the lower end say mid fi built in 3db or more mid bass to make their speakers stand out .

@Beyondabsence 3 месяца назад

He's spot-on about "augmented bass." People are accustomed to excessive and artificial bass levels, so when they experience the genuine article, they're often underwhelmed. It's akin to drinking coffee with four spoons of sugar, then reducing it to two tiny spoons, and the person exclaims, "There's no sugar!"

@jerryr3652 Год назад

I've had the pleasure of dealing with Nick on the phone regarding my 3.7 to 3.7i conversion. It took less then a minute on the phone to feel like my speakers were in the right hands at Magnepan. Long live Magnepan.

@dougg1075 Год назад

“ as the old timers die off “ Love it:)

@kennixox262 Год назад

Old timers as a group do not die off as people are born and die 24/7/365. Think of it as the edge of a wave that never stops. The whole "generational" thing is a fraud.

@DrGregC Год назад

Wow! I am 71 and those words cut like a knife.

@robertmartin6208 10 месяцев назад

Awesome interview Cynthia! I've had the pleasure of conversing via phone or email with Mick for a few years now...very nice young man. I very much like the idea of Magnepan increasing their social media presence, especially they idea of support videos....that would be AWESOME! I have a pair of Tympani IIIa's, which are 4 panels per side, two bass panels, 1 mid-tweeter panel, and 1 planar magnetic push-pull tweeter panel. Ive totally rebuilt the 4 bass panels and the 2 mid tweeter panels, but I 'm very afraid of touching that tweeter panel. They are currently working well and are in spec, but they're almost 50 years old....but they still sound incredible. I would live to see a support video on rebuilding those tweeters. I will say that Mick emailed a blowup of the tweeter construction that will help tremendously.

@don7680 Год назад

Skip the gum next interview.

@thepracticalaudiophile 5 месяцев назад

You never asked him about the new bass panels coming out. Do you have any updates on these? Excellent video.

@scottbennett3119 Год назад

'pass on' is preferred to 'die off'.

@markwagner1997 Год назад

I guess one can't expect hot tips regarding the subwoofer project or future releases from a Service Manager, but it's great to hear that Nick plans to drag documentation and support info out of the 1990's and into the present. Quite exciting, as a matter of fact. Thanks for the interesting video! I was a Maggie owner since the early 80's, but after downsizing, in preparation for "my golden years", to a smaller room with neighbors on the other side of the wall, I have changed to a box... as it's better at low volumes. Though I have some very nice boxes, no box will ever replace my 1.6's!

@przemekrodeckicfa9893 Год назад

Glad to see young blood at Magnepan

@TheDanEdwards Год назад

Wow, The Audio Belle got some pushback on her phrasing. As for me, I don't mind "die off", I don't need an euphemism to cover up the simple truth that I am on the back-end of my life. And there are some real generational differences. In regards to music: 1) the generation that grew up with pop music on AM radio, 2) the generation that only listened to FM radio and then switched to iPods and similar products, and 3) the young people today who grew up streaming. Different expectations on music and music reproduction. As for Wendell Diller: I am not a hater, but I am a critic. Wendell is about three decades late in delivering a dipole subwoofer. Additionally, Magnepan has put off the transition to much higher magnetic fields (which allow for higher efficiency and yes, that "bass" for which you youngsters crave) and is losing the high-end panel market to the likes of Alsyvox, Clarisys, and even Diptyque (who are pricing their products closer to Magnepan than the prior two.) But the real problem for Magnepan is that their speaker construction is so labor intensive. And that may be why their starting wage for techs, as advertised in Minnesota, are so low. Will Magnepan be able to keep production in the US if they want to keep their prices (relative to so much of the _high-end_ ) so low? If Magnepan would offer higher quality finishes, better electronics (add some binding posts!), etc. perhaps they could get higher prices for their products.

@TheAudioBelle Год назад

@PuzzledResearcher, Thank you for your comment! It was a breath of fresh air to read lol. I had no idea so many people would be offended by the phrase "die off". That's just kind of the way I talk. Technically I don't think someone can unintentionally be rude. Oh well. I appreciate your comments on the Magnepan topics too. It's always great to hear what various people think on these types of subjects. I am interested to see where everything is 5-10 years from now. ---Cynthia, The Audio Belle

@urbantone 4 месяца назад

Oh wow Sweden and audio Nord is mentioned here

@analoguecity3454 Год назад

Old timers "die off" ? Not very delicate way to put it! But true!

@jvburnes Год назад

Yeah that was kind of crude. Retire would have been sufficient and respectful.

@glenncurry3041 Год назад

OMG! I was that ringer! That is the back of my son's head.

@TheAudioBelle Год назад

@glenncurry3041, Thank you for the comedic gold. 😂 Glad you got to see what I was doing after the fact. Hope you know I was just giving you a hard time. :) ---Cynthia, The Audio Belle

@glenncurry3041 Год назад

@@TheAudioBelle. Family BBQ last night and that son was there with 2 other brothers. One other is also an audiophile. Did not tell them why, but made everyone watch some of this. He recognized the back of his head before my comment was heard. We had a great laugh over it and no one was the least surprised that me and my big mouth wound up on another rando video! 🙂Neither of them have Maggies because "they have no bass". Wish I had known what was up in front. Though you might be glad I did not! 🙂And I wish I had followed the advice to "Ask Mick" because of my continued Maggie issues. But did not know how effective it might have been. I look forward to seeing more from you.

@TheAudioBelle Год назад

@@glenncurry3041 LOL. That is too funny. As far as the bass, Production Manager Ken agreed to me posting this video so long as I come to Magnepan and hear the 3.7is in their sound room, and make another video about my thoughts. Apparently they can go down to 40Hz in the right setting. So I will be making my way to the factory at the beginning of June to have some fun with everyone. Not sure what Maggie issues you are specifically having, but no doubt Mick will remember you. You should reach out. :) So glad you aren't upset with me! Hahaha. ---Cynthia, The Audio Belle

@glenncurry3041 Год назад

@@TheAudioBelle People do not understand the laws of physics that control bass response. The lower the frequency, the longer the wavelength, IOW how far a pressure wave has to travel in one direction before the signal/ driver go in the other direction. It can literally be as long as 45ft at low bass notes! And the corresponding room volume needed as well. Most rooms are literally too small to reproduce true extreme lows. So people pressurize their space with subs. And since most box speaker produce an output as low frequencies are pushed in, it is not always corresponding to a simple single sinewave. e.g. add a port and the DELAY inherent will produce an additional pressure energy slightly out of time, but adding. So a measure will show a greater SPL output at say 45Hz. But it is not the coherent single pressure wave a Planar does. So more "bass" is heard from boxes. Lots of secondary/ tertiary ... delayed additions. More "bass". The foil paths break at notch points. Slightly raised spots along the foil paths from manufacturer. They break at those points. My 1.7i have been back twice for repair. Not working now because of yet another break. Trie3d to fix it, bought the repair kit from them, got 3 totally different set up instructions from having to life the foil and solder the path back together to replacing the entire tweeter or super tweeter strips. Tried the in-between suggestion of taped 3rd strip and glue down. Did not work. Not at all upset with anything you posted other than being reminded yet again that at 70+, hearing all my old artists DYING (as you put it!) at around my age, .... Have AS put their mag in men's hair places, up scale Dr offices,... Expose the topic in areas covered by sports and car mags.

@traceonline Год назад

@@TheAudioBelle I'm not exactly on the Magnepan train but totally loved this video and you pressing on for some honest answers. I really hope you visit their sound room to flesh things (the bass) out further.

@pizzaearthpancakesandother2549 Год назад

1:36 is that Rick Nielsen from Cheap Trick on the left?

@rocksinger45 Год назад

Hi, Cynthia ~ Like your videos it's always great to hear your conversations ~ I really want a pair of LRS + only problem is I'm an American living in Japan and they have no distribution network set up here ~ For the past year every time I communicate with Maggie they say "We are working on it ~ After hearing about these speakers and the review they have been getting I now have to play tag with someone in California to get them shipped to me here in Osaka Japan ~ May I say there is at least a 3 to 4-month wait ~ That's how far the orders are backlogged ~ Eric the person I saw pictured here in your review has been a true gentleman over the past 3 months with his many emails and finally a phone conversation on how we can get the LRS+ to my doorsteps ~ Now the hard part ~ The wait ~ Thanks again for your peak behind the curtain and honesty ~

@TheAudioBelle Год назад

@rocksinger45, Oh man. That is a rough experience. I’m glad to hear that you are getting them, nonetheless! I think your patience will have paid off. :) Let us know what you think once you have them! --Cynthia, The Audio Belle

@astolatpere11 2 месяца назад

I like the bass on my .7 speakers after I added magnariser stands.

@ericelmore887 Месяц назад

love to see x models with a true ribbon tweeter, neodymium magnets in a push/pull configuration. also a more rigid construction

@paulgaerisch7041 5 месяцев назад

I have Magnepan’s MG12/QR. and even without a subwoofer they have bass. A lot depends on setup and the room acoustics.

@user-pt7mm1so8g 3 месяца назад

I have MC 830, too. I got Audio Classics first pair, but mine drive XRT 28, Which are a true full range speakers which easily reach below 20 HZ with very low distortion,,, But they are a short line array were the XRT 30 was a full line array. I have to agree with the lady Belle about Magnepan don't have the beef! I mean were's the beef, Bass! Magnepan high end are rather peaky also in the top two octaves.

@skip1835 Год назад

Oh wait, (pardon a touch of sarcasm here, and certainly Magnepan's successes speak for themselves) but did Wendell "actually" give you any straight answers during that interview? I don't recall him giving you anything straight as it relates to your direct questions about the LRS+'s, and yeah, regardless that the man has my total respect, yes, for sure he's certainly forgotten more than I'll ever learn - but that's one side of his personality that can, to put it mildly, bother some people - hmmm, I wonder if Bill Belichick and Wendell share any of the same gene pool - and yes I've met the man - and although I am more of the laid back type, he nonetheless managed to upset me to the point that I left that particular get together vowing that I wouldn't take the 30.7i's if he gave them to me (been running maggies since the early 80's - currently and apparently like you, I'm running the 3.7i's, no biggie) - - on a more positive note, I certainly enjoyed speaking with his wife Galina, and thanks to her, several versions of Swan Lake are now part of my playback collection - and - hopefully I'm speaking for many, but I'll personally be forever be grateful that Jim Winey followed through with his original visions. btw, lack of visceral bass isn't "lack of bass" - - Winey voiced his speakers specifically from the 11th row, the lowest note being played by the entire orchestra won't be a body slam, just sayin', it's not that I don't understand your point.

@dougg1075 Год назад

Cool

@jwester7009 Год назад

I have a question for Mick. When will Magnepan start including measurements into speaker design and development? It's a bit of a trick question. I watched a video by GR-research who does crossover upgrades for the Magnepan's. They showed how the original crossover has some faults since the drivers in some models plays on top of each other in the same frequencies. This causes cancellation in certain areas in the frequency response

@CarlVanDoren61 Год назад

Pay attention to power requirements. 20.7s & Coda Ts v3 800w@4ohm. Dual Rel Carbon Specials JLA cr-1 active crossover

@billythestalker Год назад

Death Grips on Maggie’s. Never thought I’d see that. I will have to try later tonight.

@martinlindberg1983 10 месяцев назад

Thank you Cynthia - interesting video and a nice history lesson as well! We all know that Magnepan stands for high value, but not a single nuance of their true performances, which is soundstage, depth, transparency and clean bass (I didn´t say powerful), in this take and perhaps not intended. Only true Audiofiles cares about these things... I did understand that you tried to test Nick about the bass thing, but it was leaning towards "hard to watch". We all know that you don´t buy a Magnepan for their bass impact. I think it is better suited for "next generation" at Magnepan to keep a little lower profile so they don´t loose the older "Gentlemens" that love Magnepans for their true attributes in sonic performance which requires a little more subtle approach. Magnepans performance fits the mature crowd that has left bad recorded Pop/Rap/EMD behind long time ago. I love Magnepan and has owned 5 pairs. This became more of a defender speech :)

@analoguecity3454 Год назад

4:42 "buddins"? 😂 Nevermind me, I can't resist being a smartass sometimes!

@TheAudioBelle Год назад

@analoguecity3454, Did I do that again?? Dang it! I will say this is not the first time I've been made fun of for my accidental use of the word buddin. Thank you for keeping things light-hearted. 😂 ---Cynthia, The Audio Belle

@bobolaclune2012 Год назад

Did you say as "the Old Timers die off"? Unnecessarily crude not to mention thoughtless. "Retire", "Pass on", "Ride off into the sunset" are more appropriate terms of usage.

@bkatbamna Год назад

I like the honesty. You can't even call fatties "fatties" now a days.

@supercompooper Год назад

They should all retire. They are spent.

@TheAudioBelle Год назад

@bobolaclune2012, I did not mean that as an offensive gesture. It is a fact of life, everyone dies. For sure there are different ways of putting it. My intention on being blatant with it in this video was more for the purpose of a wake-up call to both the younger and older generation. The younger generation should respect their elders and do what they can to learn from the older generation before they "die off". The older generation should be helping the young people that are willing to learn. This extends further past even audio. Tradework for example- young people do not know how to do their lawns, fix a dryer, repair basic things in a house, general car mechanics. For the most part, they hire others to do these odd jobs and typically those that are in that sort of tradework are of the older generation. If they do not pass on those learnt skills to their sons and daughters, where will we be 40 years from now? Listening to music by yourself is an enjoyable experience, but when one "rides off into the sunset", who will be listening to that audiophile system? Will the kids put it for sale in a garage sale and not give two thoughts about it? And would that be because they did not care, or because they were never educated? As far as old people go....my husband and I do not have friends our own age. All of our friends are 60+ if that tells you anything about our current generation. 😅 ---Cynthia, The Audio Belle

@Malterman Год назад

@@TheAudioBelle doubling down. Cool excuse you've concocted. Fo sho. {Kicks bucket}

@burlingtonbill1 Год назад

@@TheAudioBelle Exactly right. It comes down to selfishness and shortsightedness. For a decade I was president of a local hobby club. We did one public display per month and had open houses on the Saturdays we weren't out doing the public shows. We were swamped with younger people and single moms wanting to know how to begin. At the same time we had several wealthy members with massive, hi-$ collections that did not want to extend themselves. As a result, despite valiant efforts to plant seeds for the future, gradually things are "dying off." (And I don't mean just PEOPLE.) Sometimes, the prevailing attitude just seemed to be, "I've GOT mine, now you go get YOURS, and don't bother me!" DON'T give up!

@amosperrine1909 Год назад

Love my Maggies, for the past 48 years. But, ditch the ageism.

@kennixox262 Год назад

Totally agree but unfortunately ageism is all too common in our American culture. What many young people fail to realizes is that age comes sooner than one might think.

@TheAudioBelle Год назад

@amosperrine1909, I am not sure where the ageism part is stemming from. If you could elaborate, I might be able to better extrapolate what I was thinking in terms of this video. ---Cynthia, The Audio Belle

@glenncurry3041 Год назад

@@TheAudioBelle Going to die off? Retire, pass the torch,... perhaps. From the old white guy ringer behind you. Who has two mid aged sons with good old school stereos.

@kennixox262 Год назад

@@TheAudioBelle The problem with "the old generation dying out". One might realize that there will always be old people and young people today will be old tomorrow, especially women over the age of 30 in our society.

@TheAudioBelle Год назад

@@kennixox262 Totally agreed. This isn't the first time in history that this has happened. It seems like every decade, there is a new generation of young people that dislike their parents' music, and parents that dislike music the current teenagers of the day are listening to. As far as women over the age of 30, I dread when I will turn 30. I know it has to happen. Just glad I found a husband before getting to that age haha. 😄 But I think the main thing here is the prejudice of young people towards people older than they are, as well as the prejudice older people have towards young folk. I myself do not fit in with people my own age. I sometimes feel that I am an old lady in a young person's body. But, there is always that aspect of older people assuming that I like distasteful music, or that I am into all the new age stuff for example just because everyone else my age is. That a young person couldn't possibly know about "this" or "that". I wanted to convey that while young people can be immature, there are young people out there that really do care, regardless of their maturity. And, there are others that are both immature, and also just do not care. ---Cynthia, The Audio Belle

@recordswithzeb 8 месяцев назад

I wish I knew this before dealing with magnepans service department, it makes a lot more sense now why I had so many issues and overall one of the worst customer service experiences as a consumer.

@ptg01 Год назад

Anti-Wendell is just silly... He is a legend in the industry.. One can disagree with his approach or philosophy without being "anti" anything.

@jeffglotzer9346 8 месяцев назад

It's not silly. Trying to stick to rigid dogma about 'No subs' is ignorant, cloistered and not future looking. Take the old and give me stereo subs run with the amps!

@obibaddad1991 Год назад

This type of reporting just adds one more reason not to read TAS anymore. Being crude was never a part of Harry Pearson's vision. Oh, that's right he died off years ago.