The Mind Behind the Magneplanar | An Exclusive Interview with Jim Winey

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Cynthia Blankenship, aka The Audio Belle, sits down with Jim Winey, the inventor of Magnepan's renowned magnetic planar speaker technology and talks the conception, history, and impact of Magnepan and the magnetic planar speaker.
00:00-3:32 Introduction
3:32-13:50 Invention of Magnetic Planar Speakers
13:50-16:45 Starting Magnepan
16:45-23:47 Starting out & Advice to Entrepreneurs
23:47-30:36 Initial Vision of Magnepan
30:36-37:10 Recreation of Ribbon Tweeter
37:10-39:35 Sweet Sixteen Speakers & Dipole Woofers
39:35-42:20 Subwoofers & Infinite Baffle
42:20-50:35 Retirement & Other Inventions
50:35-53:32 "Critic Ears" & Jim's Listening Habits
53:32 Cynthia's Final Question
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Watch more Audio Belle: / @theaudiobelle
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.

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Опубликовано:

22 июл 2024

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Комментарии : 56

@mladenbasic1 9 месяцев назад

I can't believe that you got an interview with Jim. This coming from a proud owner of a pair of Tympani 1d's. Thank you , thank you, thank you!

@zenguitar65 4 месяца назад

Cynthia, as I have not read all the comments, perhaps someone else brought to your attention how wonderfully, supportive, caring and kind you were interviewing. I do not know anything about your background, but if I had to guess, audio is your hobby and you've been in the nursing field. If I'm wrong, your level of patience, dignity and empathy are a wonderful example. It's no wonder why you've had this opportunity. Your sincere smile is the icing on the cake. Thank you for being such a gentle and kind soul.

@TheAudioBelle 3 месяца назад

@zenguitar65, Thank you so much for your kind words! Audio is my hobby, but I haven't worked in the nursing field. I work full time at a large computer corporation doing technical support. Like the medical world though...it does require triaging, patience, and empathy haha. 🙂 ---Cynthia, The Audio Belle

@zenguitar65 3 месяца назад

@TheAudioBelle Keep up the good work, and thanks again for demonstrating kindness and compassion!

@hamidrezahabibi8111 9 месяцев назад

Thank you Belle. 🙏🏼 As an audiophile and high end audio businessman from Tehran Iran ❤️🤍💚; I had the honor to be Magnepan’s exclusive distributor and sole authorized dealer for the Iranian market back in the early nineties and had the honor to talk to Jim Winery on the phone 📞. I’m talking about 33 years ago. I ended up having a pair of MG-1.5QR and my late father having MG-3.3R running them with Accuphase amplifiers. I was literally unable to listen to conventional loudspeakers 📢 for a very long time. Thank you 🙏🏼 Jim and thank you 🙏🏼 Wendell Diller for your contributions to this magnificent loudspeaker company.

@burlingtonbill1 9 месяцев назад

What a great and rare opportunity to see inside Magnepan and meet its creator, the legendary Jim Winey. I was somewhat shocked to find out how down-to-earth and self-deprecating he is. I wish Cynthia would have asked for his memories of Harry Pearson, who started Absolute Sound, and was a longstanding fan of both Magnepan and Audio Research, my two favorite high-end companies as well. Thank you for pursuing this interview and seeing it through. Many of us older folks are concerned that audio history such as this be preserved!

@SteveGuttenbergAudiophiliac 9 месяцев назад

Great video!

@scottyo64 9 месяцев назад

Hey Steve!

@bradotoole7538 6 месяцев назад

Thank you for making this video, Cynthia. It is truly a treasure.

@peterlundskow4061 6 месяцев назад

In hindsight this is so wonderful that you have they only interview with Jim now that he just has passed on! I didn't know about your videos until now. I will be back to look at your other ones as well, Thanks very much!

@TheAudioBelle 6 месяцев назад

@peterlundskow4061, Indeed. The video was made just at the right time it seems. I was saddened to hear the news, but really grateful to have had the opportunity to have a conversation with him. Jim was so sweet. He reached up to give me a hug after the interview. It was always my dream to interview him, but I didn't realize that I of all people would be given the chance to get the scoop. I was also kind of curious why no one else had thought to get him on camera before. But now after getting into audio reviews and seeing the video analytics, I've learned that the majority are more interested in the gear than the people behind the gear. Really glad you found your way to the video and that you enjoyed it!! ---Cynthia, The Audio Belle

@etravix 4 месяца назад

I thoroughly enjoyed your interview. It is historically significant and captures the genius of Jim's contribution to the world of audiophiles. Thanks for sharing. Great job! RIP Jim

@johnruppert5630 9 месяцев назад

Got my call yesterday from Audio Excellence in Minneapolis that my LRS+’s were shipped yesterday from the factory❤️👍

@Mrsteve4761 9 месяцев назад

What a wonderful video for audio posterity to meet the personality behind the technology. And your warm demeanor really brought out the best of Jim in this interview. Well done!

@glenncurry3041 9 месяцев назад

Great interview Belle! Where have you been? You really helped Jim walk through his history! So much great detail of how my favorite speakers came into existence! One note to add for Magnepan's history. I sold one of my pair of IIIs to a church for a commercial installation. They replaced a broken pipe organ they could not afford to keep working. Good sized space with cathedral ceilings. The pipes had been in two small rooms about 8' up and flanking the altar area that were open to the seating area. We sealed the opening except to flush mount them into an opening. One on each side with basically a small room sized sealed enclosure behind them. Basically they were the drivers. And the results were incredible! The clarity, intelligibility, response. That would have been around '80'. OK, I should wait until I hear the whole thing. Just heard the infinite baffle part! But mine was a commercial installation.

@TheAudioBelle 9 месяцев назад

Hey Glenn! I still have it on my list to get back with you in re: to your last email about the 1.7is. Been busy and then sick. I remember you telling me about the IIIs you sold to a church to replace an organ and thought that was super cool. I hope you are doing great and that you like the video. :) ---Cynthia, The Audio Belle

@clan7669 5 месяцев назад

Jim died last month at the ripe old age of 89. His legacy is for eternity and allows many to enjoy the beautiful sound. R.i.p. Jim! 🥀

@50Kvful Месяц назад

Dear Sir. Sorry to hear that Jim has passed on. However who is your current distributor for Magnapans in South Africa? And are they selling?

@akagreta67 9 месяцев назад

Have loved my 3.6R's since 2003, bought from Audio Perfection, right here in the Twin Cities. Jim Winey--what a talent to have invented his planar technology from his own ideas and persistence. It's hard to imagine when and if something like it would ever have been invented. Thanks for producing this interview!

@danielzzz7232 9 месяцев назад

So dear and interesting, so instant classic this interview you did, thanks a lot for posting it!

@jimbreakall9331 9 месяцев назад

Thanks Cynthia for this fantastic interview with the legendary Jim Winey with Wendell in the background. My first introduction to really high end audio was back around 1974 when I became friends of John Thomas who owned the Tympani 3As with the Audio Research SP3A, the active tube crossover, and dual D76As in a biamp system if my memory serves me. I was a student at Penn State in State College, PA, and John would record concerts with a custom Ampex 15 IPS system with a pair of coincidental Cambridge Ribbon mics. After the concert we would go back to John's house and see how close we got to the concert and then started to design our own electronics and got Tympani 1Ds, Fulton FMI 100s, etc. to try later. Those were some great memories and I now use the LRS+ as part of a tri-amped system with a line array of NEO8 planars and custom designed subs. It all started with the Tympani 3As and knowing John Thomas and all because of what Jim Winey and Bill Johnson and Wendell did. Thanks so much.

@eugeniomirisola9384 9 месяцев назад

Impressive in so many ways. Thanks a lot.

@skip1835 9 месяцев назад

Wow! The man himself - Fantastic Cynthia! That guy has brought joy to my life since 1983 (MGIIIa's) and still going, currently with the 3.7i's.

@rickydasler6354 9 месяцев назад

Awesome job getting Jim on camera. Thank you.

@rocksinger45 9 месяцев назад

I just received my LRS+ speakers about 3 months ago and have been playing the heck out of them and my thinking is that my 100 hour breaking period is over ~ I listen to all kinds of music and what I'm finding is that it's really all about the production of the recording and volume I'm listening to that matters as to if I'm going to enjoy listening to the record ~ I have a small room so the LRS+ have been a perfect fit for me ~ I'm listening to a Rotel Intergraded amp 350 watts into 4 ohm ~ Thank you Belle ~ Great interview ~

@Dave-ov1ub 9 месяцев назад

Fascinating! So interesting to hear this history from the inventor himself. Thank you, Cynthia!

@scottyo64 9 месяцев назад

Love my LRSs

@oldschoolaudioenthusiast 9 месяцев назад

Very cool video / interview. I've owned both 3.5i's and MMG's in the past and hope to purchase another model at some point in the future, preferably 1.7i's. There's nothing like the sound of Magnepan's to recreate the sound of acoustic instruments IMHO.

@don7680 9 месяцев назад

The Twin Cities produce some serious high end audio! Audio Research, Van Alstine, Magneplanar...

@CarlVanDoren61 9 месяцев назад

Bel Canto 😊

@AudiolabStereoVideo 4 месяца назад

Great video!! We love Jim and Magnepan very much.

@trevorlees1241 7 месяцев назад

I remember buying Tympani 1C’s and then a little later the Tympani 1D’s !! The first pair I bought were after hearing Tympani 3 mid/top panels !!which were the first pair in Australia mine being the first full range pair in Australia I had a perfect room for tight clean base 40 ft long only about 10 ft wide and 3/4 underground !! Tight clean sound driving then with a D76A

@brianvincent8303 6 месяцев назад

Absolutely love this piece. There are so many words of wisdom here that are unrelated to the speakers we love. I hope they resonate with a youngster' and inspire them to create some magic of their own.

@ET2carbon 4 месяца назад

This was excellent to watch. Great production and nice firsthand historical telling

@joppepeelen 5 месяцев назад

Absolutely geeat to hear from the father of all planar nagnetics himself ! And i can clearly see why magnepan kept prices decent and service top notch. !

@stevenmag414 8 месяцев назад

Met Jim at a NYC audio show back in the 80’s…a true ICON, along with Wendell ..🙏

@musamusashi 9 месяцев назад

When hi-end was really about pushing the envelope and a work of passion and dedication, not the mostly snake oil, ridiculously expensive, status symbol stuff that is today. Thanks for this interview with one of the great pioneers of the industry.

@2undrpar787 9 месяцев назад

Cynthia, congratulations on getting this interview, I predict it will become an important classic when people look back to try to understand the company and the man behind it. And, thanks for not making it a "gotcha" but instead, a really informative and interesting piece. Magnepan as a company and as a speaker has been and continues to be a really important part of the American audio history. I own the LRS+ (after owning the Spatial Audio M3 Sapphires) and I have a different approach to bass than is often mentioned when people talk about Magnepans and bass. Mine are in a 1200 sq. ft. open concept room (little speakers, giant room). I run them full range and then cross in a 15" sealed PSA S1500 sub at 60hz. This allows the Maggies to provide the "tone" of the bass but the sub to provide the "oomph". Done this way, the Maggies have bass and it sounds much more like Maggie bass than like box speaker bass...but with authority, even in a big room like mine. And finally to Jim Winey....thanks for having a huge, positive impact on the audio with the world and for not selling the company to a corporate type who might very well prioritize profit over sound!

@TheAudioBelle 9 месяцев назад

@2undrpar787, Thank you so much! I did really want to get something documented for the future. To get Jim on camera before it was too late. I figured it would not get a whole lot of views with how long the video is. But it's here to stay to document the significance of the man behind the invention, and the invention itself. Jim was super inspiring to talk to in general. Hearing about his different inventions....the patent process and how difficult it can be. I hope we can get some other inventors on camera while they are still alive. The fascinating part in my opinion is when someone does something no one else has, like Jim did. The cone speaker has been around for almost a century now, and it'd be impossible to talk to the gentlemen that invented it now. Not knocking companies that sell cone speakers or anything, because they didn't invent the technology. But there is something to be said about someone who comes up with a new idea that no one has ever done before. I'm working on editing a video right now for a 32 year-old speaker designer who invented the "Point Array"- basically, a new way of doing a point source driver. Honestly, I don't think it will be very popular either given that I have noticed most people are more interested in the gear than the person behind the gear. Regardless of how many views it gets though, I think it's very important to document these people for future generations to look back on. I'm really glad you enjoyed. :) Your approach to bass hits the nail on the head as far as Maggies go. Well, everyone has their own opinion of what things should sound like of course, like you mentioned on the Freya+ video. :) But I agree with yours and that's kind of how Jeremy and I have had our 3.7is setup when listening with them. Wendell says "the only thing that sounds like a subwoofer is a subwoofer" and we make fun of him for it (in good fun and jesting of course). But it's the same premise. A drum produces multiple different frequencies, and the lowest tones are only a small part of the picture. Like you, we prefer the subwoofer for the "oomph" and the Maggies for the rest. Hadn't seen the Sapphires before, but just looked them up. You're an open baffle fan! Those are pretty. I get the impression just based on your two comments that we have similar taste. Thank you for more great discussion topics! If you ever go to Axpona, let me know. Jeremy and I would love to chat with you. ---Cynthia, The Audio Belle

@apogeios 8 месяцев назад

Great interview, love to learn history facts especially, never told story's before. There is a question i was hoping to find out but was never mentioned about .. the Magnepan Apogee Acoustics law suit.

@defkon99 9 месяцев назад

Great Interview! Funny my LRS+ just landed today!! Can't wait!!

@klepp19 9 месяцев назад

Let us know what you think? I'm planning to get a pair too!

@defkon99 9 месяцев назад

@@klepp19 I would have them setup about now but they forgot the accessory kit which included the screws for the stands. arrghhh

@markstewart1807 9 месяцев назад

Well done,it would be great if Magnepan brought out a small Loudspeaker with a True Ribbon,in so many parts of the world domestic dwellings aren’t big enough to house 3.7i and upwards.

@boomerscs9193 4 месяца назад

They just came out with the 2.7i. It's slightly smaller than the 3.7i. I have the 2.5r which was previously the smallest Maggie with the true ribbons.

@jkunz27 4 месяца назад

R.I.P. Jim... 😢

@krokvad 9 месяцев назад

I visited Magnepan a year ago. Wish the visit lasted longer, they were quite in a hurry. Certainly not allowed to do any work there. I would have liked a conversation with Wendell Diller but he was not available at my visit.

@zounds13 6 месяцев назад

RIP, Jim. One day I will own a pair of your speakers.

@musamusashi 9 месяцев назад

I've recently learned that Steely Dan were mixing their mid 70's albums on audio research and maggies. That is a serious endorsement, knowing the attention to details of those terrible two.