The end game...my conversation with Wendell Diller of Magnepan

[DaveyF]

Last night I attended an excellent meeting at one of our local high end shops to listen to the new Magnepan 30.7 speakers. While at the event, I had the good fortune to have a lengthy discussion with the exhibitor, one who is probably familiar to many of you. Mr.Wendell Diller is on a quest!! Wendell is currently traveling around the USA with a van, his wife and the Maggie 30.7's in specially prepared wooden crates, to visit as many of his dealers as possible. Furthermore, to allow as many listeners as possible to hear what the company has brought forth with the new 30.7's.
Let me just say at this point, that IMO, and having been in this hobby for more than 35 years, that the new 30.7 speakers are something that no--NO audiophile who enjoys good sound should miss out on!
These large speakers are so very compelling on so many fronts that I would say that anyone seeking new speakers up to a price range of $100K should not miss hearing them. I used to own Maggies and Acoustat's in the day, I have long since gone away from this kind of speaker. Primarily due to the fact that they have issues that have been untenable for me. The biggie, and Wendell admits this, is that the large Maggies need a very large room to work. The new 30.7's are no exception ( unfortunately, as if they would work on my very small room, they would be opening my wallet!).
Gone are the days of dynamic constriction, lack of bottom end reach and resolution, top end glare, poor cohesion between panels and drivers, and the nasty vertical blind effect. Instead, we now have a speaker that can reach into the 20Hz's with punch and power, can scale the heights with purity, images well in the L-R plane and depth ( although a very slight diffusion of the side of instruments is still noticeable) and is able to display the full height of the performers on stage. Extremely impressive to me!
I am going to post some photos of the event and further discuss my conversation with Wendell in my next post. Suffice it to say that Wendell has some very interesting thoughts on HEA and why he does what he does.

 

[NorthStar]

Looking forward to it Davey.

 

[Kingsrule]

I met Wendel back in 76. He actually took a few of us out to dinner. I think he was driving a big old Ford sedan or wagon at the time with a pair of MG-1's in the huge trunk. Doing what he's doing even back then......

 

[NorthStar]

Wow, the man is a rolling legend.

 

[DaveyF]

Some photos from the event:

 

[DaveyF]

As can be seen, the speakers take up a lot of real estate. This was one of the main topics that I discussed with Wendell, he is very much aware that the physics seems to demand that in order to get the type of sound that these speakers are capable of, a lot of driver space and size is required.However, he also is aware that the speakers biggest limiting factor is also their size.
He knows that IF a speaker manufacturer could somehow deliver this kind of sound in a smaller package that that would be a very desirable product. He added that shipping something this large brings about incremental issues, so his expectations are the 30.7 is going to be a home grown product that probably sells mostly on these shores.As such, he is touring around the states, particularly to the smaller markets, with the idea to expose this product to the many smaller vendors and a’philes who have never heard what a panel speaker can accomplish.
I asked him about the McIntosh gear, he told me that he leaves the choice of ancillary gear up to his dealer to choose.
Personally, I wouldn’t have used the Mcintosh gear, but the amp required does need to be pretty stout...which these are.
Wendell told me that he does this as his passion, not really due to any economic reasons. He enjoys this aspect of the hobby...and laughingly stated that is better than simply being in retirement.

 

[gshelley]

Thanks for sharing. Always like what I hear with Magnepan. Did he mention which cities he will be visiting with the tour?

 

[DaveyF]

Thanks for sharing. Always like what I hear with Magnepan. Did he mention which cities he will be visiting with the tour?

Not to me. However, apparently he is going to the heartland next and I believe will continue on this tour for some amount of time. I would suspect that Wendell will be going to Texas, if he hasn’t already. If he does come to a location near you, I would definitely suggest that you give the new Maggie 30.7’s a listen.

Here’s a hint....I think you may not look at your XLF’s quite the same way afterwards

 

[c1ferrari]

Thanks for the commentary, Davey.

 

[DaveyF]

Thanks for the commentary, Davey.

Sam, pity I didn’t see you at the 30.7 event. I think you too would have been extremely impressed with these speakers.
They are basically a line source, similar in wave launch to your Big Dali’s. The bass panels enable them to punch into the lower regions with ease and dynamics....very very impressive for a panel speaker. Unfortunately, both of our rooms are way too small to accommodate them, otherwise I would be looking to jump on the Maggie wagon.
If you get an opportunity to hear these for yourself, I highly recommend this demo.

 

[DaveyF]

Here’s another bonbon from my conversation with Wendell. Since we both agreed that these speakers punch way above their weight, as did all of the other attendees that evening, I asked Wendell why he priced the speakers at the $30k level?
While not a low price by any means, and not that affordable to most a’philes, compared to the new Uber speakers which this Maggie easily competes with, the 30.7’s are tens of thousands of $$’s less expensive than their competition. So, with that in mind, I also asked Wendell why not price them at say $90k....since there are few (any??) speakers even at this price point that will see these Maggie’s off. ( and tons that the Maggie will put to shame!)
Wendell’s somewhat admiral answer, at least to me, was that he is not interested in just making speakers for the 5%’ers! Instead, he stated that there is far too much of this business plan in HEA at present and he felt it was necessary to try and have a line that really appeals to the music lover...regardless of their pocketbook!!!
As is stated before, Wendell Diller is a man on a mission....to bring great sound to all stratas of the population...from the entry level beginner a’phile with the small pocket book, to the slightly more ‘capable’ a’phile who has the large room, lives in a larger abode and wants to get off the roundabout with his last speaker purchase. Like back in the day, the Tympanis of yore were acquired by many a’philes who lived with them for many years as their ‘go to’ speakers; these new 30.7’s are the Tympanis of today.
A few more of Wendell’s interesting thoughts in my next post.

 

[spiritofmusic]

Sean Casey of Zu has the same attitude, he’s on a mission to bring great sound to as many music lovers as possible.

 

[c1ferrari]

Hello Davey,

Prior engagement precluded a visit in the late pm/early eve. What time were you there?
How many channels of amplification to obtain the best performance?

 

[DaveyF]

Hello Davey,

Prior engagement precluded a visit in the late pm/early eve. What time were you there?
How many channels of amplification to obtain the best performance?

I was there from about 5PM to close. Medium turn out, I had expected more people.
I think your questions about amplification is a great one. Probably needs to be at least bi-amped ( which it was at this demo...although with the Mcintosh gear. I think they have some serious current capabilities.)
One of the other members, well known locally and with a lot of experience in setting up Maggies and with a lot of knowledge in the electronics side, suggested that to sound their best, the 30.7's actually would benefit greatly with quad amps. This would naturally drive the 'system' price up... but I think he may be on to something. However, I do think that a good pair of 200 watt/ch ss, or tube amps, with ability to swing some current would do the trick. Today, there are some reasonably inexpensive contenders in the amp world that should work.

 

[jeff1225]

Davey,
I'm a Maggie fan and have had two pairs over the last 20 years. I'm curious, what is Wendell's preferred amp and power requirement?

 

[DaveyF]

Davey,
I'm a Maggie fan and have had two pairs over the last 20 years. I'm curious, what is Wendell's preferred amp and power requirement?

I didn't discuss with Wendell his preferred amp. He simply told me that he lets his dealers pick the upstream gear.
He stated that the speakers are 86db efficient. Nonetheless, I think they really do need an amp with some serious current capability upstream ( like almost all Maggie's).

 

[Barry]

Davey, thanks for sharing your thoughts and pictures on the new Maggies. Hope to hear more about Wendell's road trip from others as he travels the country. Not even remotely tempted, but always curious, and look forward to seeing Magnepan's continued success.

 

[DaveyF]

Davey, thanks for sharing your thoughts and pictures on the new Maggies. Hope to hear more about Wendell's road trip from others as he travels the country. Not even remotely tempted, but always curious, and look forward to seeing Magnepan's continued success.

Barry, if you were to hear the new 30.7’s, I strongly suspect that you would be sorely tempted! Since you are already a Maggie owner, I believe you would be amazed at what the new top of the line speaker can do. Big caveat is that you have the room to do them justice...which most of us do not.

 

[jadis]

Not to me. However, apparently he is going to the heartland next and I believe will continue on this tour for some amount of time. I would suspect that Wendell will be going to Texas, if he hasn’t already. If he does come to a location near you, I would definitely suggest that you give the new Maggie 30.7’s a listen.

Here’s a hint....I think you may not look at your XLF’s quite the same way afterwards

Now I wish I lived in the States.

Thanks for sharing, Davey.

 

[audioguy]

If I wanted a 2 channel only system, the 30.7 is what I would buy. I have a great spot for them in an entirely open space (our family room which is open to the kitchen, dining area. sun room and entry hall - probably 9000cf ) with 9+ foot ceilings. The speaker would easily be 6+ feet from the closest wall. BUT, while I could most certainly afford the system and attendant electronics, I could not afford the divorce !!!!

So I will just drool on the sidelines.