Caesar, there is a lot of truth to what Keith states above. The 30.7, while an excellent speaker, brings with it a host of issues. Those issues are well known to Wendell Diller and most a'philes! The biggest issue is the room requirement of the speaker...which mandates a very large room indeed. Most folks that can accommodate a speaker of this size, probably already have large high performance speakers. The other issue, one that I think most Maggie's have, is that the speaker needs a very stout amp upstream to sound its best. Again, the mid powered tube amp or ss amp need not apply! Add up these factors and the resulting sales aren't that surprising...to anyone...including, I suspect, Magnepan themselves.
Hi Davey,
Sorry for the late reply - working and traveling. A few thoughts and points...
Yes, I do agree that Keith makes a good points about panels and box speakers. Yet medium to big box speakers take over a living space just like a big panel does. I think the new Magico M2 is trying to be clean and slick, to be able to fit into a shared living situation. But anything beyond that will pretty much require a dedicated space, unless the wife doesn't really care...
And yes, also agree with Keith that someone who imagines box speakers as sounding "real" in their imagination and inside their mind will not usually like panels. Panel owners happen to be a minority in the marketplace. (I happen to hate box speakers with exception of Zu and other single driver box speakers.) Yet a small number of guys do swing both ways. So when a great company like Magnepan can sell only 30-40 (at that time) units of a great speaker to both panel lovers and to guys who swing both ways is a very depressing number. Very tiny hobby!
Yes, the 30.7 rollout was mostly botched. A few guys like me got lucky and were able to hear its greatness. But the majority heard it just ok, but many also think it sucks. A shame. Their marketeer needs to travel with big powerful amps and room treatments and set them up right so everyone gets a consistent flavor. Also, such a shame that there are so many idiots who have heard this speaker in a bad and mediocre setup and have concluded from a single listen that it sucks. Conformation bias and group think on primary display. Excluding mis-incentivized individuals spreading incorrect information, a lot of idiots out there.
Anyways, back to DACs... For those who understand how to get digital to sound great, really understand that regardless of price of the digital rig, if your power sucks - and it does suck whether people are aware of it or not, spending any money on digital is a waste of money if one doesn't have excellent power conditioning. Does anyone know which power conditioning Valin used? Does MSB recommend certain digital products and cabling?