[SteveFord]

Good stuff!
--------------------------
Dear Press Member,

Magnepan thinks "outside the box"---and not only in speaker designs. Since 1995, the MMG "appetizer" program set a new standard for innovation in high-end audio marketing that introduced thousands of new audiophiles and consumers on a budget to ribbon speakers. Now, Magnepan is going the next step with a program that works in the long term best interests of the consumer.

Magnepan supports "brick and mortar" audio specialists. No other means of delivering a quality experience for the consumer has surpassed a private demonstration at a dealership. To reach the millions of consumers in the USA and Canada without a dealer, Magnepan is introducing a program that supports audio specialists. If a home trial is the only way for some consumers to hear a pair of Maggies, we believe the dealer and Magnepan are best equipped to serve their needs.

Now the consumer in out-of-market areas can have a 30-day home trial of a pair of 1.7s. Their nearest dealer will be the "mail-order house" and Magnepan will ship directly to the customer and assure the return if the consumer declines to keep the speakers.

Innovation does not end with the speaker design

[capwkidd]

How far do you have to be from a Magnepan dealer to get this deal?

[SteveFord]

You would have to contact Magnepan for further details, you have all of the information that I do.

[pelliott321]

the skeptic in me thinks this is a sign of sales dropping off and maggy is reaching out to new markets to keep it up.  This is the little blue pill for 1.7 sales

[fridays]

No other means of delivering a quality experience for the consumer has surpassed a private demonstration at a dealership.
This was good for a belly laugh today

[jimdgoulding]

the skeptic in me thinks this is a sign of sales dropping off and maggy is reaching out to new markets to keep it up.  This is the little blue pill for 1.7 sales

Could be you are right.  Still, I can think of no better way to audition or any other speaker maker offering an audition quite like this.

[RDavidson]

No other means of delivering a quality experience for the consumer has surpassed a private demonstration at a dealership.
This was good for a belly laugh today

Guess I'm missing the joke here. Magnepan's program was never meant to supplant a dealer demo. That's not the point. There are people out there, like me, who don't have a Magnepan dealer let alone a hi fi shop within about a 3-4 hour driving radius. I've never taken advantage of the program, but I can see its usefulness in certain cases, and I think it is great that Magnepan provides it. I hope it isn't a sign that the company is struggling, and more of a sign that people (like me) want something other than the basic Maggies to try at home. Or it could simply be that the 1.7's aren't selling as well as projected. It seems that Maggie fans are somewhat split. Some still like the 1.6's, others like the 1.7's. I haven't heard the 1.7's, but my guess is that the 1.7's are more accurate and the 1.6's more "euphonic" in comparisson. Technological progress may not translate to "better" sound to all listeners.

[SteveFord]

I think it's indicative of declining brick and mortar stores.
3.7s would be too expensive to ship all over the place, 1.7s are really pushing it as freight costs aren't cheap.

[Freo-1]

It could also be indicative of the high end market in general.  We are a "very small" segment of the Home Entertainment market to begin with, and it's not as if folks are awash in disposable income to try out expensive products. 

I had a pair of 1.7's.  I liked some of what they did a lot, and disliked other aspects of their performance.  They also do not have much of a WAF! 

I found it a lot easier all around to get good sound from a pair of monitors and a subwoofer than with the 1.7's.  Maggies require extra care and attention, a forgiving/tolerant spouse, and sufficient space to get them to perform at their best.

[RDavidson]

I think it's indicative of declining brick and mortar stores.
3.7s would be too expensive to ship all over the place, 1.7s are really pushing it as freight costs aren't cheap.

Generally speaking, I think you're correct, but dealers who sell Magnepan 3.7's are mostly catering to those with the means to easily buy such speakers and corresponding high end gear. Not to get all political, but these stores are doing fine off of the 1%ers and I'm sure Magnepan is fine with their dealer distribution of their high end models. It's the dealers who sell middle high-end gear (like 1.7's) that are likely struggling the most as they are competing with the Best Buy (Magnolia) and the internet.

[RDavidson]

...........And they're competing with our wives on top of all that.

[Freo-1]

...........And they're competing with our wives on top of all that.

Well, we know who will win that one! 

[capwkidd]

I have yet to get married, but the live in girlfriends (one of which almost became a wife), never won.... And I had big honking PA speakers with that one, in an apartment, lol.... Ahh, the one that got away...

[RDavidson]

In todays news a man and wife divorce after 15 years due to the purchase of Magnepan speakers.

[Freo-1]

In todays news a man and wife divorce after 15 years due to the purchase of Magnepan speakers.

 
 
That's a little too close to the truth.  Oh well.   Back to the topic: 
 
I'm a bit surprised they are offering this.  Shipping these puppies is not that easy.  The connectors/crossovers can easily work loose.   It happened to me when I shipped them, and that was after paying extra to add yet another layer of protection.
 
I wish them good luck.  It's not easy in this environment.

[RDavidson]

I have yet to get married, but the live in girlfriends (one of which almost became a wife), never won.... And I had big honking PA speakers with that one, in an apartment, lol.... Ahh, the one that got away...

Dude, girlfriends and wives are two different things. When that ring goes on things change (usually). If she doesn't make things change at least a bit, then the introduction of kids will. I'm pretty lucky. My wife knew when she married me that I'm a nut for this stuff. And you know what, I don't drink. I don't get into trouble. I'm a good dad. I deserve to have my toys. But I have to say, I still feel a little guilty if I let too many boxes accumulate. So there's a bit of self imposed regulation going on that I've acquired as I've taken on the responsibilities of being a husband and dad.

[RDavidson]

 
 
That's a little too close to the truth.  Oh well.

I'm sure it is. I know a guy who's audio addiction may have had at least a little bit to do with his divorce.

[SteveFord]

The Internet has changed things so much over the past 10 to 20 years and Magnepan is doing their best to adapt to the changing business environment and keep their existing dealer network going.  That's a tricky thing to manage without falling into the Best Buy/Audio Advisor/Made In China trap.

If the 1.7s follow in the footsteps of the MMGs, not too many will be going back.
That's how they set the hook and then you're toast.
Worse things could happen.

I wouldn't send my 1.7s back, they worked out perfectly in the upstairs. 
My wife could do without them but I gave her an MMG/CC5 system to listen to so that's how I got around that one...
She'll say otherwise but I know that they spoiled her.