Magnepan announces the 20.7

They could probably increase bass extension -- the Apogees, for example, had more extended bass than Magnepan speakers of the same size. But AFAIK, doing so would mean increasing plate separation and magnet strength so the fundamental resonance could be moved lower without diminishing efficiency, and that would increase the cost of the speakers. I assume that they've decided that the cutoff frequencies they use, and the tradeoff between baffle size and plate separation + field strength, offer the best bang for the buck.

My 3.7's were delivered Friday before Xmas. I have about 35 hours on them. They have a considerable way to go. But even at this early point they outdo my 3.6's of 12 years. When I brought home a well broken in pair for demo I was amazed at how much better they were, hence the purchase being made. My room is 16' wide where they stand and about halfway down opens on an angle to 19' towards the back. Depth is 23' to a 14'by 4'high wall with kitchen beyond and 5'openning to short hallway. 9' ceiling. After commenting on the 20.7 the installer admitted that this room would be about minimal in width for them but would work ok. I will be very anxious to hear them and might be doing a trade up in the very near future.

For those who have been asking, it seems that the 20.7's are now available for sale, and the price has been announced:

Members of the Press,

We apologize to our loyal customer base, but we had no choice.

With the 20.7, we had to raise the price more than we would have liked.

The 20.7 MSRP is $13,850 pair. That is an increase of $855 from the 20.1. But, we think the improvement in sound will mitigate any resentment of this regrettable price increase.

This looks like an incredible deal to me.
I have my order already placed.

I would like to thank Roger - who is replacing my stereo amps with monoblocks (since the 20.7 does not support bi-amping)

My only regret is to the people who have recently purchased the 20.1's. Suddenly a new speaker is available that is so superior. Yet they just paid almost the same price for a speaker that likely has reduced resale value.

Is this fair to these people?

If the 20.7's came in a price of 16,000 or more then this would not be a problem. Two different speakers at two different price points.

It seems to me, to be fair to the recent purchasers of the 20.1's that Magnepan should increase the price of the 20.7.

Always a risk when you buy anything! Amazon, for example, inevitably releases a new Kindle a month after I buy one. Some tech companies, e.g., Intel, price new stuff at a premium to milk the early adopters. They also cripple microprocessors to force them to run at lower speeds so they can charge huge premiums for the uncrippled ones.

Personally, I prefer a pricing model that's straightforward and fair. I think it's also important to remember that the difference between loudspeaker generations isn't huge. Some people describe the difference as subtle, some don't, but it isn't as if new models are so improved that you can't continue enjoying last year's model because something new is out. Some of the best audio advice came from a friend who advised saving money by buying "last year's state-of-the-art." Guess I've taken that to extremes, because my "new" Tympani IVa's are something like 25 years old!