Can Magnepan survive Wendell Diller?


I bought my first set of Magnepans in 1976, and I currently have a pair of 1.7i's.

It is difficult for me to upgrade to the 3.7i's because their are so many things that the company can do to improve their product that they simply won't offer; upgraded crossover components, a solid wood/rigid frames and better stands are examples.

Other companies are now doing this, but Magnepan always says Wendell doesn't think that is a good idea.

Can a man who suggests using lamp cord for his speaker line really have that much control over an otherwise unique technological approach to speaker design? I must be missing something obvious when a product is hand assembled in MN and any of these upgrades would, in my mind, warrant factory upgrades. Who wouldn't spend an extra $1k for a 1.7i with a hardwood frame and an upgraded x-over? Adding a ribbon tweeter to the 1.7i would warrant an additional $1k, still bringing them in $2k under the 3.7i.

Is it common for one person to hold an entire company back in high end audio? 
128x128william53b
@william53b Wendell is all about saving hobbyists money. I like this approach! He once told me that he likes the fact that Magnepan builds its gear for the less well heeled enthusiast, and not for the mega millionaire who buys with his eyes and wallet only. I agree that he misses out on cables, as we both know they do make an enormous difference, but his philosophy is admirable! IMHO we need more like him in this hobby, although this is probably not a popular stance given the current state of the audiophile world.
Wendell is literally now hard of hearing and generations behind the times, I have had 1.6,and 3.6  just look at these horrible Junk steel Nickle crap bananas and jumpers = to a bent nail. The Xover parts pure garbage I rebuilt these $40 cent crap ceramic resistors 
and everything else  including the capacitors and junk $5 inductors I would not put in a $800 speaker never mind $1,000s . The frame and feet  is about as solid as a 🪁 and literally flex which = distortion  magnestand did a great job rebuilding Maggie’s ,stock 
totally worth less, their upgrade was just changing the Xover point 
save your money ,they are power hungry 🐷 s and need tons of space here is solid advise save for Spatial Audio labs open baffle speakers ,excellent build quality and sonics ,very efficient, and 
don’t require a lot of space . That is why I refuse to waste my money on them any more ,the whole speaker has to be rebuilt just to make them the way they should have been .in 20 years same old crap quality nothing more to be said , the smaller ones with a sub a good buy forthe money , other then thst save your money for a company that truly cares. The proof is in the build , or lack of. P.s the fuses are another thing just to create another bottleneck nice move 👍.been there done with that !!





Wondering why all the Magnepan haters even bought them. As for the OP, sounds like “I like this but dammit, make it better!”
SMH