New Magnepan 3.7 i ?

Look folks, I'm not upset because Magnepan is trying to make improvements on the 3.7. Was that not clear from my last post? I asked a question. They could have just said no comment. Instead they issued a misleading answer. That is the heart of the matter. Had I not been mislead, I would have waited on the 20.7's. I'm on my 3rd pair of Magnepan speakers. I don't believe that misleading loyal customers is a necessary part of business, when a refusal to answer would have worked just fine. Its not like I am furious with Magnepan, and its not like I would never buy another pair. I simply stated I would appreciate a bit more transparency. Sorry if my statement offended you.

Brownsfan, I think the 3.7i upgrade is straightforward, if a bit mysterious in terms of what's actually in it. I asked Wendell about more specifics, he said he doesn't yet know the details of how the upgrade program will work, but that the information will be forthcoming once he does. He also says that the 3.7i isn't a 3.8. But I gather he's confident in the sonic improvement and the reaction of reviewers and customers who hear it, to the extent that he doesn't feel he has to tout the improvement in the sound.

BTW, while I don't think Wendell actually misled you about the 20.7 -- when I spoke to him at the time, he sounded genuinely unsure about whether they'd be able to improve the 20.1 sufficiently to have a new model at the end of the year -- I don't think they'll start announcing new models early. They have to wait until their dealers have been notified before they can do that. So I think that's one question that will never elicit a meaningful answer, except maybe right before the show when the new model is about to be released and they're in the process of publicizing it.

Josh, Thanks for the information. I understand the dilemma a company like Magnepan faces with impending upgrades in terms of what they say and when they say it. The other side of the coin is the dilemma faced by potential customers considering purchase of a model that may very soon be devalued in the used marketplace by a company poised to release a new model.
I was in an awkward position. I wasn't going to buy 20.1's, for fear they would soon be replaced with a new model, meaning the market value would drop rather quickly. I decided not to wait for something that might not materialize for several years if ever. So, I pulled the trigger on the 3.7s.
It seemed improbable to me that they could go from a state of unclear improvement to models on the floor in less than a year. Perhaps I was in error. As it is, I find myself in the situation perhaps worse than the one I wanted to avoid. I have 3.7s instead of 20.7's, and will need to pony up some more to take the 3.7s to 3.7i s.
So-- if you are about to buy 1.7s or 20.7s, what do you do? You might want to wait for the upgrade that might or might not come. Magnepan may wish to consider carefully their communications regarding those inevitable questions.

After the 3.7 was introduced it was obvious that the 20.1 would get the same treatment from wire to quasi ribbon, from a manufacturing standpoint if nothing else. I said that on the planar asylum and it was the experts and gurus who said it was not going to happen. When the 20.7 was very quietly announced the same crowd said it was logical for Magnepan to move to QR in the flagship speaker. Forums are 90% banter and 10% solid information on a good day. All manufacturers are tight lipped about product R&D and new models, just SOP. Hence caveat emptor.

Brownsfan,

In recent years, they seem to have been releasing one major upgrade a year. It wouldn't surprise me if they moved pretty quickly from a decision to make say a 20.7 to production -- it's not an entirely new model like the Mini Maggie, which Jim Winey says took him 20 years to design! But their requirements for a new model are pretty strict -- it has to be preferred in a blind test by both expert and non-expert listening panels, as well as meeting other requirements -- and as Wendell said at the time, the 20.1 was a hard act to follow. So it seems entirely plausible to me that he wouldn't have known whether they'd have something sufficiently good in time.

Of course, since they won't talk about R&D and new models except in the vaguest terms, we have no way of knowing. However, they seem to time new models for CES, so it seems to me that after CES might be a good time to buy, since you know then that you'll probably have a year before a next model might arrive.

Another thing that I think is important to keep in mind is that loudspeaker model upgrades are usually incremental. I've had models change right after I bought electronics so I know the feeling, but, seriously, what was fine a year ago is probably still great today. In fact, I often like to pick up the old model when it goes on sale, because you usually get a great discount.

IIRC, what happened on the Asylum was that we discussed what Wendell said about not being sure of a new model, which was in some of the magazines -- TAS, I think. At some point, someone said that a dealer had told them that they were going to release an anniversary edition Tympani -- I think that may have been here -- and then I think someone heard an accurate rumor from a dealer. I could be remembering the model wrong.

Another sign I've noticed is when dealers start selling their floor demos.

But anyway you look at it, it's a digital process -- someone is going to get the model right before they make the change!