Magnepan 30.7 Demo

[mep]

Well for one thing the potted plants need to be on audiophile footers. Can't have them resting directly on the carpet with dielectric effects and all that mumbo jumbo.

Great catch AJ. I liked the hanging lights from the acoustic ceiling and the large glass windows behind the speakers and at the opposite side of the room.

 

[Kingrex]

Is that a window or panel of TV?

 

[Phishphan]

Was this in MN? Would’ve totally made it if I knew about it. Can’t say I’ve ever wanted to buy these beasts, but would be fun to hear them.


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[nicoff]

Sounds as if most set ups have been compromised. I wonder if anyone has actually purchased or listened to the 30.7 in their own room and is willing to report their findings.

 

[Joseph R.]

How do you know you were hearing the "flaws of the 30.7s" vice hearing the flaws of the room and the gear? You said you will make no mention of the room or the electronics, but yet you have no problem ascribing all of the issues you heard to the 30.7s. That doesn't make sense to me. And no, I don't own Magnepan speakers.

It is your right to criticize my opinion. Go for it. But I calls them as I see um. I was asked for my opinion and I gave it. No one asked me my opinion with excuses. If it looks and sounds like a duck, it’s a duck. I traveled over 100 miles one way to hear these puppies. I am sorry if I expected the manufacturer to produce a demo that sounded good.

 

[mep]

It is your right to criticize my opinion. Go for it. But I calls them as I see um. I was asked for my opinion and I gave it. No one asked me my opinion with excuses. If it looks and sounds like a duck, it’s a duck. I traveled over 100 miles one way to hear these puppies. I am sorry if I expected the manufacturer to produce a demo that sounded good.

My only criticism is that you refuse to factor in the room and electronics and lay all of the blame on the doorstep of the 30.7s. I believe you didn't like what you heard, I'm just not convinced that the 30.7 owns all of the blame.

 

[Joseph R.]

Now I must say I don’t understand ! You are going out of your way to criticize my review on a pair of speakers you didn’t even hear. At least my review was from experience. How do you know what I heard was not the sole responsibility of the transducers themselves ?

 

[Jim Smith]

We need Jim Smith to take a look at pictures of the room and tell us everything wrong that he sees.

LOL!!!

Wendell did stop by here for a nice visit & dinner with Pam (my wife) and me last Thursday afternoon/early evening.

He & I go w-a-a-a-a-y back to the 70's...our ARC days & later, at Magnepan.

Can't imagine traveling around the country & having three hours or so to set-up at each dealer location. In fact, no way would I even consider it...

Wendell's commitment is amazing.

 

[still-one]

That is a very large room and those speakers aren't going to sound the same in "most" peoples home. Other than that I would like to hear them at some point.

 

[brad225]

If I remember correctly the manufactures rep said he had done either 125 or 200 demos around the country.

How does the manufacture send someone out to demo their flagship product with no acoustic treatments for the room. Granted this was not an idea room but a few plants isn't the solution.

It seems a great disservice to the dealer that is sponsering the event.

I don't think Joe's description is an unreasonable conclusion to arrive at either.

 

[mep]

Now I must say I don’t understand ! You are going out of your way to criticize my review on a pair of speakers you didn’t even hear. At least my review was from experience. How do you know what I heard was not the sole responsibility of the transducers themselves ?

You went out of your way to say you were not going to discuss the room or the electronics. I don't know what you don't understand. You go to a a venue to hear a pair of speakers in a room I assume you have never been in before with equipment you are not familiar with and you don't like what you heard, but the speakers deserve all of the blame. Last I knew, listening rooms have a tremendous impact on the quality of the sound we hear. If you are in a room you have never been in before listening to a pair of speakers you have never heard before through electronics you aren't familiar with, how do you assign 100% of the blame to the speakers?? Seriously.

 

[mep]

If I remember correctly the manufactures rep said he had done either 125 or 200 demos around the country.

How does the manufacture send someone out to demo their flagship product with no acoustic treatments for the room. Granted this was not an idea room but a few plants isn't the solution.

It seems a great disservice to the dealer that is sponsering the event.

I don't think Joe's description is an unreasonable conclusion to arrive at either.

So you admit the room isn't ideal, but yet that's Magnepan's fault for how the dealer has his showroom set up?

 

[brad225]

LOL!!!

Wendell did stop by here for a nice visit & dinner with Pam (my wife) and me last Thursday afternoon/early evening.

He & I go w-a-a-a-a-y back to the 70's...our ARC days & later, at Magnepan.

Can't imagine traveling around the country & having three hours or so to set-up at each dealer location. In fact, no way would I even consider it...

Wendell's commitment is amazing.

I don't think anyone is trying to bad mouth Wendell. He can only work with what he is given. It just seems that Magnepan is doing themselves a disservice with this type of demo.

 

[brad225]

So you admit the room isn't ideal, but yet that's Magnepan's fault for how the dealer has his showroom set up?

It was a demo in a community center room not a showroom.
Speaking only for myself no demo would have been better. There was nothing I could come away with that was positive other than they would play music.

 

[Jim Smith]

I don't think anyone is trying to bad mouth Wendell.

??? When did I mention trying to bad mouth???

It just seems that Magnepan is doing themselves a disservice with this type of demo.

Umm, Wendell arrived at a facility that the dealer had chosen and theoretically vetted for a good demo...

What should he have done after driving all the way down from Atlanta with the speakers in the back of the van and unloading them at the demo location?

At best, he had several hours to set-up.

IMO, it was a tough call (at least that I wouldn't want to make under the circumstances).

Speaking only for myself no demo would have been better.

How would all those that attended have reacted if he decided not to do the demo?

 

[Joseph R.]

Thanks for the support Brad. I admit Mep you are a better audiophile than me. Will await your review of the 30.7’s. Please don’t assume I was unfamiliar with the electronics. I have heard them many times, and know what they can do. But I must admit, I am unfamiliar with almost every sound room in which I am invited. Let’s remember however that this was a Magnepan event to showcase their 30.7 flagship. If everthing else is to blame, what is the point of a demo in the first place. I was there to hear the 30.7’s at their best. Not at their worst. But I do thank Magnepan and their dealership for the opportunity. Let’s just say, they are not for me.

 

[brad225]

??? When did I mention trying to bad mouth???

You didn't Jim, he is obviously a close friend and I just wanted you to know that was not the intent in any way.



Umm, Wendell arrived at a facility that the dealer had chosen and theoretically vetted for a good demo...

What should he have done after driving all the way down from Atlanta with the speakers in the back of the van and unloading them at the demo location?

At best, he had several hours to set-up.

IMO, it was a tough call (at least that I wouldn't want to make under the circumstances).

Agreed



How would all those that attended have reacted if he decided not to do the demo?

I said speaking for myself. What I meant was I would not have driven for over an hour to hear it. Not that no one else should have had the chance.

 

[Kingrex]

I'm with Mep on this one. Amps and speakers have a relationship. The amp can have a profound Influence on what you hear from a speaker.

Now if Joe owned the amp used in the demo I could see his point of the speaker being the weak link. At least in the sense that it would probably sound compromised at his home.

Then the there is the room, treatments and all the other bla bla bla. It does sound to be a tough presentation with so little time to prepare. I would think they would bring some amount of room treatments with them such as round corner traps, some flat absorption panels etc.. When I saw them they were in a very good room. Built specifically for audio and sized about right. They were not bad by any stretch. They were very detailed, linear and clear. I was not sitting in the Optimum seat to know the Imaging. They were refined enough I could tell the difference between a very nice photo and a very nice digital setup. I was actually surprised the photo was more clean with less grain. That is a testament to the speakers and electronics used. They were excellent at revealing the source. I would love to hear the 30.7 with the Audio Research amplifiers. The 20.7 were so stunning I would be amazed if the 30.7 wouldn't be something similar. The 20.7 had such an impact on me I sold the speaker's I was using at the time and bought the pureaudioproject open baffle speakers.. I would have bought a magnepan but I just can't have large flat panels sitting in the middle of my living room. I went for the next best thing, dipole. I just did not want to hear ported box speakers anymore.

 

[Joseph R.]

Putting my opinion aside, I would love to hear from people who actually heard the 30.7’s. In a demo, at a dealer or in a domestic environment. But that’s just me.

 

[mep]

Putting my opinion aside, I would love to hear from people who actually heard the 30.7’s. In a demo, at a dealer or in a domestic environment. But that’s just me.

There’s a thread about this on WBF.