I spent some time at the repair department when I visited the Magnepan factory a few months back. Just to answer a few questions, it's a separate department, not part of the regular production line although it's on the factory floor and interfaces with it. It's a very specialized, customized operation that lavishes a great amount of loving care on even their older speakers. They'll actually build obsolete drivers from scratch if necessary, as I learned when I mentioned the damage to my Tympani.
The downside of this is that the repair department is highly dependent on the skilled person who runs it. When I was there, they had a backlog because she had been out for five weeks with a broken leg. The other guys at the factory tried to keep up but things slowed down to a crawl. She had just gotten back and she was working on crutches! They'd brought back a former repair department employee to serve temporarily as her hands in an attempt to clean up the backlog.
I'm not sure if this has anything to do with the current problem, but I thought I'd pass it on because it indicates both their dedication to customer service, and some of the problems that can occur in a small company like this (though large by high end standards) -- if one highly skilled person is out, there may be no one with the knowledge needed to replace them.
To address a point someone else made, it may also be impractical to rapidly accommodate increased demand. The entire factory operation involves a surprising amount of skilled labor. If there's a surge in demand it can take a while to train new people up, not to mention that you can't just hire people if the surge is going to be temporary, e.g., there's been a new product introduction. Some audio companies have gone bankrupt when they expanded rapidly to accommodate a surge in demand, from a good review, say, only to have demand fall off. I don't know what the case is at Magnepan, but I do know that the .7's have been selling like hotcakes. It's a welcome success for the company, but I can see that the sudden increase in demand would strain their production capacity.
Also, I'd say that the company does care very much about their customers and reputation, success notwithstanding. Cost control is a strong priority, which is why Maggies are so blessedly inexpensive, but also why they don't have things like 3-way binding posts and wooden crates. Sadly, you can't have it both ways (I've been griping about those binding posts for years). Also, that the people I met at the factory and to whom I've spoken on the phone couldn't have been nicer. It's been years since I was at a trade show, so I don't know what the story is there, but the people I've dealt with over the years have always been great.
The downside of this is that the repair department is highly dependent on the skilled person who runs it. When I was there, they had a backlog because she had been out for five weeks with a broken leg. The other guys at the factory tried to keep up but things slowed down to a crawl. She had just gotten back and she was working on crutches! They'd brought back a former repair department employee to serve temporarily as her hands in an attempt to clean up the backlog.
I'm not sure if this has anything to do with the current problem, but I thought I'd pass it on because it indicates both their dedication to customer service, and some of the problems that can occur in a small company like this (though large by high end standards) -- if one highly skilled person is out, there may be no one with the knowledge needed to replace them.
To address a point someone else made, it may also be impractical to rapidly accommodate increased demand. The entire factory operation involves a surprising amount of skilled labor. If there's a surge in demand it can take a while to train new people up, not to mention that you can't just hire people if the surge is going to be temporary, e.g., there's been a new product introduction. Some audio companies have gone bankrupt when they expanded rapidly to accommodate a surge in demand, from a good review, say, only to have demand fall off. I don't know what the case is at Magnepan, but I do know that the .7's have been selling like hotcakes. It's a welcome success for the company, but I can see that the sudden increase in demand would strain their production capacity.
Also, I'd say that the company does care very much about their customers and reputation, success notwithstanding. Cost control is a strong priority, which is why Maggies are so blessedly inexpensive, but also why they don't have things like 3-way binding posts and wooden crates. Sadly, you can't have it both ways (I've been griping about those binding posts for years). Also, that the people I met at the factory and to whom I've spoken on the phone couldn't have been nicer. It's been years since I was at a trade show, so I don't know what the story is there, but the people I've dealt with over the years have always been great.