Dealer panel Price very doubtful!

[Mantana]

I'm a first time owner of MLs (Spire)....i'm curious...

how long do the panels last under normal conditions?
Do certain areas of the panel get dead spots over time?
how do you prevent that?

guess i'll try this again....what's the normal life
expectation for the panels ?
10 years? 15?

 

[amey01]

guess i'll try this again....what's the normal life
expectation for the panels ?
10 years? 15?

There is no "normal" life to be honest. It is very largely dependant on environmental pollution.

That is, if your speakers have been exposed to cigarette smoke particularly, expect a short life of maybe five or six years. On the other hand, if you operate your speakers in "infection control room" sterility you can expect indefinite life.

Also try not to expose your speakers to excessive airbourne cooking oils or dust. Vacuum them regularly (each month) and use common sense and you should be expecting 20 years ++.

There are other things you can do if you're anal like me, such as cover them when not in use for extended periods and run hospital grade filtration in your air conditioning system. But that's probably not necessary - as long as you're a non-smoker and vacuum them regularly and don't have kids having pillow fights in your listening room or smearing butter down them I'd say you won't have any worries.

 

[danman]

Obviously I agree that Martin Logan HAS to offer replacement parts as these speakers are prone to break down after a period of time based on environment and use as well as maintenance. That is the price to pay for a wonderful sound and design. Also, I don't agree that they raised their prices so people will buy new because that does not make any sense! Not many companies can make money on used equipment and most people that buy used ML speakers do in fact change panels, woofers and croosover items which is not seen in the "box speaker" category. It is to their advantage to have these parts or they would not stay in business in my opinion! Panels break down with time period!

How many speakers do you know of that after a new panel change based on newer technology, will sound as good or even better than box speakers in the same category? This is true even if they are 20 years old!

The only thing that I'm "P" off with right now is the fact that 1975$ compared to your 800$ is completely off the wall considering we are only next door to you! Plurison is wrong with their reasoning and I will make sure to buy through someone in the U.S. and have them sent to me for half the cost! I know that all electronics have price increases right now no matter what company but not 280%!!!!!!!!!!!! Plurison will not get my business! Imagine 76000$ for the CLX!! Wonder how much those panles will sell for........20000$!!!!?????????

 

[Mantana]

There is no "normal" life to be honest. It is very largely dependant on environmental pollution.

That is, if your speakers have been exposed to cigarette smoke particularly, expect a short life of maybe five or six years. On the other hand, if you operate your speakers in "infection control room" sterility you can expect indefinite life.

Also try not to expose your speakers to excessive airbourne cooking oils or dust. Vacuum them regularly (each month) and use common sense and you should be expecting 20 years ++.

There are other things you can do if you're anal like me, such as cover them when not in use for extended periods.

Thanks Amey01....i am anal like you so i do cover them whenever
my roommate cooks any oil on the stove. She uses coconut oil
which can really fill the living room and kitchen with a sickening
smell (in my opinion)... or cooking bacon....i don't think all that
greasy steam gets sucked up the oven vent...it's got to go
somewhere. So yes, i cover them while cooking on the stove and
keep them covered when listening to my other speakers.

Thanks again....since i don't smoke and don't have any pets
right now, guess they'll last a long time. I'm also in the dry
Colorado climate...won't have to worry about moisture and dust
creating a sticky film.

 

[danman]

We have decided that the purchase of new panels will be made through a connection in the U.S. and sent. We have calculated a savings of about 700$ this way. Pretty sad in my opinion that some companies are trying to take advantage of people during these trying times!

 

[Bernard]

We have decided that the purchase of new panels will be made through a connection in the U.S. and sent. We have calculated a savings of about 700$ this way. Pretty sad in my opinion that some companies are trying to take advantage of people during these trying times!

You should call the bums/bloodsuckers at Plurison and tell them what you have decided to do.

 

[danman]

Believe me, they know now! I made that very clear!

What surprises me most is that they have such a good reputation but I guess that they want to take adavantage of the tough times as an excuse like many are doing right now! What a shame! They informed me that when they sell ML speakers they are only charging the difference in currency compared to prices in the U.S. That is fine but then they are marking up 200% on replacement parts knowing all well that these speakers do require maintenance from time to time! Pretty swift eh?

Certainly my opinion of them has changed but I am sure that they don't give a sh*& now do they?

 

[FISH_MAN]

We have decided that the purchase of new panels will be made through a connection in the U.S. and sent. We have calculated a savings of about 700$ this way. Pretty sad in my opinion that some companies are trying to take advantage of people during these trying times!

always more than one way to skin a cat!

 

[bernard991]

my solution ..

I live in Canada too , and to tell you the truth I don't even bother to check w/ any Canadian distributors of US goods .....because it seems no matter the state of our mostly beleaguered currency there is always a very LARGE premium to be paid .
Instead I have a US address that I have most of my goods shipped to , it is a hassle , involves a ferry , a longish drive , a wait at the border but I usually save enough that it is all worthwhile .

 

[danman]

Totally true! When the dollar was actually worth a bit more last year, we never did reap benefits and even less now!

I don't yet have everything worked out but I will definately have them shipped to a U.S. address and sent here but I can't drive to pick them up as I am very far.

The only major problem is that Jim told me I would have NO warrantee at all because of this shipping method! I guess they have to protect their distributor even though they are trying to rip us off!

 

[Cosmos]

aside from the craziness in Canada . I would say that perhaps Martin Logan did need to raise the price to cover the cost of new panels.unless you have been living on the moon for the last year you will see that the price of everything has gone up.

Not to be argumentative.. that simply is not true. Raw steel, aluminum and copper costs have all come down significantly in the last couple years. The prep on the panel and the powder coating is likely more expensive than the formed perforated steel.

Frankly, there simply is not a lot of cost in a panel and I am not sure any of it would have gone up in the last 18 months...

 

[FISH_MAN]

Not to be argumentative.. that simply is not true. Raw steel, aluminum and copper costs have all come down significantly in the last couple years. The prep on the panel and the powder coating is likely more expensive than the formed perforated steel.

Frankly, there simply is not a lot of cost in a panel and I am not sure any of it would have gone up in the last 18 months...

somehow I get the feeling that you do not own and operate your own biz as if you did you would realize that just the overall cost of doing so has gone up! Martin Logan produces very few of what they make and in a bad market even less making each one they do make go up in price. every once in a while a customer points to a specific product he thinks he knows the cost of producing and cries foul the simple fact is that unless you know what goes into these small operations and the dynamics that effect the cost structure you can not determine the cost of any one item from a commoners street perspective.just be happy Martin Logan is not out of biz like so many others today and just pay up for the things you want or shut up.sorry to be harsh but this is getting a little petty these are luxury items people not a loaf of bread

 

[Bernard]

The only major problem is that Jim told me I would have NO warrantee at all because of this shipping method! I guess they have to protect their distributor even though they are trying to rip us off!

Considering how good ML has been so far, I'm sure they would still stand behind their product.

 

[danman]

First of all FishMan the problem is not with Martin Logan it is with the Canadian Distributor Plurison. Yes ML did raise the price of the panels to 900$ U.S. but Plurison wants 1975$!!!!!!!!!! The mark up does not work and is a rip off of 700$ The excuses I heard from them blew my mind! I know a lot about business and retail as it is my line of work so the BS they tried to make me swallow was rediculous! Also they told me there would be a raise in Martin Logan prices as of March 1, 2009 so prepare Canada!

 

[danman]

Bernard, Jim did make it quite clear that there would be NO warantee unless I went through the distributor so now I am contemplating if I should just sell them and move back to box speaker of high quality as I will not pay that kind of money for something I was quoted at less than half 5 months ago!

Plurison will not get my business for sure! I don't really want to take a chance on having issues with new panels and have to do this all over again!

If I think about it, I could sell them for 2000$ or so and if I added the costs of new panels, I am already up to 4000$ and there are some pretty good items at that price. It would be a hard sell but I am also not stupid enough to get ripped off by a third rate company that should be selling umbrellas for a living and not taking advantage of the hard economic times to find stupid excuses to cover their a$$ Sorry for the negativity but I am very frustrated and feel trapped!

 

[RichTeer]

As a fellow Canuck, I feel your pain. :-(

Have you tried complaining to ML about Plurison's tactics? While I'm sure that ML will protect their distributors by not honouring any warranties on product not sold through kosher channels, ML will also want to protect their own business. If enough people told ML that they were off of their consideration list because of Plurison's mark up policies, ML might be tempted to have a word with Plurison or find another dsitributor...

 

[danman]

Yes, I did send him a couple of messages and being the gentleman he is known to be, of course he was cautious with his comments and I completely understood. He obviously does not want to stir the pot with Plurison but I believe this is a mistake because people that are verbal like me could cause people to turn the other direction and buy something else. Yes they sound absolutely wonderful but they demand a certain maintenance if you want to keep them for a long time and if you get ripped off from these types of companies, that can cost you business.

Like I said, I could have them delivered to a connection in the U.S. and have them sent to me but this is kind of a hassle knowing that I will have no warantee. I am very frustrated and how many people actually would complain about Plurison if they do not know anything about the price in the first place? The only reason I am "p" off is because I am a member of this site and am completely eduacted from all of you guys. Most owner don't bother as much as we do.

 

[Bernard]

Bernard, Jim did make it quite clear that there would be NO warantee unless I went through the distributor

In writing Jim has to give you the party line, but I think that if you ran into trouble he would still support you.

 

[danman]

In writing Jim has to give you the party line, but I think that if you ran into trouble he would still support you.

I would need confirmation of this before forking over that kind of money and the considerable effort it would take. I may truely believe these speakers are worth it but I will not overpay something just for the sake of it. there must be a light at the end of the tunnel here somewhere!!!!

 

[FISH_MAN]

you guys are crossing bridges before you get to them. I would take my chances on the panels the round about way you may have no problems at all.