Martin logan at Future Shops

One of our biggest Canadian electronic boxstores is called Future Shop. Got a flyer the other day showing Martin Logan speakers and subwoofers for sale. I thought ML was pretty exclusive. Kind of disappointing to see them being offered in these stores. Times must be tough. Art

Its dumb that you think like that

I wana see logans at walmart son!!!

Sounds like Best Buy in the US selling the same. Still, i have never seen a decent sound room for demos, or higher-end ML speakers, in a Best Buy.

Low-end stores selling high-end equipment can be a place to pick up merchandise, but not a place to evaluate or talk to knowledgeable staff.

Almost like ordering on Amazon where they have been available for some time.

I actually was at Best Buy today and had him demo the sources and motion 12s for me. The room was crappy, the amp was crappy, and the sales guy wasn't knowleable about anything, but they still sounded better than the other stuff in the room. haha

I think there is a perception that if MLs are offered in low-end stores that their prices will drop. That will just undermine the high-end retailers who will not want to compete and likely drop the line. Not a good thing for ML and certainly not a good thing for the audiophile community.

Are these stores selling the entirem ML line?

Yes. Of course, you will likely never see anything much above the source in a store like that. The guy said it is rare for them to sell even 1 pair per month because of the price range.

Just another example of the dumbing down of Martin Logan as Shoreview tries to compete with Bose and Klipsch for the mass market dollars. Sad, really.

I haven't seen any ML equipment in our local Futureshop, however I have seen it on their website. There prices seem quite high, for instance the depth i is $2700 + tax. They need a reality check.

When I bought mine(from a Magnolia type BB) I demo the Vantages in the store. Haven't been to one since so I cant say if its still the same, and that was in April '08.

It isn't as terrible as some of you think. Having ML at a bigger chain store exposes the brand to a wider market, which the company needs to do to survive. Most Future Shops only have Motion series, and there are only a dozen or so in the country that carry anything as high as Vista, Source, Matinee, and Depth i. Vantages are available as special order. The sad thing about this is that a lot of the FS staff don't understand the ML gear, and will sell Klipsch, Polk, or Energy because they sound better playing "Ridin Dirty" at 128 kbps with a desktop pc as a source running with 3.5mm to rca left and right to a mid line yamaha reciever (this is the demo i got with the Vista's btw).

I happen to know that FS is trying to get a higher market share with upper end audio gear, but I do think some of the staff may need better training along with better demo material if they want to sell it properly. They also need to stop throwing in HTIB's with tv's if they want the market to change, and start taking audio seriously again.

JBrown said:

Having ML at a bigger chain store exposes the brand to a wider market, which the company needs to do to survive.

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Why does everyone assume this is true, when the evidence is so obviously to the contrary. There are tons of high end speaker brands that are surviving just fine without exposure to chain stores and mass market appeal. Wilson, anyone? Magnepan? Soundlabs? Focal? And on and on and on . . .

Are these brands going out of business? Are they forced to hawk their wares in Best Buy and Wal Mart just to eke out a living? I don't think so. Martin Logan's investors at Shoreview have made a conscious decision to dilute the high end value of the brand to maximize profits by focusing on the lucrative low and mid fi home theater market. This has nothing to do with Martin Logan's ability to survive. It has everything to do with maximizing investor returns.

Rich said:

This has nothing to do with Martin Logan's ability to survive. It has everything to do with maximizing investor returns.

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You nailed it!
I suppose one could quote a famous phrase: "They (ML) have a bright future behind them."
I was recently checking classified with some vintage Infinity IRS being sold, anyone still remember the brand? What ever happened to them.. Let's hope this won't be the case.

I can't be mad at them for trying to make money - as long as they keep making good higher end stuff.

Hocky said:

I can't be mad at them for trying to make money - as long as they keep making good higher end stuff.

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Well this is why we don't see the reserve series at FS. I would hope this never happens. Notice you are also seeing lower priced options in the reserve line as well (Ethos). It helps independents compete with the big guys. Ethos and Vantage are similiar products, though Ethos is a tad bit better, and you can only get it at an independent. If you carry Ethos, you also must carry CLX, and I doubt we will be seeing CLX at FS anytime soon.

JBrown said:

Well this is why we don't see the reserve series at FS. I would hope this never happens. Notice you are also seeing lower priced options in the reserve line as well (Ethos). It helps independents compete with the big guys. Ethos and Vantage are similiar products, though Ethos is a tad bit better, and you can only get it at an independent. If you carry Ethos, you also must carry CLX, and I doubt we will be seeing CLX at FS anytime soon.

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Best Buy carries all of it.

Hocky said:

I can't be mad at them for trying to make money - as long as they keep making good higher end stuff.

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x2. I don't really care where they sell it...because the price tag will make them exclusive no matter what. Exclusivitivity has a price...and, with today's economy, i don't want to pay for it and i guess ML don't want too either.

Hocky said:

Best Buy carries all of it.

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Oh, ok. Im in Canada so our best buy's don't have them. My understanding is that in the us only Best Buy stores that have Magnolia Hi-Fi or Magnolia AV stores can carry Martin Logan, and that you can purchase them online as well. The best ML available that I can see is the Vantage. Though im limited to an online search.

From what I know, shopping at a Magnolia Hi-Fi is a different experience than shopping at a Best Buy.

JBrown said:

From what I know, shopping at a Magnolia Hi-Fi is a different experience than shopping at a Best Buy.

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SOS...(same old shit). Yeah, the Magnolia folks are a bit more educated (in home theater), but they are still fairly clueless with ML stuff (other than repeated saying, "they are the best").

Yea, Magnolia Best Buy's. All of the Best Buy stores around here have Magnolia, so I just associate them together, I guess. When I was in there the other day and listening to Source, I told the guy that I had summits at home. He then offered to order me some CLX's. They definitely can sell them. haha