Another Martin Logan price increase coming August 1st.

[DaVinci Media]

Unfortunately the inflation bug keeps hitting. Its not an across the board increase but it does affect 143 different skus including a majority of masterpiece models. If you would like to take advantage of the current pricing and the DaVinci discount for forum members please reach out to me asap.

Thanks!

 

[Robert D]

Do you know if they are also raising the price for replacement panels too? Some folks here would probably like to know.

 

[DaVinci Media]

They haven't that I've heard. But I did hear they are not making replacement panels for the oldest models anymore.

 

[DaVinci Media]

Also if you want a center channel buy it now, C18 going up 27%, C34 23%!!!

 

[Robert D]

They haven't that I've heard. But I did hear they are not making replacement panels for the oldest models anymore.

Wow, do you know which models are the ones that they discontinued? Im guessing anything before 2000 maybe?

 

[Robert D]

Free market economy. I guess people are willing to pay the high prices.

 

[MisterB]

Can you share the specific Masterpiece models that are going up?

 

[DaVinci Media]

Can you share the specific Masterpiece models that are going up?

Closer inspection its all of them. The 9, 11, 13 15, C18, C34, BF210, BF212, ESL, ESLX, Neolith, change varies 5% to 27% : There are misc things like brackets and some inwall in ceiling as well.

 

[DaVinci Media]

Free market economy. I guess people are willing to pay the high prices.

Prices going up because of higher costs. They looked an every single sku and addressed costs individually. If they were raising prices just to get more money it would be across the board increase. They said they really are resisting raise because they did it a year ago, they only raised items that are costing them more to make and only enough to cover cost. On low end 5% increase and high end 27%.

 

[Robert D]

Prices going up because of higher costs. They looked an every single sku and addressed costs individually. If they were raising prices just to get more money it would be across the board increase. They said they really are resisting raise because they did it a year ago, they only raised items that are costing them more to make and only enough to cover cost. On low end 5% increase and high end 27%.

Supply is low of certain components for sure, but eventually the consumer is just going to say no, thats too much to spend. Eventually that point will be reached. A recession is already underway but hasnt really hit yet. The market for audiophile products will probably not be affected nearly as much, since most of its customers have more disposable income than the general public.

 

[Big Dog RJ]

Quite true on that last note Robert D, however sometimes that disposable income runs out!
I know of many here who simply divulged in over the top and are now regretting it big time! So many stories of mismanagement... one comes to mind though, which ended up quite sadly. One of my distant neighbours, upgraded his HT room to exhorbitant spend, really over the top, then went and purchased some crazy priced Von-S Ultra 9 series speakers just for the two channel set up. Already had Wilson's but wasn't happy enough... then ended up with a nasty car accident in one of his high tech Masa's and required back surgery that costs more than the Von-S & Wilson's put together! Tried to sell off his gear, no one's interested...

Still awaiting for the surgery, can't hardly walk from point A to B without personal assistance, which also costs a fortune... and that so called high disposable income has simply run out.

Always cut the coat according to the cloth... a lesson learned the hard way... Hence, I'll never go there even if there was ample cloth! Family priorities and personal health are far more important than half a million dollar speakers & gear.

We must all be grateful for what we have achieved and put together over the years. Too much greed / ego and trying to overdo things doesn't always end up positively.

We've all got ML's in one form or another, and matched it with the best gear affordable. I reckon we should just sit back and enjoy those fine tunes!
Cheers, RJ

 

[Northy]

Quite true on that last note Robert D, however sometimes that disposable income runs out!
I know of many here who simply divulged in over the top and are now regretting it big time! So many stories of mismanagement... one comes to mind though, which ended up quite sadly. One of my distant neighbours, upgraded his HT room to exhorbitant spend, really over the top, then went and purchased some crazy priced Von-S Ultra 9 series speakers just for the two channel set up. Already had Wilson's but wasn't happy enough... then ended up with a nasty car accident in one of his high tech Masa's and required back surgery that costs more than the Von-S & Wilson's put together! Tried to sell off his gear, no one's interested...

Still awaiting for the surgery, can't hardly walk from point A to B without personal assistance, which also costs a fortune... and that so called high disposable income has simply run out.

Always cut the coat according to the cloth... a lesson learned the hard way... Hence, I'll never go there even if there was ample cloth! Family priorities and personal health are far more important than half a million dollar speakers & gear.

We must all be grateful for what we have achieved and put together over the years. Too much greed / ego and trying to overdo things doesn't always end up positively.

We've all got ML's in one form or another, and matched it with the best gear affordable. I reckon we should just sit back and enjoy those fine tunes!
Cheers, RJ

RJ, you hit the nail on his head. I am truly sorry for your neighbour. I hope he has private insurance helping out with his medical bills. Indeed, it is a lesson applicable to all aspects of life from audio to cars, homes, cottages, vacations, etc. Always be humble and try to upgrade at a slow pace. I have a modest system that has taken me 30 years to put together. Hence, it is very precious to me. Every time, I hear it, it is very special and I feel very lucky with lots of pride of ownership.

 

[Big Dog RJ]

Yes, that's correct!
In fact I'm really sorry what happened to the chap, just misfortune I guess. The thing is however, he clearly didn't plan for such sudden events, after all we're only human not machines, not yet...! So the private cover doesn't cover this sort of surgery, only "certain types." And that's why even if you have disposable income save it! You never know when life's events suddenly change.

The other point I was making is that Shawn M from Davinci seems to be a great chap! A very genuine person so what he's offering is truly special. If any of you can afford it then now is the time since there's a significant price increase on the horizon!

The thing is, any box- design speakers, regardless of what they've done on the cabinets, heavy bracing, rigid driver enclosures, diamond materials and carbon tech this and pearl that... whatever, you can always hear the box! So for what it's worth, panel types and especially stats simply don't have any of these colorations whatsoever!

Stats, whether hybrid or full range, given the proper room set up with adequate space to breathe and matched with the right gear, will always sound far more natural and much closer to the original recording. So why spend half a million when you can have these wonderful stats from ML for a fraction of the price. Yes, I know their cabinets aren't made from highly exotic materials and didn't come from the Red Wood Forest in Brazil... but what ML offers is true value and a step closer to the original source.

I'll never go back to any cabinet design at all, and I don't think any box type can match what stats do either, it's just plain physics!
To be able to access the discounts, such as what Shawn is providing, is another real vfm opportunity I would say. BTW, none of these sort of discounts are ever offered down unda... no chance Charlie! If at all, our Aus dealers would only jack up prices, discounts are very very rare, unless trade-in deals were discussed. Probably one of the reasons why I closed my dealership nearly two decades ago. So things are tough all round the globe.

Also, if you consider the competition:
1. Quad and other stats- nothing really comparable to ML.
2. Maggie's- nah... not even close, although very good vfm in quasi-ribbon design.
3. Apogee's- yes but not very affordable.
4. Alsyvox- superb! And with superb prices! Starting at 80 - 90 grand just for their entry level series.
5. Dyptique- French designed ribbon speakers, pretty good but not affordable. Very limited tech support overseas...
What else... did I miss any?

So, basically if I were considering real vfm in terms of absolute Fidelity at its finest level, ML is the only one I'd consider!
Woof! RJ

 

[ttocs]

Big Dog RJ I agree 100% that if one is in the market, now is the time to act!!

However, while the huge price increases may be what ML believes is proper for now, I really don't think it's a long term solution. And I'd be shocked if they hadn't already considered all other solutions, but, that high an increase will simply result in a sudden decrease of orders post increase, which might just be what they are wanting - to slow down production. But the other side of that argument is that some who do order post increase will be the ones who got stuck.

If this increase is permanent, then the used values will kinda be maintained. But if it ends up being temporary, like a year or two, then the used prices will fall off a cliff.

There is so much to consider with pricing, but again, more than a 25% increase is absolutely HUGE! Plus, if ML has a 20% off sale within a year or so, lots of customers are gonna be pretty upset. There wasn't a sale this year, so maybe just don't offer sale prices for another year or two?

The only sure bet right now is that NOW is the time to buy!

 

[Robert D]

Quite true on that last note Robert D, however sometimes that disposable income runs out!
I know of many here who simply divulged in over the top and are now regretting it big time! So many stories of mismanagement... one comes to mind though, which ended up quite sadly. One of my distant neighbours, upgraded his HT room to exhorbitant spend, really over the top, then went and purchased some crazy priced Von-S Ultra 9 series speakers just for the two channel set up. Already had Wilson's but wasn't happy enough... then ended up with a nasty car accident in one of his high tech Masa's and required back surgery that costs more than the Von-S & Wilson's put together! Tried to sell off his gear, no one's interested...

Still awaiting for the surgery, can't hardly walk from point A to B without personal assistance, which also costs a fortune... and that so called high disposable income has simply run out.

Always cut the coat according to the cloth... a lesson learned the hard way... Hence, I'll never go there even if there was ample cloth! Family priorities and personal health are far more important than half a million dollar speakers & gear.

We must all be grateful for what we have achieved and put together over the years. Too much greed / ego and trying to overdo things doesn't always end up positively.

We've all got ML's in one form or another, and matched it with the best gear affordable. I reckon we should just sit back and enjoy those fine tunes!
Cheers, RJ

You think like me. We have a nice rainy day fund with just cash sitting in a savings account for emergencies, for things that can and will go wrong. I fully expect to have to replace our roof in the next 5 or 10 years, new AC, etc. Shit happens. I keep raising the lower limit that I will let that fund have in it because I am feeling less and less confident in the future. I too feel like it is best to be conservative and not live on the edge.

Hopefully this recession doesnt get really bad and hurt a lot of people.

 

[Robert D]

Big Dog RJ I agree 100% that if one is in the market, now is the time to act!!

However, while the huge price increases may be what ML believes is proper for now, I really don't think it's a long term solution. And I'd be shocked if they hadn't already considered all other solutions, but, that high an increase will simply result in a sudden decrease of orders post increase, which might just be what they are wanting - to slow down production. But the other side of that argument is that some who do order post increase will be the ones who got stuck.

If this increase is permanent, then the used values will kinda be maintained. But if it ends up being temporary, like a year or two, then the used prices will fall off a cliff.

There is so much to consider with pricing, but again, more than a 25% increase is absolutely HUGE! Plus, if ML has a 20% off sale within a year or so, lots of customers are gonna be pretty upset. There wasn't a sale this year, so maybe just don't offer sale prices for another year or two?

The only sure bet right now is that NOW is the time to buy!

25% on some products, Shawn did say that ever piece will be different, is huge. Overall inflation is about 10% now in many parts of the world, and so id expect no more than around that much. I suppose it wouldnt matter so much if pay was keeping pace, but it is not. Our family income is about the same it was 3 to 5 years ago. Inflation is a nasty thing, especially when youre on pace to possibly break 10% by the end of the year.

Im glad I bought my ML center channel and BF sub when I did! I bought before the last price increase.

 

[Robert D]

I was just thinking that IMO, everyone should always have enough available savings so that they can live at least 6 months at their current spending level if they become unemployed and have zero family income.

 

[amey01]

Big Dog RJ I agree 100% that if one is in the market, now is the time to act!!

However, while the huge price increases may be what ML believes is proper for now, I really don't think it's a long term solution. And I'd be shocked if they hadn't already considered all other solutions, but, that high an increase will simply result in a sudden decrease of orders post increase, which might just be what they are wanting - to slow down production. But the other side of that argument is that some who do order post increase will be the ones who got stuck.

If this increase is permanent, then the used values will kinda be maintained. But if it ends up being temporary, like a year or two, then the used prices will fall off a cliff.

There is so much to consider with pricing, but again, more than a 25% increase is absolutely HUGE! Plus, if ML has a 20% off sale within a year or so, lots of customers are gonna be pretty upset. There wasn't a sale this year, so maybe just don't offer sale prices for another year or two?

Given the cost of manufacture would hardly exceed 25% of the retail cost, I'm struggling to understand this (below) :

Prices going up because of higher costs. They looked an every single sku and addressed costs individually.

(whatever sku is).

The only sure bet right now is that NOW is the time to buy!

You're sounding like a retailer yourself !!

 

[MisterB]

Given the cost of manufacture would hardly exceed 25% of the retail cost, I'm struggling to understand this:

I'm with you. Especially when you consider they just did a 10% increase across the board less than a year ago. So we're looking at prices that will be anywhere from 15% to 37% higher than they were at this time last year. That's kind of crazy.

Where I live, I don't think ML ESL's are exactly flying off the shelves. The shop I frequent does a TON of business, and I think I'm the only customer within the last year at least who has bought any ML ESL's - Masterpiece or ElectroMotion. Another price increase probably isn't going to help increase sales.

 

[ttocs]

(whatever sku is).

You're sounding like a retailer yourself !!

SKU = Stock Keeping Unit. This has been used for decades. It's a unique code assigned to an individual product for inventory purposes.

I'm just a consumer. If I had been looking at ML recently and knew I wanted something, I would buy now, not after the price increase, which is exactly what I've done in the past when I learned of an impending price increase.