Older Magnepans

intangible

I am going to take a look at a pair of Magnepan SMG tonight. In reading about them, there appear to be a number of things which can be broken, but it takes a little work to get in and physically inspect the working portion. Does anyone here know what I should be listening for to tell whether they are working properly or not?

EndersShadow

intangible wrote: »

I am going to take a look at a pair of Magnepan SMG tonight. In reading about them, there appear to be a number of things which can be broken, but it takes a little work to get in and physically inspect the working portion. Does anyone here know what I should be listening for to tell whether they are working properly or not?

Play bass heavy songs and listen for any rattle in the tweeter. Indicates the tweeter is delaminating from the speaker and would require some patching to fix.

I heard some 3.6QR's w/ that problem. Was very apparent on them with kick drums, jazz and rap.

Sure Doro will chime in with more info.

jon s

It's not the tweeters that delaminate... it's the larger lower frequency panels... the glue that adheres the aluminum "voice coil" will no longer work and the panels separate from the "voice coil". Humidity plays a big factor in this. Magnepans in the southeast and Hawaii find this to be a common issue on all the Magnepan speakers. They usually fail after a few years. There are a number of sites which have instructions on how to relaminate the wiring to the mylar.

dorokusai

Both can delaminate since the smaller models are quasi. True ribbons are far less prone to that from my experience, on all models. Vocals will show rattling faster and better than bass tracks since they don't have slamming bass anyways and you may confuse the issue. Delamination is not a common issue found in SMG's as opposed to other models. It's really not that common either way but something you need to be seriously aware of when you purchase them. Like RonS stated, the geography has a lot to do with it as well.

It's not hard to tell, just take some music you know and listen to them closely. If you can't hear them, then ask questions and go for your gut feeling. Believe it or not, Linda Rondstadt vocals are pretty tough on Magnepan...can't quite recall the track but it will immediately tell you yeah or nay....argh, wish I could recall it.

Rattling on newer models means abuse.

It's its brown, take the covers down. If it's black, don't look back. That's my mantra for the color of the fabric on Magnepans and whether to worry about delamination. It's a loose mantra but pretty accurate since the tweed or brown covers show the age and the black is more modern and UV resistant to boot.

Timothy Smith

I bought a set of used giant 6' tall MG-II's "cheap" a few years back.

Drove through a blizzard and back to get them.

I asked for a demo. They guy had a room full of equipment but could only manage to play a radio station thru them, sounded OK.

I was in such a hurry to get them I said OK and paid the low asking price.

Got home and as the front corner of the first speaker entered from the garage door into the house my wife announced "Those will never go into the upstairs of this house"(so at least she is open-minded). So I took them into the basement. Fooled around with them for a while and heard "flapping sounds", took them apart and found crumbling wires and delamination of wires from the mylar. I got a quote for Magnepan to rebuild the panels and it was several times what I had paid. Though about rebuilding them myself but was too busy and traveling for work a lot. Sold them for $100 stating in the ad that they needed to be rebuilt. The guy who bought them knew how to fix them.

So beware of used Maggies, especially old ones. And beware of people unwilling to demonstrate their used equipment.

At least it got me interested in Maggie's. I subsequently bought MMG's and kept them for a few years. Now I am seriously considering a new pair of 1.7's.

intangible

Thanks guys, I will take some albums heavy on female vocals with me. I used to trust everyone when buying used stuff until some jerk burned me, so now I unfortunately can't trust anyone. These are the old model with the burlap covers, so I definitely will not purchase them without thoroughly hearing them. I figure if I get out there and they've delaminated, then maybe he'll let them go for a song, and I'll have a new project.

falconcry72

Timothy Smith wrote: »

...Now I am seriously considering a new pair of 1.7's.

I just got a pair of used 1.7's for a great deal about two weeks ago. I had been using a pair of 1.6's and a pair of MG-12's before that.

I A/B'd the 1.6's and 1.7's, and the 1.7's won in every category. I didn't find any of the improvements to be revelatory, or slap you in the face different, but they were definitely better.

If you're willing to go used, you should be able to find them on the 'gon for ~1600.

Timothy Smith

falconcry72 wrote: »

I just got a pair of used 1.7's for a great deal about two weeks ago. I had been using a pair of 1.6's and a pair of MG-12's before that.

I A/B'd the 1.6's and 1.7's, and the 1.7's won in every category. I didn't find any of the improvements to be revelatory, or slap you in the face different, but they were definitely better.

If you're willing to go used, you should be able to find them on the 'gon for ~1600.

Thanks man!

I really liked the MMG's. The main thing that bothered was the very small "sweet spot" for the sound field. They sounded great if I sat in a particular spot on the couch, but if I moved my sitting position (literally) one foot to the left or right the image collapsed. I know they aren't party speakers, but that seemed extreme.

I listened to the new 1.7's at a local Milwaukee Maggie dealer and thought they sounded crazy good, even without a subwoofer, but you still had to be in a pretty specific location, but not as much as the MMG's. Have you found this to be the case with your 1.6's and 1.7's?

Have you found that different sources, preamp/amp, interconnects, positioning, room treatments helped?

I would really like to pull the trigger on a pair.

Thanks,
T.S.

dorokusai

You don't have to thoroughly hear them, you just need to hear them. Buzzing and rattling is easy to spot if you know the tracks your playing well. DOn't be afraid to kick the volume and as Timothy stated, seller tics can clue you into a bad Magnepan.

falconcry72

Timothy Smith wrote: »

...I listened to the new 1.7's at a local Milwaukee Maggie dealer and thought they sounded crazy good, even without a subwoofer, but you still had to be in a pretty specific location, but not as much as the MMG's. Have you found this to be the case with your 1.6's and 1.7's?

Have you found that different sources, preamp/amp, interconnects, positioning, room treatments helped?...

I think the larger the Magnepan, the larger the sweet spot.

Placement will change the sweet spot more than any component.

There are a lot of ways to setup Magnepans that will sound good, but it will make them sound very different. Moreso than with conventional box speakers.

They key is having room for them. They sound their best 5 ft from the back and side walls. The more space the better, and having more room will let you play with different placements.

scottyboy76

a very kind seller who swore these guys were (SMGAs) perfect for 145 dollars.

His wife would deliver all the way down to near us to let me continue to stay with my dying mom and not have to set up someone to sit with her while i was gone.

got home today, rushed in to set them up, you guessed it, while the incredible soundstage and enveloping sound was impressive, the vocals and detail were, well subdued a bit, and when pushed with my little adcom 100 watter, there was some noticable sizzle and popping on one speak, that disappeared when volume was turned down.

Exterior is great, and will look forward to repairing them, if i can get some tips on where and how. thanks in advance.

intangible

Got there, and there were no rattling/buzzing issues, so I bought them. Hooked them up, and they don't really sound very good where I've got them. Vocals are recessed and fuzzy along with all the expected shortcomings, although strings sound very natural. I believe need to play around with positioning.

scottyboy76

intangible wrote: »

Got there, and there were no rattling/buzzing issues, so I bought them. Hooked them up, and they don't really sound very good where I've got them. Vocals are recessed and fuzzy along with all the expected shortcomings, although strings sound very natural. I believe need to play around with positioning.

good luck with them, the vocals are the most dissapointing for me.

hopefully, its fixable.

Do you have room for the three to five feet that i have read is needed behind speaks for best effect?

We dont, might affect whether we spend much on them.

I hope it didnt seem as if i was thread jacking, i just noticed you were dealing with same speaks i just got.

I think i will start a diff. thread about repairing these guys.

Again good luck, wish you many great hours listening to yours.

pietro944

falconcry72 wrote: »

I just got a pair of used 1.7's for a great deal about two weeks ago. I had been using a pair of 1.6's and a pair of MG-12's before that.

I A/B'd the 1.6's and 1.7's, and the 1.7's won in every category. I didn't find any of the improvements to be revelatory, or slap you in the face different, but they were definitely better.

If you're willing to go used, you should be able to find them on the 'gon for ~1600.

I'm looking at the 12's......what did you think of them....as compared to mmg's?.....thanks,peter

intangible

No worries, Scotty; we're already sharing this thread with a couple of other topics.

I didn't have the three feet yesterday, but I think I can make it over the weekend. I swear these things grew to twice their former size upon entering my living room. Hopefully that opens things up a bit, otherwise I may just have to flip these.

falconcry72

pietro944 wrote: »

I'm looking at the 12's......what did you think of them....as compared to mmg's?.....thanks,peter

The MG-12's are great! I have never heard the MMG, though, so I can't compare. I would assume; however, that the MMG's sound like a small 12, just as the 12 sounds like a small 1.6 because they're all made out of the same stuff.

The 12's could be better for you than 1.6's, depending on your room. Kinda like how smaller SDA's can sound better in a smaller room.

The main differences between the 12 and the 1.6 are bass and the physical size of the soundstage. Maggies disperse sound pretty well to the left and right, but not up and down, so you have to make sure that your ears are at least a foot BELOW the top of the speaker, or you're going to be missing it. A taller speaker of this nature naturally allows for more good-sounding listener positions.You'll be more limited with an MMG.

Dude, you can get a pair of 1.6's used for like 800 bucks now that the 1.7's are out. I got my 12's for 450, but that was a steal, they normally go for more like 6 or even 7, in which case, just get the effing 1.6's, if you have room for them.

intangible

Problem one identified: one of the fuses is blown. Hopefully this isn't masking more.

intangible

Fuse replaced and problem solved. Amazing how much better things sound when they're fully functioning! The mids on these are jaw dropping.

falconcry72

intangible wrote: »

Fuse replaced and problem solved. Amazing how much better things sound when they're fully functioning! The mids on these are jaw dropping.

HA!:biggrin:

Glad to hear it, bro; I love a nice quick fix.

nooshinjohn

I will have the 20.1's by this time next year. I Believe they will be my final journey into the speaker rabbit hole.

EndersShadow

nooshinjohn wrote: »

I will have the 20.1's by this time next year. I Believe they will be my final journey into the speaker rabbit hole.

I will make sure to visit after you have them so I can get my ears on them.

Still need my ears on some Carver Amazings or AL-III's as well......