SMG upgrade ideas before I start

evhudsons
evhudsons Posts: 1,175
edited May 2012 in DIY, Mods & Tweaks
I have a pair of first generation SMG Magnepan speakers which need the tweeters upgraded. I had to wait for the snow to thaw in Minnesota because of the freezing of the special glue they send in the kits, and for my birthday I'm ordering the kit today. Does anyone have any ideas on other upgrades while I have it pulled apart? I researched a good bit online and saw Peter Gunn posts regarding the MMG upgrades but not much specifically on the SMG in regards to the crossover components. The crossover as it is now is really simple, but I saw that some people upgraded the crossover to a slightly different configuration.

I found good info on other sites, but the Club Polk members seem to be more helpful, knowledgeable, and have better skills! :cheesygrin:
Polk Audio SDA CRS+ crossover 4.1TL by Trey/VR3 (Rings and custom stand by Larry)-Polk Audio SDA SRS2 crossovers by Trey/VR3Parasound HCA1500aYamaha rxa-3070 with musicast-Celestion SL6S presence,- sl9 surround backNHTsuper1's surroundMagnepan SMGParasound 1500pre- Sofia "Baby" tube amp - Monitor Audio Silver RX2 Marantz 2230/B&Kst140Technics 1200mk2 Gamertag: IslandBerserker I am but a infinitesimally small point meeting the line of infinity in the SDA universe
Post edited by evhudsons on
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  • drumminman
    drumminman Posts: 3,396
    edited May 2012
    No knowledge, but nooshinjohn may have some ideas. He as some maggies.

    Good luck with that and post pics of your progress!
    "Science is suppose to explain observations not dismiss them as impossible" - Norm on AA; 2.3TL's w/sonicaps/mills/jantzen inductors, Gimpod's boards, Lg Solen SDA inductors, RD-0198's, MW's dynamatted, Armaflex speaker gaskets, H-nuts, brass spikes, Cardas CCGR BP's, upgraded IC Cable, Black Hole Damping Sheet strips, interior of cabinets sealed with Loctite Power Grab, AI-1 interface with 1000VA A-L transformer
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  • EndersShadow
    EndersShadow Posts: 17,593
    edited May 2012
    There was a company that made custom stands to replace the factory ones....myestand or something like that I want to say.....

    stands were VERY good IIRC.
    "....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963)
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  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,447
    edited May 2012
    I will be glad to help in any way I can. Open them up, one at a time and take some detaile pics of what you find inside and post them here. They are not that hard to work with, and there is an upgrade for the tweeter being done as well. I have the ribbon material here and will send some to you if you like.

    Magnepan has been using what they call a "quasi-ribbon" tweeter for some time now and I really like the detail that comes from this setup. Several people have begun using the quasi treatment when rebuilding their early Maggies and have had great success with it. It is a bit of a pain to handle the ribbon, but the result is well worth the effort.

    Not 100% on crossover stuff, but there is a site called the Magnnepan Owner's group that is a good resource, and the guys ot Magnepan will assist as well if you just give them a call. They guided me successfully through the rebuild of my damaged MG-20, and now it performs flawlessly.
    The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD

    “When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson
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  • evhudsons
    evhudsons Posts: 1,175
    edited May 2012
    Wow! Thanks I certainly will post pics. Now I'm more excited than ever to get these really nice speakers going. I looked at the stands and they look worthy, especially with the new sound.

    That offer to help is huge, well appreciated, and the best birthday gift for me on my 44 th.

    Thanks ya'll for everything!

    :arrowu:
    Polk Audio SDA CRS+ crossover 4.1TL by Trey/VR3 (Rings and custom stand by Larry)-Polk Audio SDA SRS2 crossovers by Trey/VR3Parasound HCA1500aYamaha rxa-3070 with musicast-Celestion SL6S presence,- sl9 surround backNHTsuper1's surroundMagnepan SMGParasound 1500pre- Sofia "Baby" tube amp - Monitor Audio Silver RX2 Marantz 2230/B&Kst140Technics 1200mk2 Gamertag: IslandBerserker I am but a infinitesimally small point meeting the line of infinity in the SDA universe
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  • geoff727
    geoff727 Posts: 546
    edited May 2012
    I beefed up the frames on mine, and went to a fully-active, tri-amped setup. I think the thread is around here somewhere. I decided to go fully active after considering Peter Gunn's series crossover mod, and I will never look back. The audiogon link at the bottom of my signature has a little bit of discussion about my Maggie's.

    Good luck with them!
    G~
    Polk SDA SRS 2
    Polk RTA 15tl
    Polk Monitor 7C
    Polk Lsi9
    Infinity RS-II (modded)
    Infinity RS-IIIa (modded)
    Infinity RS 2.5 x 2
    Magnepan 1.6QR (modded)

    System: http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?vevol&1290711373
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