Dumpster Dive Maggies

[Standalone]

They must have been outside only a day or two. Magnepan .5 QR just leaning on a chain link fence in a pile of trash in front of a vacant lot in a very rough neighborhood.

I haven't even plugged them in-- I'm sure that they are shot. They look fine, though, and probably just degraded while in someone's basement.

I wonder whether I ought to try to overhaul these myself, or send them in for an overhaul at magnepan, or if I should just sell them to someone ambitious for a few bucks....

They don't beat my Bowers and Wilkins DM6's that my across-the-street neighbor was putting out with the trash a few years ago. Look rough, sound awesome!

[Litaly512]

In a similar predicament myself... better off in your basement than theirs though right?!

[Standalone]

If, as I've seen in other threads, a reconditioning at the factory is $300-$500, and especially if smaller maggies are more towards the $300 range, getting it done there might be really worth it. They don't look bad at all.

Except for some sparrow poop on the back of one! :-O

[consort_ee_um]

Here is a repair guide:
Peter Gunn's Magnepan Voice Coil Repair Saga

[StephenEC]

Best thing to do is remove the socks , so You can get a idea of what condition they are in. Once You have the condition of these figured out , then You could discern which way You want to approach the repairs .

Depending on what model they are , and considering You have nothing invested at this point , these might make a Great DIY Project . . . Hard Wood Frames . . . upgraded crossovers . . . time and expense . . . can be minimal if You can do the work Yourself . . . Good Luck and Have Fun ;-)
Cheers , Stephen

[Standalone]

I'll take some before and after sock removal pics and get them up sometime this week. I ran them last night, and they sound like one might expect. One was completely shot, and the other only sounded bad at volume. But it sure sounded bad!

We'll see how the mylar is. Hope I didn't make it worse by playing them.

[StephenEC]

Standalone , I doubt You could harm them by playing them . . . I have modified my MGII's with hardwood frames, and up graded cross-overs . . .I personally like the sound stage of the Larger Maggies ( I also have MGI's and MMG's ) .

I'm looking forward to your photos of " Your Dumpster Find " .

Cheers. Stephen

[Standalone]

When I dropped into our local Audiophile shop to pick up a few things from their used room, I brought some of my favorite records in to demo the 1.6 QR's. They also let me listen to.. what were they called... 3.6's? Anyway, the drum kit off my copy of Hancock's "Head Hunters" was the most three dimensional thing I'd ever heard. The drums weren't spread out artificially... it was just as though the kit were rendered in exact detail holographically in front of me.

And I spend a lot of time listening to good live drumming-- I'm a jazz bass player. But this was just as though I were sitting crosslegged in front of a live kit, only better, with levels all adjusted and smoothed out with a nice compressor. Perfect.

I made sure the old Denon integrated amp I was buying had enough power for maggies, and promised myself I'd get some someday.

Taking some photos now.

[Glowbug]

AudioAsylum has a section of Maggie fans...might be a good place to check out.

You almost can't have enough power...think pro audio rack amps

[Standalone]

some quick shots: