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!
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!
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
Except for some sparrow poop on the back of one! :-O
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
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
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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.
We'll see how the mylar is. Hope I didn't make it worse by playing them.
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
I'm looking forward to your photos of " Your Dumpster Find " .
Cheers. Stephen
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.
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.
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 🙂
You almost can't have enough power...think pro audio rack amps 🙂
Standalone ,
Glowbug is correct , Maggies tend to LOVE Current , I tried powering my maggies with my Denon AVR 2802 , the Denon just didn't have the Current needed to really make the Maggies Sing .
I'm using a pair of Outlaw mono block amps to power the MGIIs . . . 300 watts @ 4 ohms , of course there are other amps that drive the Maggies very well .
Here's a link to Mug Group :
The Planar Speaker Asylum
Glowbug is correct , Maggies tend to LOVE Current , I tried powering my maggies with my Denon AVR 2802 , the Denon just didn't have the Current needed to really make the Maggies Sing .
I'm using a pair of Outlaw mono block amps to power the MGIIs . . . 300 watts @ 4 ohms , of course there are other amps that drive the Maggies very well .
Here's a link to Mug Group :
The Planar Speaker Asylum
Standalone ,
Checking the chart over at Mug , the MG-0.5 were built in 1991 , if you call Magnepan ( 1-800-474-1646 Monday to Friday from 8 AM to 4PM CT ) and give them the serial numbers of the plates, they will be able to tell You when they were built.
I'm not sure how the side oak wood pieces come off ( most likely screws holding them in place ) , but once the oak pieces are off, at the bottom of the speaker there will be a multitude of staples that need to be removed , once removed, you can unscrew the screws that hold the plates in place , and roll the sock up the speaker on both sides, thus exposing the driver , which at that time You be able to examine the driver more closely . . . They look Great for Dumpster Find !!!
Cheers, Stephen
Checking the chart over at Mug , the MG-0.5 were built in 1991 , if you call Magnepan ( 1-800-474-1646 Monday to Friday from 8 AM to 4PM CT ) and give them the serial numbers of the plates, they will be able to tell You when they were built.
I'm not sure how the side oak wood pieces come off ( most likely screws holding them in place ) , but once the oak pieces are off, at the bottom of the speaker there will be a multitude of staples that need to be removed , once removed, you can unscrew the screws that hold the plates in place , and roll the sock up the speaker on both sides, thus exposing the driver , which at that time You be able to examine the driver more closely . . . They look Great for Dumpster Find !!!
Cheers, Stephen
Stephen-- how cautious do I have to be with the plate-- are the wires from the inputs extra fragile...? Concerned about damaging the connection with the wires when I pull the thing apart...
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Standalone , You should be OK , just remove the four screws holding the plate , and when You go to roll the sock up , the material will stretch enough so that You will be able to push the plate thru the sock ,that way , the plate and wires will remain attached to the speaker .
Also Standalone , don't forget to remove the screws that hold the legs to the speakers ( those gold colored screws to the left of the plate in your photo ).
Good Luck , Cheers , Stephen
Also Standalone , don't forget to remove the screws that hold the legs to the speakers ( those gold colored screws to the left of the plate in your photo ).
Good Luck , Cheers , Stephen
I had the .5 a while back (impulse buy) and they were good. At the time I also had the MGIIIa's and they were no where near as good as them. They were better than the SMGa and MMGs that I had.
I now have Tympani IVa and these are the speakers that I will keep forever. They just do everything right. I have them powered with the Krell KSA50 clone I built, and I am building a set of monoblock ICEPower ASP1000 amps to see if they improve any more....
Great find. I would have check the speaker binding posts for a possible short before hooking up to an amp. If the mylar is torn, you gonna have to sink some cash into fixing them, otherwise, if mylar is good, just a simple rewire. I have done at least eight rewires and its not that bad. I use a tiny bit of DAP Weldwood to glue to the mylar and the will never de-laminate again. Forget Miloxane. The tweeter wire can be found at rat shack (36 gauge copper magnet wire)
I now have Tympani IVa and these are the speakers that I will keep forever. They just do everything right. I have them powered with the Krell KSA50 clone I built, and I am building a set of monoblock ICEPower ASP1000 amps to see if they improve any more....
Great find. I would have check the speaker binding posts for a possible short before hooking up to an amp. If the mylar is torn, you gonna have to sink some cash into fixing them, otherwise, if mylar is good, just a simple rewire. I have done at least eight rewires and its not that bad. I use a tiny bit of DAP Weldwood to glue to the mylar and the will never de-laminate again. Forget Miloxane. The tweeter wire can be found at rat shack (36 gauge copper magnet wire)
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