Magnepan SMG planar

I would be using my current HK 6550 integrated amp to power them. My listening room is smallish and seating position about 8-10 ft so may be able to get away will lesser power for now. However, people are most welcome to bring their hefty amps.
To create space behind them, I would need to move some furniture, so be prepared to flex your muscles :)

So tentatively it is going to be this sunday morning, 10am-12noon.

regards

Couple things to consider with the SMGs

- They need gobs of power - atleast 150 - 200 true watts / channel - AVRs are not meant to drive these at all. You need a v. good integrated or better yet separates to drive them. Some ones to consider are Bryston, Accuphase, Sunfire, Adcom (older models), Parasound etc. Some have good success with Emotiva but its far and few inbetween as these have been coming through only lately.

- they need lots of room for placements - ideally 2 - 3 ft from either wall.

- they are very picky about placement. The sound signature is fairly discernable if you are in the sweet spot or not. So if you are planning an audition, then make sure they are properly placed before the gang comes down and also ensure that the listeners are in the sweet spot. otherwise they may not sound involving at all.

- finally given the age be careful about them esp. for hte price you are getting them for. They may be good but chances are they might not have been taken care of well. Just a watchout though.

- my personal feeling is that you can get better speakers to play rock or metal. SMGs are good for instrumentals, classical, jazz and vocals.
 
I too fail to understand - sometimes I just act too stupid. I later talked to the guy and he says there are no stands with him. But he can get a pair made of iron. I think a custom support structure of wood may look better.

Without the stands it would be impossible to give a space of 2-3 feet behind them.

Also - cosmetically they need the cloth replacement. I guess we can postpone this session for really serious listeners. I am hoping I would get my shure cart by 20-25 march. And hopefully DAC may also be ready to be pushed into service.

Those who still want to come over and have a little more casual listen, can show up this sunday morning.

regards

But I fail to understand how could you "leave out the important stands" ? Did you try and see if you could salvage them?
 
ok - where to yell for help!?!??!
HELPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!
They were sounding fine when I listened to them on low and high volume both. But seems I missed the problem when auditioning.

The speakers are letting out a cracking sound on some frequencies. It is very evident on the track #7 of hell freezes over, Wasted Time - oh, what an irony, time is money and I wasted money it seems on these speakers! It is sounding like "krrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr" - something could be getting into resonance at that frequency. And the worst thing is, as soon as I put them up, my wife noticed this krrrrrrrr sound and said what junk you have picked up (she saw these for the first time as I had hid them well).

Damn!!! Someone to rescue??
 
anm, can you find some piece that's vibrating and causing the noise? if only at a particular frequency maybe it could be possibility though this is more with bass frequencies otherwise normal frequencies being more present would not excite this runaway part. maybe put the relevant part of the track on repeat while you get out the magnifying glass and gave the speakers a good going over! considering these are electrostatics maybe the panel is loose somehwere near the edge or something is touching it somewhere... all the best!

regards
 
lot of screws are loose so that might be the case, but I have an eerie feeling. The seller is also not gonna take it back as he said that there the only guarantee of used stuff is while it is in the shop :s
I think I need some experienced people visiting my house soon.
 
I really hope you figure out the problem and it is a small fix. They really are nice speakers if you are able to extract the best out of them with proper backing electronics.
 
Thanks G.
I have two voices debating inside me
1. throw it back at the seller and ask for whatever refund I can get, or another item in exchange
2. stronger - maybe I can fix it with help from you guys and have a very nice pair of speakers


I really hope you figure out the problem and it is a small fix. They really are nice speakers if you are able to extract the best out of them with proper backing electronics.
 
anm,

Is there a Magnapan dealer in Delhi? See what they can offer as far as services etc. go. Honestly, I'd much rather see you get the Maggies up and running if you can. They really do sound nice!

I wish I could be of more help, but I don't know much about how to go about fixing them. Sorry!
 
I recalled seeing large magnepan in a2v in city walk saket so I called them up. They asked me to call the mumbai guys and I called them. But the mumbai guys said I need to send the speaker over and there is no predecided budget. Well, as suggested by Arup, I googled and found this thread

Magneplanar SMGs repair/ rebuild - Page 2 - diyAudio

Seems like a similar issue. Rattle can indeed be a word to describe the issue. This thread led to Peter Gunn's Magnepan Voice Coil Repair Saga

Seems the simple wire regluing is not that tough a job. Can someone suggest locally available brands of glue that can be used?

regards
 
ok - so I have done nothing as yet with them except letting them stay in the drawing/ listening room despite warnings from mrs that she may throw away both the jbls and maggies out.
Malvai was here today and I wanted him to listen to them. He was in a great hurry by that time, and had a very brief listen. In that brief encounter, I was not able to to reproduce the problem. Hope he would be able to be around and listen to them for some more time.
 
I want to give them a looks make over too so that they not only stay in the drawling room, but add to the looks. But that shall happen after functional fixes.
I want to create a stand that makes it impossible for them to trip and fall if my little daughter bumps into them. How about their vertical positioning? Should they be left exactly vertical, or slightly angled? Or should the stand allow them to adjusted?

I think I will be able to do justice to them in terms of breathing space when I move back to my own house. Current room is too small.
 
yes, will have to do that (go to a2v). I looked at the site that sells stands for maggies but was not able to figure out how to change the tilt.
Arup - from your other thread - are you moving out of India soon?
 
I recalled seeing large magnepan in a2v in city walk saket so I called them up. They asked me to call the mumbai guys and I called them. But the mumbai guys said I need to send the speaker over and there is no predecided budget. Well, as suggested by Arup, I googled and found this thread

Magneplanar SMGs repair/ rebuild - Page 2 - diyAudio

Seems like a similar issue. Rattle can indeed be a word to describe the issue. This thread led to Peter Gunn's Magnepan Voice Coil Repair Saga

Seems the simple wire regluing is not that tough a job. Can someone suggest locally available brands of glue that can be used?

regards
Could you share the contact info of the Mumbai guys please
 
Get the Award Winning Diamond 12.3 Floorstanding Speakers on Special Offer
Back
Top