Planar Speaker Asylum

Welcome! Need support, you got it. Or share your ideas and experiences.

Planar Speaker Asylum

Maggie 1,7 speaker shut off?

66.217.173.47

Feels like a big deal.I have had the Maggies for just 10 days. Made no modifications I was playing some Bulgarian folk music with a sustained woman's chorus in the high tweeter range. The volume was not excessive when the speakers stopped playing although the signal went through the mp. the amp was not hot. I turned off the peakers for five minutes and they played. switched content to harpiscord andthey went down. turned it off again. THEY ARE PLAYING. NO FUSES BLOWN TWEETS WORKING. WHAT'S UP WITH THIS. wHAT SHOULD I BE AWARE OF WITH THESE SPEAKERS?

Follow Ups:

Okay, I'll bite. - neolith 16:03:13 08/04/10 (9)
Curious, how many nuts on this Asylum listen to Bulgarian folk music besides Utley1? And what are we missing?
�

I plan to procrastinate my demise for as long as possible. In the meantime, I practice by putting off all the little stuff.
- Le Mystere Des Voix Bulgares - krikor 05:57:04 08/05/10 (0)
  One of my favorite CDs, though admittedly I haven't listened to it lately. I switched to a server-based system and have not gotten to the "world music" section of my collection for ripping just yet.
  
  I think I'll pull it out and actually spin the CD (how retro) when I get home tonight.
  
  Initiative comes to those who wait.
  - Alex, "A Clockwork Orange"
  
  twitter.com/audiosnoop
  - Le Mystere Des Voix Bulgares at Amazon (Open in New Window)
- RE: Okay, I'll bite. - Bill of Greater NY 16:37:51 08/04/10 (7)
  I am one..............
  - RE: Okay, I'll bite. - Utley1 19:43:05 08/04/10 (6)
    Okay Bill Wazoo Tin Doctor and Andy. Bill thanks for biting. For those of you who want to test the'OHMOSITY' of your amps I reccommend the following recording, from the Nonesuch Explorer series: VILLAGE MUSIC OF BULGARIA- IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOUNTAINS. The deal is the pitch. By flexing the modulations ever so slightly in the harmonies it sends a set of harmonic dissonances each out of sink with the other creating great force. (Much more effective than breaking wine glasses with soprano notes as in the commercials.) Really, the music is interesting and some of it has been borrowed American minimilists composers. You can call me Nutley!
    Thanks for the news of the A21 it leaves room for a new pre-amp.Any suggestions would be great. I am going back to French harpsicord music to the Maginot Line' of ohm resistence(no pun intendended.)
    - RE: Okay, I'll bite. - Rod H. 20:38:59 08/04/10 (5)
      I'm another nut. I have a CD of the Bulgarian Pirin Ensemble. Probably contains some of the same songs. I think this amazing music has been issued and reissued under various titles.
      
      My neighbor loaned me an LP with some of the same cuts on it. He hated it
      and was amazed when I brought it back to him and said I liked it!
      - I am off to the record store (Plan 9 in Richmond) - neolith 04:40:00 08/05/10 (4)
        
        In Reply to: RE: Okay, I'll bite. posted by Rod H. on August 04, 2010 at 20:38:59
        
        to seek out some Bulgarian folk music. Thanks to all for opening a new door to me. I will report back if I have success.
        �
        
        I plan to procrastinate my demise for as long as possible. In the meantime, I practice by putting off all the little stuff.
        
        Video from The Tonight Show - Rod H. 08:20:48 08/05/10 (2)
        
        In Reply to: RE: I am off to the record store (Plan 9 in Richmond) posted by neolith on August 05, 2010 at 04:40:00
        
        *
        Tonight Show (Open in New Window)
        
        Another - Rod H. 08:32:31 08/05/10 (1)
        
        In Reply to: RE: Video from The Tonight Show posted by Rod H. on August 05, 2010 at 08:20:48
        
        Here's another even more beautiful IMO.
        Here (Open in New Window)
        
        Redux of the MIA post; Re: bagpipe aficionados, �whatever floats your boat� be it Tuvan throat singers or - cfb 13:58:19 08/05/10 (0)
        
        In Reply to: RE: Another posted by Rod H. on August 05, 2010 at 08:32:31
        
        Bulgarian Folk music.
        The Tuvan throat singers I stumbled onto during a Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon moment years ago, three references in one day back when I had not heard of them before.
        Peace and Music to all.
        
        For a dissenting opinion; I respect it for an audiophile test disc but for me it's worse than bagpipes. - cfb 08:15:17 08/05/10 (0)
        
        In Reply to: RE: I am off to the record store (Plan 9 in Richmond) posted by neolith on August 05, 2010 at 04:40:00
        
        The only track I could tolerate is �Triti Puti� as for the rest � best left unsaid.
        But hey whatever floats your boat, if You enjoy it that's all that counts.
you said 'they' - wazoo 13:44:28 08/04/10 (9)
I assume this means both speakers are going quiet. That points to a bad reaction by the amp driving your speakers. Such a reaction could result from at least three possibilities (in order of likelihood): 1) the amp simply isn't stable into a 4 ohm load, 2) one of the speakers has an issue, or 3) the amp has an issue. Either way, it sounds like your amp is going into self-preservation mode.
It would be helpful for us to know a bit more about your system - what exactly is driving those 1.7s? As a first suggestion, you should unplug one speaker (you need only lift one wire (make sure it will hang safely away from the other)) and try to reproduc the symptom. If all is well, reconnect that speaker and lift a wire on the other one. If neither causes an issue on its own (just be sure to at least double the listening time it took to induce the issue with both connected - only as a means of being sure), then my money is on the amp.
I hope this helps - good luck and keep us posted.

"Jazz is not dead - it just smells funny" FZ

Edits: 08/04/10
- RE: you said 'they' - Utley1 15:29:20 08/04/10 (8)
  Thanks to all of you for thoughtfulness and prompt responses. AbsoluteLy amazing. Wazoo, and all nailed it pretty good. Did call Magneplanar to confirm. There is a 99% probabilty it is the amp(Bulgarian contraltos in mass singing at c sharp can cause snow slides in the Carpathian Moutains-they do it for sport- can make a 1980's Yamaha M1 even with its 350 watts per channel COLLAPSE at 2 ohms while the 1.7's do their thing...Yey, the eighties are finally over! I will probably replace it with either Quicksilver 88 monos or Bryston 4B sst which was the plan all along If we are wrong it will be an expensive mistake...IT IS COMFORTING TO KNOW THAT YOU ARE OUT THERE.
  - glad you were planning a replacement - wazoo 18:57:41 08/04/10 (5)
    That M1 was a terrific amp. I used to have a C70/M70 duo back in the early '80s - could fry an egg on that amp, but it never misbehaved (cool meters too). Then again, I never allowed a pair of 1.7s to suck the life out of that M70. That amp is also approaching it's 30th birthday (that's 120 in amp years ;-). It's due for an overhaul, or retirement.
    
    As far as a replacement is concerned, there are many excellent choices. It may surprise you how positively those speakers react to increases of available power. I recently purchased a (5 year old) used Pass X350 which I intend to use with the 3.6s I should have in a month. I 'dropped' (you wouldn't want to drop that thing - might go right through your floor) it in place of my X150 for testing purposes with my MMGs. It's noticeably sweeter and more dynamic at lower to middle volumes. In fact, things got pretty loud before the needle began to move (indicating the departure from Class A). Even at volumes that threaten my future ability to hear, the swing of dynamics is truly impressive. To be honest, I was surprised. After all, I had tested that X150 with a pair of 3.6s and it drove them beautifully. I can hardly wait to hear what the X350 makes them do!
    
    Consider the paragraph above to be a vote for Pass Labs. Of course, that is by no means the only great choice you can make. This will probably turn into an amp advice thread. If not, the archives are full of them. There are also members using much less powerful SET amps, and they report good results. Who am I to argue? So, pick your poison and then remember that there is nothing wrong with used (especially if you can count the years of use without all of your fingers).
    
    Welcome!
    
    "Jazz is not dead - it just smells funny" FZ
    - RE: glad you were planning a replacement - Utley1 19:55:25 08/04/10 (3)
      Thanks for the tip. I heard great things about Pass. It also looks like a great piece of sculpture.The thought of tripling the price of the speakers on the amp at first felt daunting but I am getting used to the idea. Bad 1980 habits, but then the M2 was a months salary.
      - the cost ratio and maggies - wazoo 21:14:33 08/04/10 (2)
        
        In Reply to: RE: glad you were planning a replacement posted by Utley1 on August 04, 2010 at 19:55:25
        
        Josh recently quoted the old rule of thumb about spending half of one's budget on speakers, but Maggies perform well above their price class - and that is so in bone stock form. You will discover that quite a few of us who post here actually belong in an asylum because we've modded the crap (not implying that they were crap that we spun into gold) out of our Maggies - I think the endeavor is worth one's while.
        
        These speakers are exceptions which prove (test, in another word) the rule. It's almost as if they are never the limiting factor (although that simply can't be true). It turns out they come with governors - remove those and they may actually never be the limiting factor!
        
        Sorry, I got carried away there, but if you've investigated this forum, then you already know the extent of our mental illness ;-)
        
        ---
        
        Have fun in your search for the new amp - it's a tough decision.
        
        "Jazz is not dead - it just smells funny" FZ
        
        "Sorry, I got carried away there"!! ... - andyr 22:38:35 08/04/10 (1)
        
        In Reply to: RE: the cost ratio and maggies posted by wazoo on August 04, 2010 at 21:14:33
        
        And this from a guy who says he will never get stuck into his soon-to-arrive 3.6s! :-))
        
        Regards,
        
        Andy
        
        Did I really say that? - wazoo 04:33:26 08/05/10 (0)
        
        In Reply to: RE: "Sorry, I got carried away there"!! ... posted by andyr on August 04, 2010 at 22:38:35
        
        Somehow, I imagine that I'll become quite absorbed by them. I wonder if I thought you used that phrase to mean that I'd become occupied with modding them - still, never doesn't sound like a term I'd use in that context either. I can't wait to stuck into those new 3.6s!
        
        "Jazz is not dead - it just smells funny" FZ
    - me too - slapshot 19:04:02 08/04/10 (0)
      I had the same Yamaha amp and preamp for many years. Served me well for many years, but also never used them with maggies.
  - "Quicksilver 88 monos or Bryston 4B sst" - andyr 16:23:57 08/04/10 (0)
    I suggest you need to widen your scope of replacement amps? Whilst the Quicksilvers would no doubt sound superb on simple music (ie. solo oud), I doubt their 88w will power the Maggies well with massed Bulgarian choirs! :-))
    
    And the Bryston, whilst having plenty of power, may turn the sopranos into witches?
    
    Trawl the archives here for amps which are recommended - Parasound A21 is one I can personally vouch for, having heard it power some 3.6s very well at the Oz Maggie importer's place. (Although, come to think of it, the 3.6's ribbon is 3 ohms so its impedance is 3 ohms at high frequencies - which the A21 can handle. Whereas I believe the 1.7s' "super tweeter" will have a lower impedance than this at high frequencies - so the A21 may not cope well?)
    
    Regards,
    
    Andy
  - RE: you said 'they' - thetintdoctor 15:44:17 08/04/10 (0)
    Wow, I also had one of those amps... It wouldn't really drive my 1980's MG's either!(although for different notes than a massed high C) So glad you determined what it was quickly: it'd be a shame to blame the speakers! OTOH, it also seems it's the last thing you changed, so you would naturally start the investigation there.
    
    Good Luck, Welcome one again and enjoy those speakers and the great musical experience they can provide.
    
    Regards, Jeff.
RE: Maggie 1,7 speaker shut off? - thetintdoctor 09:27:26 08/04/10 (0)
Hi and welcome!
As slapshot said, lots of knowledgeable folks here. Also, are you positive it's not your amp's protection circuits shutting it down temporarily? This can happen if you were used to listening to speakers that were less clean-sounding than the 1.7's. You may be turning the volume up further than you realise ;-). This happened to me many years ago when I got my first MGII's.

Could you post a description of your system? That's a good starting point. The size of your listening area is also a big factor, especially with Maggies, so listing this (with a short description of wall treatments and openings into other large spaces) would probably be a good idea, too. Also, do you have a way to measure the SPL's (average and peak) you listening at? People tend to perceive loudness levels differently, as a volume level that's comfortable to some may seem far too loud to others(like my wife, hehe). Keep us posted...
RE: look for a wiring short or intermitant - gymwear5@hotmail.com 09:26:43 08/04/10 (1)
could be between amp and speakers or internal to speakers - if latter - return for warranty
- RE: look for a wiring short or intermitant - josh358 12:22:32 08/04/10 (0)
  What he said
RE: Maggie 1,7 speaker shut off? - slapshot 09:03:50 08/04/10 (0)
This is a knowledgeable group, but since these are only 10 days old, I would certainly contact your dealer and/or magnepan and she what they suggest.

Post a Followup:

FAQ

Post a Message!

Forgot Password?

Moniker (Username):
Password (Optional):
	Remember my Moniker & Password (What's this?) Eat Me
E-Mail (Optional):
Subject:

Message:	(Posts are subject to Content Rules)

Optional Link URL:
Optional Link Title:
Optional Image URL:
Upload Image:
E-mail Replies:	Automagically notify you when someone responds.

To view your new posting or follow-up, click on the RELOAD or REFRESH button on your browser.

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

Kimber Kable