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What to do w/MG-1 IMP's ? (long)

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So a friend of my daughter has given me a pair of old MG-1's that have been sitting unused in his basement for approx. 10 - 15 yrs. I couldn't believe my luck, because ever since I got rid of my Maggies in '87 (I think they were 1.6's? and yes, it was a stupid move on my part), I have yearned for that beautiful planar sound. With four daughters & only one meager income, I could just never afford them, so imagine my giddy acceptance speech to that wonderfully generous young fella. Anyway, once I positioned them properly & fired them up, something just didn't sound right. The huge soundstage was there, but not that crisp, clean sound that I remembereed. Yeah, I,m 30 years older, but still, it sounded slightly "muffled"(?), even though I could hear some of the highs, mids, and bass (LOTS of bass by the way, more than I remembered my earlier ones having). Compared to my DIY speakers, which I went back & forth listening to, the mids sounded as if vocals were behind a curtain, so to speak, and from my memories of "way back when", that was what used to be so impressive. Now, after doing some searching, I see all kinds of tips on stripping the socks to see if wires are loose, corroded, etc., but let me tell ya, I ain't the kind of guy that's comfortable with taking anything apart. Any suggestions? Although they were given to me, I'm still not financially able to spend a lot of money to get them repaired if that's what is needed, but dang, I would LOVE to have a working pair again! Thanks, and sorry for the length of this rambling missive.
Dave
Everyone thinks I'm psychotic except my friends deep inside the earth.

Follow Ups:

RE: What to do w/MG-1 IMP's ? (long) - andyr 20:28:35 08/26/10 (1)
As I see you are recently retired (lucky you - I'm the same age and still working 5 days a week ... so I can afford to retire at some future stage LOL!!), refurbishing those old Maggies is just the sort of project you need to pass the time! :-))!
There are many things you can do to them but first off, as has been suggested, is stripping off the socks - so you can see what condition the wires are in. And you'll get a better understanding of how Maggie works by examining her when she's naked. :-))
From your description of the sound, it does seem like the tweeter wires are suspect/gone.
Good luck, :-))
Andy

Edits: 08/28/10
- RE: What to do w/MG-1 IMP's ? (long) - davidwhitley68 10:38:10 08/28/10 (0)
  Hi Andy, and thanks, it really is just the type of project I needed, although my wife may disagree, as she watches me disassemble these in the, uh, 'scuse me, HER living room.
  Dave
  Everyone thinks I'm psychotic except my friends deep inside the earth.
RE: What to do w/MG-1 IMP's ? (long) - Peter Gunn 11:01:05 08/26/10 (1)
Greg was likely correct, while they may be delaminating that almost never effects the sound, even when extreme. So when you sit there and say "it doesn't sound right" in almost every case it's because one or both tweeters are not playing.

This could be because the fuses went bad, but more likely it's because the tweeter wires corroded and broke. If the latter is true, the good news is the panels probably did not delam, so you only need fix the tweeters. (even if only one broke, repair both)

You can repair this yourself for $50 or so, but if you plan to do this don't wait too long as magnepan will not ship the repair kit once the temp there goes below freezing, which in white bear lake could be any time next month :^ )

It's all about the music...
- RE: What to do w/MG-1 IMP's ? (long) - davidwhitley68 19:58:52 08/26/10 (0)
  Thank you Mr.Gunn, I will be sending off (soon!) for new tweeters, and the videos (which were suggested in emails from JoeLA & esande) on you tube about replacing MG-1 tweets were fantastic, just what I needed to boost my confidence level.
  Dave
  Everyone thinks I'm psychotic except my friends deep inside the earth.
RE: What to do w/MG-1 IMP's ? (long) - davidwhitley68 20:00:53 08/25/10 (2)
Well first off, thanks a bunch to those of you who replied. Perhaps I was too quick to write off the DIY option. Heck, if it's that inexpensive and from what some of you say from experience, that it's not that difficult a job, then what have I got to lose, really. Oh, and the part about being stored in the basement, well that is kind of misleading. It's called a basement, but in actuality, it was just "downstairs" in a lower level of the house, not underground and pretty much temperature controlled - more like an unused spare room. They had cobwebs all over, but had not been subjected to temp. extremes. Again, thanks for the support (and an unexpected boost in my confidence level) & I guess now the adventure begins.
Dave
Everyone thinks I'm psychotic except my friends deep inside the earth.
- RE: What to do w/MG-1 IMP's ? (long) - esande 20:39:50 08/25/10 (1)
  Have a look at this series of videos.
  
  It will give you an idea of how a rebuild can be done, if necessary. It's quite thorough. Of course you will also want to replace the crossover parts and binding posts, and do (probably) a bit of refurbishment on the wood, but it might give you some ideas.
  - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1vRJD2pmkM (Open in New Window)
  - RE: What to do w/MG-1 IMP's ? (long) - davidwhitley68 10:42:58 08/28/10 (0)
    Thanks SO much! These are perfect. I would never have thought to look at youtube! I do believe I can do this.
    Dave.
    Everyone thinks I'm psychotic except my friends deep inside the earth.
RE: What to do w/MG-1 IMP's ? (long) - roycej 16:55:43 08/25/10 (0)
If you're not willing to try to fix them yourself and can't afford to have someone else do the work, you're kinda stuck.

The tweeter fuses are the first thing to check. However, with speakers of that age, delamination is sure to be an issue, if not now, soon.

Repairing them yourself is not that hard, I did it on one of my SMGa's. Both tweeter and woofer wire were bad. The materials for a complete rewire of both speakers cost me about $60 total. With a few hours of my time, I have Maggies that sound wonderful and should last for years.
RE: What to do w/MG-1 IMP's ? (long) - gregmacknass2@netzero.com 12:47:52 08/25/10 (1)
check the mid/tweeter fuse on the back of the speaker. Are they there? Are they intact? It sounds to me like the tweeter panels are not playing. That makes them sound veiled. I would suggest you investigate this first. If this yields no positive results, then you probably have bad tweeters, and will have to do a rebuild. Don't be so afraid to tear into them, it's really not that hard. Tweeter repairs can be done for $50 (Magnepan sells a kit) or so by yourself at home in a weekend. So even someone with a meager budget can repair maggies. If you need help in your repairs, there is a wealth of knowledge here on this forum and many helpful people. I wish you luck.
-Greg
- RE: What to do w/MG-1 IMP's ? (long) - davidwhitley68 20:37:44 08/25/10 (0)
  Thanks, I did check the fuses & they seem to be okay, so I suppose the next thing to do is to "de-sock-em" and look for delamination/loose wires. Appreciate your reply, Dave
  Everyone thinks I'm psychotic except my friends deep inside the earth.
Agree with the other responder. You likely have delamination issues - Opus 104 12:39:33 08/25/10 (0)
among many others. The absolute worst thing for Maggies is storage in a basement. Might as well set them afire. Oh, you didn't have 1.6s before. They were not introduced until 1998.

If you want Maggies, go to the website. You can order a new pair of MMGs for $600 with a 90-day money back guarantee.

What? You
expected
Bill the Cat?
RE: What to do w/MG-1 IMP's ? (long) - mbnx01 11:27:52 08/25/10 (0)
Yard sale.

"Lock up when you're done and don't touch the piano."
-Greg House

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