What Do Broken Vintage Magnepans Sound Like?

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Magnepan Magneplanar speakers are some of the coolest and most interesting speakers out there. However, as they age, the tend to develop issues that require long and tedious repair processes. On this channel I have already rebuilt a pair of MG-1 speakers, and now it's time for me to repair some MG-II's! But before I do that, I wanted to show why the long and tedious repairs are necessary.

[@reinkansman1081]

Nice job Aidan- you have created a learning resource here

[@MichaelYates]

Wow they are big speakers wish I had the room for something so large in my collection. Look forward to the end result

[@if6wuzz9]

Look for a pair of MMGi’s from Magnepan... a bit smaller with the same magical sound.

[@killifish13]

Great video well done please post more .

[@historymakesmesleep]

300k. wow, that wagon is a champ. love the term MAGGIES

[@karaDee2363]

I never personally seen these speakers before, but I do remember when a friend of mine was in the Navy stationed in Virginia Beach in the early 80s who told me about some flat speakers that could handle an unlimited amount of wattage, so now I know what the name of those speakers were.

[@e.laitosteazure]

This was really informative. I have been listening to vinyl on a pair of my dad's old Magnepan speakers (1986) and I've noticed some of this. How do you fix them? Also I heard what you said about the upper and lower range of these, is listening to things like Fall Out Boy on Magnepans not doing them justice? I'm not sure if I could set up my dad's old speakers like you have with the subwoofer. PS the video needed more cats! :3

[@AudiophileTommy]

Thank you so much for these videos ! A lot of great info!!!👍✅

[@hugobloemers4425]

A bit off topic but I love the Volvo 240

[@hotjazzbaby]

After experimenting a lot I found I get the best soundstage from my Maggies when they are 1,80 meters from the wall and each speaker about 1,30 meters from my listening position. I have also turned them inward. 👍🏻

[@AHFixIt]

I've found a similar setup to yours gets the best sound for me too!

[@hotjazzbaby]

@@AHFixIt Great 👍🏻 thanks for the feedback. As a side note, like yours mine were bought used. They have the fuses removed and bridged. That may improve sound. Also the wood frame needs to be securely attached or else that will rattle. I had to fix mine. Enjoy these great speakers

[@dirkrose1550]

I found out after a short time in the seventies, that better a buyer of my Maggies should concern himself with how to come to terms halfway with the many problems of these speakers.... ;-) ;-)

[@fred998f]

Are you planning on recording the rebuild? I would love to see that series again.

[@AHFixIt]

Yes, that is the plan!

[@fred998f]

@@AHFixIt i will look forward to it! Love my Magnepan SMGa. But looking for an old pair to restore.

[@MichelLinschoten]

Hahah i knew it after you first set that you would get hooked! Before you know it, there will be a Tympani I in that livingroom

[@godbwu]

Cool, I’ve learned a lot here. May not be afraid to buy a “bad” set anymore!

[@jerryjohnson3801]

just got a pair of magnepan smga

[@davidperry4013]

There are audiophiles that swear by magnepans. Sound quality is highly subjective. You can get a magnepan repair kit. It’s harder than fixing an ferrofluid soft dome tweeter on vintage KEF speakers.

[@Jack96993]

That sure looks like a Marantz receiver I had the Marantz 2265B back in the day I have the Maggie's 0.7s, and as you know, Maggie's love power!! I found a used Spectron musical MK hybrid on line It's output is 500watts@8ohm 650@4ohms and 1,200 watts@1ohm My Maggie's cry for mercy

[@sodalis5081]

Thanks for the video! Just found out I'm having the same vibrating bass problems, do you have a video on how to fix this issue? This was really informative!

[@dirkrose1550]

from my point of view it almost doesn't matter if Maggies are technically ok or defective...😁😅🙄 they don't sound like good speakers even when new... see also test of the LSR in the ASR forum, which confirms in the basic tendency what I experienced with the old MG 1 from the seventies in the short term...

[@brianmedeiros6845]

That was good. Going to look at a pair of MG 1 tomorrow 150.00 for the pair?

[@ItsaRomethingeveryday]

Never seen anything like these til now

[@tylerjezowski5633]

Not only did your tv get smaller you did too 🤣🤣

[@dontcare563]

He wasn't wearing shoes!

[@Peter-ii4xq]

I can buy a pair MG-5 QR SE. How can I place these about quality? Thanks for any help.

[@wric01]

Idea: conductive ink to fix nonconducting wire on panel.

[@laorhino9702]

Love them (mg IIIA)

[@50Kvful]

Are you Selling Them?

[@dirkrose1550]

They sound bad, new, broken , damaged or what ever🤣🤣🤣 but i like the vintage Marantz, real quality!!👍👍👍

[@dj33036]

My sister had a set of these back in the seventies. I wasn't a big fan of them, they just seemed gimmicky. Can you tell me what the real appeal of them was?

[@AHFixIt]

I think these early ones are a little bit gimmicky given their shortcomings in the low and high ends of the human hearing range. That being said, I personally love them and think the technology is really cool. There are things you can do to account for those shortcomings, as I demonstrate toward the end of the video with my subwoofer and EQ. At the end of the day, the appeal is the sheer amount of surface area from which sound comes from with these. With the right setup, they can create a very immersive experience. Without the right setup, or a poorly suited amplifier, they may sound gimmicky.

[@dj33036]

@@AHFixIt Thanks for the reply. I don't have room for those anyway haha. Congrats on 300,000 miles on your van. Have a great day!

[@MichelLinschoten]

I ll tell in a more detailed way what the main difference is, and why it's not a gimmick. Dipole, planar speakers do not create waves like a cone does the entire driver is actuated as a whole. So what you see there the MGII is 6ft tall, the (line source) driver itself is about 5ft tall, the entire driver moves as one over the entire length. Big difference with cones. Also because they are dipole, they radiate in a figure "8" pattern, they do not suffer from ceiling, floor or side wall bounce. Cones do.... Line source drivers, the sound radiates outward in an expanding cylinder, as though from a line in space. Thus the sound is spread widely through the room from side to side, but not vertically. In fact, because the sound is concentrated where your ears are, it does not “thin out” nearly as fast, and you have surprisingly uniform SPL throughout the listening space. In short you can crank a maggie up and it will not fatigue. Caveat, if they "shout" you do not have the testicular fortitude on the amplifier end to run them full tilt. The whole advantage of line source is that its literally a column of sound , cones create waves, think of a pebble in a pond it ripples. It suffers from floor,ceiling, side to side reflections. its a major difference in sonic quality.. the room is in actuality WAY less of a issue with maggies. Despite some will claim it's hard to set up... with good gear that matches (and no that's not always the most expensive, or even most powerful amp) they let you honestly hear what your gear is able to do. (remember no CABINET) Also even more importantly, even tho not TRUE ribbon, the planar drivers are still a good bit faster than cone/dome. Side from the fact there is no cabinet. The frame might cause some typical baffle refraction, its very minimal compared to box speakers. And that's where i will make a bold claim, maggies by FAR sound more transparant, open , in depth and vocal ability than any box speaker ever will. There is 0 coloration in the sound field, play a acoustic guitar on a maggie then go play it on a box speaker. Then play a acoustic guitar on your couch, couple chords, You get precisely why , magnepans sound so incredible, they sound natural and to the size of what you're listening too. Downsides? They have horrible off axis response, you need to remain in the sweet spot (it's not quad ESL57 small) but it does some setting up. The reason why that is, relates to it being a dipole speaker, imagine looking at the top of the speakers.. Imagine a figure "8" going through it (read look up dipole radiation pattern) The speakers drop in spl the second you would stand next to it. I refer to the above, regarding what i said about ceiling,floor,side reflections... is that a real issue? Why would someone buy a nice set of speakers to sit OFF axis from makes no sense to me. Low sensitivity, 83-85db or so, they do like some amplifier, however they are NOT hard to drive. It's what some people think, because they love more volume knob, compared to their kefs, klipsch what not. It's just low sensitivity. They are a pure resistive load (unlike cone speakers) so they do not dip crazy much in impedance. Thin low end, planar, esl, ribbon doesnt matter all share that mylar drivers do not have the ability to do what cones do best, excursion. I ALWAYS advice people, that start out with maggies cross them over (good start would be 60hz) and let a sub do the low end, use phase to offset the timing if need be to match the planar. You will gain a incredible amount of dynamic range. Big, they are NOT pleasing to the eye and 0 WAF (women acceptance factor) So in long story telling mode, most def not a gimmick ...there are lot of different principles at work playing with speakers like that.

[@ericschulze5641]

They suck, a gimmick that's it, you are correct, even a set of Cerwin Vegas sound much better than magnapans,they were mostly sold to Doctors and college professors

[@bes426]

can you fix my Maggies? I have 6

[@davidmorgen4558]

Stick with vintage klipsch way better quality control ),taken it from an Ex maggie owner!

[@TheSpoolin77]

AR-3a’s for the win

[@bornagainbornagain6697]

Very interesting. Does Magnepan offer the repairs? And tell me that is NOT the usual place for the TT. ON top of a sub just is not good.

[@AHFixIt]

Yes they offer kits and I believe they will repair them also. On the sub is not the usual place for the TT - the setup is in transition.

[@bornagainbornagain6697]

@@AHFixIt I thought so. Post some vids of you fixing them please. I have seen many regular drivers, and voice coil repairs but never ribbons or electrostats. How did you learn? Did you work at the factory or see someone do it before? Never thought this type of speaker could be repaired so thanks for posting. 👏👏👍

[@AHFixIt]

@@bornagainbornagain6697 I just went for it! The first videos on this channel are of me fixing MG-1's that I bought very broken. One speaker made no sound at all. I read forum posts, watched the videos that did exist at that time, and realized I could probably make a good video so I did. Magnepan includes instructions with the kits that are simple to follow - almost too simple. It's not a complicated process, just very tedious and time consuming. Today I'm taking them apart and seeing if I can get them fixed using the leftover parts from my MG-1 repair. If not, I'll have to order a kit and it will be awhile before they're done.

[@bornagainbornagain6697]

@@AHFixIt Thanks for the information. I have built a center channel cabinet to match my existing floorstanders. This was to keep my system timbre pure. I have not tried the repair on the surrounds yet, I sent my Advent woofers off to a guy with experience to do it and he used butyl rubber. I have seen a guy in a forum who wound his own voice coils after his got burnt out. But never planar speaker repairs. I bought a pair of my speakers from a guy in Connecticut who replaced them with Magnepans. He had a system in stereo with rel subwoofers. They were extremely clear. He did say that he missed the dynamics. There wasn't that puff of air on a kick drum. He just felt that it didn't push the air or pressurize the listening space on certain attacks like a drum. I love learning and you have provided me with new rare material so thank you and post more please.

[@MichelLinschoten]

@@bornagainbornagain6697 They are not ribbon speakers tho, its a huge debate amongst fanatics and take it rather serious. They are planar drivers, and you do not need any skill to fix them. They are incredibly easy to fix, i rebuild my mgII , mgI and they are now side channels (yes, i use mgII as side channels) and center channel (mgI) in my stereo/home theater

[@bwoutrage21]

Just a hint. When trying to point out sound problems, you need to do less talking when the problem is showing up.

[@ericschulze5641]

I had a chance to hear a set of these in the early 90s ran through a high end Marantz amp. at the shop I used to work at NOT impressed whatsoever. we were building our own speakers with drivers from parts express and mcm that blew magnapans of the face of the earth on all aspects and all styles of music overall they suck don't waste your money on this crap, just because thier expensive doesn't mean thier good, thier a novelty at best

[@socksumi]

To me all the older Magnepans sound like singers have cotton balls stuffed in their mouths. In other words the sound is quite veiled. Their sonic signature is ... "snap---blur". Fast transient followed by a wash of vagueness". This is due to copious amount of ringing and stored energy in those awful plastic diaphragms that is both measurable and audible. Thankfully the newer Magnepans (above a certain price point) are much better in this respect but their cheap models like the LRS still have problems and need work.

[@benvanzanten379]

The old ones had worthless capacitors built in. Replace those for a few Mundorf copies and they sound 100% better

[@mp1952]

That yard sign sucks