Magnepan 3.7

James,

I don't think you have ever taken a serious look at Maggies. If you had, you would know that they have been using a ribbon tweeter on their high end speakers for more than 30 years (see the MG-III, MG-IIIA, 3.3, 3.5, 3.6, Tymphani, MG-20, MG-21, and MG-2.5). Similarly, the Quasi Ribbon has been a part of the Magnepan design for more than 20 years. The only change in the panel design of the newer speakers is going to the Quasi Ribbon for the midrange driver.

qOUTE:
01-07-11: Chadeffect
James63,

they fixed that delamination issue with a new 3m glue about 10 years ago. In the market for one now?

Not true at all. I have owned many later (even 2006 and newer) models, and they still have this issue. I dont think many people even realize it. I have personally caught two pairs of Magnepans making noises that the owner never even picked up on. The issue is still alive and well.

We will find out about the 1.7's, and 3.7's....but if they are just glued on...there will always be some cases of delam. They need to find a way to get them bonded(melted or between two layers) into the Mylar IMO. But I dont understand the physics, or "engineering" of this.

Sthomas, they don't normally delaminate for many years, if ever (they don't like moist and damp). Most of the stories of delamination are from people who are buying and refurbishing very old ones. Old dynamic speakers require repair work too, generally it's the woofer surround that goes. And if they do need work, the repair is fairly easy, you can do it yourself or send them off to Magnepan. Most other speakers of the same vintage can't even be easily repaired, because the manufacturer is out of business or no longer supports them.

Unsound, a quasi ribbon is a ribbon that is attached to a mylar backing. A true ribbon is just the foil, without a backing. A planar dynamic is wire attached to a mylar backing. Early Maggies were all planar dynamic. Then they went to a true ribbon tweeter on the most expensive models -- that's indicated with a /R. Then a quasi ribbon tweeter on the less expensive models, that's a /QR, and also quasi ribbon midranges on the more expensive /R models. But they were all still planar dynamic (wire) in the bass. Now they're going to quasi ribbon in the bass, too. So either you have all quasi ribbon models like the 1.7, which is a three-way with a quasi ribbon woofer, tweeter, and supertweeter, or on the higher end models a true ribbon on the tweeter and a quasi ribbon on the midrange and woofer, like the 3.7 (at least, that's what everyone assumes, I haven't seen specs yet).

Josh358, thank you! If the only difference is the shape/thickness of the wire/ribbon, and assuming the "quasi-ribbon" acts more like a planar dynamic than a true ribbon, the "quasi-ribbon" label seems to be a bit misleading.