Magnepan Upgrades, Silver and New Crossovers!
I live in Minneapolis, Minnesota and have wanted maggies since I first heard of HiFi. How cool to have one of the greatest manufactures of speakers in our backyard! So last Spring '22 I bought the 1.7i. I'd been watching Nelson Pass put his 3.3's on 4 1000 watt Emotiva amps and I was just in awe. So I bought 2 1000 watt Emotiva amps, new and different than Nelson's, and ran them on the new maggies. Guys, the maggies literally blew up, coils melted off the panels, the damage was so severe Magnepan had never seen anything like it, they graciously covered much of it under warranty. That goes to show what a bad example Nelson Pass is. So after getting back from repairs they're brand new again and I put them on the traditional Bryston 4BST classic audiophile pairing, they sounded great, but I'd been watching OCD HiFi guy Mikey with all his maggie magic tricks and I got the itch to improve things. I bought the silver fuses and jumpers "insta-upgrade" and OMG clarity, timbre, every aspect improved in sound, was truly shocking. But then there's more, the crazy guys over at GR-Research and took the 1.7 to a new level. They did extensive testing and designed all new parts. I gutted the crossover, steel parts, and wiring and put all new guts in it. Well after 2 weeks of working on it off and on I've got the new crossover and terminals installed. What OCD HiFi did with the silver fuses and jumpers, take that effect and multiply it by 5! Astonishing! I've never heard anything like this, it's like holographic heaven sonic ecstasy. GR-Research really has provided the pinnacle of what Magnepan can do. It was a really hard technical upgrade, Magnepan does not make it easy, 6 inputs that are backwards opposites on left and right, but after getting it perfect, I'm in heaven and all the pain, destruction, hard lessons, and seeking higher sonic ecstasies has paid off.
@ronboco I didn't take it that way at all. I bought my Magnepans used in perfect shape for a fraction of what you see them typically sell for used, so it's not like I have some allegiance to the brand. I think they're cool, but I don't think they're the best thing I've ever heard; they' simply fell into a price/performance range that made them worth trying. They work for me because my time to listen is on weekends, work is just too busy. |
Jl35 +1 Has anyone bought what they considered to be a great car, at least for the money? Would its performance, looks or comfort be enhanced by some aftermarket shocks, struts, tires, larger rims, carburator, spark plugs and wires, or even a turbo or supercharger kit? Extra cupholder? Same difference. |
I have read elsewhere of Emotiva products destroying Magnepan speakers (sorry, no source, some other forum about bypassing Magnepan fuses) I have not read of any other brand identified as a problem. So maybe there is some sort of incompatibility. Another tweak for Maggies is to get some weight on the top edge of the speaker. Since the whole panel pushes in and out with low frequencies, and the panel is a large portion of the surface area of the speaker, low frequencies can start to move the less stabilized portions of the speaker, i.e., the top. Some custom stands try to stabilize the top edge of the speaker with braces. I have lived with bags of sand on top of my Maggies for months. What you will notice is tighter and stronger bass response. Especially with the lowest frequencies. I have always wired out the fuses and tweeter attenuater jumpers, including on my MG-IIIs for 15 years with no problems. Mostly using Rotel and Anthem amps without issue. My understanding is the fuse is there to burn out in order to control heat building up in the wires during extended loud sessions. The heat will destroy the glue that binds the wire to the mylar film. Normally you can wire out the fuse and extra jumpers without a soldering iron or permanent changes. A better choice is to replace the mounting plate and binding posts to avoid magnetic/steel parts. You can also use the extra jumpers or replacement binding posts to bi-wire the speakers. Replacing the simple crossover components (especially the capacitor) is also a big improvement. The crossovers only involve a inductor and capacitor on the lower models, so cost is reasonable. I have contacted Magnepan to discuss the crossover upgrades with them directly and they confirm it is a good place to invest in improvements. Magnepan is definitely about bringing the speakers to market at an affordable price. They sound great out of the box. But manufacturers have to make choices about little items that save millions. Using a $1 capacitor instead of a $30 capacitor for the 2 caps in a LRS, would only increase the cost by $58. But if they sell 100k LRS speakers, they will save $5,800,000 in the cost of making the speakers without charging the consumer any more money, and they still sound really good. ALL MANUFACTURERS do this. Ford sells 1M pickups. If they save $10 on tires, they save $40,000,000 on one part.
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Maybe someone needs to say it, no offense to Emotiva.