Maggie owners opinions wanted


Hi all. I have a pair of MG 111s. The previous owner did some crossover tweaks to supposedly make them comparable to 111as. Long story short, one bass panel stopped working but I continued using it anyway. After about a year it finally damaged the amp. So what I'm wondering...should I send them back to Magnepan for the rebuild...somewhere between $700 and $1000, or should I go for a pair of 3.6s? I guess it comes down to...how much of an improvement would the 3.6s be overs the 111s. Opinions, please! Thanks.
secretguy
There's a pair of 3.6's listed here for $2400 (no affiliation); so start with that as a reference. You say up to $1000 for a rebuild. Does that include the shipping? That will be expensive. Will they replace the ribbon tweeters for that price? I assume that replacement of the ribbon tweeters is not included. The original III's are going on 30 yrs old +; no? That means that even if you have the mid/bass panels refurbished, you will have 30+ yr old ribbon tweeters. The 3.6's are a definite improvement over the III's, particularly in the area of the integration of that great (and very fast) tweet with the midrange. But the III's are still a good speaker.

If $1000 includes shipping and new tweeters, I would say keep the III's, if not, then I would seriously consider the 3.6's. Good luck.

BTW, the only difference between the 3 and 3A's is the shifting of the xover point for the midrange by the addition of a 12mf cap.
You willfully continued to use a damaged speaker until it damaged your amp? Instead of spending the money on repairs or new equipment, maybe you should use it to book some time with a shrink. Just a thought.
Hi all ! He was probably not aware at the time it would damage his amp . But hey , it was a very useful anyway ! Secretguy ... I sent my 1.6qr's back for rebuild in 2010 . It was about $740 and they rebuilt everything . Will it be worth it , your call .....it can go either way .It was worth it for me .
I agree with tpreaves, although I don't believe I would have used that particular language. Regardless, you say that you lived with a damaged panel for a full year? I don't get it.
Funny, after I posted my response I realized that I had omitted something in my post, and that the new and "improved" agoN wouldn't let me edit my post. Anyway, I wanted to tell the OP to not assume that the non-working bass panel (more accurately: the non-working bass section of the panel) had damaged his amp; and why it was that he was assuming that. The most common cause of panel failure in Maggies is lack of continuity in the wire grid for bass or mid sections of the panel due to corrosion of the wire Anyone?