How long can Magnepan speaker last?

I've seen one pair that was kept in a humid, un-air conditioned home for years. The grill cloth rotted and glue joint in one corner of one frame came apart but they still sounded great. A dab of glue fixed the joint but I don't know what he ever did about the cloth.

will

I loved my MG111A's, but I have to admit that they went bad after 9 years of med. to heavy use. By heavy use, I don't mean high power, just lots of playing time. They don't have voice coils to go bad or surrounds to rot, but, what they all will eventually have is a problem with the voice coil de- laminating from the mylar panel. So, the wire grid is being moved by the signal/magnets, but it is not moving the diaphragm itself. I could hear the wire grid drumming away on the panel during play. When I disassembled mine to repair them, I found the top and bottom 8 inches of voice coil wire was no longer attached to the panel. For this reason, I would never buy a used pair. I still like Maggies though and would even buy a new pair some day if I was willing to give up the space to get the most from them. I never had any trouble with the "delicate" true ribbon tweeter and I would expect the newer Quasi- ribbons to be even more durable.

I mentioned in an earlier posting about a glue failure with the early Maggie model that I bought in the 1970's. According to the company, that is no longer an issue. However, much as I like their current speakers, I can't help but think that sending them back to the US for repairs (or taking them with you to Thailand when you move) will be a problem in the box that they come in from the factory.

Hey Jvia - About that last sentence in your post - is that because you'd be less prone to haul off and kick something if you liked it?! :-)

I purchased a pair of Magnepan MG-1 Improved speakers sixteen years ago. They have never needed a repair, still sound nice (at least to my ear) and cosmetically have retained a "like-new" look. Needless to say, I have been extremely pleased with the purchase. When the time comes to retire them, I will probably replace them with Magnepan 1.6 QR's like you are considering. Magnepan has always been very good regarding parts availability, should they ever be needed. I can still obtain cloth socks (grill covers) and mylar panels for the MG-1 Improved speakers. The only part not obtainable for me is the original black base. The bases were finally sold out a few years ago. Newer models should have parts available for many years.