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How long can Magnepan speaker last?

I am asking in term of build quality when proper used (no overdriving or abusing them). How long could it last? I heard some stories about the glue is weakening over the years and as the warrantee seems relatively short (3 vs 5-10 years) so it a bit concern me.

I am about to get a used pair of 1.6 and wonder how long it will last with me without having to fix them.

For any Maggies owners, I would really appreciate if you could share experience of failed Maggies, how old were they when they failed and what seemed to be the problems?

Is 10 years too long to live for the Maggies? If so what would be the typical life of them, 5 years?

Sorry if I ask so many questions regarding this. It will be a big step up for me and I probably can't afford any upgrade for a while so I would like to make sure that I am going on the right track. The price of them may be a joke for many of us here, but it 's significant to me.

Thanks a lot,

Ake
ake
jvia
195 posts
 
believe it true. I have always thought that people who don't buy what they really want and settle for a compromise tend to have more problems, real or imagined, with that piece of gear than if they bought what they wanted in the 1st place. I also think they don't take care of it as well as they might have. Not carved in stone, but I think it holds true. Not just audio , but cars, houses, and relationships(not a "buy" thing, but you get my gist) as well.
marchman
45 posts
 
I bought (I'm the second owner) a pair of MG 1.5's as a second rig/backup pair. They were manufactured in 1994 and delivered it seems about mid-year of that year.

They sound and operate perfect without any problems whatsoever.

I personally do not think they are a delicate speaker at all if you know how to drive them and only ship them in their original packaging.

I can turn anything into a smoldering pile of embers if I wanted to. The trick is using the equipment properly.

Best of luck. Maggies will last a long, long time.
unsound
7,332 posts
 
I am not nor have I ever been a Maggie owner. I almost did buy a new pair of 3A's a long time ago. I have admired all of the 3 series. Not that it was the reason I didn't purchase Magnaplanars, but I have heard that the ribbon tweeters while easy and inexpensive to replace were known to be easily over driven and to have a short life. Is this true?
lngbruno
210 posts
 
My brother has a pair of MGIIA's that did have a glue problem. He bought them in 1981 and got them repaired in 1988 and they are working just fine. They seem to have aged very well, considering they are 21 years old, and sound marvelous. I would say this is pretty damn good for a speaker that is played almost every day for 2 hours minimum and on weekends he has them on 6-8 hours per day.
haircellcandy
17 posts
 
My magnapan 3.1s still sound great at 30+ years!  After 25 years some of the wires separated from the Mylar.  Glue deteriorated but also my bad as I was playing home theater thru them loudly “Ford vs. Ferrari”.  Don’t do that!  Anyway although I only live 4 hrs from White Bear I did the repair myself due to Covid concerns and shipping cost.  Removing the old glue and re-glueing the wires was a bit tedious and took some care but otherwise not very challenging.  Xylene to remove old glue and the new glue cost <$20.  Magnapan offered to “fully refurbish” (new wires and maybe new caps?) for ~ $1500 if I would ship or bring the speakers to them.
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