Magnepan speakers info required

[harv]

Hi all,

Got a bit carried away and bought a pair of maggies. I only picked them up last night and so haven't had much chance to play with them. The model is SMG c... I'm gonna be using a pair of subs with them.

Is it best to use the low level inputs and run the maggies full range,

or use the high level ones and roll the maggies off a bit higher

Also does anyone know how(if you can) to get the covers off ?

Set up advice? at the mo' they're about 3ft from the walls, about 6 ft apart with the ribbons on the outsides... I'm sat about 3m away,

Many thanks

[alexs2]

Originally Posted by harv

Hi all,


Also does anyone know how(if you can) to get the covers off ?

Set up advice? at the mo' they're about 3ft from the walls, about 6 ft apart with the ribbons on the outsides... I'm sat about 3m away,

Many thanks

Congrats on taking the plunge!...keeping them away from walls and other reflective surfaces should help,as it does with most other ESL/ribbon type speakers,so your positioning sounds right,but is still worth experimenting with until you've found the best placement.

I'd advise not taking the front covers off,even if you can find a way to do so.....doing that would expose the ribbons to all sorts of likely damage,as well as dirt and dust,plus expose the magnets,with all the likely rubbish they may attract.

There have been various vogues for removing the front and rear covers on Quad ESL 57s over the years,often leading to more problems than are solved by doing so,and although the design principles are different(you don't have 5000V in there),the dust/damage potential remains.

[Thekop]

Originally Posted by harv

Hi all,

Got a bit carried away and bought a pair of maggies. I only picked them up last night and so haven't had much chance to play with them. The model is SMG c... I'm gonna be using a pair of subs with them.

Is it best to use the low level inputs and run the maggies full range,

or use the high level ones and roll the maggies off a bit higher

Also does anyone know how(if you can) to get the covers off ?

Set up advice? at the mo' they're about 3ft from the walls, about 6 ft apart with the ribbons on the outsides... I'm sat about 3m away,

Many thanks

I've always fancied a pair of Maggies. Nice purchase there Let us know how you get on with them ?

For the past few years i have concentrated on my home cinema and have seriously neglected my hi-fi system ( my first real passion )

I've got a NAD C541i CD player, NAD C350 amp and a borrowed pair of Quad 11L speakers at the moment and I'm looking at spending some serious money on a top set up soon

I wouldn't of worried before now, but since coming on this site it's re-awaken my passion for Hi-Fi again.. Thanks you guys

I am also considering those Maggies can i be so bold in asking how much a pair of those would go for now ? I have a pair of REL Q50 subs which i could use in conjunction with them as well.. I'm not sure if it'll be good mix though, hence why i am so interested

Thanks for any input you can give, it'll be much appreciated ?

[Thekop]

Originally Posted by alexs2

Congrats on taking the plunge!...keeping them away from walls and other reflective surfaces should help,as it does with most other ESL/ribbon type speakers,so your positioning sounds right,but is still worth experimenting with until you've found the best placement.

I'd advise not taking the front covers off,even if you can find a way to do so.....doing that would expose the ribbons to all sorts of likely damage,as well as dirt and dust,plus expose the magnets,with all the likely rubbish they may attract.

There have been various vogues for removing the front and rear covers on Quad ESL 57s over the years,often leading to more problems than are solved by doing so,and although the design principles are different(you don't have 5000V in there),the dust/damage potential remains.

Sorry for jumping in

Thanks for the tips on panel style speakers .. I haven't much experience with such speakers but I heard an older pair of Magnaplaners ( not sure which model though - they were fairly old ones, but fully restored ) quite a few years ago at a local dealer on the Isle of Wight .. They were being run by an Audio Innovation S400 valve amp ( seriously under powered ) and struggled to drive them to any great volume But from what i did hear was extremely pleasing to the ear.. Is it right you have to change the ribbon tweeters every few years or so ? And what other models for up to say £3000 would you or anyone else recommend ?

[harv]

I got them of flea bay for just under £400 but this does include a couple of subs. To be honest I don't actually know if thats good value or not...

Pity about the covers, I wanted to see what they look like and maybe get them re-covered.

First impressions, lot less forward sounding then the JM's, sounds stop and start without any smearing. But its a little weird having the sound coming from various directions, there is a suprising amount of bass (I haven't turned the subs on yet). They require a lot more power....

If it was me and I had 3k I'd be looking at Martin Logans...

[dynamic turtle]

...or Final Electroacoustics perhaps!

Alex, are serious about Quad electrostats having 5000 volts running through them???

DT

[RobsterD]

Hi Mate
I had some SMGb's a few years back with some Kelvin Lab M60 monoblocs 60w/ch,wonderful setup really miss it.
I never felt the need of a sub,they generated enough bass for me,if you want more bass I'd look elsewhere the subs may not integrate well with the Maggies,what subs are they ?
Also give the fuses a good clean.

[harv]

They're a pair of monitor audio asw 110 with a 10" metal cone, 150W amp I think,

[alexs2]

Originally Posted by dynamic turtle

...or Final Electroacoustics perhaps!

Alex, are serious about Quad electrostats having 5000 volts running through them???

DT

Sorry...early morning typo....was meant to be 2000V max for the treble panel and 6000V for the bass.

Certainly enough to sting a bit,if not kill you.

[alexs2]

Originally Posted by Thekop

Sorry for jumping in

.. Is it right you have to change the ribbon tweeters every few years or so ? And what other models for up to say £3000 would you or anyone else recommend ?

No....the ribbon based speakers are usually OK until damage to the ribbon occurs,but treble panels(and bass panels) in the Quad ESLs do deteriorate with age,although replacements even for the ESL57s are easy to find,and can be fitted DIY style if you feel lucky,or via One Thing Audio,who specialise in this.

If I had a few £ks worth buring a hole in my pocket and wanted ribbons/ESLs.....good question....all of the ML electrostatics are good,but many still prefer a good,refurbished pair of Quad 57s,albeit with good stands to raise them off the floor.

Another which always sounded excellent was the Apogee Scintilla,but it was(and remains) the ultimate amp breaker,requiring at least 100W of power from an amp stable into a 1 ohm load.

Seriously,if I was looking for a new set of ESLs,it would come down to ML or Quad for me,but I'm very happy with the ESL57s I already own,and a set of 300Bs to run them from.

[dynamic turtle]

Originally Posted by alexs2

Sorry...early morning typo....was meant to be 2000V max for the treble panel and 6000V for the bass.

Certainly enough to sting a bit,if not kill you.

I'm amazed that gets past the CE certification system! I mean, if a curious kid were to get hold of a pin, or a biro perhaps......

DT

[alexs2]

Originally Posted by dynamic turtle

I'm amazed that gets past the CE certification system! I mean, if a curious kid were to get hold of a pin, or a biro perhaps......

DT

CE wasn't even a glimmer in the EC's eyes when the ESL 57 was first made,and the later versions are compliant with relevant regs,but it would certainly concentrate your mind....no worse than the average late 80s Krell which has more than sufficient reservoir storage to kill you several times over....asuuming you're daft enough to take the cover off and poke around inside without waiting!

[dynamic turtle]

True, but AFAIK kids are more handy with drawing pins & paperclips than torque drivers!

Also heard about some scary voltages running through "capped" electron tubes. Dangerous stuff!

[alexs2]

Originally Posted by dynamic turtle

True, but AFAIK kids are more handy with drawing pins & paperclips than torque drivers!

Also heard about some scary voltages running through "capped" electron tubes. Dangerous stuff!

Thats always true,and I think that regardless of CE certification,you have to consider the risks when placing high voltage equipment in proximity to children,who will doubtless "use" the gear in a way the manufacturers never intended!

As to electron tubes/valves(call them what you will...)...most of the top cap tubes still don't run huge voltages across the anodes,but in any case,what's there is usually quite sufficient to kill...the bigger triodes(845/211/833 etc) were all envisaged as transmitting triodes initially,before being pressed into audio use,and mostly run 1200V or so across them.

[MartinFXDX]

Hi Harv,

I've had both the SMG A and B models in the past. Both excellent though with somewhat different sounds. The "B" model had a lot more treble and came with a couple of different value resistors that you could use in place of the solid link between the main and treble panels.

I always used a good bit of speaker cable instead of the solid link though to be honest I'm not sure how much difference it made. But do clean or replace the fuses as suggested.

The treble panel can be placed either on the outside or inside. The manual said that in one position you got better focus and in thr other , a wider soundstage. Problem is I can't remember which was which

No box speaker comes close to the "real life" sound of the maggies. They excel with acoustic material and while the bass doesn't go very low and there isn't masses of it, the quality is very very good. Real drums sound like real drums! The large "launch" area of the speaker gives a more believable illusion that the player is in the room.

I would echo the advice not to remove the covers. They look awful without them. If they are original I doubt you would get them back on. Mine fell apart! But as I was in the process of covering them it didn't matter. Be careful with the type of speaker grill cloth you buy. Some can be fairly close knit and this tends to rob the maggies of some of their airy-ness. The join down the sides can be stitched and hidden under the side cheeks. The bottom is then stapled. Be very careful around the back panel under which lurks the crossover. Cut the hole large enough to feed the panel through then catch the edges of the material with a couple of stitches or it will hang strangely

The really big question for me is - why the hell did I sell mine!

I see that Stoneaudio has the MG12 (rough equivalent to SMG) for £915 and the larger MG 1.6 for £1,445. http://www.stoneaudio.co.uk/ and Walrus also sell them I think. www.walrus.co.uk/

The problem is that they are very very difficult to get into the house without anyone noticing!