Magnepan 1.6QR repair question

[Brunt]

Hi everyone, I recently picked up a pair of Maggie 1.6QRs that were in dire need of some TLC. I'm currently in the process of regluing the wire loop ends back to the mylar but had a question for anyone that has had experience with Magnepans/their repair in the past.

I found after opening up the 2nd speaker that nearer to the center, there appeared to be some bracing(?) hold downs that were screwed through the mylar onto the backing plate behind the magnets, and the wire directly surrounding those had actually not only become loose from the adhesive, but appear to have expanded over the years of their use and are now too long to lay down flat directly in line with the rest of the wire.

It is somewhat visible in this picture, when I get home I'll get some better shots to outline the problem better.

So my question to anyone who has dealt with these or something similar in the past is this: Will gluing the wire back to the mylar not in line with the gaps in the magnets below them be problematic in any way? They bend up like this at all 3 hold down points on the speakers. The only way I would be able to get the wire back into full contact with the mylar would be by pushing them over which would end up creating a bend in the wire at that point.

P.S. I plan to post a full restoration thread on them when I'm finished to help anyone in the future that needs to fix a pair of these, but wanted to ask this question and hopefully fix this part of them before that thread comes up.

 

[techguy0192]

Not sure the budget. But you can ship them back to Magnepan for refurbishment. That would be ideal.

 

[Brunt]

Not sure the budget. But you can ship them back to Magnepan for refurbishment. That would be ideal.

My budget is fairly limited, I got them for $100 and already have what I would assume to be superior speakers but have always wanted a nice pair of Magnepans to see what their unique construction/sound is all about. This price was right for me and I don't mind the time investment as I've always liked projects like this. I don't really want to spend more money than what the DAP weldwood cost me ($4) and have already glued some parts so I doubt Magnepan would even service them anyway.

 

[techguy0192]

My budget is fairly limited, I got them for $100 and already have what I would assume to be superior speakers but have always wanted a nice pair of Magnepans to see what their unique construction/sound is all about. This price was right for me and I don't mind the time investment as I've always liked projects like this. I don't really want to spend more money than what the DAP weldwood cost me ($4) and have already glued some parts so I doubt Magnepan would even service them anyway.

You might want to consider getting out of that pair for what you have in them. The time and money could be better spent on a working pair of MMGs.

 

[Blue Shadow]

Simple to repair. just glue them down so they don't cause any distortion. The wires are supposed to be positioned between the bar magnets but for that combined 5" of the damn long wire being a bit out of place is NBD.

Even if the wire is not forced down to the side to be glued, just filling the gap with glue will keep the wire from coming loose or making unwanted noise.

I must need to hear some MMGs cause I don't think they will not hold a candle to the ribbon tweeters in my MGs. The 1.6 is a nice speaker that should easily out do a stock pair of MMGs.

 

[techguy0192]

The 1.6 uses a quasi-ribbon design.

 

[Blue Shadow]

The 1.6 uses a quasi-ribbon design.

Thx, forgot to look at the OPs pic which clearly shows the flat wire instead of round wire for the tweeter. Magnepan has moved to more flat wire throughout their line and maintains the ribbons on the top models, 3, 20 and 30 series. They used to use one on the 6-ft two ways, the 2.5/R and 2.6/R but stopped when the now three-way 2.7 came out. Probably costs less to make without the ribbon but since it too, sounds good, no big deal. Whatever they can sell to stay on business and continue to repair almost all older models.

 

[Brunt]

I decided to test to see if they would even buzz without gluing the middle portions around the hold downs upon finding out that they are fairly rigidly held in their bent up position. I played a few bassy songs and cranked the volume up with 0 buzz so I think the regluing was a success! Now I just have to make new socks for them, I'm thinking of making them out of some sort of tweed as a throwback to the earlier MGIs of the magnepan line. Any thoughts or recommendations?

 

[sfox52]

I think Magnepan offers replacement socks at a reasonable cost. I used the burlap- like cloth from some old SMGa's to replace the discolored cloth on my Magnestand MMGs & I like the look.