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Magnepan SMGa Flat Ribbon Speakers

D

Decibel_116

AK Subscriber
There is a pair of these available locally for $360. They appear to be in excellent shape. I have no idea if this is a good buy as I have no experience with ribbon type speakers. I have heard they are power hungry which is not a problem for me. Opinions appreciated.

Cheers,
David
 
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Seems a bit high. If they have been reglued and recapped they would be $300 in my area.
I had a set of SMGa's that produced fantastic sound. Narrow sweet spot but once you dial them in it was sublime.
 
Not ribbon. Just planar magnetic. A reg speaker only flat, not in a monkey coffin and better sounding.
 
I have a pair of Magnepan MG1 that I got for 150.00.. I did reglued them and put in new caps. They do sound so sweet. I run them off a pair of Adcom GFA-555se amps.
 
That price is kinda high even if they have been re-glued and re-capped, and the socks had better be perfect as well (no snags/tears/stains). I think the highest that I have ever seen a pair go for (in the condition I mentioned) was $300.
 
Verify both drivers work. Removing the fuse will limit the sound to the woofer and reinstalling it should bring the highs back. The highs will come from one side of the speaker, opposite of the other speaker which you should hear when the fuse is in.

Check for no buzzing and such from the drivers when playing music. This is the indication of banana peel of the wires for the woofer. Well documented, explained, examined and repaired on the http://www.integracoustics.com/MUG/MUG/ site. Remember the hardest part of this repair is removing all the staples to get the socks off.
 
Decibel_116 said:
One more question. What do I need to look for when inspecting these before purchase?
Click to expand...

As already mentioned, check to make sure both drivers are working (the fuse trick is a good way), and check for the "banana peel" effect--run your hands over the back of each panel at the top and bottom to feel if the end loops at the top and bottom are lifting away from the mylar panel. Any buzzing or rattling under power is not a good sign, but not a fatal problem, just a PITA to fix--not expensive, but tedious--I have done several sets myself, so I know. And as already mentioned, they use a million staples to hold the socks on (I don't know where they think a sheet of fabric is going to go, but they do). The adhesives are both 3M products that can be bought from Maggie (during the summer months only) or you can source them locally or on Amazon. If they need rehab, go for closer to $100-150, if they have already been done, $300 tops.
 
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