Maggie owners opinions wanted

Why not run a Wanted Ad specifying that you're willing to pick-up within X number of miles from your home.

Secretguy, everyone who's done it will tell you that repairs aren't that difficult. Just a bit time consuming. But they provide directions. Basically, all you're doing if you repair a panel is removing the old wire and adhesive with acetone, then putting a new wire down with spray adhesive and putting another adhesive on top of it. Then soldering the new wire to the connections. There's lots of help available from people who have done it.

I've decided to tear into my IIIs and see what I can do...not really losing anything at this point. I've been watching ads here and on the auction site. There have been several times I would have pulled the trigger, but no one wants to ship. Seems ridiculous to advertise on a national site and refuse to ship. Obviously these people aren't all that interested in selling. Might save me quite a few dollars though! LOL

Tmsorok...that's not gonna happen. LOL

Frogman....I agree with your assessment on the IIIs. I guess I will sit tight for a bit and if a good deal on 3.6s (or even IIIas) doesn't pop up, send mine in to Magnepan. Thanks for the input.

Secretguy, a couple more thoughts. As you have obviously found out Maggies do some very special things. I used MGIIIA's for many years. They are now sitting in my basement in need of repair. These are highly modified, with completely upgraded xovers, rewired, socks removed, etc. Partly due to all that "abuse" both midrange sections need rewiring. I ordered the repair kit from Magnepan, but it too is waiting. The reason they have sat unrepaired for a few years is partly my procrastination, but mainly that I have a couple of other speakers, including the fabulous Stax F-81 electrostats, and Paragon Regents (a very fine full range box speaker).

I bring all this up simply to make the comment that inspite of all the wonderful qualities of my other speakers, especially the Stax, I still miss the Maggies a great deal. The best sound (overall) that I have ever achieved with my system was with the Maggies. For lifesize scale of the soundstage, the Maggies win handsdown. The MGIII's tweeter is a fabulous tweeter and with careful system tuning integration problems can be minimized. The bass that I got from the Maggies was also the best that I ever had, quality and extension-wise; even if not quantity-wise.

I disagree that the 1.6's are a better speaker. Better integration perhaps, but less extension top and bottom, less clarity in the highs and upper mids (the MGIIIA's xcover at a fairly low frequency), and smaller soundstage. A friend recently had his Timpany refurbished by Magnepan, and I must say they did a great job. The 3.6's, even used, will cost you more than double what refurbishing the III's will. You obviously like the III's. I would go for it; I don't think you will regret it. Good luck with your decision.

Hifiharv...I talked to them a couple months ago and they said they would work on them. Josh...don't think I want to get into that....above my pay grade. LOL. Frogman...thanks for that. I've heard people say that the 3.6 was the first of the series to be superior to the IIIs. Still not sure what to do, but glad to get the feedback. I've picked up some older Monitor Audios, which I really like a lot...and could probably live with. But it's still not the "maggie magic".

If you can get up the extra coin, the 3.7's are far superior to the 3.6's, first panel speaker I could listen to for long.

You might find this interesting reading.
http://db.AudioAsylum.com/mhtml/m.html?forum=mug&n=14383&highlight=MgIIIA+vs&r=&search_url=%2Fcgi%2Fsearch.mpl%3F

Secretguy, another possibility is to rebuild the III's yourself. Magnepan sells a kit for practically nothing, I gather it takes about a weekend.

Frogman....the ribbons are about 5 years old, I believe. Another option would be smaller Maggies...1.6 or even 12s...with a sub.

Thanks Tpreaves. You were very helpful.

I thought I heard that Magnepan would no longer rework the 111 and 111a's. Can anyone shed some light on this info?

I think a pair of 1.6QR would beat the III's in all areas except the extreme highs and it would be a newer speaker to boot or the OP could move up to the 3.6 as it is a good time to buy them.

I would not bother with an older speaker myself.

good luck and enjoy

Funny, after I posted my response I realized that I had omitted something in my post, and that the new and "improved" agoN wouldn't let me edit my post. Anyway, I wanted to tell the OP to not assume that the non-working bass panel (more accurately: the non-working bass section of the panel) had damaged his amp; and why it was that he was assuming that. The most common cause of panel failure in Maggies is lack of continuity in the wire grid for bass or mid sections of the panel due to corrosion of the wire Anyone?

I agree with tpreaves, although I don't believe I would have used that particular language. Regardless, you say that you lived with a damaged panel for a full year? I don't get it.

Hi all ! He was probably not aware at the time it would damage his amp . But hey , it was a very useful anyway ! Secretguy ... I sent my 1.6qr's back for rebuild in 2010 . It was about $740 and they rebuilt everything . Will it be worth it , your call .....it can go either way .It was worth it for me .

There's a pair of 3.6's listed here for $2400 (no affiliation); so start with that as a reference. You say up to $1000 for a rebuild. Does that include the shipping? That will be expensive. Will they replace the ribbon tweeters for that price? I assume that replacement of the ribbon tweeters is not included. The original III's are going on 30 yrs old +; no? That means that even if you have the mid/bass panels refurbished, you will have 30+ yr old ribbon tweeters. The 3.6's are a definite improvement over the III's, particularly in the area of the integration of that great (and very fast) tweet with the midrange. But the III's are still a good speaker.

If $1000 includes shipping and new tweeters, I would say keep the III's, if not, then I would seriously consider the 3.6's. Good luck.

BTW, the only difference between the 3 and 3A's is the shifting of the xover point for the midrange by the addition of a 12mf cap.

You willfully continued to use a damaged speaker until it damaged your amp? Instead of spending the money on repairs or new equipment, maybe you should use it to book some time with a shrink. Just a thought.