Magnepan Upgrade

I would get with the Magnepan Gurus Tire Guy and Eldartford! LOL Seriously... I think these two guys really know their stuff when it comes to Magnepans!

If you have the courage ..you can do the mods yourself.IMHO it gives you a much deeper connection to your gear than just buying some new speakers. You can send your schematics to Jeff at http://www.soniccraft.com/.
If you have outboard crossovers already.. you can send them to him. He can recommend and upgrade them for your. If all possible I would go with outboard crossovers. This will give you more space to work with and allow you to use better parts. This will also allow you to experiment with different caps and configurations.

Good Luck and Prepare to be Astounded!!

I also have a question for Tireguy and Eldartford. Have either of you tried a zobel network on your maggies. If so how did it turn out? I am thinking of trying this ..just need to get my cap and resistor values correct. Thanks for any help Gurus!

Gmood1...Thanks, but I don't consider myself a guru about anything, although as an engineer I am not intimidated by electronics! I have recently studied the MG1.6 design, and have made a crossover upgrade, mostly relating to better quality (and much more expensive) components, but also a slight change to the inductor and capacitor values intended to suit my application using subwoofers. The MG1.6 crossover is a very simple 2-way design. I would hesitate about messing with a 3-way. I am sure that the 3-way can be improved, but the cost would be higher, especially as you would probably have to build it several times to get it right.

In the case of the MG1.6, I was able to make a very tidy mod, because the necessary three Hovland capacitors fit nicely inside the original crossover cavity once the old parts, including inductor were removed. Some other quality capacitors were of larger diameter and could not have been used this way. I made a wooden cover for the crossover cavity, and mounted the massive 10AWG inductor on it. The resulting setup has no funny-looking external box of parts (crossover). With the right sort of cover over the inductor (which I have not done yet) the whole thing would look like an original manufacturer design.

Regarding Zobel terminations for speaker wires, the Zobelenfuehrer (Sean) told me not to bother unless I were to use certain esoteric speaker wires. I gather that Zobels are intended to protect the amplifier from damage when these wire are used, and should have no direct effect on sonic characteristics. (They permit you to use wires that may have sonic benefits).

I have looked the schemetics for the 2.6's and building crossover shouldn't be a big deal. I just ask myself why would you want to do that to a pair of 2.6's?? They are really pretty old(even though they are fresh returned from the factory) they were made from 90-94. Using the equipment your using I would start with a newer pair of magnepans. I would sell the 2.6's and get a newer model more in line with the rest of your gear, i.e. a model that uses a true ribbon tweeter. If you have your heart set on keeping them you could build new crossovers, the design appears to be a little complicated for a two-way desing, but is by no means hard to build. Many things changed on magnepans over the years, the drivers have improved as did the crossover's design. In short I think any money invested in 2.6's would be impossible to get back out of the speakers and you still have- at the newest- 10 year old technology.

Gmood1- I have not experimented with different designs just different components. I know two different people who have tried altering the original designs and they had zero luck and strongly recommend using the original schmetic and sticking with it- one of these people is George Cardas. I have heard of people trying to raise or lower the crossover points on various magnepans and all have had very bad results. I think you would have to have a very good understanding(much greater understanding then I have) of crossover/speaker design to implement a new and improved network. Not saying it can't be done, but I don't know anyone who has had any luck.

Thanks guys for your input on the zobel network. It was a thought but not something I have under taken. Tireguy the 2.6R does use the True ribbon tweeter. As well as my own 2.5R uses the True ribbon tweeter. These are some of the few Maggies that actually use a True ribbon for the midrange and the tweeter.I know some models use it only as a tweeter.Eldartford the 2.6Rs are two way speakers.It seems like Nidum is as crazy about his magnepans as I am about mine, to have them rebuilt.Since he's invested so much in them already..spending several hundred on better parts seems genuine. It doesn't look like he has any intentions of parting with them any time soon.I know I don't after comparing mine with some of the newer models.Hey mine are older than his LOL!! All are terrific speakers..but I am addicted to the midrange speed of that True ribbon vs the Quasi ribbon.

Eldartford not fair..you dogging me and the other guys with outboard crossovers..He He Hah Hah! Just kidding ..Actually you can make the outboards look pretty sweet. There are some guys that use plexi glass along with other materials. I've opted to make plexiglass containers myself.Some use exotic woods..in the end ..it's like adding your own special touch to the speakers.

Oh by the way Eldartford..I thought the guru part would get your attention! LOL

Here's a few pics of maggies with custom crossover boxes.
Just cut and paste.
http://www.integracoustics.com/MUG/MUG/tweaks/lanman/
http://www.integracoustics.com/MUG/MUG/tweaks/s.hum/
http://www.integracoustics.com/MUG/MUG/tweaks/EAR/

Gmood1- Your right I forgot to check the here for the details, I foolishly assumed that the two way design(that I saw from the schematic) was a QR speaker, but its not!. Its not the first time I've been wrong and I am sure it won't be the last :o) Still if someone is using a pair of $16000 amps they should have a speaker more suited for them- IMO.

WoW ..$16000.00 amps.Tireguy no ones perfect! Including myself. Well if thats the case maybe pick up some MG20.1s or Soundlabs! I still wouldn't sell those 2.6Rs though.Those Maggies are hard to come by and if you stuck them on Agon they would be lucky to last an hour. There's a reason why they don't come up for sale too often.The people that own them know what they have!

Tireguy...Your mistake is excused. I made one once. I thought I had made a mistake, but I hadn't.

Get the Cardas Maggie wire kit and Mye stands and then see if you need to mess with wiring. I'm sure it makes a difference to bypass the fuses, but that idea scares me.

And if you are interested in upgrading, I'm selling my 3.6R's...and I hope the editor doesn't pull this response, because I have an active ad! (hint hint)

Good luck! Maggies are awesome in the right room with good power.

Tireguy ..I have one more question. I can't tell but are those Mundorf caps used in your crossovers? I know these are considered one of the best caps in the world . If not what are those caps?

I'm in agreement with several of the comments above. A friend is satisfied with Mye stands on his modded 1.6's. You reach a point, though, when there are better ways to get down the road. Nidum, if you're anywhere near the Chicago area, email me and I can put you in touch with the guy.

Brian Walsh