There was this thread over at the audio asylum just the other day, its on a similar topic so it may be of assitance to you. I have the 3.6's and have heavily modified them and I liked them a lot stock but now I am enamoured with what they are capable of! I have not done a lot of comparison's with the older models so I have no basis for comparison. |
Tireguy,
Thanks for the info. I went through the thread. Perhaps I'll save some money for now and put some effort into my existing XOs. I must say that I have never had any quibbles with the 3A, but they are a little long in the tooth age-wise. I know the leap in performance between the 3.5 and the 3.6 justified many to make the move. The 3A does so many things well, perhaps devoting some time and energy to XO performance may be more than satisfactory. |
Tireguy, What mods did you make? |
I replaced both the internal and external crossover with a HUGE custom made crossover- which is functional and the leap in performance was unbelievable. I am still testing and trying differnt caps but the overall layout is finished and when I make my final selection on caps I will apply a dampening layer to everything on the inside of the crossovers. I also replaced all the wire internally with Jena Labs wire run in parrallel's, which is now soldered directly to each driver via cardas quadeutectic solder. The termination on everything is cardas, I used cardas best rhodium plated spades on the leads coming from the speakers, and cardas best binding posts for the input of the crossover and the cardas binding posts that use those big black knobs to tighten both leads, for ease of use(seeing as there were so many required). I am also working on designing stands for them, as much as I think the Mye stands are good, I feel that Grant had to make some compromises to keep costs reasonible, seeing as reasonible cost doesn't interest me I am aiming for something better. Also the inner "sock" has been removed and I have been listening for the last few months with no grille's, I do, however plan on putting the outer trim piece/grill back on the front of the speaker after my stand project is complete. Needless to say the speaker is hardly the same speaker it was when it was new and of course there are no fuses or magnepan binding posts from hell on my speakers any more! If you are looking for more performance the gains you get are amazing, these speaker rival the BEST and I do mean the best speakers in the world. |
Damn Tireguy...just let me know when their finished,where you live and when your going on vacation! I'll swing thru and pick them up.LOL!!! |
Tireguy, what does a x-o like the one you have cost and how much time to build? Does it improve bass or go any lower?
Thanks
Jim |
Jim- I have about $1200 into the crossover's using less expensive caps from Solen, with the pricer caps I am going to test with it will be around $2k+. I wanted to start with caps that didn't cost a ton, make sure it worked before I spent a LOT of money on caps- I realize the solen's aren't the best by any means but they are a nice place to start and they are available in any value you could think of! I am told they have impart a tin like sound when used in passive crossovers, so I am looking forward to trying auricaps or something more "high end".
Bass goes lower and is much more natural sounding- its faster(if you can believe that!), more articulate, linear, deeper; it is so much better I wasn't expecting this level of performance gain to be honest. And the mid and tweeter with the goertz coils and new caps is stunning- I am going to try different gauge coils and cryo treat them to see what happens :)
Gmood1- I am just out side of Albany, NY; and they are finished and operational- though I am doing more testing with different components. I have one request try not to break any window's, glass is such a mess to clean up :) |
It only took an hour of listening with music I know well to convince me. As good as the MG III is, the 3.6R is a quantum leap. I took the plunge today and purchased a pair of 3.6R's. My III's have served me well and I still love them, but those seductive 3.6's.... It's going to take about a week for them to arrive at my dealer from Magnepan. They called while i was there, and they have the wood/sock color combo I wanted in stock(light oak w/off white socks). New technology with retro Maggie looks. As a coda, I also just got a nine week old Golden Retriever pup. Her name: Maggie |
Slipknot1- Let us know how the Maggie's get along with one another :) Congratulations on the purchase, the gift that will keep on giving- aka man's best friend :) Enjoy the new speakers, and if/when your ready to tweak'em let me know! |
Tireguy,
4 paw drive Maggie ain't allowed in the room with the Maggie twins. I'm really looking forward to getting some hours on these things to get them broken in. Thanks for the tweaking offer, I may have to take you up on some XO advice. |
Best of luck with everything! |
Congrats on both your purchases. We share similiar tastes. I've had my 3.6's for a little over 4 yrs. and a female golden "puppy" for 7 yrs. now. Those and a perfect wife(not necessarily in that order) and I'm a pretty happy kinda guy. I enjoyed our little repartee last week on the solar flares. Could we have been separated at Birth? Good luck! |
They're Heeeere--
The 3.6R's have been in the system for about an hour now, having just returned from the dealer with them. right out of the box, they are indeed a quantum leap over the III's. Soundstage depth and image size are more "there". after about 300-400 hrs of burn-in the bass will open up a lot more (not that it is lacking). My dealer has been very good in this purchase, letting me spend as much time with the demos in their room with my music, ordering them from Magnepan, and having them in my hands within 6 days. Will update my virtual system post with new pics (including a "new" version of a DIY rack I made from rock maple slabs in a day or two)
Onemug,
Dude, maybe you're that brother my mom once mentioned years ago.;) Ditto on the perfect wife. Mine just rolled her eyes and smiled when I told her last night about the new speakers (figured I had to. The credit card statement will be in soon, plus when she sees the dealer on the caller ID, she usually knows something is up). |
I may be interested in buying your MGIIIa's if you upgrade!
Tony |
Let's hope Maggie the Pup doesn't do a Maggie the Pee or Maggie the Poop near or on your Maggies!
Congratulations on your 3.6Rs (a speaker that has always pleased me when I've heard them in a friends system)...and the understanding spouse. Well, till the next purchase that is.
Best regards. |
All is well, after almost a year of running them in. Maggie the pup is now a year old, and a great dog. Many changes, speaker continues to amaze, hypnotize, sometimes frustrate. Rives Audio makeover has made the room a solid performer, as well as create a dedicated space off limits to my pooches. Supratek Chenin preamp has been "on order" for almost 8 months now, not sure what's up with that.. Every month I'm told 1 to 2 more weeks, then a month goes by and still I wait.
Believe it or not, my wife turned our living room over to me and Rives for creation of a dedicated room... Gotta love that (and her)! |
