Cigar Smell...How to get out of Maggies??


Hello all,

I just bought a pair of Magnepan 1.6s from a seller who did not disclose that he smoked cigars in his listening room!!

Now, I enjoy a good cigar as much as the next guy, but not in the house...and certainly not around my equipment.

What do I do? I can't spray the speakers with Lysol as I'm sure the moisture would not be good for the panels. Likewise, a powder (Carpet Fresh or the like) would also penetrate the grill cloth and get on the panels.

Currently, I have them sitting in the garage "airing" out.
danheather
I agree with Gthrush1. All tobacco smoke is bad for electronic equipment. The computer industry knows this, as they were one of the first industries to ban smoking in the workplace because of the damage the tars and 4,000 other chemicals cause on keyboards and circuits.

Besides, the Maggies are probably going through nicotine withdrawal won't be able to perform as they should.
Sorry to hear that Dan. I'm sure that this has dampened your "high" quite a bit. I don't think that there is anything wrong with smoking so long as there are no fumes escaping from the burning end and the user doesn't exhale : )

Short of chemicals, the only thing that i know of that will remove or minimize smoke damage is Ozone. I call is smoke DAMAGE because that is exactly what it is. However, i have NO idea if Ozone would be harmful to Maggies. I do know that it will eat the foam surrounds out of dynamic drivers.

You might want to contact Magnepan and see what they suggest and ask them about ozone. If they think that short term exposure ( 24 - 36 hours ) would be okay, you can try contacting a local company that does fire / flood restoration to see if they have "ozone rooms". If you don't know how to find any, try calling your local insurance agent and ask them who they use for fire claims. If you can find someone, i would suggest dropping them off and picking them up if at all possible. You know how you want these to be handled and they don't.

Other than that, LOTS and LOTS of "fresh air" will dilute the smell over time. Sean
>
Years ago car dealers used to take a car with cigarette smell, put a large can of new coffee grinds in the can (before Starbucks), cut apple slices and lay on top of the coffee. Sounds crazy but I tried it and it worked. Takes 3 to 4 days. Works better if its has some heat (sunlight) to make the odors more intense. I know this sounds off the wall but it wouldn't be invasive to your speakers. Good Luck!

JJ
First thing contact the seller asap & "air" your complaint. I've heard that lemon oil makes a good deodorizer; maybe spray some Lemon Pledge liberally misted throughout the room then close the door for a couple days?
This is interesting.
We also had this problem.
Someone traded in a pair of Maggies to us around 1991 that had this problem,
but it was with cigarette smoke. It was an enlightening experience, especially since these were the first Maggies we/I had ever had. When they arrived we opened the boxes the same day.
When the flaps of the box opened it literally smelled like the box was used as an ash tray.
Trust me, if this problem exists you will know it right when that box is opened.

We took the speakers, and the boxes, and put them outside (not stacked on each other) for 3 weeks. Brought them in every night due to the worry of the morning dew (and whatever else).
After 1 day it did nothing. After about a week they seemed a bit better. 2 weeks not much better. 3 weeks seemed to be when they improved. We had to toss the boxes in hopes that new smoke free boxes would help. We tried lightly sprinkling some scent free carpet powder on them and vacuuming it off but you have to be so careful and apply so little that it didn't seem to help. If you try that be CAREFUL! If this happened to us again we might also consider buying a fan and placing them in front of them at an angle (OUTSIDE).

There's also an issue about the tar from the smoke settling on the many contacts that ribbon speakers use. Maybe AgN should add a check off box for "Smoke Free" or "Smoke environment" for classified (and demo) ads.

JJ:
----> "coffee grinds in the can (before Starbucks), cut apple slices and lay on top of the coffee"
Well, that's interesting, but where on the Maggies do you place the can?
;-)

Brian@Hello.lt