Waiting.....craigslist stinks sometimes (Magnepan)

[Whitey80]

http://denver.craigslist.org/ele/2060810237.html

Emailed poster yesterday morning......waiting for reply....hopefully.
Price is excellent and even if the aluminum needs replaced, it's only $50 to do so.

Been wanting a pair of these for a very long time.


Have any of you fellas rotated a pair of these into your 2-channel music systems?

 

[dkane360]

There is actually a pair of Magnepan SMGa's near me. The guy wanted 150 for the maggies and some cheap sony equipment, and he was shocked when I said that all I wanted were the speakers. They were given to him by a friend or something. I'm just a little worried that for the amount it would cost to repair, they wouldnt be worth it. He sent me this pic:


I don't mean to hijack your thread, just wanted to share something we had in common

 

[Whitey80]

There is actually a pair of Magnepan SMGa's near me. The guy wanted 150 for the maggies and some cheap sony equipment, and he was shocked when I said that all I wanted were the speakers. They were given to him by a friend or something. I'm just a little worried that for the amount it would cost to repair, they wouldnt be worth it. He sent me this pic:


I don't mean to hijack your thread, just wanted to share something we had in common

The ribbon kit, including the 3m glue and solder from Magnepan is only $50

 

[dkane360]

The ribbon kit, including the 3m glue and solder from Magnepan is only $50

Ooo not bad. I'd still have to fix the fabric and it looks like the wood frame on the one is coming off.

 

[Whitey80]

Ooo not bad. I'd still have to fix the fabric and it looks like the wood frame on the one is coming off.

Yeah, they look rough. But not costly if you don't mind having a project.
I have never actually heard a pair. Based on other people, they are something to be experienced, but hype can get out of control, so you never know.

 

[Pyrrho]

Yeah, they look rough. But not costly if you don't mind having a project.
I have never actually heard a pair. Based on other people, they are something to be experienced, but hype can get out of control, so you never know.

In that case, you might want to go to a dealer and listen to some. Some people love Magnepan speakers, and other people don't. That is because they do some things very well, but not everything. (There is no such thing as a perfect speaker; it is always a question of which combination of virtues and vices are ones that an individual can live with.)

I personally really like ribbon speakers, and use them in a couple of my systems (though in my home theater, it is just the tweeters that are ribbons, but in my living room system, it is Apogee Stage speakers that I use).

I would certainly be interested in Magnepan speakers if I did not have what I have. But if you listen primarily to rap music (or music resembling rap), most likely you will not appreciate their virtues, and their vices will likely bother you.

 

[Whitey80]

In that case, you might want to go to a dealer and listen to some. Some people love Magnepan speakers, and other people don't. That is because they do some things very well, but not everything. (There is no such thing as a perfect speaker; it is always a question of which combination of virtues and vices are ones that an individual can live with.)

I personally really like ribbon speakers, and use them in a couple of my systems (though in my home theater, it is just the tweeters that are ribbons, but in my living room system, it is Apogee Stage speakers that I use).

I would certainly be interested in Magnepan speakers if I did not have what I have. But if you listen primarily to rap music (or music resembling rap), most likely you will not appreciate their virtues, and their vices will likely bother you.

Thankfully, my sensibilities prevent me from listening to rap. It is primarily acoustic.
there is, unfortunately no place to hear them in denver. 1 place is an authorized dealer, but has no actual units.
they wouldnt be for theater at all, be used with the parts listed in my sig under living room.
for the price of these, I could hate them and it wouldnt have mattered

 

[Pyrrho]

Thankfully, my sensibilities prevent me from listening to rap. It is primarily acoustic.
there is, unfortunately no place to hear them in denver. 1 place is an authorized dealer, but has no actual units.
they wouldnt be for theater at all, be used with the parts listed in my sig under living room.
for the price of these, I could hate them and it wouldnt have mattered

If you ever hear back from the person with the listing, go listen to them and take the money with you for them. Acoustic music is the best sort of music to hear on a Magnepan speaker.

With used Magnepans, listen to them reasonably loud. If you hear a "buzzing" kind of sound, that usually means they need to be rebuilt. (Typically, it is a result of the glue no longer holding the wires to the plastic membrane, so when the wires are moved back and forth to the music, they hit against the plastic membrane, making the "buzzing" sound.) If they sound fine, then they don't need rebuilding.

You will also want to play around with how they are positioned in your room. Typically, they sound best about 3-4 feet from the wall behind them, and not too close to side walls, but experimentation (and looking at Magnepan's recommendations) will help you find a decent placement.

You can find the specifications for that model at:

http://www.integracoustics.com/MUG/MUG/articles/speakers.html

But I would not worry too much about the specifications, and do not let them keep you from going to listen to them.

That model is a fairly low end unit, evidently from the early 1980's. But they should sound pretty good, if they are functioning properly.

 

[Lazerboy2000]

There is actually a pair of Magnepan SMGa's near me. The guy wanted 150 for the maggies and some cheap sony equipment, and he was shocked when I said that all I wanted were the speakers. They were given to him by a friend or something. I'm just a little worried that for the amount it would cost to repair, they wouldnt be worth it. He sent me this pic:

I don't mean to hijack your thread, just wanted to share something we had in common

haha that's really funny to see this here, and awesome to see a fellow Hokie. I too was interested in these speakers but decided it wasn't worth the cost of repair since they look to be in terrible condition and not cared for. I also didn't really have enough space in my apt for them, nor an adequate amp. If you get them, send me a message I'd love to see them

I also found it funny how the guy seemed surprise that people were only interested in the speakers. He really didn't seem to have any clue what Magnepans are or their quality

 

[Seth=L]

Nine out of ten times the reason you don't receive a prompt response from a seller on craigslist is because someone beat you too the punch. That happens more often in populated areas were people are watching craigslist constantly and refreshing the pages.

 

[Whitey80]

Got in touch finally and made the long drive down to Lowry to take a look. Traffic round here in the downtown area is bad, so it takes a while, get 2 blocks from his house and he calls to say he can't get them working hooked up.....maybe something he should have done BEFORE posting them.

 

[dkane360]

haha that's really funny to see this here, and awesome to see a fellow Hokie. I too was interested in these speakers but decided it wasn't worth the cost of repair since they look to be in terrible condition and not cared for. I also didn't really have enough space in my apt for them, nor an adequate amp. If you get them, send me a message I'd love to see them

I also found it funny how the guy seemed surprise that people were only interested in the speakers. He really didn't seem to have any clue what Magnepans are or their quality

Haha nice. I also decided they weren't for me. They look pretty rough, and I don't have the time to commit to fixing them up. I'm pretty satisfied with my system now anyways, so they would've probably gone unused here.

Got in touch finally and made the long drive down to Lowry to take a look. Traffic round here in the downtown area is bad, so it takes a while, get 2 blocks from his house and he calls to say he can't get them working hooked up.....maybe something he should have done BEFORE posting them.

wow that sucks. did you at least take a look at their physical condition?

 

[Whitey80]

I turned around and cursed him all the way home. Didn't even stop there