Upgrading Magnepans

[nightflier]

Hey nightflier, where are the high end audio shops located by you. I come out to visit my mother who lives in Laguna Woods and my brother who lives in Seal Beach about 3 times a year and I will be coming out there in Feb. I always have several hours to kill when I'm out there. I've looked in the Seal beach yellow pages and can't find any hi end shops listed. Thanks!
Larry, frozen in Minnesota. It was -10F here the other night!

There used to be more, but now most shops have converted to home-installation and HT - I hear they do excellent drywall work, LOL. Genesis Audio & Video is a good example of this trend, that is, if they actually let you in the door (by apt. only). The fact is that I actually have to go pretty far out to hear good stuff. There's a few boutique shops up in LA that sell your B&O ostentatious stuff, but I try to steer clear of those types of shops. Upscale Audio is not too far, out in Upland, and I go whenever I visit my brother who lives out there. But most of what we've auditioned has been mail-order. One of my friends is an importer from the far east so he brings over stuff with unknown names that sounds pretty good to my ears at least, and I take a trip across the pond every once in while to pick up some goodies, although this last time I didn't get around to that.

Of more interest to me are the local manufacturers. There are a number of them here that might be of interest. Von Schweikert has til now given me the cold shoulder so I can't recommend them (I guess if you're not in the market for $25K speakers...). There's also Oppo, Hsu, Canary Audio, Olevia, not too far out. And in the Santa Barbara area, where I also visit quite often, there's Spectron, Theta Digital, and Channel Islands up in Port Hueneme. I mention them because I've visited each recently (I'll be picking up my Digital One amp in Chatsworth shortly), but there's a ton of others in the greater LA area that I can't think of off the top of my head.

[BOXMAN]

I went to my local Maggie dealer over the weekend.... they had a pair of 3.6s and 1.6s.... I want to say they both sounded great! I will also say, so do my MGIIa speakers! I have chosen to rebuild the IIa speakers. I dont hear that much of a difference in the new Maggies vs the old maggies........... I will say the low end on the 3.6s was definitely better... but I like to run VMPS woofers on low end anyways.... so that is my $.02
Maggies are great regardless!!

[Feanor]

I went to my local Maggie dealer over the weekend.... they had a pair of 3.6s and 1.6s.... I want to say they both sounded great! I will also say, so do my MGIIa speakers! I have chosen to rebuild the IIa speakers. I dont hear that much of a difference in the new Maggies vs the old maggies........... I will say the low end on the 3.6s was definitely better... but I like to run VMPS woofers on low end anyways.... so that is my $.02
Maggies are great regardless!!

Good luck with the rebuild of the MGIIa's, BOXMAN. Let us know how it goes.

[BOXMAN]

Well....... 20hrs of precise and tedious work, the Maggies have been rebuilt. They sound pretty good, I am supposed to play them at light volume for approx 100hrs to get optimum sound. I am definitely going to keep these for a while. $4500 for new ones doesnt seem to be justifiable when I am hearing very sweet sound at the moment from a rebuilt 30yr old speaker..........

[Feanor]

Well....... 20hrs of precise and tedious work, the Maggies have been rebuilt. They sound pretty good, I am supposed to play them at light volume for approx 100hrs to get optimum sound. I am definitely going to keep these for a while. $4500 for new ones doesnt seem to be justifiable when I am hearing very sweet sound at the moment from a rebuilt 30yr old speaker..........

BOXMAN, was the rebuild a DIY job or done by Magnepan or someone else?

[BOXMAN]

BOXMAN, was the rebuild a DIY job or done by Magnepan or someone else?

I did it. I rebuilt the tweeter and the mid/bass section......

[oaqm]

Were those your pictures of a rewire over on AA last week?

Very impressive in any event. You have far steadier hands than mine.

[BOXMAN]

Were those your pictures of a rewire over on AA last week?

Very impressive in any event. You have far steadier hands than mine.

Thank you oaqm!! Its just very time consuming and tedious!... Basically you have a spray adhesive to help you along to get all of the wires straight and in the place that you want them... then you put two coats of a final adhesive... 30-NF by 3M.....
20hrs later it is done.... The speakers sound great now!!

Here are a few pics........

Here are a couple with factory wires before rebuild





and during the process of laying down the wires......you have time to straighten them completely before the spray adhesive dries... the one pic shows the wires a little crooked..... but of course straightened before final glue is applied........





and..... finished product

[meltdown]

I just had to get in to this. New to the forum, but I got to say, I've heard the 3.6's with the Ampzilla on several occasions.... and theres no doubt that this amp is a little known secret. Yeah its a bit long in the tooth, but it had NO problem driving these speakers, And I mean crystal clear, period. Ive got a old pair of MG1C's and have ran them with Gas, Carver, Phase Linear, Rotel 1090's and now a Mac. Which sounds better? They each exhibit their own personalities, and I have enjoyed swapping amps out over the years. But for 500 bucks you can get yourself into a Gas Amp and nothing in that price range will touch it. The same goes for their Thedra or Thobe preamps.

[Mr Peabody]

Let me say up front I don't know anything about Ampzilla, but with a name like that it's hard to take it seriously. It may be a great amp, Ampzilla sounds like something you see being sold out of a white van. If they are a great amp the company needs a new marketing department

[meltdown]

It wasnt my intention to step on someones feet, only to make a statement about the object of the topic. If your not familiar with GAS vintage amps, you may consider a bit of research, the topic was in part about Gas amps and their ability to drive Maggies,

[Mr Peabody]

My intension was not to step on toes either but to merely make an observation since Ampzilla had been talked about on this thread.

[Mike Anderson]

3.6 owner here.

I started with the MMGs, then the 1.6QRs, then to the 3.6Rs.

Let me put it this way: I've had the 3.6Rs now for quite some time, and I have stopped looking for ways to upgrade! They simply sound as good as I could want a system to sound, without spending $50k anyway.

I'm powering them with four Class D monoblocks. I use a DEQX unit as the crossover and preamp, and to do room correction. I've got 1000 wpc going into the bass panels, and 500 wpc going into the mid and treble. Sounds fantastic.

I won't be making any changes to this setup anytime soon. It just sounds way too good to f*** with it.

(In fact that's a big part of the reason why I haven't been posting as much here lately)

[meltdown]

My intension was not to step on toes either but to merely make an observation since Ampzilla had been talked about on this thread.

Fair enough Mr. Peabody: and I would have to agree that Krell is by no stretch of the imagination a middle of the road amp. And for the record , back in the day, I did drink alot of beer while listening to the Gas equipment.

[BOXMAN]

Let me say up front I don't know anything about Ampzilla, but with a name like that it's hard to take it seriously. It may be a great amp, Ampzilla sounds like something you see being sold out of a white van. If they are a great amp the company needs a new marketing department

Please dont take this insulting... this is how it is:

A few companies back in the 1970s were the Icon of hi fi, and were the start to some great equipment that is out today. GAS is one of those companies....... GAS equipment is now 30 yrs old, and it is still thought of as great sounding equipment....(well the people who listen for great sound, and now just high $ stuff to brag about in their system)

If you have never heard of GAS ampzilla... you apparently you have been shopping at Best Buy my friend.... Any audiophile knows the originals of this field..

SME/Technics/Dalquist/SAE/GAS/Phase Linear etc........the list goes on

[BOXMAN]

I just had to get in to this. New to the forum, but I got to say, I've heard the 3.6's with the Ampzilla on several occasions.... and theres no doubt that this amp is a little known secret. Yeah its a bit long in the tooth, but it had NO problem driving these speakers, And I mean crystal clear, period. Ive got a old pair of MG1C's and have ran them with Gas, Carver, Phase Linear, Rotel 1090's and now a Mac. Which sounds better? They each exhibit their own personalities, and I have enjoyed swapping amps out over the years. But for 500 bucks you can get yourself into a Gas Amp and nothing in that price range will touch it. The same goes for their Thedra or Thobe preamps.

Thank you for your input meltdown! I appreciate it.... I was thinking an Ampzilla could push the 3.6s, but people who have never heard an Ampzilla seem to think it cant push them......

[Glen B]

Let me say up front I don't know anything about Ampzilla, but with a name like that it's hard to take it seriously. It may be a great amp, Ampzilla sounds like something you see being sold out of a white van. If they are a great amp the company needs a new marketing department

You need to educate yourself about audio history. Have you ever heard of Mr. James Bongiorno, world renowned and highly respected pioneer of audio design ? He is the designer of the Ampzilla and many other highly regarded and collectable audio products under various brand names. The amplifier you currently own is very likely based on the full dual differential full complementary amplifier topology he first developed. All modern direct coupled amps employ DC servo control. Guess who designed the first amp using that technology ? Please go to the following links and read up on Mr. Bongiorno's curriculum vitae.
http://www.ampzilla2000.com/index.html
http://www.ampzilla2000.com/James_Bongiorno.html

[meltdown]

Boxman, you got to give it a rest. Some people hav'nt played around with that equipment. I have a couple friends who have your amp, both have sent them to Gas Works to be reworked, and yeah their a great A A/B amp, that pushes alot of current and they will do well with your Maggies. Heck, I got two of the big boys along with a couple sons in my closet right next to me, but everybody has a different ear. and their taste changes. But one really can't try and compare a pure class A amp with one that only does A out to about 10 watts. I've listened to CJ and Mac tubes, and it is truely impressive. Besides if they sold Dynaudio at Best Buy, I'd be in the truck now. HE HE. Have fun with the Zilla.

[meltdown]

Good point Glen, Jim was cutting edge back then. If you bring his name up in the Carver Audio forum, those people will toss a brick through your screen.LOL.

[Mr Peabody]

I'll check the link. Ampzilla just wasn't in my circle of friends. You mention Levinson, ARC, Mac, etc. those are what I started out hearing. I didn't even really know about Krell until the mid 90's. Hey, I started out in a small town and I'm not all that old. In the 70's as a youth, you were the man if you had a big receiver and some Bose 901's. Here beat me some more because I have no respect for Bob Carver's products, his name sake, Flamelinear or Sunfire. Back in the day Carver sounded much better than the receivers and things I was used to but all of his stuff has serious reliability issues. Before you try to dispute that, I did work in a hi fi store in the 80's and we carried Carver for a very short while, we all nicknamed it "boomerang". Where I live now Sunfire came and went as fast in a couple stores who tried it. The manager wasn't shy about explaining what happened to it.

Besides, my comments had nothing to do with the performance of the amp, it was merely a comment on the teeny bopper name.

[meltdown]

Thats a good one, I should'nt laugh,, I still have a couple of M500's. Never had a problem with them though. Yeah the Industry has really opened up, I dont know why I hang on to the old gear. I must be part pack rat. Someday my kids will look at it and, Phif....right in the garbage no doubt.

[Mr Peabody]

Hopefully the kids will see the value. I didn't intend to end up with a bunch of gear around but it just seems to happen. We find something we like better, or is just a different presentation than what we currently have, so we switch out, but our fondness of the piece won't let us get rid of it.

Mr Bongiomo has some interesting writings on that website. It's interesting to me how various engineers seem to have the perfect way music should be done. I forget his name but the engineer behind Dynavector has a totally different approach to music reproduction as well. His is a four speaker set up with smaller speakers in front with larger behind. He has some kind of processor that you can use with your current gear. It's been a long time since I read about his set up but it was interesting. With all the confusion now with home theater can you imagine if some of these guys got their different systems off the ground?

[meltdown]

Bob Carver moved on to Home Theater, but things went sour. Marriage and all. The ex took him to the cleaners. He still has a big following. Its almost a religion. The man is idolized, much the same as Jim Bongiomo of Great American Sound. They each contributed to our appreciation of music in his own way. I would like to think that Gas would of kept to stereo, but the times had changed and we started to get wrapped up in the age of Home Theater. But I believe that things are coming full circle once again and more and more people are developing a yen for the simpler, fresher side of music once known as Stereo. Aside from it being solid state or tube, it comes down to not only preferance put how deep your pockets are. Mine got holes in them.

[audio amateur]

Please dont take this insulting... this is how it is:

A few companies back in the 1970s were the Icon of hi fi, and were the start to some great equipment that is out today. GAS is one of those companies....... GAS equipment is now 30 yrs old, and it is still thought of as great sounding equipment....(well the people who listen for great sound, and now just high $ stuff to brag about in their system)

If you have never heard of GAS ampzilla... you apparently you have been shopping at Best Buy my friend.... Any audiophile knows the originals of this field..

SME/Technics/Dalquist/SAE/GAS/Phase Linear etc........the list goes on

Let's remember that this is coming from someone who believes Krell is mid-fi stuff. What bull

[BOXMAN]

Let's remember that this is coming from someone who believes Krell is mid-fi stuff. What bull

Fair enough Mr. Peabody: and I would have to agree that Krell is by no stretch of the imagination a middle of the road amp..

uuhhh yeah,,,,, the audio shop in Indianapolis that sells Krell along wit Mac and Polk... opened a hi fi shop and guess what....... no krell, huh?!?! Wonder why?? they do carry BAT and ARC etc...... You do the math

So besides the above, go listen to a Krell amp... not that impressive......