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Need some expert help here. One of my maggie's was sounding very muddy and low, so i noticed that when i took the tweeter fuse out, it made no difference in the sound (the fuse works fine). Then i took the socks off and noticed that the ribbon had broke off on the top (see picture). I am assuming that this is the cause of the problem. Does anyone have a fix for this? Thanks!
Edits: 08/14/14Follow Ups:
RE: 3.6R broken ribbon (6.54) Open this result in new window
Posted by ngchaisoon on 2008-05-15, 19:16:41 (218.186.12.9)
This is how I repaired mine about 3.5 years ago. Make another terminal block and glue it to the tweeter cage. Remember to keep the same tension for the ribbon. Good luck.
http://usr.audioasylum.com/images/2/28736/Image055.jpg
Thanks. The picture is hard to see. Is that just aluminum foil on a block with a screw in the middle?
I used a quick connect tab glued on the block and use back the original screw and clamp for the ribbon. You need to drill a small hole through the quick connect tab (for the clamp screw) before mounting it on the block. Make sure ribbon contact areas/edge are very smooth/rounded.
Check that your tweeter wire has enough slack to reach the new terminal.
http://marcomanuf.com/HTM%20PAGES/SPEC%20FILE/3000spec%20page.htm
Take a look at Top Hardware QC Tabs.
The quick connect tab that I used looks like type QC26.
Type QC19 might be better if the narrow part is wider than the ribbon.
Sorry to hear you are having problems with your 3.3rs . First no crossover boxes and then this.
The best thing to do on my opinion would be to replace the whole broken ribbon foil with a ribbon repair kit at $140. It's a bit of a hairy job though and you need steady hands.
Cheapest fix might be something like conductive epoxy (not totally sure if it would work) but a repaired tweeter might not sound the same as original, though the break is near the top so it might not affect the sound too much.
thanks
Get a new set exchange from Magnepan. I think they run $120.00 each exchange and if one broke you may as well replace them both.
Exchange is about $600/pair.
Ribbon Repair Kit is $140 plus shipping.
$232 for an exchange pair including shipping and another $30 for return shipping of the damaged ribbons (2 years ago). Of course it helps to live on the west side of the pond.
Lucky you!
http://www.forumbilder.se/CE0TP/mg-20-1-ribbon.jpg
You americans could help us europeans! We send our ribbons to and you send them to Magnepan for exchange. Then back from you to Europe.
In Europe it is awfully expensive having them repaired.
Ordered a ribbon repairvkit from Magnepan this summer. Unfortunately they cannot send you the original 3 ohm ribbons for older Tympani IV/IVa, prior to serial number 020949 (mine have 020838). The 2 ohm ribbon plus 1 ohm resistor ribbon is said to be not as good sonicly but more robust.
The recent 3 ohm ribbon is narrower. Maybe it can be used in the old ribbon cages too? Sure the gap between the magnets is wider, thicker dots of adeshive is a must. The magnets are also thicker in the recent ribbons, a loss of effiency would be the case. Maybe it will hold up to the original Tympani IV/IVa ribbons?
Tweeter..my bane as far as it comes to Maggies too..that and living abroad.
Yes it's a shame Magnepan no longer manufacture the old wide 3 ohm ribbon. It's thinner than the other 2 types and must have been more prone to breaking. I can't think of any other reason why they changed to the thicker wide 2 ohm wide ribbon and 1 ohm resistor (because the 2 ohm definitely sounds inferior to the original wide 3 ohm and gives less output due to the resistor). This change happened in both the Tympani IVa and MGIIIa throughout their manufacture.The newer narrow 3 ohm ribbon is the best sounding one. I compared all three types of ribbon a few years ago. At the time I too toyed with the idea of fitting a newer type narrow 3 ohm foil into an older wide cage, but myself and Satie came to the conclusion that there would be two main problems, the first being a wider magnet gap giving less output, and the secondly it would be hard and maybe not possible to put in the damping dots needed.
If the magnets are also thicker on the newer cage that means fitting a narrow foil in a wide cage would give even less efficiency. How much is hard to tell though I guess the only way to find out would be to try it. If it's too inefficient it might not be useable.
Magnepan won't ship whole new narrow tweeters abroad. My only other hope to fit new narrow tweeters into my MGIIIas was to try to find a pair of post 3.3R Maggies with non working drivers (even blown tweeters would be ok as you could get the ribbon repair kit, you just need the new cages). Been looking for 4 years now though and still nothing has turned up on that front!
Edits: 08/16/14
First it looks to me that the ribbon failed because of mechanical trauma rather than overload (melting) but it would not be the first time that a ribbon successfully protected a fuse.
I have never tried to repair a ribbon but if I were going to give this one a try I would cut a small strip of aluminum foil to bridge the gap and use silver epoxy glue to hold it in place.
I've seen CONDUCTIVE Epoxy. We used it for 'bonding' purposes in assembly of quartz tuning fork crystals.
Brochure from where I worked. 35 years ago!
Too much is never enough
Can't you just replace the ribbon?
Tre'
Have Fun and Enjoy the Music
"Still Working the Problem"
But you probably want to replace both sides for $200.
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