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Best Magnepan MG 12 upgrade

99.230.185.9
Posted on November 20, 2009 at 14:41:54
rayjtam
Audiophile

Posts: 4
Joined: August 2, 2008
 What is the best MG-12 upgrade - Mye stands or a crossover mod (James Carroll or Ed Morawski)?

http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue4/magnapan3.htm
http://www.audience-av.com/reviews/PDF/MG12CrossoverUpgrade.pdf

 

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What Grant said....., posted on November 22, 2009 at 21:25:42
Marc Bratton
Audiophile

Posts: 4916
Joined: June 15, 2000
 I have done both to my 12's, and would not want to be without either one.
I did the Ed Morawski crossover upgrade first (bypassing the Solens he suggested with Jensen oil caps), which made the things sound smooth enough that I thought I might be able to live with them. The MyeStands enhanced clarity, attack, decay, focus, instrument timbre and bass...not bad. I'm sure Gunning 'em would do even more, but that's some serious gelt. You could do the crossover upgrades for not too much scratch, and then add MyeStands down the road. Or, make your own solid wood panels, go nutz. If you think you might want PG to Gunn 'em down the road, I'd go ahead and just do the Morawski crossover upgrade, because it'll make 'em livable while you're waiting to send 'em to PG. He's going to pretty much gut the crossover, put in his own selected components anyway, so I wouldn't necessarily goldplate the crossover mods. The 12's are great speakers, but you'd never know it, the way they come from the factory.

 

RE: What Grant said....., posted on November 28, 2009 at 15:10:31
rayjtam
Audiophile

Posts: 4
Joined: August 2, 2008
 Marc, could you list the specific components you used in your upgrade? Specifically the Jensen PIO caps you substituted for the Solens.

 

RE: What Grant said....., posted on December 5, 2009 at 10:06:05
Marc Bratton
Audiophile

Posts: 4916
Joined: June 15, 2000
 Relying on aging memory here, because I'd have to pull Maggie's skirt up to see what I put in there (I actually shoehorned all that shit into that little cutout space). The mid/bass panels were Solen 50mfd caps (the ones Ed Morawski used), bypassed by 600(?) volt Jensen aluminum foil in oil...pretty sure that one was 0.5mfd. I left the stock tweeter cap in there, since it was a matching Solen (only 33mfd, of course) and bypassed that one with a 0.1mfd Jensen copper foil in oil cap. Don't remember the voltage. Considerably more than necessary, I'm sure. The inductor was the one Ed Morawski recommended in his article. I actually managed to get it inside the cutout, right under where the plate for the speaker terminals screw on in the back. Didn't quite leave me enough room to screw that plate back on, so I've got the Cardas speaker posts just hanging off the back. Looks odd, but works fine. I wish I'd gone ahead and replaced all the chintzy stock aluminum 14 gauge wire inside while I was at it, but that would've necessitated carefully prying the trim wood off to totally remove the cloth, and I wasn't wanting to do that. Now I wish I had. Someday I will, because I need to replace that cloth anyway.
Anyone who says bypass caps don't do anything...I listened first with just the Solens, THEN I put in the Jensens. Made a very worthwhile difference...took that whitish, grainy edge right off the sound, really smoothed things out without in any way rolling off the treble.

 

Serious Gelt?, posted on November 23, 2009 at 07:29:34
Peter Gunn
Manufacturer

Posts: 3980
Location: Pennsylvania
Joined: April 16, 2001
 There is no hobby on earth where prices run to the fantastic like our own - 5 grand for cartridges, 75 grand for turntables, 20 grand for speakers, 500 bucks for a turntable tracking weight scale you may actually only ever use 1 time...

So 15 hundred bucks, while hardly chicken scratch, is also hardly serious gelt, especially when the resulting product may indeed be a "final destination". In fact it is getting painful to keep the prices where I have because the cost of everything keeps rising, but I have done so because the economy is so awful.

In any case what has the cost of the speakers got to do with the cost of the mod? As you yourself correctly point out at the very end - "The 12's are great speakers, but you'd never know it the way they come from the factory." Exactly, and I am just trying to make them not ony great speakers, but exceptional ones, and the OP asked for the "best" mod, not the most cost effective one.

I bought my SMGa's used for $100. Am I stupid for using a 6 grand Pass amp and a 6.5 grand Hovland pre to drive them?

Anyway, if he did it himself it would cost less than anything from me or anyone else, and I got the impression he was looking to do that. So why should he waste time and money on Morawski and the rest of it? If he truly wants the "best" MG-12 mod, he should email me for the schematic and go to his nearest lumberyard, IMHO.


It's all about the music...

 

C'mon, PG....you know what I mean...., posted on November 25, 2009 at 20:19:27
Marc Bratton
Audiophile

Posts: 4916
Joined: June 15, 2000
 The OP was asking about tweaks/mods he could do to make his entry level Maggies sound better. What you do is an absolute bargain, I have no doubt. Very high value for money, when you consider what people will spend on an amp, as you pointed out. But a lot of folks don't want to START with something that costs 'em twice what they originally paid for their speakers. Those who can, more power to 'em.

 

RE: C'mon, PG....you know what I mean...., posted on November 28, 2009 at 07:23:58
Peter Gunn
Manufacturer

Posts: 3980
Location: Pennsylvania
Joined: April 16, 2001
 Perhaps it didn't come out the way you intended then, but you did say what I do was "serious gelt". As long as we're clear then however that's fine. The only ones that are serious gelt to do are the tymps, because of all the driver panels :^ )

It seemed to me the OP asked for the "best" mod. I assumed he was going to do it himself, in which case I would bet the cost of my XO parts is almost the same as any other design, (or close enough that there's no reason to spend it on the others) and many people can "find" wood for nothing or almost nothing (they have it lying around, a friend has it... lets face it, it is everywhere) so what is it costing him to do it "right"? Nothing more than some of his time, and the cost will be less than half what his speakers cost, not twice.

BTW he did contact me and I gave him my schematic and I think he is going to use it, so it's a happy ending after all :^ )




It's all about the music...

 

RE: Best Magnepan MG 12 upgrade, posted on November 22, 2009 at 12:32:00
rayjtam
Audiophile

Posts: 4
Joined: August 2, 2008
 Thanks Grant- you make good points regarding the value of both upgrades in comparison to the cost of the speaker.

 

Probably neither ..., posted on November 20, 2009 at 16:04:20
andyr
Manufacturer

Posts: 12548
Location: Melbourne
Joined: September 2, 2000
 have them Gunned - which covers 3 things (not just 2):
* rigid stands (but not Mye stands)
* upgrade the XO (but with a series XO, not parallel), and
* replace the MDF frame with a hardwood frame.

That will make them sound the best they possibly can be, IMO.

If you want to DIY, email PG - I'm sure he's got an MG12 XO in his sack, somewhere. :-)) And you could copy Davey's recent frame idea.

Regards,

Andy

 

To be fair to the OP..., posted on November 22, 2009 at 08:04:26
grantv
Manufacturer

Posts: 7722
Location: B.C.
Joined: January 15, 2002
 He asked about two upgrades, both values of which were ~1/2 that of the value of his speakers. You've recommended a mod that's worth >2x the value. Pretty fair to assume his budget was ~the prior.
That said, IME rigid stands will offer improved bass response, better clarity throughout the frequency spectrum, removing that familiar Maggie veil. Upgraded xover components will offer a smoother transition between drivers, and a more natural sound from the speakers.

 

I totally agree Grant...., posted on November 22, 2009 at 19:02:20
ABliss
Audiophile

Posts: 1482
Joined: March 16, 2001
Contributor
  Since: August 3, 2002
 I have allways felt that you have to be nuts to spend over two grand to tweak a $1200 speaker, no matter how nice the wood looks.
You may as well just buy something better to begin with.

Still loving Myestands with my crossover mods and the classic MG12 look.

Allan.

 

Thanks Allan., posted on November 22, 2009 at 21:28:52
grantv
Manufacturer

Posts: 7722
Location: B.C.
Joined: January 15, 2002
 I do love the factory classic monolith look myself also. For that matter, when my dealer sent my 3.6's to my house they sent them with the "upgraded" (I think in the neighborhood of $500 extra!) dark cherry stiles in error. I never noticed until I was unpacking, and was too anxious by that time to stop there. I still would prefer the standard black. Just cleaner to my eyes.

 

True, Grant. :-)) nt, posted on November 22, 2009 at 11:18:11
andyr
Manufacturer

Posts: 12548
Location: Melbourne
Joined: September 2, 2000
 .

 

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