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Hello everyone, new member here. I've had maggies for years and cats for years but for whatever reasons, a new addition decided to use my speakers as a scratching post. I stupidly let it go thinking worse case I'd have to replace the socks one day, but after having not played them a few weeks I turned them on and the sound was super muted. I could hear the music but no matter how high i cranked the volume it was very low. Opened them up and noticed several places where the cats claws sliced or pierced the ribbon. After some research I got some copper tape with conductive adhesive and started repairing it. Using a multimeter it seems from my eye that I've managed to repair all nicks, etc but the sound is still muted. any ideas on what i'm missing? Thank you.
Follow Ups:
nt
I hate cats....... cats are for girls, not for dudes, especially dudes with Maggies
After the divorce, the ex-wife's sister told me her (the then wife's) cat used to jump onto my Quad 57's when I wasn't home, holding itself on by inserting it's claws through the little holes in the metal grills. I've never had any use for cats, and if I had known that at the time, I would have electrocuted the little monster.
hahaha
If you like and want to keep your speakers, send them to Magnepan for repair, but get an estimate first. It may be cheaper to replace them
with new ones.
As re: cats, either get them declawed or find new homes for them. Cats
are psychopaths, are hell on birds, rodents, and snakes which they kill
for sport and do not eat. Yes, I do not like cats.
Whether or not you can observe a thing depends upon the theory you use. It is the theory which decides what can be observed. - Albert Einstein
I hear scares them.
Never been a cat fan, as a kid every cat I encountered in friends, relatives houses scratched the sh#t out me. I was told cats can sense evil lol...well I guess.
I'm a dog person myself -but not just any dog, I'm talkin' aggressive, protective dogs ie Dobermans, German Shepherds (I've owned three), Rottweiler, etc.
Like the old saying: you can take a dog to the vet, get his b#lls cut off and he'll still love the hell out of you- truly man's best friend.
My exwife had a small toy poodle that I really, truly didn't care for.
Some people are fond of cats, just as are some fond of listening to LPs.
there are folks who have and love tarantulas, boa's, pigs, etc,.I knew a co-worker who stated she had a pet skunk as a child (stink glands removed) and would take it to school for show and tell.
Nothing much surprises me anymore.
Edits: 09/20/20
My first father-in-law grew up on a farm/rance in Oklahoma and claimed to
have had unfixed skunks as pets.
I do not understand how you can have snakes as pets, esp. non-domestic
ones.
Whether or not you can observe a thing depends upon the theory you use. It is the theory which decides what can be observed. - Albert Einstein
had a issue with a family of skunks coming through my property a while back. Hired a trapper but got too costly (each catch was $69 and all those were opossums, no skunks). Ended up getting a skunk tube trap on Amazon and caught about 3. The smell was overwhelming to the point I was having hallucinatory dreams at night!
In my house in the foothills just north of Glendale (in Tujunga, for you locals ;-), I had a giant skunk (did you know skunks continue growing their entire lives? The people on my street named this one Skunvilla. It was as big as a dog, about three feet long, ignoring it's tail!) get under my house, to deliver a litter. When they do that, they spray around the nesting area, which was right under the floors of the living room. OMG, it was sickening.
Edits: 09/23/20
thanks for the suggestion, but if the choice is torture a cat or give up the speakers, i'd give up the speakers.
Having a cat declawed is in no way torture. A competent vet will give
the cat anesthesia and remove the claws in a very painless manner. I
have had this done to a cat before and the cat was fine. Cat could and
did continue to climb trees. It's not torture.
Whether or not you can observe a thing depends upon the theory you use. It is the theory which decides what can be observed. - Albert Einstein
i'm literally a veterinarian and i won't declaw a cat. while they are sedated during the procedure the long term negative effects are well documented and why the county i live in makes the procedure illegal. i'm just trying to get help with my speaker here not get into a debate about cats. scratching comes with the territory, i'm trying to fix it now. thank you.
Check the fuse. It might look okay, but pull it out and make sure.
will do. thank you.
is the copper tape adhesive backed? did you cut small strips / patches and stick 'em down? I'd guess you are NOT making contact at the break.
Any big heat will damage the mylar.
I'd find a break and GENTLY touch ohm meter probes on either side. Make sure the speaker is disconnected / no cables TO the speaker.
You should have essentially 'infinite' ohms across the gap.
As a fix? CONDUCTIVE Epoxy, of the kind used for BONDING semiconductors to a conductive substrate.
Across small distances, this should stick well and not crack or break. find 1/2 mil copper foil without adhesive back. Make patches about 3/4 the width of the foil and 2mm lon....maybe smaller, I'd have to LOOK.
Cats? ONCE they think it's ok, you're screwed. My cats IGNORED my panels for a long time. Not even a single hook in the sock. I won't give input on how to dissuade them. Difficult, maybe, but not impossible. Something like rattling foil scares the shit out of 'em....My mean one, Renfield responded well to a squirt bottle of water with a FEW drops of Amonia.....
More ways, but you get the idea.
I wish you luck......but am overall not optimistic. You may end up closing the room.....
Too much is never enough
They replaced the copper wire with thin aluminum foil on mylar which makes it extremely difficult to troubleshoot (at least in my experience).
Could be many things. Curious, is your new family member male or female?
Female.
Hm, was thinking perhaps spraying...
Any possibility she clawed lower down also, loosening some connections?
all the connections seem to be connected. as far as i can tell doesn't look loose. i'll give it a look again tomorrow morning. i'm just stumped. hopefully magnepan still has a service to repair, though the shipping it going to be expensive.
Both speakers muted?
If so you'll want to make sure the rest if you're system is working ok before shipping them for repair. Something may have tripped.
You can use your DVM at the end of your disconnected speaker wire to check the AC voltage coming out of your amp as you adjust the volume control. Also check to make sure no DC is coming out. Or if you have other speakers, swap them in to be sure. If swapping, best to use speakers that wouldn't be a concern if something happens to them.
As for your muted speakers, I'm not familiar with them, but before taking them apart further, measuring the resistance between the positive and negative terminals might help start a diagnosis. But someone with experience will have to chime in as to what value to expect? Or if it will mean anything at all. Maybe Google?
Good luck!
Jonesy
"I know just enough to get into trouble. But not enough to get out of it."
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