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Just had a chat with Bill.  He thinks the best way is to swap the broken tweeter for a new one.  He sells replacement MG20.7 tweeters for $600 (including freight) each.  He sends me the replacement tweeter and I return the broken one and $600 changeover.  That would be a much quicker fix for me rather than getting a kit from the US and DIY.  

 

If my tweeters were just sagging I would be able to put up with the delay of dealing with Magnepan and wait for a kit for a DIY fix.  But doing a quick tweeter swap is hard to resist.  

 

I'll see what the price of a kit will be before making a final decision. 

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Guest Gary janezic

I spoke to bill about the fragile nature of the ribbon tweeters a few weeks ago and he told me he’s never had any back for repair except for one who underpowered the speakers causeing them to clip and destroy the tweeters.as a second system I don’t think I could be bothered with all the issues especially when I have to move them around a lot.still i might buy a pair of 30,7 if I get a good price on them,other wise I will get a pair of big dogs MartinLogan clx art.the problem with these I have to run long power cords and they are heavy to move around.im also looking into genesis forte ribbon hybrid speakers.peter I wouldn’t mind to be there when you replace your tweeters to c how it’s done and help out.cheeres to all. Gary the music monster.

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Magnepan are closed today and tomorrow.  They don't do online support.  Support is through dealer network.  I would have to wait until Tuesday to phone them.  Dealing with Bill looks the best bet for a quick fix at the moment.   

Edited by GroovyGuru
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32 minutes ago, Gary janezic said:

I spoke to bill about the fragile nature of the ribbon tweeters a few weeks ago and he told me he’s never had any back for repair except for one who underpowered the speakers causeing them to clip and destroy the tweeters.as a second system I don’t think I could be bothered with all the issues especially when I have to move them around a lot.still i might buy a pair of 30,7 

 

interesting what Bill saids,  and yet a member active here has returned his and he has a change over program for $600.

Ribbons are fragile, care in handling and placement is a must and never use a vacuum cleaner near them.

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Guest Gary janezic

No one has responded to my evaporated cooling we use in the summer. This sucks air out of the whole house thru a window or door I believe it will damage the ribbons. Any one out there has this cooling system ?when I close the door to my music room and it’s on I can feel quite a strong pressure building up as the air wants to exit the room.gary the music monster ?

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8 minutes ago, Gary janezic said:

No one has responded to my evaporated cooling we use in the summer. This sucks air out of the whole house thru a window or door I believe it will damage the ribbons. Any one out there has this cooling system ?when I close the door to my music room and it’s on I can feel quite a strong pressure building up as the air wants to exit the room.gary the music monster ?

I thought someone had replied to the air circulation issue in this thread.  It may have become buried. 

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1 hour ago, Gary janezic said:

I spoke to bill about the fragile nature of the ribbon tweeters a few weeks ago and he told me he’s never had any back for repair except for one who underpowered the speakers causeing them to clip and destroy the tweeters.

 

Then he must've forgotten about my pair, Gary - which he repaired about 2 years ago.  My ribbon amp (3-way active setup) cetainly never clips.

 

1 hour ago, Gary janezic said:

still i might buy a pair of 30,7 if I get a good price on them

 

But 30.7s (and 20.7s) have a ribbon tweeter, Gary - so if that's not for yo, there's not point in thinking about 30.7s.

 

Re. your evaporative cooling system - I guess no-one who has Maggies, has one?

 

Andy

 

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Guest Gary janezic

Andy I’m not saying it’s not for me I haven’t even herd it Peters were blown. I am worried about evaporated cooling which I will speak with bill should  I purchase them.in the mean time I am looking forward to hearing big dogs MartinLogan clx art stats this week it might be a game changer for me as it was for him.gary the music monster ?

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These are the main aspects to keep in mind when handling ribbons:

1. The true ribbon tweeter is extremely fragile, Magnepan includes the ribbon tweeter protective metal strips, which must always be used during transport or when moving the panels. 

 

2. Never move the panels without this metal strip in place, this not only supports the fragile tweeter ribbons but also blocks air from passing through the ribbon, which causes the ribbon to sag, twist and ultimately break. 

 

3. The metal strips are only to be taken off when final positioning / placement had been determined. Small incremental movements are OK as long as they're done slowly and not abruptly. A box or stat can be moved around freely with no such high care involved.

 

4. When not in use, this metal strip must be in place to protect the ribbon tweeters. Any force of air, such as ceiling fans, pedestal fans or forced air towards the tweeter area will rupture the ribbons over time... 

 

Gary : to address the Evap ducted cooling, I have set up a pair of 3.6 in a place located in Tarneit, they had similar ducted system. There's no problem here as long as the vacuum or air pressure is not applied directly on the tweeter area.

The best is not to have any fans or air movement anywhere near the panels. 

 

So Bill charges $600... I guess that's about the price now. 20 years ago it was $200.

RJ 

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This is a Round Table for Magneplanar Speakers:

 

There has been a lot of talk on an introduction posting about Magnepan tweeters wearing out or being damaged and requiring replacement.   I have a pair of MG20.7s which have a pair of tweeters which have ruptured and need replacing.  I can't identify whether the rupture was from wear and tear or whether if was due to my ceiling fan located over the speakers.  I have a bad feeling it was the ceiling fan, which means no ceiling fan for me this summer.  

 

I could find no videos of a Magnepan tweeter repair on You Tube.  There are plenty of videos about repairing the wires on the frames, but none of them for repairing the ribbon tweeter on the larger models.  This may be because the ribbon tweeters on the larger models don't break unless mishandled or they are too tricky for untrained amateurs to repair.

 

The options for repairing a Magnepan ribbon tweeter are to get a change over tweeter from the dealer (Bill McLean in Australia) or buy a tweeter repair kit direct from Magnepan.  Bill McLean does not sell the tweeter repair kit.  I think Bill simply sends you a tweeter from stock and you send the broken one to him.  The changeover price for a 20.7 tweeter is $600 (includes freight).      

 

The advantage of the tweeter repair kit is it is much cheaper because most of the price of repair is in labour.  The disadvantage is it is very difficult to repair without breaking the delicate ribbons, which are 1/10 the width of a strand of hair.  A DIY repair will need someone well trained in repairing ribbons and has gone through the experience on a trial and error basis.  I could buy a repair kit and stuff it up and then have to buy another repair kit and stuff it up and in the end simply changing over the tweeter would be same price. 

 

If I had a spare broken tweeter to trial on I would try a tweeter repair kit, but I want my speakers fixed ASAP.   

 

For the sake of convenience, I will probably opt for the change over option because I have been forced into sobriety because I have no system to listen to while getting half pissed.  I can only put up with this sobriety for 2 more days.  ?

 

 

Edited by GroovyGuru
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35 minutes ago, GroovyGuru said:

A DIY repair will need someone well trained in repairing ribbons and has gone through the experience on a trial and error basis.  I could buy a repair kit and stuff it up and then have to buy another repair kit and stuff it up and in the end simply changing over the tweeter would be same price.

 

Absolootely, Peter.  I reckon you'd need to do at least 3 before the result was worthwhile - so I am absolutely never going to be doing my own true-ribbon repair!  :lol:

 

Neither am I interested - having re-laid a mid panel on my previous IIIas about 10 years ago - in re-laying wire or foil on mylar sheet.  I will just send them up to Bill for repair, if I need to.

 

Andy

 

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Not sure what Magnaplanar charges for a set of 20.7 ribbon repair kit,  I would have watched the utube video and get enough info to do the repairs.  

You're other alternative is Ambiance speakers and he actually manufacturers ribbons.  He supplies the cold solder to ensure proper conductivity because the ribbon he manufacture is on a plastic mylar with vaporised aluminium thats similar to mine. 

If one is damaged you need to replaced both at the same time.  

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The need to occasionally replace Magneplanar ribbon tweeters need to be put into perspective. 

 

I just had a chat with a major retailer and was informed that it is common for ribbon tweeters from all manufacturers to be damaged.  Either from being overdriven or underdriven; or any other reason.  They have a box of broken ribbon tweeters which were $650 to replace.  Manufacturers don't repair the tweeters because it is cheaper to replace them.  Ribbon tweeters are delicate.  $600 to replace 20.7 tweeters is not bad.  

 

Repairing would involve disassembling and reassembling and that makes labor costs too high.  

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Peter, 

 

I think thr other thing that you have to consider here is removing the existing ribbons. That is an arduous task which requires removal of the cloth. 

 

I thought long and hard about this part so I commissioned @gonefishing999to replace the existing frame with Tassie Oak wood which in my mind looks far superior and produces better sonic outcomes.

 

Peter Keenan did a very good job of incorporating the ribbons into the framework whereby the end result is the very easy removal of the ribbons when required. What takes me a coupled off minutes will take you much much longer with the risk of ruining the cloth. 

 

If you have been to @djbs place that is what I mean.

 

If I recall you will find a huge number of stables at the bottom and underside of the cloth and you then have to roller the cloth all the way back in order for the ribbons to come out. There's a lot of work involved here. Don't forget what comes off has to go back on. 

 

I would seriously consider going down the route of having the wooden frames built. It's your choice who would this for you. Peter did mine and djbs so he has an intuitive feel how to get the best result.

 

One of the advantages of this is that it becomes very easy to check to sew if there are ever any issues with any if the drivers. Furthermore I think Maggie's sound better without the cloth on. 

 

Something to consider. 

 

Ozzie 

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Guest Gary janezic

Ribbon tweeters are not the only part that can go wrong with these speakers. The mid and bass panels will also cause problems with backslap and voice coil wires coming loose it takes longer than the tweeters but it will happen.i bought a second hand 1.5 quasi ribbon Maggie’s one side worked fine the other speaker was making a loud vibration noise it’s called delamanation . Gary the music monster ?

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8 minutes ago, Gary janezic said:

Ribbon tweeters are not the only part that can go wrong with these speakers. The mid and bass panels will also cause problems with backslap and voice coil wires coming loose it takes longer than the tweeters but it will happen.i bought a second hand 1.5 quasi ribbon Maggie’s one side worked fine the other speaker was making a loud vibration noise it’s called delamanation . Gary the music monster ?

Stats can also fail.  There are plenty of stories of electrostatics getting fried.  The reality is, all speakers are capable of failing, just like other components can fail.  Even turntables fail.  I had to get my Aura motor fixed many years ago. 

 

You must always be careful when buying second hand gear.  The seller might be getting rid of it because it is not working properly and does not want to do a rebuild.  A good indication of whether something is good is look at the second hand market.  There are currently no 30.7s for sale.  

Edited by GroovyGuru
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10 minutes ago, Gary janezic said:

Ribbon tweeters are not the only part that can go wrong with these speakers. The mid and bass panels will also cause problems with backslap and voice coil wires coming loose it takes longer than the tweeters but it will happen.i bought a second hand 1.5 quasi ribbon Maggie’s one side worked fine the other speaker was making a loud vibration noise it’s called delamanation . Gary the music monster ?

Gary, 

 

This needs some balancing. What you say is true but reflects the very poor quality glue originally used by Magnepan which resulted in delamination. 

 

That's not such a problem these days. 

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I would be more concerned with a product from a start up business which has quality control problems.  Magnepan have been around a long time and will continue, which means there will always be parts.  A problem with being around a long time is you have relic components, which should be thrown in the bin rather than repaired.  But these relics continue in a sort of afterlife.  

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Guest Gary janezic

Good to know they use better glue and it’s not a problem anymore. I new these 1.5s had a problem but for 480 I bought them anyway just to hear what Maggie’s sound like and I have being interested in them ever since.my dad owned a pair of klipschorns for 38; years using them every single day and never had a single problem.klipsch speakers being very high efficiency generate very little heat in the crossovers and drivers they last for generations.gary the music monster ?

 

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4 hours ago, GroovyGuru said:

I would be more concerned with a product from a start up business which has quality control problems.  Magnepan have been around a long time and will continue, which means there will always be parts.  A problem with being around a long time is you have relic components, which should be thrown in the bin rather than repaired.  But these relics continue in a sort of afterlife.  

So what about @djb maggies?

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Ex 20.7 owner that blew several tweeters on the speakers. Had both the repair kit as well as actually ordering the complete tweeter as a replacement. Does not require the removal of the entire sock/cloth, just the tiny tweeter section. It is a pain to get it right (replacement of the tweeter using repair kit) but much cheaper as pointed out. I never did figure out why (more than sufficient amp power etc.) but confess I play them loud. Gave up and sold them to a friend who used different equipment but suffered the same fate as well. 

Edited by PoisonM
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