[Paddlefoot]

I have read many places were people turn their  Magnepans around...were the pole piece is now in front and the mylar is in the back....question...do you have to reverse the polarity of the speaker wire when you do this ? Thanks Greg

[MGbert]

Yes, reverse the polarity.  And while you're at it, try them with tweeter (quasi) ribbons on the inside edges, as well as on the outside edges.  That is 4 possible configurations, and each one will have an effect on the sound.  Just pick the one that sounds best in your listening room.   

MGbert

I have read many places were people turn their  Magnepans around...were the pole piece is now in front and the mylar is in the back....question...do you have to reverse the polarity of the speaker wire when you do this ? Thanks Greg

[andyr]

I have read many places were people turn their  Magnepans around...where the pole piece is now in front and the mylar is in the back....question...do you have to reverse the polarity of the speaker wire when you do this ? Thanks Greg

I "turned my Magnepans around", Greg ... and ended up with the mylar in front. 

(Different models over the decades had mylar front or pole-piece front.)

Re. whether you need to reverse the polarity of the speaker wire to complement "flipping" your Maggies ... this is a matter of contention (do you pick up on "absolute polarity"?  Is the record/disc you are playing recorded with absolute polarity?).

My experience is that multi-way speakers like Maggies - particularly as most of them have one driver reversed - make it difficult to pick up absolute polarity.


Regards,

Andy

[Davey]

Regardless of audibility of absolute polarity.......I still think it would be a good idea to reverse the speaker wires if flipping the speakers around......and swap left/right.  This will at least maintain the same absolute polarity you had to begin with.

However, since the panels have a good deal of asymmetry to the motor structure, it's still a variable that can't be completely eliminated from a relative evaluation.

Cheers,

Dave.

[pelliott321]

Andy
On my rebuilt IIIa's I find it very obvious when I accidentally have either one or both mids connected the same as the ribbons and bass panel.  It just sound wrong until I reverse the mids

[josh358]

If the polarity of one driver is wrong, you'll get some degree of cancellation at the crossover point, so that's to be expected. Overall polarity on the other hand doesn't produce response irregularities. Its effects are subtler and there's some controversy as to whether it can be heard on musical material as opposed to test signals. At the very minimum, it seems likely that as Davey mentioned it can be heard sometimes when the driver itself is asymmetrical, as it is in the Maggies that have magnets only on one side. And as Andy pointed out, speakers may have the polarity of a driver inverted to make the crossover right -- so changing the overall polarity will correct the polarity for some drivers, reverse it for others. (And on top of that, the polarity of recordings tends to be random, although IMO it shouldn't be.)

[Rclark]

My Magnestands are reversed from standard.

[Davey]

What's "standard" and what's not "standard?"

The speakers are not highly directional like say, a car.    You wouldn't drive your car in reverse to the store to pick up Bud Lite.

The best answer for the OP is to just try 'em both ways and use the direction that sounds best.

Dave.

[Rclark]

Standard as in how they normally come.

[andyr]

Standard as in how they normally come.

You know what you mean ... but others have no idea whether you've ended up with mylar front ... or pole piece front - or which model you are talking about.

Newer Maggie owners who've only had the one pair probably have no idea that some came models "standard" one way ... while others came "backwards".


Regards,

Andy

[Davey]

The Magnestand speakers are "reversed" in more ways than orientation. 

Regardless, I believe some of the older models changed from "forward" to "reverse" configuration within the model evolution.  I'm not positive on that, but seem to remember one of the Maggie experts mentioning that a while back.

Cheers,

Dave.

[Rclark]

The Magnestand speakers are "reversed" in more ways than orientation. 

If by that you mean they're incredibly awesome, then I agree wholeheartedly.

[Davey]

No matter the incarnation MMG's are not bad speakers, but they do have a number of shortcomings that can't be overcome with modification.
The fact that you view them as incredibly awesome just says you haven't auditioned a wide variety of other choices.  No problem with that.....when I was a young fella I had limited experience with speakers and audio gear as well.

Turning the speakers one way or the other is a nice experiment, but it's an incremental change at best.

Cheers,

Dave.

[SteveFord]

I've got MMGs going right now and with a sub and a CC5 center channel they sound really good.
I'm no spring chicken, either, you carn sarned whipper snapper.
The sound is better without flipping them around but it's nothing earth shattering from what I can hear - these are the very first version of them for what it's worth.

[josh358]

I've got MMGs going right now and with a sub and a CC5 center channel they sound really good.
I'm no spring chicken, either, you carn sarned whipper snapper.
The sound is better without flipping them around but it's nothing earth shattering from what I can hear - these are the very first version of them for what it's worth.

I tried turning them around, making sure to maintain polarity, position, and channel assignment. It seemed to me they got a bit more spacious -- not bad, but something went a bit wrong with the highs. The problem I think is that the holes are too widely spaced laterally. To pass the signal without excessive interference, the holes have to be within half a wavelength of one another. But they aren't in the top octave, so you get constructive and destructive interference as you move your head laterally (technically, spatial aliasing; informally, the "Venetian blind effect").

So in the end, I think it's a matter of personal preference. I'd estimate (without having made a formal count) that about 3/4 of those who mentioned having tried flipping their MMG's preferred them stock, with the Mylar in front.

[Paddlefoot]

I tried the flipping...even tried the polarity change...some things sounded a little better...but top end didn't seem right...tried with tweeter inside and out side....gone back to the tweeters inside ...Mylar up front....these are fine sounding speakers....thank you all for your insights...Greg

[Letitroll98]

You wouldn't drive your car in reverse to the store to pick up Bud Lite.

Why would you drive anywhere, either forward or reverse, or sideways, or walk, to pick up Bud Light?  Wouldn't it just be so much easier to shoot yourself in the head before making the trip that can only end in tragedy anyway?  Or perhaps you could change the whole premise of the journey and head out for some Flying Fish, or Yards, or even Newcastle.  Plan carefully young Davey to avoid something you may regret for a long time.