[Mike D]

Magnepan 3A questions:

Did the bass and mid panels change from the early production 3As to the later production 3As?  

If the bass and mid panels did not change, it would seem logical that I could change the crossover parts to reach the final version of the 3A.  Correct?  According to the schematic I have seen, there are only two out of three changes that need to happen: add a one ohm resister at the internal crossover to allow room for the newer ribbon and add a 12uF cap in parallel to the mid panel.  My speakers already have the added 3.5 inductor in the external crossover.

When I do change the capacitors in the external crossovers, should I go ahead and change the inductors as well since bi-amping is not in the future?  The capacitors will be Black Gates.  The cost of replacing the inductors will total 2.5 times the amount of the Black Gates.  Will the difference be 2.5 times better?

If I rebuild the external crossovers, can I just use 14 gauge solid wire like they did or is there a better idea?

I've edited this post to erase the questions that have been answered and add new questions that have come up.

Thank you for your help.

[Mike D]

New question:

What capacitor should I use for the ribbon tweeter?  Paper in oil is out of my price range.  Auricaps are also $35 per speaker.  What about Solen, Wondercap, Multicaps, Black Gates and the millions of other choices out there that go up to 12uF?

[steve k]

Mike,
When you get them back and broken in, we're going to have to get yours, mine and Alex's together in one room and have a Maggie orgy. With 6 IIIA's all driven by the same source material, we should be able to create an aural tsunami! We could probably put enough amplification to together to biamp each pair and with some cable ingenuity, get the same source material into each amp rig.

I need to go to bed!
steve k