Magnepan 3.5r Owners needed.... No bass


Hello.  Brand new to the site.  I have been into Magnepans for years. 

I have 3.5r speakers which are wonderful.  

But lately it sounds like they have little to no bass.  I have them bi-wired, and when only playing the bass, it is barely there.  Strange because these used to have loads of clean, tight bass.  The mids and the highs still sound spectacular.  No buzzing, no problems.  I've examined them in bright sunlight and there is no delamination on the wires or anything.  Ive taken apart the crossover and measured and it all measures to the correct values according to the schematic.  Why would my Mg12's have loads more bass than my 3.5r's?    Powerful amplifiers.  What sound I do get is beautiful.  But just not getting the bass that this speaker should put out.  

Wondering if anyone with these speakers has experienced this issue.  3.5 or 3.6?  

Any help would be appreciated.  Thanks. 

jsbelieve

Thanks for this.  

And you're right about the speakers not making much sound when only the bass is connected.  The only reason I checked while listening separately is that I wasn't getting much bass at all.

The rear of these speakers has two fuses.  Midrange and tweeter.  There is no fuse for the bass.

The Marchand was something on my list, but again, was very expensive when I really don't know how it will perform in my system or how big a difference it will make.  I also looked into Puritan Audio.  

Those are costly options.  I was going to go with a behringer and see if it makes a difference.  

Thanks for sharing the pic.  Those are interesting looking speakers, indeed. 

OK. even if you inspect the fuses visually, you might not see a problem. They're cheap, I would replace them. Better still though I never tried it but many swear by bypassing the fuses all together (do a search).

I went through 3 Behringers and 2 DBXs- total crap, BUT, with money back you could at least determine what (if anything) they could bring to the table

hth

Again, thanks for the advice.  

I already changed fuses.  I meant when I said I'd tried the basics.  I have tried bypassing in the past, unrelated to this issue, and I always thought it sounded terrible.  The fuses are brand new and I've changed those out, anyway. 

Good to know about the Behringers and DBX's.  I won't waste the time.  

I found one called Sublime acoustics.  $500.  Not inexpensive.  Looks to be decent quality, although the plasticky rca connections in rear don't look to be the best.  

But, since I've been wanting to migrate to active crossovers for my bi-amping for around 15 years, now might be the time to just try it.  

Regarding your speakers, what are those dividers?  Do those come with the speakers?  I've always found that when I do that with Magnepans, they sounded better.  I used to put another pair of Maggies on the outside of both the ones I was listening to.  Unless I was in a great room already, which I used to have.  Now I'm listening in my apartment and it's not ideal.  17x19 for the 3.5's would be fine in a square, but this trapezoid, along with the opening in the room where it splits into another room just makes a mess of the sound.  I have taken a lot of steps to control it and get it to a respectable level. And now this bass issue.  

Thanks for trying.  

A couple years ago a friend came to my house he had an app in his phone which showed where the dead spot in my room is. If you don't have the app or a friend who does, get a pair of Dollys from Harbour Freight and keep experimenting with best placement

Not that this tip will solve your bass issue, but, there is a method for cryoing cables/fuses, etc in your frig and freezer. Do a search for the article

hth

I have not checked to see if the bananas were pushed too far in. 

Do you also have 3.5r speakers

The connectors can contact the circuit sometimes and do exactly what you are describing. I have not owned 3.5s but I helped my brother set up his 3.6s. (We solved the bass issue with Infinity RS1B towers).