Placing a value on old gear - how ?

[steveinspain]

OK, so the simple answer is to look at forums, ebay etc, but what if you can't find examples similar to yours ?
I may be selling off a few bits over the next few months, and from my searching, which is limited, I cannot find much to go on.
Anyone got any idea where to look for a rough price to sell my Magnaplanar MG1c panel speakers, or what to ask ?
Is there a listing, or an expert here who can give me an idea ?

[Dave Cawley]

How old are they, how many owners, what was the price new?

Dave

[steveinspain]

Dave - sadly, I cannot remember the new price - about £1000 I seem to think, and I got them from Howard Popeck at Subjective audio in about '85 - second hand, but only just and barely used. The cloth cover has a small tear on the front (though no damage to the important bits) and some discolouration as they all do. Still boxed, though the boxes have suffered some, and they have been unused for about 10-12 years bar a few minutes a couple of years ago to test them out !

[Dave Cawley]

Hi Steve

There have been two sold on eBay USA for £100 and £60. However if they are perfect, and they really need to be, then £250 would be realistic.

Regards

Dave

[steveinspain]

Hi Dave - Many thanks for that - makes more sense to keep them if that is all they are worth, as mine are not perfect.
Wonder how they would sound on the end of an mp3 player, caiman and some tiny amp - the idea of a tiny set up into such big speakers amuses me !!
I used to use a great big Beard P100/P500 valve pre and power back in the day..

[Dave Cawley]

Try it!

Dave

[steveinspain]

SAdly, the maggies are in London, and I am in the south of Spain, so its not so easy..
However, if they are worth little, I may try to get them shipped down here at some stage..

[hifi_dave]

Maggies are not easy to control - driving them is easy but making sense of that flapping panel takes a good amp.

We used to sell Maggies many years ago but (to be honest) they were never popular even then because of the physical size. Same problem with large ML's, Apogee etc. I seem to recall that the MG1c was around £600 when new.

[jandl100]

Maggies - Nice speakers if you put scale over rez - life's a compromise, eh?! :) As Dave says, probably £150-£250 on the UK market depending on condition.
___

As for your original question - Placing a value on old gear - how ? - just ask on here! Someone will have sensible experience and/or knowledge. Just don't necessarily take the first offer of "I'll take 'em off your hands for a tenner" !! :lol:

[steveinspain]

Dave - I may have got the model number wrong - I thought the little baby maggies were £600, and mine, the next ones up were around a grand - however, my memory is not what it used to be...
Having only ever played them via a valve amp, what sort of thing might do the job - would my Avondaled Naim 250 be up to the job ?
I did even wonder about putting them into an AV set up - as a nice pair or rear surrounds maybe ?

[The Grand Wazoo]

You're right Steve, the little ones were the SMGa's- ~£600
Yours were ~"£1000
That's how I recall it anyway.

[hifi_dave]

Yes, those prices are about right. I need some new glasses, I thought it was SMGa's you were asking about...:doh:

Anyway, all Maggies were/are difficult to control but a NAP250 should be fine as it has plenty of 'grip'.