New Magico and JL Audio Subwoofers

zztop7

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Dec 12, 2012
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Edmonds, WA
Haul them over [Bellevue, WA], and I will compare them for the opposing manufacturers.

After reading your article, I have decided, that if I stumble upon similar 18" drivers, I will not mess with fabricating aluminum. Welding up a steel enclosure will be easier and just as structurally strong.

Best to you,
zz.
 

NorthStar

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Feb 8, 2011
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$22,000 for two 15" drivers inside an aluminum sub enclosure!
And $36,000 for the 18 inchers! ...570 pounds!

Magico is doing la grande sortie with their new subwoofers.

2" thick aluminum front baffle; is aluminum that expensive? ...Is that healthy, and legal?

P.S. Thanks a bunch for that link Jeffrey! :cool:
 
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Dimfer

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May 8, 2010
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$22,000 for two 15" drivers inside an aluminum sub enclosure!
And $36,000 for the 18 inchers! ...570 pounds!

Magico is doing la grande sortie with their new subwoofers.

2" thick aluminum front baffle; is aluminum that expensive? ...Is that healthy, and legal?

audiophile grade aluminum is :p
 

JackD201

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Apr 20, 2010
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Are there different grades of aluminum, seriously?

Yup. Just as there is for steel, stainless steel, titanium, etc., etc. No idea what is supposed to be the best damped formulation.
 

GaryProtein

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Jul 25, 2012
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I'm not a metallurgist, but I know my titaniums. The use of the industry accepted term, "grade" is a little misleading because it implies that one is better than another. "Type" would really be better than "grade". For example, titanium has about 25 "grades" that I aware of, maybe more, and one isn't necessarily intrinsically better than another, but one may be better for a given application than another. Again, specifically regarding to titanium, there are four grades of "pure" titanium, but grade 1 is by far the weakest and grade 4 is the strongest. If I were having a titanium prosthesis, I would want grade 4, the stronger of the titaniums even though it is actually less "pure" than grades 1, 2, or 3. Other alloys of titanium with higher grades may be better for aircraft designs but not for biological ones. The same holds for aluminum and steel. Different materials are better for some applications than other.
 

JackD201

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The use of the industry accepted term, "grade" is a little misleading because it implies that one is better than another. "Type" would really be better than "grade". For example, titanium has about 25 "grades" that I aware of, maybe more, and one isn't necessarily intrinsically better than another, but one may be better for a given application than another. Again, specifically regarding to titanium, there are four grades of "pure" titanium, but grade 1 is by far the weakest and grade 4 is the strongest. If I were having a titanium prosthesis, I would want grade 4, the stronger of the titaniums even though it is actually less "pure" than grades 1, 2, or 3. Other alloys of titanium with higher grades may be better for aircraft designs but not for biological ones. The same holds for aluminum and steel. Different materials are better for some applications than other.

Yep. Reminds me of a documentary I saw about the making of Samurai swords. High Carbon to Iron ratio (Hard and holds an edge but can shatter) outside and lower ratio (strong and flexible but dulls easily) inside. Swordsmiths combined the two for the best of both worlds. Materials are chosen based on intended use.
 

microstrip

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Are there different grades of aluminum, seriously?

Bob,

What we call simply aluminum is not pure aluminum, but an alloy containing several alloying materials such as copper or even silicon. There are tens of types of aluminum alloys and the mechanical and thermal properties of the alloy can differ a lot according to composition and technique used to manufacture the material. The prices and the methods used to make the parts will also be very different for the different alloys.

Although high-end audio has no standards, ;) there are many public standards and codes for aluminum alloys - for more information see the wikipedia link on aluminum grades : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminium_alloy .

I would not be astonished if some manufacturers use more than one grade of aluminum in their speakers different parts in order to damp the system!
 

DS-21

New Member
Aug 23, 2010
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Looks like Magico is using Aurasound's underhung neo radial motor drivers, which bodes well for the sound quality of their subs.



Kind of amusing that Jello's dismissal of off-the-peg parts is followed immediately by a very expensive sub that obviously uses off-the-peg parts, though. Admittedly, the Aurasound drivers are a lot better than any of JL's bespoke parts, especially in terms of inductance linearity over stroke.
 

microstrip

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Krell also manufactured an 400 lbs aluminum subwoofer having two 15" woofers fitted with accelerometers and and an active feedback system, the Krell MRS Master Reference Subwoofer. I have the two woofers I bough at eBay from an HK user several years ago, as the owner upgraded his MRS drivers to a new specification. They are impressive, happily I could get the datasheet of the accelerometers and they are also operating perfectly. One more project waiting for the time to complete it - but I will not build the boxes in aluminum!
 

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Elberoth

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Dec 15, 2012
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The result of this elaborate cabinet construction is a lot of metal and therefore a lot of weight. When coupled with two huge drivers -- operating in an opposing configuration to “cancel out driver-borne resonances and lower the tremendous internal pressure

Not sure how can one lower the internal pressure with two opposing drivers ? :confused:
 

Elberoth

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Krell also manufactured an 400 lbs aluminum subwoofer having two 15" woofers fitted with accelerometers and and an active feedback system, the Krell MRS Master Reference Subwoofer.

Those subs were monsters and weighted a ton. I had pictured one during my visit to Krell factory back in 2007:

 

microstrip

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Those subs were monsters and weighted a ton. I had pictured one during my visit to Krell factory back in 2007:

[/IMG]

I listened to the MRS several times with the Krell LAT1000 speakers - a speaker much better than people can imagine, their only drawback was being designed and manufactured be Krell. A good friend bought it to use with a pair of Genesis 200's, and some time ago he sold it. Although I never listened to his system with this subwoofer, a mutual friend told me that it was like being in a stadium life performance in the front row!
 

Elberoth

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I belive the biggest problem with the Krell LAT1000 was fairly inexpensive tweeter used, sourced from Vifa. I have never understood why they had chosen that particular design over the much better ScanSpeak unit.
 

microstrip

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I belive the biggest problem with the Krell LAT1000 was fairly inexpensive tweeter used, sourced from Vifa. I have never understood why they had chosen that particular design over the much better ScanSpeak unit.

Perhaps you are addressing the older LAT1 - the LAT 1000 used the Scan-speak Revelator ring radiator drive, a similar unit to the one used in the Sonus Faber Stradivari. The LAT 1000 treble was fabulous. My only problem with them was they often shorted the fuse of DartZeel I was using at that time.

There was no possible comparison between the LAT1 and the LAT1000, IMHO the LAT1000 was a much better speaker. I could easily live with it again! :eek:
 

Elberoth

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Perhaps you are addressing the older LAT1 - the LAT 1000 used the Scan-speak Revelator ring radiator drive, a similar unit to the one used in the Sonus Faber Stradivari.

I stand corrected then !
 

Elberoth

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BTW, speaking of size:

 

DS-21

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Aug 23, 2010
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^ Is that a picture of a Magico sub under construction, or another subwoofer using Aurasound drivers? (The pointed conical dustcap is the giveaway.)
 

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