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Magico - 2022 interview with Alon Wolf - he's a big measurements guy

Music1969

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Good new interview. I'll never be able to afford anything they currently make (Tom Cruise is a big Magico fan lol) but I like the approach of this guy.

I'm not sure if he's an engineer?

He plays classical guitar and does not let that influence design at all - he's a big measurements guy. Nice !

He strives for neutral.

For ~2 years they have the same Klippel Amir has.

I think their products (pre their Klippel purchase) have measured well in the past.

 

RayDunzl

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I briefly heard a big pair with the big amps and the big subs in the big room at the big show here in Tampa two years ago.

They sounded amazing. The sound was just "there".

Almost nothing else caught my attention at the show.

85101308_2660147850698987_1010943419243036672_o-2.jpg
 
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Music1969

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Here are Stereophile measurements, I think models are from most expensive to least.

These were designed before they got their Klippel 2 years ago, so it will be interesting to see future products measurements.

They all have similar drop-off after 10kHz (all have Beryllium tweeter).

All 3 have bass bump at 80Hz - likely deliberate

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kongwee

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Well, everyone here will express little to no difference to 8361 against the $700,000 overprice speaker.
 
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Music1969

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Well, everyone here will express little to no difference to 8361 against the $700,000 overprice speaker.

The $700k is jewellery for people with Tom Cruise money (he is a Magico owner).

But at least it is well performing jewellry, not 'broken' like many overpriced speakers :)

8361 is sold in much higher volume than M9 and much cheaper to make (material costs), so can't just do a direct price comparison. Lots of factors.

If I won lotto, I would love a pair of M9s in custom built/treated room

And I don't think these would sound same as 8361 especially in a massive listening room - M9 would go much deeper and higher SPL (if required for large listening room)
 

MAB

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They look great... but a shame about the cable lifters I can see there. ;)


JSmith
Good eye. The cable-lifters (and amp stands) do cast supreme doubt. I am waiting for a real measurement guru to bring their gear to a show, throw it into a room with no-name cables, turn the volume up and make music. I mean, wouldn't it be authentic for your gear to sound good without all that BS?
 

Eetu

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All 3 have bass bump at 80Hz - likely deliberate
This is due to JA's measurement technique and shows up on all the Stereophile measurements. He always mentions this in writing as well, for example: "the broad peak in the midbass will be almost entirely due to the nearfield measurement technique, which assumes a 2pi (half-spherical) acoustic environment for the drivers".
 
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Music1969

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This is due to JA's measurement technique and shows up on all the Stereophile measurements. He always mentions this in writing as well, for example: "the broad peak in the midbass will be almost entirely due to the nearfield measurement technique, which assumes a 2pi (half-spherical) acoustic environment for the drivers".

Thanks! So pretty good up to 10kHz (which is where most of the music is anyway)

But since they've purchased Klippel 2 years ago, I expect future speakers to be even better.
 

Sancus

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Magicos have always had fairly good measurements, with notably very very wide dispersion unlike most speakers. But the prices are just totally divorced from reality, makes Revel Salon 2s look like a price/performance budget speaker. You can put together an incredible near-SOTA multichannel system for the price of their cheapest pair of floorstanders.
 

Ilkless

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Magicos have always had fairly good measurements, with notably very very wide dispersion unlike most speakers. But the prices are just totally divorced from reality, makes Revel Salon 2s look like a price/performance budget speaker. You can put together an incredible near-SOTA multichannel system for the price of their cheapest pair of floorstanders.

The early pricing of the A-series, especially the A3 and A5, was actually quite reasonable for the materials and manufacturing involved. Chiefly by outsourcing machining to a specialist firm in the US with economies of scale, slightly simpler bracing and less dramatic roundovers/chamfering. The A5 started out priced for a relatively small premium over the Revel 328Be and Salon 2s, but have gradually risen since.

The M and Q-series stuff is just overkill, though at least well-engineered with a subtle refined aesthetic.
 

Easternlethal

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Very interesting interview. For such a perfectionist I wonder why he doesn’t use a real anechoic chamber. I think Andrew Jones said he doesn’t think klippel is actually as accurate as it’s supposed to be. Maybe that explains the imperfections in the measurements?
 

Matias

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As far as I know, this is the only spin they have published from their speakers. I always wondered about the others.

 
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Music1969

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Very interesting interview. For such a perfectionist I wonder why he doesn’t use a real anechoic chamber. I think Andrew Jones said he doesn’t think klippel is actually as accurate as it’s supposed to be. Maybe that explains the imperfections in the measurements?
As mentioned in the video, Magico only got Klippel 2 years ago.

Measurements I shared above are from products released before

So as I mentioned, will be interesting to see measurements of new products (now they have Klippel)
 
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Music1969

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As far as I know, this is the only spin they have published from their speakers. I always wondered about the other.


That's pretty good, other than the characteristic 10kHz drop-off.

Seems to be deliberate since it shows up in multiple products
 

HenryB

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That's pretty good, other than the characteristic 10kHz drop-off.

Seems to be deliberate since it shows up in multiple products
Not entirely, like I mention before, a pistonic dome will act like that (drop and come back before the breakup). But part of it is JA limited scope and somewhat misleading scale. Have a look at MC measurements of the Magico A3 (another pistonic tweeter). These tweeters actually have output all the way to 50K. https://www.magico.net/images/Reviews/A3/HFC.pdf
 
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