Another vintage "Monkey Coffin" loudspeaker reboot/update/retread: McIntosh brings back their ML-1

[mhardy6647]

Bringing you yesterday's products tomorrow seems more and more to be the default business plan for "new" loudspeakers.

McIntosh ML1 Loudspeaker Mk II

Vintage Style Meets Cutting-Edge Sound: The ML1 Loudspeaker Reborn

www.mcintoshlabs.com

Some entertaining chatter about this "new" product announcement, mostly amongst the Mac faithful, over @ AK (if you're easily amused and/or need some light entertainment today):

McIntosh Reissues the ML1C.

Not yet released but coming soon. Projected price is $12,000 pair. https://www.mcintoshlabs.com/products/speakers/ML1?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ML1announcement

audiokarma.org

A photo of the original (in its ML-1c morph, and clearly refoamed), with the required (IIRC?) active EQ module from the thread above.

I guess Mac put little perforated sub-grilles over the dome drivers which are not present in the examples shown above.

image source:

https://www.reddit.com/r/vintageaudio/comments/128c8za

 

[Ilkless]

I'm hopeful but not optimistic that the driver array was optimised to form a coherent beam with minimal lobing. The CtC spacing relative to driver diameters should make good summing possible, but will require a ton of optimisation.

 

[hex168]

I wonder about the effect of the cabinet lip and the grille frame.

 

[TheBatsEar]

I wonder about the effect of the cabinet lip and the grille frame.

The effect is that the marketing department said it sells better.

 

[CtheArgie]

At my old company, we used to joke:

"Yesterday's products, today, at tomorrow's prices!"

 

[mhardy6647]

I wonder if there is a limit to the bounds of this retro-loudspeaker thing?
hmmm...
Maybe it's time to bring back the Gale GS401?

Perhaps a Looking for Mr. Goodbar or an Annie Hall signature edition?

The Gales were actually pretty darned good sounding loudspeakers.

 

[fpitas]

The effect is that the marketing department said it sells better.

Sad, but probably they insisted on the retro look.

 

[computer-audiophile]

Vintage is cult. I'm having a pair of 70's retro style glasses made right now.
By the way, there is also such a box from MAGNAT in this retro style. With 95 dB/W/m even sufficient efficiency for tube amplifiers. And not so expensive.

Magnat Transpuls 1500

Die Magnat Transpuls 1500 ist mit klassischen Komponenten dieser Lautsprecherkategorie bestückt, aber mit modernen Entwicklungstools wie unserem Klippel®- Laser Messsystem entwickelt. Beim Tieftöner wurde gleich die Königsklasse...

www.magnat.de

 

[Philbo King]

Still waiting for these to come back in style. ~105 dB at 5 watts!

Altec Lansing’s Voice of the Theatre Speakers - What You Need to Know

A design by John Hilliard, Altec Lansing Voice of the Theatre systems originally targeted movie theaters. The entire series was gradually expanded for use in general sound reinforcement and later converted in extreme high-end audio segments for hi-fi home use. Dorsey knows cinema sound inside...

audioxpress.com

 

[computer-audiophile]

Still waiting for these to come back in style. ~105 dB at 5 watts!

Altec Lansing’s Voice of the Theatre Speakers - What You Need to Know

A design by John Hilliard, Altec Lansing Voice of the Theatre systems originally targeted movie theaters. The entire series was gradually expanded for use in general sound reinforcement and later converted in extreme high-end audio segments for hi-fi home use. Dorsey knows cinema sound inside...

audioxpress.com

I once had a pair of original vintage Altec A7 Vott in our living room that were my main speakers for a while. I mean, around the 2000s you could still buy a reissue like the one in my picture. I briefly considered such new ones, but transporting them from the US was too much of a hassle for me. In Germany these were not available.

 

[Doodski]

I like them from look alone. 12" woofer but yeah that layout for the mids and tweeter is kinda off putting in ways. It maybe has issues in a spin. But a 4 way is boss!

 

[mhardy6647]

It does look like they went for maximum audiophile cred* with what appear to be Dayton (Bennic) capacitors! Whoo-hoo!

______________________
* N.B. this is sarcasm.

 

[fpitas]

Still waiting for these to come back in style. ~105 dB at 5 watts!

Altec Lansing’s Voice of the Theatre Speakers - What You Need to Know

A design by John Hilliard, Altec Lansing Voice of the Theatre systems originally targeted movie theaters. The entire series was gradually expanded for use in general sound reinforcement and later converted in extreme high-end audio segments for hi-fi home use. Dorsey knows cinema sound inside...

audioxpress.com

Everyone needs 511s in their music room.

 

[sergeauckland]

It would be nice if their marketing department learnt to write proper English:-

"Externally, the new ML1 evokes memories of when the original ML1 was available – a time when there were less distractions, and it was easier to listen to music and become immersed in it. The classic looks of the ML1 rekindles the mood of that era so you can relax and appreciate your favorite songs."

Fewer distractions, please!

S

 

[fpitas]

Still waiting for these to come back in style. ~105 dB at 5 watts!

Altec Lansing’s Voice of the Theatre Speakers - What You Need to Know

A design by John Hilliard, Altec Lansing Voice of the Theatre systems originally targeted movie theaters. The entire series was gradually expanded for use in general sound reinforcement and later converted in extreme high-end audio segments for hi-fi home use. Dorsey knows cinema sound inside...

audioxpress.com

Hilliard Home In Wall Speaker System — Retro Vintage Modern Hi-Fi

I am looking for more information on the Hilliard home hifi system. If anyone has better pics or information please let me know.

www.itishifi.com

 

[Philbo King]

I once had a pair of original vintage Altec A7 Vott in our living room that were my main speakers for a while. I mean, around the 2000s you could still buy a reissue like the one in my picture. I briefly considered such new ones, but transporting them from the US was too much of a hassle for me. In Germany these were not available.

View attachment 286623

I had a band member who put 2 side by side in the back of his Dodge van for playing 8 track tapes (in the previous century, mid 70s)

 

[SIY]

Love to see some of their line array systems come back...

 

[kevinh]

Had a friend with a full Mac system in the late 70's ML-2, 2300 amp, the EQ and c28 Pre. Lots of bass not the speakers were not the greatest.

 

[stevenswall]

Looks like they are simply marketing to most people on here and elsewhere: At best, They want the best Model T available. At worst, it just needs to give them the "vibes" of a model T, performance be damned.

I get it if the speakers are in the hundreds of dollars range.

In the several of thousands of dollars range, it just seems like lazy design and I don't understand why people despise state of the art speakers and instead choose to purchase things designed to be inferior.

-Parallel walls
-Vertices
-Wood

I don't understand the fascination with these unless it's because of their aesthetics... And even then I don't understand that, because it seems you could pay an artist $12,000 to make something in a finish other than "blandish", out of woods other than what you could find in your backyard.

 

[thewas]

Measurements are as expected a mess...

McIntosh ML1 MkII loudspeaker Measurements | Stereophile.com

Sidebar 3: Measurements I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system, a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone, and an Earthworks microphone preamplifier to measure the quasi-anechoic frequency- and time-domain behavior of one of the McIntosh ML1 Mk IIs—serial number BBB1256—in the farfield. The manual doesn't mention...

www.stereophile.com