Sigberg Audio Manta (12" wideband cardioid active speakers) development thread

[Tachyon88]

This could of been me, nice. I even have the same vac. lol

 

[MLDT]

More to come, but an early glimpse into a private home theater still in progress in Milan, Italy. Will be used for both music and movies.

Sigberg Audio Manta as main speakers, with 2x Sigberg Audio Inkognito subwoofers + also two Arendal 2S that the customers had already). There's also a Sigberg Audio SBS.1 as center channel behind the screen.

None of the subs are in their final location, this is a pic taken during initial setup just to see that everything works. Pic is a bit dark / grainy since the room has no windows. Custom stands for the Mantas (not the ones that are normally included). 2.6m ceiling. Some acoustic paneling are coming as well.

I think this is going to turn out pretty good.

View attachment 465071

Nice room!
I wonder who it belongs to ..... ahahah
Still very early stages, as you said I just hooked up everything to check cabling and that everything worked and I run a very fast basic Audyssey calibration just to set distances and levels... but already now it sounds pretty impressive. Subs will need moving, most likely both the Inkognitos and the Arendals, but need to buy longer cables for the Arendals as the current ones are not long enough and would limit the location experimentation. Also need to put up some acoustic absorbers-diffusers. Given holidays coming will likely be concluded in September but I am already over the moon with it!

 

[sigbergaudio]

Mastering engineer Victor Malvolti has a popular French Youtube channel, and has now visited one of our Sigberg Audio MANTA customers in France! This video both has some good video footage of the system, as well as in-depth discussions about the system, and the customer Mathieu shares his impressions.

Note that the video is in French, but there are English subtitles.

 

[sigbergaudio]

How would we feel about a dual 12" subwoofer that fits perfectly under the Manta, theoretically opening up the Manta to those who want floorstanders as well?

I'm picturing something like 36x60x35cm (WHD) making it fit perfectly under the Manta and elevating the Manta to a total height of 120cm. You'd then have a floorstander with 3x12"..

The sub would sell separately as well.

 

[90sNintendoKid]

How would we feel about a dual 12" subwoofer that fits perfectly under the Manta, theoretically opening up the Manta to those who want floorstanders as well?

I'm picturing something like 36x60x35cm (WHD) making it fit perfectly under the Manta and elevating the Manta to a total height of 120cm. You'd then have a floorstander with 3x12"..

The sub would sell separately as well.

I wouldn't be interested in this. I use MSO and a Minidsp 2x4 HD to EQ my subwoofers and I select where to position the subwoofers based on an initial REW measurement and then MSO.

I am considering the Mantas and I'd prefer to not not be tied to placing the subwoofers underneath.

I realise that my rooms will always be a compromise because I live in London and rooms are usually smaller compared to he rest of the world.

 

[sigbergaudio]

I wouldn't be interested in this. I use MSO and a Minidsp 2x4 HD to EQ my subwoofers and I select where to position the subwoofers based on an initial REW measurement and then MSO.

I am considering the Mantas and I'd prefer to not not be tied to placing the subwoofers underneath.

I realise that my rooms will always be a compromise because I live in London and rooms are usually smaller compared to he rest of the world.

Well, we won't be discontinuing the current 10D subs, and if these new ones come about, you don't HAVE to but them under the Mantas, they could be placed freely as well.

 

[Fledermaus]

It would be cool to have the choice between standmounts + bespoke subs on the one hand, and floorstanders on the other, without adding nor changing hardware.
One could imagine having one DSP setup for each use case with its specific levels, EQs and delays... experimenting with these would make for some fun !

 

[ragwo]

How would we feel about a dual 12" subwoofer that fits perfectly under the Manta, theoretically opening up the Manta to those who want floorstanders as well?

I'm picturing something like 36x60x35cm (WHD) making it fit perfectly under the Manta and elevating the Manta to a total height of 120cm. You'd then have a floorstander with 3x12"..

The sub would sell separately as well.

Yes, please! That would be awesome!

 

[Reddoc]

How would we feel about a dual 12" subwoofer that fits perfectly under the Manta, theoretically opening up the Manta to those who want floorstanders as well?

I'm picturing something like 36x60x35cm (WHD) making it fit perfectly under the Manta and elevating the Manta to a total height of 120cm. You'd then have a floorstander with 3x12"..

The sub would sell separately as well.

I think moving the subs around is good for tuning bass reasonances / reflections. of course, four subs might work even better than two mobile ones.
But 120cm might put the tweeter too high?

 

[sigbergaudio]

I think moving the subs around is good for tuning bass reasonances / reflections. of course, four subs might work even better than two mobile ones.
But 120cm might put the tweeter too high?

Having the subs elsewhere will certainly be better in many (most rooms), but that doesn't stop a lot of people from purchasing floorstanders instead of speaker-sub systems. Also, as mentioned - the subs will be standalone subs, and the Mantas will still come with stands, so you don't HAVE to put them under the Mantas.

With regards to height, that has to be tested. I think it might be fine - since Manta uses a coaxial driver the vertical dispersion is quite even. It would also probably look quite symmetric since then the sub cabinet and the Manta cabinet would be exactly the same dimensions. But reducing the height to 50-55 cm is an option of course, depending on how the development and testing turns out.

 

[sigbergaudio]

A Danish youtuber is in the process of reviewing the Saranna, and (strange but true) I was actually driving more or less by him with a Manta system in the car, so we decided he could borrow that too, so now there'll be a Youtube review of Manta too - stay tuned.

 

[sigbergaudio]

New video clip from Stjernholm Reviews: I present the Sigberg Audio MANTA system in this video interview, talking about the reasoning behind it, the Manta performance and characteristics, including the subwoofers, how to set it up, why subwoofers, and more. Towards the end I also discuss Manta vs Saranna.

 

[sigbergaudio]

A short Manta review on Stjernholm Reviews on Youtube will be published tomorrow.

 

[sigbergaudio]

Video out now.

In his Patreon, Morten Stjernholm reveals that he now considers the Manta system his new reference.

 

[Audionaut]

he now considers the Manta system his new reference

That doesn't surprise me, Thorbjørn.
I see what you're doing and how you're doing it—and it all makes sense to me because I would do it similarly or have already done it similarly.
When I see you and your speakers, I feel a bit like your uncle with the Opel Manta, whose age I'm probably closer to than yours.
I can completely understand and support your philosophy of speaker design.
If I had to choose between a Sigberg speaker and an ASCILAB, for example, I would always go for a Sigberg speaker.
Keep up the good work. It's great.

 

[sigbergaudio]

I've put together a video of high-resolution close-up shots of the MANTA in satin white from the B-rolls from the Stjernholm review, for those who'd like to check out the details.

 

[sigbergaudio]

Interview about the Manta + 10D system from Capital Audiofest 2025 by Carlo from Secrets of Home Theater & High Fidelity.

 

[sigbergaudio]

I've been leaning a bit into the image of having products that work well for rock, but EDM of course works well too!

Recently visited Norwegian EDM artist CLMD with a set of Mantas + dual Inkognitos

CLMD on Spotify: