This is a wooden/veneered version of the modified Keele diffraction horns, as sold by Altec (Mantaray), EV and JBL at the time.
There is also a 'compact' version with extra mouth height (66 (W) x 89 (H) cm) that should be CD from ca. 350 Hz, both horizontally and vertically.
There is also a 'compact' version with extra mouth height (66 (W) x 89 (H) cm) that should be CD from ca. 350 Hz, both horizontally and vertically.
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Here's a sonogram. I believe it belongs to the horn that camplo posted.
I think you should be flattered that camplo confused you with Don Keele who is involved with Bjorn Ohmolt.
The Keele Ohmolt technologies web page doesn't have much on it but this is where camplo's image came from
https://www.facebook.com/people/lyd-akustikk/100051149263583/
Tis is my result already a longer time ago without the use of such "nasty" diffration slots and without the waiste banding in the lower midrange region for a WN waveguide (pattern control optimized shape):
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After a century of horn history, I am always amazed to see diffraction slots that no longer exhibit isophase behavior at the output. I think JBL did a better job already a long time ago. imo, these horns could hardly be operated without the use of DSP and the associated considerable correction. So certainly not a good mate for a 45-SE amp ;-)
And it still provides full hornloading from 600 Hz.
This is due to astigmatism. You've done better with your variation of diffraction horns 😉
After more than a decade of observing the hi-fi/high-end world from a distance, I visited a large high-end show last weekend.
We had selected a number of rooms in advance that we wanted to visit anyway. This turned out to be a very good decision, as the number of participating brands was large and premature exhaustion was thus prevented.
By far the most valuable experience was the confirmation of my conviction that broad knowledge gained through successively: study, observation and experience - in particular regarding loudspeaker technology, provides a fundamental basis for the estimation of the actual performance characteristics (reproduction quality).
For example, I've never listened to Magico loudspeakers before, but I have learned a few things about the underlying engineering (principles) of the brand. Therefore - in light of the broader knowledge behind it, I've developed a certain idea of the performance.
In other words, also based on the technical features of the Magico loudspeakers, comments in online reviews, measurement data, etc. you can imagine (virtually) a blueprint of the rendering characteristics in your head.
The rather large room was acoustically treated before the opening of the show:
My very short-lived experience went like this.
After entering the room, I chose a seat in the front, right of center.
I closed my eyes to listen to the (audiophile) blues recording being played.
Instead of listening to the piece of music as a whole, I noticed that my attention was naturally and increasingly focused on individual aspects in the recording: the placement of voice and individual instruments etc.
There was an organ in it, but it could just as well have been a mediocre vst. I can't even remember whether it was a studio or live recording.
When the drummer hit the cymbals - which sounded more like a shaker, the time had come to stop wasting time in this room.
Although there was little to fault in the rendering, technically speaking, the whole sounded life/soulless, somewhat one dimensional and extremely clinical, in other words: like the color of the drivers and cabinets: many shades of GRAY (my favorite color, but not for music).
The marketing speak mentions "the pursuit of a more organic rendering" in the development of the Magico M-series...
Mission failed miserably in my opinion.
I had a similar experience in the room where the Wilson Audio Sabrina was being demonstrated. The absolute audiophile deception came from Avalon. We were outside again in less than 40 seconds.
"Magico has gone from titanium-sandwich drivers, ring-radiator tweeters, and stacked-birch enclosures to nanotech carbon-fiber drivers, beryllium dome tweeters, and massive aluminum enclosures to what has become the current M Series platform of graphene carbon drivers, diamond-coated beryllium dome tweeters, and carbon-fiber-and-aluminum enclosures. What has stayed the same, however, is Wolf and Co.’s ongoing pursuit of perfection.
Of course, the first of many thorny issues with such a quest—which is certainly what Magico is on—is what is meant by “perfection.” For Magico the answer to this question is, and has always been, the lowering of distortions of every measurable kind. Every advance that the company has made has been accompanied by an audible reduction in noise (from drivers, crossovers, and cabinets) and a concomitant increase in resolution and transparency. For Magico, the perfect speaker would be no speaker (or no sense of one)—a pure, uncolored conduit from source to listening room.
This said, not everyone has loved Magico’s ultra-transparent, ultra-neutral, ultra-low-distortion sound (or bought into its pursuit of measurements-based perfection). Let’s face it: One man’s neutral, low in distortion, and transparent is another’s cool, lean, and analytical. And cool, lean, and analytical is precisely the way some listeners have heard Magicos.
To be fair to their critics, Magicos in general are not warm, cuddly, forgiving speakers, like Raidhos or Wilsons. They appeal to listeners who value transparency to sources—or what others call “accuracy”—above all else. If a source is well recorded, Magico loudspeakers come as close to the real thing as any speakers on the market, now or in the past. If it is not, well, they tell you so—not in an overly insistent way, but nonetheless in a straightforward one."
I'd say Magico appeals to the archetypal 'Audiophool' and whatever is meant by 'the real thing', it's definitely not my thing. To me, Magico exemplifies a technocentric approach to loudspeaker technology in which certain (measurable) parameters determine R&D efforts.
To stay OT, the speakers most appreciated by us were all 2-way systems.
This is also a typical high-end product, which nevertheless surprised us in a positive way. Very compact, very pricey, very power hungry, but it's performance is impressive. The manufacturer reports that development includes "countless hours of critical listening", which seems plausible in this case.
To be continued.
We had selected a number of rooms in advance that we wanted to visit anyway. This turned out to be a very good decision, as the number of participating brands was large and premature exhaustion was thus prevented.
By far the most valuable experience was the confirmation of my conviction that broad knowledge gained through successively: study, observation and experience - in particular regarding loudspeaker technology, provides a fundamental basis for the estimation of the actual performance characteristics (reproduction quality).
For example, I've never listened to Magico loudspeakers before, but I have learned a few things about the underlying engineering (principles) of the brand. Therefore - in light of the broader knowledge behind it, I've developed a certain idea of the performance.
In other words, also based on the technical features of the Magico loudspeakers, comments in online reviews, measurement data, etc. you can imagine (virtually) a blueprint of the rendering characteristics in your head.
The rather large room was acoustically treated before the opening of the show:
My very short-lived experience went like this.
After entering the room, I chose a seat in the front, right of center.
I closed my eyes to listen to the (audiophile) blues recording being played.
Instead of listening to the piece of music as a whole, I noticed that my attention was naturally and increasingly focused on individual aspects in the recording: the placement of voice and individual instruments etc.
There was an organ in it, but it could just as well have been a mediocre vst. I can't even remember whether it was a studio or live recording.
When the drummer hit the cymbals - which sounded more like a shaker, the time had come to stop wasting time in this room.
Although there was little to fault in the rendering, technically speaking, the whole sounded life/soulless, somewhat one dimensional and extremely clinical, in other words: like the color of the drivers and cabinets: many shades of GRAY (my favorite color, but not for music).
The marketing speak mentions "the pursuit of a more organic rendering" in the development of the Magico M-series...
Mission failed miserably in my opinion.
I had a similar experience in the room where the Wilson Audio Sabrina was being demonstrated. The absolute audiophile deception came from Avalon. We were outside again in less than 40 seconds.
"Magico has gone from titanium-sandwich drivers, ring-radiator tweeters, and stacked-birch enclosures to nanotech carbon-fiber drivers, beryllium dome tweeters, and massive aluminum enclosures to what has become the current M Series platform of graphene carbon drivers, diamond-coated beryllium dome tweeters, and carbon-fiber-and-aluminum enclosures. What has stayed the same, however, is Wolf and Co.’s ongoing pursuit of perfection.
Of course, the first of many thorny issues with such a quest—which is certainly what Magico is on—is what is meant by “perfection.” For Magico the answer to this question is, and has always been, the lowering of distortions of every measurable kind. Every advance that the company has made has been accompanied by an audible reduction in noise (from drivers, crossovers, and cabinets) and a concomitant increase in resolution and transparency. For Magico, the perfect speaker would be no speaker (or no sense of one)—a pure, uncolored conduit from source to listening room.
This said, not everyone has loved Magico’s ultra-transparent, ultra-neutral, ultra-low-distortion sound (or bought into its pursuit of measurements-based perfection). Let’s face it: One man’s neutral, low in distortion, and transparent is another’s cool, lean, and analytical. And cool, lean, and analytical is precisely the way some listeners have heard Magicos.
To be fair to their critics, Magicos in general are not warm, cuddly, forgiving speakers, like Raidhos or Wilsons. They appeal to listeners who value transparency to sources—or what others call “accuracy”—above all else. If a source is well recorded, Magico loudspeakers come as close to the real thing as any speakers on the market, now or in the past. If it is not, well, they tell you so—not in an overly insistent way, but nonetheless in a straightforward one."
I'd say Magico appeals to the archetypal 'Audiophool' and whatever is meant by 'the real thing', it's definitely not my thing. To me, Magico exemplifies a technocentric approach to loudspeaker technology in which certain (measurable) parameters determine R&D efforts.
To stay OT, the speakers most appreciated by us were all 2-way systems.
This is also a typical high-end product, which nevertheless surprised us in a positive way. Very compact, very pricey, very power hungry, but it's performance is impressive. The manufacturer reports that development includes "countless hours of critical listening", which seems plausible in this case.
To be continued.
I should add 'synthetic' to the description of the tonal signature. The Magico's are perfect examples of what you get if you focus on technical perfection in terms of distortion and 'supposed' transparency/neutrality.
Without diving into the technical phenomena (interdependence and interaction between sub-subsystems), the outcome can be illustrated by means of a good driver with paper cone (as used by pro brands) versus alternative (exotic) materials as they are mainly used in the hi-fi/high-end world.
I have heard countless examples where this phenomenon was clearly observable. I'll come back to that later.
Given the exotic materials of the drivers in the regular Magico speakers, the contrast with the ALE compression drivers in Magico's top model - the Ultimate III - could not be greater.
ALE Acoustics, after G.I.P. Laboratory, is the closest thing to Western Electric. Loudspeaker technology in the greatest artisan tradition in which measurements play a subordinate role.
They sure look impressive, shiny and expensive, so they also must sound good right, no need to even measure as its obvious because it outshines everything else?😀 visuals and general appeal make ego tingle and feel important, perhaps they sound good as well but that is impossible to tell before hearing. Hearing is affected by the appeal so, perhaps they sound good especially those who are listening eyes open. But lets forget that.
* Sorry, its just my antenna sees only marketing and drive me away and made to type the remark. Perhaps my antenna is bent differently than those who target segment consumers, anyway
It is big five ways system, low mid is high up from floor, seems quite narrow coverage devices, so it possibly sounds good as effect of room is reduced. Virtues that DIY speaker builders could utilize as well.