There used to be a loudspeaker manufacturer named Hales that featured ultra-thick front baffles-I believe of birch ply. They were reviewed multiple times by Stereophile. As with any loudspeaker, they still had strong points and weak, and the company ultimately folded.
There have been tiny loudspeaker ventures in the past that featured cabinets made of concrete. They failed for obvious reasons.
I listened to Magicos extensively at this year’s Axpona in two different rooms. They sounded dull to me. Not terribly dull, but not worth the long green.
I am of the humble opinion that there is simply no one single design approach that solves all of the problems inherent in loudspeaker transducers. I also happen to think that there is a large segment of the audiophile community who wish to believe that cutting edge technology is the path to loudspeaker-happiness. Exhibit A is Kalman Robinson of S’Phile. Take a look at this months edition of his column. KR is indisputably 100% correct as to his choice for himself, but one has to wonder how much of his opinion is based on the real versus the perceived versus placebo. Put differently, would he like his choice of loudspeakers just as much if he were blind? How about if he had no preconceived notions?
There can be no argument that loudspeakers-every design currently known to mankind-introduce more distortion in music reproduction in the home than any other component in the chain assuming lack of glaring defects. Eliminating cabinet resonance does not change that fact. Loudspeaker distortion has to be managed because it can not be eliminated.
There have been tiny loudspeaker ventures in the past that featured cabinets made of concrete. They failed for obvious reasons.
I listened to Magicos extensively at this year’s Axpona in two different rooms. They sounded dull to me. Not terribly dull, but not worth the long green.
I am of the humble opinion that there is simply no one single design approach that solves all of the problems inherent in loudspeaker transducers. I also happen to think that there is a large segment of the audiophile community who wish to believe that cutting edge technology is the path to loudspeaker-happiness. Exhibit A is Kalman Robinson of S’Phile. Take a look at this months edition of his column. KR is indisputably 100% correct as to his choice for himself, but one has to wonder how much of his opinion is based on the real versus the perceived versus placebo. Put differently, would he like his choice of loudspeakers just as much if he were blind? How about if he had no preconceived notions?
There can be no argument that loudspeakers-every design currently known to mankind-introduce more distortion in music reproduction in the home than any other component in the chain assuming lack of glaring defects. Eliminating cabinet resonance does not change that fact. Loudspeaker distortion has to be managed because it can not be eliminated.