Not in the same league or close to it to the Mini's. But, the new 805S from B&W is a first order crossover design.
Why do you necessarily have to have a first order crossover?
Truth be told, I believe to get a "true" first order crossover, it takes many notch filters that will actually give you as many parts as a typically 3rd or 4th order crossover would have. |
I am more intrigued by the sealed box enclosure than the type of crossover. Between the two sealed speakers I already own, I prefer the ones with the first order crossover. The B&W 805S is ported like most speakers and that is not what I'm interested in. The B&W CM1's are very small with something like a 4 or 4 1/2 inch woofer so don't play very low or loud. The Triads are designed as a 3 box system with a separate powered woofer so the satellites roll off pretty steep below 90 cycles. I would like something bigger that will go lower and louder like the Magico. |
Well this is an easy one fo me. I have Audiomachina's amazing Ultimate Monitors designed by Dr. Karl Schuemann. It is stand mounted sealed box enclosure with a first order series crossover. (I am not sure if The Magico has a first order crossover design.) I feel fairly certain that the Ultimate Monitor is the finest speaker in the world simply in terms of construction quality. If you think that this is hyperbole, let me tell you why I feel very comfortable in making that claim. Several weeks ago I had one of the speakers slip out of my hands while removing it from the stand in anticipation of a move. It fell from a 30 inch height onto the floor which had a thin commercial grade carpet (no pad) over a plywood subfloor. The speaker showed absolutely no sign of damage, either in performance or appearance! However, this claim would have little value if its sonic performance was not commensurate with its build quality. I can tell you that after two months of ownership, this is the finest mini-monitor I have ever heard (BTW, I have not heard the Magico), and I have heard few floor standing designs that come close to the musicality and coherence of the UM. Like any state of the art contender, there are some caveats in order to maximize its performance potential, and I am woking on a full review. In the meantime, checkout www.audiomachina.com. |
While a totally different design and maybe not meeting your requirements exactly, these comments by Jonathan Valin about this speaker really caught my attention.
http://www.avguide.com/news/2006/10/22/rocky-mountain-audio-fest-art-audio-gill-audio-omega/ |
Dear Rhljazz,
I am a proud owner of a pair of Magico Mini.
First of all, they are not first-order cross over designs. I actually had the opportunity to meet with Alon Wolf a few months ago when he dropped by Hong Kong. I asked him about first-order crossovers, and his immediate response was that one must differentiate between first-order crossover electrically or acoustically... The Mini as far as I know are third order designs.
Has anything come close? I wish! I could have save a lot of money. But you are absolutely right that a good execution of a properly designed sealed enclosure sound absolutely wonderful. the bassline is SO clean and articular that any ported designs will immediately show their shortcomings.
There aren't that many sealed designs these days. If you find a 'substitute', do let me know!
Don't even bother with the B&W 805s. They are not even close to the same league... they are fine speakers, just that they should not be compared to the Magico Mini on any level.
Ultimate Monitors are interesting alternatives. But from what I understand, they are not as 'flat' as the Magico Mini, according to the reviews done by a japanese magazine. They may be worth a shot though. |
dunlavy monitors or merlin monitors or harmonix bravos will compete......the ultimate in sound in my book is still the totem mani for a small musical monitor.....that is if you must have a monitor with an other the top cabinet build. |
Linkster, one thing I like about your comments is that you made a claim and then backed it up with an example. You almost never see that on audiogon anymore.
Thanks for the comments. I have not heard of your speaker, but will check it out.
Rhljazz, you are correct, the 805S is a ported design. The CM 1 uses a 5 1/4" driver I believe. I think part of the problem with a sealed design is that they are typically a little harder to power. (Could be wrong)
I'm VERY intrigued by the Mini, although WAY out of my price range. I'd love to atleast hear it sometime. |
I can custom build you a loudspeaker I only use very high quality transducers, electrical parts and cabinets check my feedback. |
For a good deal on sealed box speakers, there are frequently Hales' speakers on here at really low prices. I know all of his speakers were sealed box, but I'm not sure about first order crossovers. Happy listening! |
Rhljazz, you are correct, the 805S is a ported design. The CM 1 uses a 5 1/4" driver I believe. I think part of the problem with a sealed design is that they are typically a little harder to power. (Could be wrong)
The CM1's I have date from the late eighties and are one of the original matrix constructions. The cabinets are some sort of a composit and the box is rigidly braced internally and the space is completely filled with foam. It's a two way with a kevlar woofer about four inches diameter. I would like to know more about Linkster's speakers. What size and type of drivers and cabinet size and finish? What is the frequency range? |
If you spend that kind of money on those speakers and the Slimdevices is your primary source you are doing them disservice. |
Rhljazz, have you thought of taking a cheaper option in monitors and integrating them with a stereo pair of seal boxed subwoofers? I think that the finest top end that you can get is probably in the ported Talon Hawk monitors and I have linked these with a pair of Velodyne DD12 subs in 2 channel. As the key advantage of sealed seems to be in the bass region, I think this is a very cost effective and interesting alternative. If you want to go completely OTT you might add a pair of supertweeters to this set up (I use the Townshend supertweeters). The only challenge then becomes one of integrating them into your system and room. This seems to exceed any single boxed designs that I know of, giving frequency extention of 17Hz-100Khz, exceptional speed and flexibility in set up.
I hope this does not seem too off beam and proves of some use. |
