Article: Jay-Z & Kanye West v. Magico Q7

[barrows]

It appears that some may misunderstand the design approach of Magico for the Q7. These speakers are designed to store the least amount of energy possible, and also, they are not designed to damp vibrations in the cabinet. The whole design approach on these speakers is to eliminate all losses from the system, such that the only part of the speaker itself which moves "at all" is the diaphragm of the driver itself (as well as the voice coil and its former). The goal is to engineer the cabinet such that it never absorbs any energy at all, and therefore, never releases any (delayed) energy. Many speakers are designed to damp cabinet resonances, such that those resonances are converted to heat in the structure of the cabinet, rather than being released as delayed sonic energy-the approach used by Magico in the Q7 is decidedly different.

 

BTW, the Vandersteen Model 7 is another example of a speaker (besides Wilson Benesch) which uses carbon fiber for cabinet construction to good effect.

[monteverdi]

I do not think that test is of any relevance. To observe any movement in that video the deflection of the top panel (the smallest side of that speaker)has to be some mm. If the large side panels would vibrate some µm it would produce sound sound especially if that vibration would be above 100 Hz.

Aluminum is fairly stiff but not well damped and fairly cheap to manufacture (see Apple). I think Al is a much better choice than MDF but as bracing it only shifts vibrations to higher frequencies. High mass leads also to the potential to store more energy - one advantage for mini monitors

[1audio]

Rockport uses a carbon fiber shell filled with some poly material that makes it really dense and heavy. It works quite well. But an even better solution would be reinforced concrete. Really stiff, heavy can be made is interesting shapes, not too expensive to fabricate but the shipping is killer.

 

The waterglass demo is more one of basic physics, the force to move the air versus the reaction mass of the box. The ML has no problem because it has drivers going in opposite directions (more of a balance of three directions but the idea serves).

 

Damping a cabinet wall just reduces the ringing of the wall when excited at its resonant frequency. The wall still moves. And any enclosure will resonate as well, it has a trapped acoustic volume that has a resonant frequency. But so does your room and every wall, structure and opening in it. The best ROI would be working on the room acoustics, but that doesn't bring the same bragging rights.

[dallasjustice]

No "Boom Boom Pow" from Black Eyed Peas?

[rennq]

Rap is not all bad. The Jay-Z MTV Unplugged CD is very good. It's a live performance with live instruments performed by the band The Roots. Nice band creativity and sound quality is pretty good too.

[The Computer Audiophile]

Rap is not all bad. The Jay-Z MTV Unplugged CD is very good. It's a live performance with live instruments performed by the band The Roots. Nice band creativity and sound quality is pretty good too.

 

Hi rennq - I agree. I loved when LL Cool J did Unplugged with a band. During rehearsal he stopped and told someone to rewind the tape because he forgot he was working with a band.

 

It's an art form just like all other kinds of music, paintings, acting, etc...

[rennq]

I remember watching that LL show, it was back when MTV actually played music. :-)

 

If you don't already have that Jay-Z unplugged, you should pick it up. Only $8.43 on Amazon.

[The Computer Audiophile]

I remember watching that LL show, it was back when MTV actually played music. :-)

 

If you don't already have that Jay-Z unplugged, you should pick it up. Only $8.43 on Amazon.

 

Ordered :~)

[dbloke]

Obviously most speakers over $500 wont give you resonance issues with water, but if you have good bass in a room you will get some movement.

I guess the problem here is the room is too small to generate bass?

Didn't get real bass until I lived in a warehouse 32 wide, 28 deep, 15 metres high. Problem then is you need 4k+ of amplification on tap and decent xmax to move the air in the room as well as parametrix EQ. Try the same test with solar sailor from Tron they've hitched on to the Bach Toccata thing about music connected with the soul it would seem. Pretty sure when I was in Sydney Town hall listening to this, the water in a bottle was moving.

[The Computer Audiophile]

Obviously most speakers over $500 wont give you resonance issues with water, but if you have good bass in a room you will get some movement.

I guess the problem here is the room is too small to generate bass?

Didn't get real bass until I lived in a warehouse 32 wide, 28 deep, 15 metres high. Problem then is you need 4k+ of amplification on tap and decent xmax to move the air in the room as well as parametrix EQ. Try the same test with solar sailor from Tron they've hitched on to the Bach Toccata thing about music connected with the soul it would seem. Pretty sure when I was in Sydney Town hall listening to this, the water in a bottle was moving.

 

Hi dbloke - I couldn't disagree with you more. I don't know of a single speaker available today that can pass this water test other than a Magico. At every show I visit I feel speakers for cabinet vibration. With the exception of Magico they all vibrate. Also keep in mind that this is a sealed enclosure! This room is far from small. The bass in this room, especially at the SPL levels in this video can be incredible. Plus the bass generated by the speaker has nothing to do with the room size. Room size has an effect on bass heard by the listener, but the speaker still puts out all frequencies it can no matter what the room size. The accompanying electronics are stellar and capable of excellent performance.

[joelha]

Hi Chris,

 

This is a fun test. I'm not sure exactly how much it actually tells one about how a speaker will sound, but employing the parameters you laid out, I think my new YG Acoustics Sonja 1.3's pass the test. While the peak reading is about 1db less than that used for the Q7, it was really late at night and frankly, I didn't want to run the track and video again just to get that last db (that's the 112.2db reading in the video) although I'm confident the result would have been the same. The room size is very large. We have a virtually open floor plan with walls as much as 35-50 feet apart and ceiling heights ranging up to 15 feet. The RTA was placed 3 meters from the speakers and the same Jay Z./Kanye West track was played.

 

Joel