JimJ

First of all, I'd like to thank Nick Lemons for giving me an opportunity to audition this latest version of the Mag 12"... Chad Hicks and I auditioned this driver in my '94 E-150, under the exact same test conditions used for other listening sessions we've done. Power was provided by a PG Tantrum T1200.1, set to 800W @ 4 ohms. In use, the woofer needed nowhere near that level of power to reach its full potential, IMO. Enclosure used was 1 cubic foot, sealed. The woofer was lowpassed @ 63Hz, 24dB/oct. INITIAL THOUGHTS: The build quality is very good, something that doesn't surprise me given my previous experiences with SI products. The pressed paper cone and poly dustcap construction is simple and unassuming, and the push terminals are easy to use and hold the speaker wire well. One thing that struck me about this new Mag is the mounting depth; at 5 and a half inches deep it opens itself up for some new installation options that might have not been possible with the traditional 12-spoke basket and motor of the previous generation. It seems like it's begging for installation in a shallow spare tire well WHAT'S TO LIKE: I used my traditional playlist of tracks to put the woofer through its paces - Eva Cassidy, the Eagles, Dave Matthews, Fleetwood Mac, Chris Izaak, John Williams. In particular, "The Chain" on Fleetwood's Rumours brought a big smile to my face The transient response, the individual attack of the notes, the blending to the front stage...it all was effortless. Same with Eva Cassidy's "Wade in the Water" and "Wayfaring Stranger". Both are tracks that have made some pretty high-profile subwoofers choke in my opinion, but this Mag handled it with aplomb..."Wade in the Water" has some really neat stuff halfway through it with a stand-up bass playing a 7 note walking line while a muted trumpet does its thing...like any good subwoofer, the Mag reproduced what was on the recording without drawing attention to itself. In retrospect I really wish I had some Mingus with me, I bet Mingus Ah Um would be amazing... It's not scared of the orchestra, either. Kettle drums on Williams' score for "Revenge of the Sith" were extremely accurate and extended very deep. I still prefer the Aura MR12.4 slightly for large orchestral arrangements, but now the price differential isn't even fair to compare the two. WHAT'S NOT TO LIKE: The cosmetics of the basket aren't really what I like, 12-spokes look better when inverted IMO, but since it allows the shallower clearance I'd rather have that functionality anyway over looks. That's about all I can find not to like, so that should say something in itself. OVERALL: If you're looking for a small, sealed-box woofer and realism is your number-one priority, I don't see how you could leave this driver off your list. Power-wise, it really doesn't need a lot of power to shine - I would say 500-600W is all you need to get it to perform admirably. Two thumbs way up.

Even not taking into account what the vehicle's transfer function does, the flattest response isn't going to come ported...

No...

I would use a distribution block...

Inefficiency is not in itself a bad thing, just something that has to be taken into consideration... More power is not always needed, the relatively low power output of a Class A amp wouldn't matter for something like an Image Dynamics HLCD because you simply don't need that much power on them anyway

Ideally, a flat response indicates that the system itself is imparting no changes to the source recording, at least in FR...so you're hearing it as it is exactly on the source. Some people love it, some can't stand it and EQ slightly differently

He got them for a steal. $2500 for all three, including cross-country freight. Just the woofers alone would probably sell for $3k on Ebay...

Inefficiency is inefficiency no matter what impedance you're talking about. If it's a true class A, 25% efficiency is the absolute maximum it's ever going to get to. I don't know if those SS amps are true class A's, will leave that for someone who knows those amps better...

They have an omnidirectional measurement mic that's on a stand, you put it on the driver's seat so it's relatively at ear height...pink noise is played, which has an equal amount of energy per octave so ideally if the response of the system is flat, the RTA won't register any peaks or valleys. That's usually how RTA scores are graded.

Or mounting them forward-firing on the baffle...it's been done both ways.

Actually I shop at Whole Foods in NC too, just saying

We should drug PETA members instead of the fish, maybe a sale on Birkenstocks and 50% off at Whole Foods would be enough to lure them in...

There's a tradeoff, though...with a larger vehicle you have more airspace to pressurize. Trunks also have the distinct advantage of providing a great way to do IB in a car, but it doesn't sound like that interests you

I love mine In a vehicle, though...the inefficiency is going to be killer on the electrical system.

Build on the upper end of their recommended range, you can add polyfill if you want to lower the apparent Qtc... Or if you really want a low-Qtc alignment, order one of those IB-optimized woofers and go IB in the trunk

SQ is judged by ear. Now, there's a separate event in MECA, and an event in one part of IASCA that's done on the RTA, but both organizations offer competition formats without it. And the RTA doesn't "level" anything, it just tells you what the current response is...what you do with that depends on what you're looking to get out of it...

Morning. Blowing off the rest of my classes so I can catch up on my sleep, I feel like shit.

I actually prefer them sealed, IMO...

What do you mean by "perfect"? When I auditioned a Q, it didn't even need that much power, with 900W or so it was drawing too much attention to itself in the soundstage, so that's too much output for me.

top

And they want me to pay $75 for a new copy of Visio '07...yeah...right Fudged it using '02, I'll download a working copy of 07 tomorrow...

I'm going to completely miss this homework assignment, and I really don't care at this point Meh...

It's not that old, I remember that being in the catalogs when they stopped having paper catalogs, probably around '01-'02 IIRC... Well, not for several decades If you have it, you might as well use it until something else comes along...I really wouldn't consider it a "keeper" as there are a lot better things out there for slightly more money. What are you looking to do?

I moved cooler things for a friend today I have new speakers to lust after. Well, not new, I just never heard these particular ones until today.

Well, there's a fine line. I'm a Decware & Bottlehead humper, I know that, I'd use probably any product they make and I recommend them a lot to people getting started in SET amps and high efficiency. But there's a difference between liking products and blindly recommending them to anyone that comes along, without knowing squat about the installation, what the person likes, what they've used in the past, etc, etc...and making huge sweeping generalizations about things that are seriously wrong. And to Sean, I hate you Get me some chowdah