Magico Q7

[Roysen]

More on new Magico speaker.

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My plan to look for a used pair of the M6 as my livingroom speaker just went into the wastebasket. I want a pair of the Q7 badly! I would complement them with a pair of Audio Physic Minos subwoofers to cover the complete frequency range down to 7Hz. I wonder if the Q7 is possible to bi-amp. Are the other Q-seires speakers possible to order with bi-amp/bi-wire option? I also wonder if they can be ordered with the same coloring options as the S5?

I think they would make a nice addition with a little different sound than the new big brother to the Tidal Audio T1 I have ordered for my 80 square meter dedicated listening house in my garden and to the Rockport Arrakis 2 I have ordered for the dedicated listening room on the second floor of my house.

 

[egidius]

Being a violinist, I am used with items of daily use suddenly exploding in price over the years, with the only difference, that the price of a fiddle or indeed a bow is unimpressed by being sold.
I wonder what the resale value of audio is! Getting into these stratospheres I am convinced the companies are lying to you: over 100K$ should finance your whole audioroom professionally set up. in my opinion that is already a lot. Many studios never invest even that amount, and end up with great recordings: As it is, I play a fantastic fiddle with a "wrong" top..completely happy..
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[microstrip]

My plan to look for a used pair of the M6 as my livingroom speaker just went into the wastebasket. I want a pair of the Q7 badly! I would complement them with a pair of Audio Physic Minos subwoofers to cover the complete frequency range down to 7Hz. (...)

Audiophile heresy in WBF!

You want to pair the great Magico M7 with a pair of subwofers using the LM3886 IC amplifiers in bridge for each woofer!!!

http://www.national.com/mpf/LM/LM3886.html#Overview

 

[Roysen]

Audiophile heresy in WBF!

You want to pair the great Magico M7 with a pair of subwofers using the LM3886 IC amplifiers in bridge for each woofer!!!

http://www.national.com/mpf/LM/LM3886.html#Overview

What gave you the idea that the Audio Physic Minos has that internal amplifier? I already own a pair of these subwoofers and the speaker they were built to match - the Audio Physic Kronos which use the same internal amplifier as the Minos. The amplifier is made by the German company Merakus by the way. The Kronos has better bass reproduction than any Magico before the Q7.

 

[Gregadd]

I recall asking Alon was price a consideration in designing the Q5. He responded no. I guess he learned something in the last couple of years.

 

[ack]

I recall asking Alon was price a consideration in designing the Q5. He responded no. I guess he learned something in the last couple of years.

No-price consideration doesn't mean the best speaker he can build, if that's what you meant... He built the Q5 to go as low as it does, and price was not a factor given those parameters. I like the crossover language in the Q7 announcement... and where that's missing bass driver in the picture? Looks like a very tall speaker, a la YG

 

[Gregadd]

No-price consideration doesn't mean the best speaker he can build, if that's what you meant... He built the Q5 to go as low as it does, and price was not a factor given those parameters. I like the crossover language in the Q7 announcement... and where that's missing bass driver in the picture? Looks like a very tall speaker, a la YG

He did say it was the best speaker he could build at the time and that he did not build it to a price point. Just curious, did Alon say that to you?

 

[ack]

He did say it was the best speaker he could build at the time and that he did not build it to a price point. Just curious, did Alon say that to you?

He said he built the speaker as "a speaker should be built", but no, not the best speaker he could built - in fact, I would think he still must have thought back then (and probably even now) that his Ultimates are the best he can build.

 

[Roysen]

No-price consideration doesn't mean the best speaker he can build, if that's what you meant... He built the Q5 to go as low as it does, and price was not a factor given those parameters. I like the crossover language in the Q7 announcement... and where that's missing bass driver in the picture? Looks like a very tall speaker, a la YG

There is no driver missing in the picture. Actually the whole cabinet is shown. The two bass drivers at the bottom, then the midrange, the tweeter and the midbass driver at the top. The speaker is moderatly tall at 60''.

 

[microstrip]

What gave you the idea that the Audio Physic Minos has that internal amplifier? I already own a pair of these subwoofers and the speaker they were built to match - the Audio Physic Kronos which use the same internal amplifier as the Minos. The amplifier is made by the German company Merakus by the way. The Kronos has better bass reproduction than any Magico before the Q7.

A good friend of mine owns the Kronos. Each of them has two electronic boards taken from the Minos subwoofers, including the high customized crossover and power amplifier using the LM3886's. We had to disassemble one of them (really hard job as they are heavy, but happily very well engineered) to service it and could not resist to inspect it. . BTW, they are excellent speakers with great bass and stayed a few months at my home, with some short stays in my system.

You can see the Minos electronics at this page
http://www.audiofederation.com/catalog/subwoofers/audio-physic-minos-Amplifier.jpg
BTW, I have read in the past that someone in Germany developed an upgrade for the Kronos, improving it a lot over the standard model. Have you heard about it?

 

[Gregadd]

He said he built the speaker as "a speaker should be built", but no, not the best speaker he could built - in fact, I would think he still must have thought back then (and probably even now) that his Ultimates are the best he can build.

Diffferent comments on different days. I did not beleive him anyway.

 

[FrantzM]

Hi

The simple point is that Alon is a business person. He also reads Audio Forums. I am sure his business mind has been woken-up by the repeated "for its price" qualifier attached to description or recollection of the Q5. He already was aware but now, is reinforced in the knowledge that the audiophile market is always willing to pay more. So there! He adds more bass capability to the Q5 and Voila Q7! Doubles or triples the Q5 price then claims that's the best he has ever done, sells a few and a few years later will come with a Q7 XLF or SupaQ for $300K and claims it is so much better than the Ultimate. Simple almost foolproof formula.

OTOH, the impressions of some friends about the Q5 range from very good to "the best I have heard" .. The Q5 and Q3 seems to be the real deal ... looking for an audition

 

[mep]

I see cynicism like chivalry is alive and well. If a market exists for $200K and up speakers, it’s hard to blame speaker companies for trying to fill the void. The dealers love it too. It would be great to be a dealer and only sell the most expensive gear to the most moneyed of clients. Everyday would be like Christmas in a bank vault.

 

[microstrip]

IMHO, one of the best things of the Q7 is the 94 dB efficiency. I love the sound of the Q5. It sounds really good - Frank you should not miss auditioning it - but its poor efficiency asks for very powerful amplifiers, something I currently do not find attractive.
Unhappily every dB won in efficiency seems to increases the price a lot.

 

[Gregadd]

Perhaps someone more knowledgeble than I could start a thread on what factors contribute to speaker efficincy. Don Hint-Hint.

 

[Roysen]

A good friend of mine owns the Kronos. Each of them has two electronic boards taken from the Minos subwoofers, including the high customized crossover and power amplifier using the LM3886's. We had to disassemble one of them (really hard job as they are heavy, but happily very well engineered) to service it and could not resist to inspect it. . BTW, they are excellent speakers with great bass and stayed a few months at my home, with some short stays in my system.

You can see the Minos electronics at this page
http://www.audiofederation.com/catalog/subwoofers/audio-physic-minos-Amplifier.jpg
BTW, I have read in the past that someone in Germany developed an upgrade for the Kronos, improving it a lot over the standard model. Have you heard about it?

I have the impression that you have seen a late production Kronos and that the Minos in the picture is a late production unit. Merakus, the company designing the amplifiers in the original Kronos and Minos, went bankrupt and Audio Physic had to find a new amplifier manufacturer for the late production units. My Kronos and Minos pairs use Merakus internal amplifiers. I know this because I had to open them up and solder in a resistor to increase sensitivity. The amplifiers are clearly marked Merakus.

The upgrade you are talking about was developed by Joachim Gerhard (the original founder, CEO and cheif designer at AP). This upgrade is done to my pair. He has replaced the original crossover in the "head unit" on a big PCB board which contains more than 50 passive parts in the signal path with a hardwired crossover containing only 3 passive parts in the signal path. The original crossover had a phaseshift error at the frequency where the coaxial driver is handing over the signal to the sidemounted midrange drivers. This resulted in a 11db suckout. In the upgraded Kronos the sidemounted midrange drivers are not in the direct signal path anymore. They are now just slaves to the coaxial driver.

 

[JackD201]

A new top of the line speaker from Magico is coming soon.

Q7 is a 4-way passive speaker with 2-12", 1-10", 1-6" and 1-1" tweeter.
Sensitivity - 94dB

Price Q7 - $165,000.

I guess we know what's going up through Jeff's floors now.

 

[LL21]

I guess we know what's going up through Jeff's floors now.

Nice one, Jack! That must be it...they are also bi-wireable and Jeff's original description in the very beginning did say "bi-amped". His latest description seems to suggest something even a little bit more complex than bi-amping.

 

[JackD201]

If it is IT. JF scoops JV!

 

[microstrip]

I have the impression that you have seen a late production Kronos and that the Minos in the picture is a late production unit. Merakus, the company designing the amplifiers in the original Kronos and Minos, went bankrupt and Audio Physic had to find a new amplifier manufacturer for the late production units. My Kronos and Minos pairs use Merakus internal amplifiers. I know this because I had to open them up and solder in a resistor to increase sensitivity. The amplifiers are clearly marked Merakus.

The upgrade you are talking about was developed by Joachim Gerhard (the original founder, CEO and cheif designer at AP). This upgrade is done to my pair. He has replaced the original crossover in the "head unit" on a big PCB board which contains more than 50 passive parts in the signal path with a hardwired crossover containing only 3 passive parts in the signal path. The original crossover had a phaseshift error at the frequency where the coaxial driver is handing over the signal to the sidemounted midrange drivers. This resulted in a 11db suckout. In the upgraded Kronos the sidemounted midrange drivers are not in the direct signal path anymore. They are now just slaves to the coaxial driver.

Thanks for the information. The Kronos I refer was one the first pairs to leave the factory - 2A and 2B if I am not wrong. They were sent to be presented at a show, where they sounded great with conrad johnson electronics. I took pictures of the amplifiers when I opened them - just to be sure I would reassemble everything as it was before repair. Are they similar to yours?

Do you have any picture of the upgraded crossover? Do you remember how much cost the upgrade?