Magico QSub-18 and QSub-15 Subwoofers Preview

A

admin

Audioholics Robot
Staff member
Do you really think you know what low frequencies sound and feel like? Well, Magico wants to make you think (and feel) again with the announcement of their new QSub-18 and QSub-15 subwoofers. The dual-woofer subs go down to 15Hz, feature 8,000W of power, and can deliver an unbelievable 136 dB SPL at 20Hz with less than 1% distortion. Are you drooling yet or still wondering if your home can stay on its foundation?


Discuss and Read the Magico QSub-18 and QSub-15 Subwoofer Preview
 
BoredSysAdmin

BoredSysAdmin

Audioholic Slumlord
I never heard that brand and will not commend any regarding their actuall products, but WOW - their website is probably have a great chance of winning the web site design award in the category of most useless web site on the internet
 
Irvrobinson

Irvrobinson

Audioholic Spartan
I never heard that brand and will not commend any regarding their actuall products, but WOW - their website is probably have a great chance of winning the web site design award in the category of most useless web site on the internet
Magico is a well-known and well-regarded brand in ultra-high-end audio. They compete with the likes of YG, Wilson, and Focal. I've heard some of their speakers, and they're very good, certainly competitive with Revel, sound-wise. As with YG their price is magnified by the use of billet aluminum. As with Hublot watches, 12-cylinder Ferraris, multi-carat blue diamonds, and penthouses on the east side Manhattan, you're either in this market or you're not. I just hope this thread doesn't degrade into another I-can-get-the-same-bass-from-SVS-or-Rythmik BS fest.
 
BoredSysAdmin

BoredSysAdmin

Audioholic Slumlord
Thanks for info Irv. Good to know the names on the other side :)
I did audition $100,000 Wilson audio's MAXX speakers and did not found them as good as "sliced bread", but that just my 2c in a dedicated and treated dealer room with all hi-end sources etc...
Again, I was commenting before on the Magico web site design only, not prices or performance
 
its phillip

its phillip

Audioholic Ninja
If you want to spend 36k on a sub because you think it's pretty or has a nice cabinet, I don't care. 136dB at 20hz w/ 1% distortion from a sealed pair of 18" drivers is not going to happen, though.
 
S

shadyJ

Speaker of the House
Staff member
As with the Wilson subs, I don't even think it looks that nice, not for the asking price.
 
Adam

Adam

Audioholic Jedi
You know, I can get the same bass from SVS.

Just kidding, Irv. :p

The 550-pound weight of that 18-inch version...wow. I struggle with things in the 100-pound range. Then again, if I could afford that sub, then I could afford to pay someone to move it. :)
 
Irvrobinson

Irvrobinson

Audioholic Spartan
The 550-pound weight of that 18-inch version...wow. I struggle with things in the 100-pound range. Then again, if I could afford that sub, then I could afford to pay someone to move it. :)
That's the way I look at it. I spent $200 on professional movers to unpack and place my 175lbs Salon2s when they arrived (they were shipped right from the factory in Northridge), and it was money well spent. No hurt back, no hurt speakers. A back that doesn't hurt is priceless...
 
fuzz092888

fuzz092888

Audioholic Warlord
You know, I can get the same bass from SVS.

Just kidding, Irv. :p

The 550-pound weight of that 18-inch version...wow. I struggle with things in the 100-pound range. Then again, if I could afford that sub, then I could afford to pay someone to move it. :)
It's not that bad. I guessed my dual opposed is north of 300lbs and I got it where it needed to go. :D
 
fuzz092888

fuzz092888

Audioholic Warlord
Up a long flight of stairs? I'm also about twice your age, young-un.
Actually I had to move it about 200 yards up a hill and a flight of stairs :p

I had a dolly, but those stairs were killer, even with the drivers removed. Good thing I'm 5'4" and well under 200lbs :D

In all seriousness I couldn't imagine moving something 500+lbs. I moved my sub into place by myself and that was pushing it. My Dad and I removed an old boiler that was about 450 and put it on the back of his truck and that got pretty sketchy. If it was something that had to be kept looking perfect fagettaboutit.
 
panteragstk

panteragstk

Audioholic Warlord
I'd love to see actual measurements for either of those subs. 550 is a lot of weight to have to move. I wouldn't want to try that. I'm not even that old yet.
 
A

andy_c

Audioholic
About that claim of 136 dB SPL at 20 Hz...

Beranek's Acoustics in equation 4.17 gives a formula for the acoustic pressure of radiation from a piston on an infinite baffle into half-space. This formula can be expressed in a form such that it gives the on-axis RMS acoustic pressure as a function of frequency, surface area of the piston, peak displacement and distance. That formula can be expressed as:

p[SUB]RMS[/SUB] = sqrt(2) * pi * f[SUP]2[/SUP] * rho * S[SUB]D[/SUB] * x[SUB]p[/SUB] / r

where:
p[SUB]RMS[/SUB] = RMS acoustic pressure in Pascals
f = frequency in Hz (= 20 Hz in this case)
rho = density of air (= 1.2041 kg / m[SUP]2[/SUP] at 20 deg C)
S[SUB]D[/SUB] = surface area of driver in m[SUP]2[/SUP] (= 0.32835 m[SUP]2[/SUP] total for two 18" drivers)
x[SUB]p[/SUB] = peak displacement in meters (= .034 per Magico's 34mm claim)
r = distance in meters (assumed to be 1 meter)

To compute SPL, you calculate:

SPL = 20 * log[SUB]10[/SUB](p[SUB]RMS[/SUB] / p[SUB]REF[/SUB])

where:

p[SUB]REF[/SUB] = 2 * 10[SUP]-5[/SUP] Pascals

Plugging in the numbers above, you get SPL = 121.5 dB. That's 14.5 dB short of their 136 dB claim, which is equivalent to needing the radiating surface area S[SUB]D[/SUB] to be 5.3 times larger. Stated another way, and rounding to an integer number of drivers, it would require 11 18" drivers with 34mm x[SUB]max[/SUB] to get there.
 
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T

TheStalker

Banned
I've had a chance to listen to the Magico S1 two-way floorstanding speakers and couldn't listen for more than a few minutes. From all of the measurements that I've seen online, Magico makes very well measuring and low distortion loudspeakers. But to me they sounded very hard, grainy, thin, and unnatural. The S1s were driven by Audio Research amplifiers which sound extremely smooth and pleasant with other speakers.
 
J

jeffca

Junior Audioholic
Not to bring the party down, but....

Not to bring the party down or denigrate Magico, but, honestly, I'm a bit uncertain why anyone would want to spend that kind of scratch on a single, massive, extremely expensive sub when you'll get better in-room response with a system such as four Rythmik Audio F25 subs and only spend about $7k. Also, those four subs will weigh about as much as only one of the dual 18" boxes Magico is offering.

Hey, I'm all for pushing the boundaries of what is possible, but it's not like you can't already get performance like this... you just can't get it from one box. I think that Montie Kay documented that pretty well on his site about his gigantic home theater system. (Home Theatre) You gotta check this out. I'm pretty sure that gigantic sub system cost less than one of these Magico's.

Cheers,
jeff
 
ratso

ratso

Full Audioholic
even if i had $200 million i would realize that i could buy way more sub output for way cheaper than that. and i agree, it doesn't even look good.
 
Irvrobinson

Irvrobinson

Audioholic Spartan
even if i had $200 million i would realize that i could buy way more sub output for way cheaper than that. and i agree, it doesn't even look good.
You and jeffca are not in the target market; either am I, for that matter.

BTW, if you actually had $200M and just laid around the house, earning no other income, and assuming you invested the $200M to earn a pathetic 3% overall return, your annual income would be $6M. Let's say $4M after tax, assuming you weren't too cheap to pay for a tax advisor. You wouldn't give a damn about spending $36K on a subwoofer, if you were a Magico fan, in fact you might buy two. If you really have $200M you probably don't know your net worth off the top of your head within $5M.

Of course, you can be very rich and just not care about things other people care deeply about. Car & Driver interviewed Ron Howard this month (yeah, Opie) because he made another car movie. Howard admitted that he had two cars, a Volvo and a Chevy Suburban. I wonder what his home theater is like...
 
M

mdm1699

Audiophyte
Well said. These are the same guys who never wonder why the wifey needs a $1k+ purse or shoes costing hundreds of dollars. Do I need a Ferrari or even an Acura? No. However, I am not their target customer.
 
BrettMendes

BrettMendes

Audioholic Intern
I'll be at CEDIA in a couple of weeks and magico is supposed to have a room there. I'm hoping they'll have a qsub for demo and will be posting my thoughts if they do.
 

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