Audio Emporium Newsletter 02-1-2010

New! Magnepan MG-1.7 Ribbon Speakers, $2000-2150pr

       Magnepan’s MG-1.6 speakers have been on the market a dozen years. At $1900 per pair, there has been no better high end speaker value. It was fun to see them noted in TAS magazine, Spring 2010 issue. In ranking the top product values of all time in ANY category, MG-1.6 came in 3^rd place in their survey. (#1 was the Naim Nait integrated amp, #2 was the Rega P1 turntable- both of which we sell at AE!).

        MG-1.6 consists of a mylar woofer panel, and foil adhered to mylar for the tweeter panel. Thus, MG-1.6 was a two way speaker.

        MG-1.7 will have a woofer panel of foil adhered to mylar. The midrange/tweeter will be foil adhered to mylar. The super tweeter (10k on up) will also be foil adhered to mylar. Adding the foil to the mylar is what makes the design a ribbon, instead of a planar magnetic.

        To be termed a ribbon speaker, the drive element must include the metal component. Hence MG-1.6 was a Planar Magnetic woofer design, with a ribbon tweeter. Magnepan often dubbed the tweeter a Quasi Ribbon because it was foil adhered to mylar, not pure foil or aluminum.

         MG-1.7 should begin shipping in March. We’re extremely excited to hear these new Maggies! Advanced reports describe a new level of accuracy. At about $2k pr we expect it to be among the best speaker values of all time!

         Black wood sides $2k pr, Silver metal sides $2000pr, Natural oak sides $2150pr.

Wadia IPOD Dock $379

         The Wadia IPOD Dock is the way to tie your IPOD to your nice hifi- in the digital domain.

Plug your IPOD into the Wadia- and the Wadia provides a coax digital out. Hence you are listening to your fancy DAC instead of the cheesy DAC built in your IPOD!

Where Did The Term Silver Screen Come From?

         In 1909 Adele De Berri of Chicago was a newly divorced woman. It was a man’s business world. She didn’t even have the right to vote!

         Thomas Edison had created the motion picture camera in 1891. Adele smelled a market ready to burst for movie screens. She had a basic knowledge of the reflective nature of silver aluminum paints. She experimented with various combinations in the basement of her church until she found something she was pleased with. She used her special mixture of silver paint, applied to imported canvas- which became among the first movie screens.

         Adele got a loan for $500 in 1912 to start a company to build screens. The term “Silver Screen” was created to provide a catchy buzz-word for her new technology. This is the same year Titanic hit the seas.

         Adele created a perforated version of her screens in the mid 1920s to accommodate “talkies” so speakers could be placed behind the screens!

         Now for the rest of the story. The company became Da-lite, so named because Adele’s screens “Shine Like Day Light.”