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Full Frame Maggies Meet "The Swarm"

Posted by Peter Gunn (M) on February 26, 2007 at 09:31:38

First off, I'd like to thank all the people who took the time to privately email me well wishes when my website got "outed" the other week. There were so many I couldn't respond to you all so I'd just like to say it was much appreciated.

Recently two (which at the time seemed entirely unrelated) events came to a head on the 16th and they have basically turned everything upside down, and I'd like to discuss them a bit.

The first was my work on a solid wood frame. I had been badgered by Berndt for some time about making a full frame mod for his speakers. I don't know what he saw or what put the bee in his bonnet, but I had rebuffed him every time he brought it up last year simply because I didn't think it was feasible (economic or otherwise). Just recently his panels suffered massive "demilloxination" (and his cat ate his tweeter) and he sent them back to me to fix. I was feeling particluarly sorry for him and he must have sensed it so he struck again. "blah blah blah wood frames..."

“Bill, I just don't think it can work........OK, I'll think about it.”

So I did. What first came to mind was how hard it seemed to be that no one had ever done this, at least not that I or anyone I knew was aware of. Probably because while it might seem easy (it's just a big picture frame after all, right?) it's actually a lot more complicated than that with sides of varying width (and no 45 degree angle cuts) which have to be made perfectly (as in absolutely perfect) and then routed out to accept the panel etc.. It's much more complex than it seems. Problem by problem was confronted, thought over and resolved until like Gene Wilder in Young Frankenstein I suddenly thought "It...Could...Work!"

I told him I was ready to try it, but I was going to do mine first in case something went massively wrong. Now, at all times I had considered this mod essentially a cosmetic one and due to all the difficult work a questionable one as well. Sure, wood is stiffer than mdf and has a more natural vibration, but we all know how much wood and it's "vibration" gets ridiculed by some here. Yet even though I believe in wood, I was expecting only a very modest gain, if that. To my thinking this mod was primarily for looks and if a little performance came along so much the better, but I really felt it was essentially eye candy.

About this time I saw a post by Duke looking for maggie owners willing to volunteer for something. For some odd reason I bit, and it turned out he was looking for people to in home demo his new sub system called “The Swarm” that he designed especially for maggies and he was looking for in home feedback. I not only signed up, I got them first. Like most people who own maggies, the times I tried a sub with them were always met with failure. Subs and maggies are so unlike in design that integration is impossible. You wind up focusing on the woofer until you tone it down to the point that it’s doing nothing, which is why the majority of us don’t bother.

I always liked maggie bass to begin with, and my modded speakers are much more robust in that department than regular ones, so it wasn’t a major issue for me anyway. The only thing maggies can’t do is hold the decay. Their bass notes are sharp, distinct and well formed, but due to the speed they are produced at they die a quick death.

So last Friday I got the first wood panel done, and the subs arrived. I spent most of the night setting up and dialing in the sub system because Hartwerger was coming up the next day to hear them. Even though only one new frame was installed (the other was my normal modded stand) I listened to the system a bit that night. It sounded really good, but right off the bat it was noticeable that everything was shifted way to the left, which was where the solid frame stand was. I attributed that to the slight increased dbl output I expected and nothing more. I was able to tune the subs in to Dukes specs with no trouble. (They should not be heard, they should just carry the load when they need to.)

So the next morning before Hartwerger showed up I went and finished the other speaker so he could hear them as well as the subs. He didn’t know this would be the case before he arrived, and he walked into a room of full framed maggies and 4 subs (which he also wasn’t expecting). Click on pics for full size images.

I told him I just finished and installed the one panel, but apparently he missed that and assumed I had listened to it all. I hadn’t. I also got left having to do the wash that day as my family “went shopping”. So I spent the day off in the corner when I wasn’t out of the room entirely doing the wash. When I was in, he kept giving me looks. I didn’t know what he was hearing, and he didn’t know I hadn’t heard it, so I didn’t know why he was looking and he didn’t know why I wasn’t responding. I suppose it’s fortunate we didn’t wind up in bed together that night with all the winking going on. :^ )

It finally came out and he said “These things sound NOTHING like they did before.” In fact he felt bad because he came to hear the subs and found himself obsessing over the new maggies. Well, it wasn’t until I got to spend some time with it alone monday night that the full impact of what had happened hit me. The wood frames didn’t improve the sound, they made an entirely new speaker. Macro and micro dynamics, huge soundstage, almost limitless potential.... it simply boggled. What was most amazing is that for the first time in years, the Hovland sounded like the Hovland when I first got it. I was using silver everything back then and the detail and resolution it’s famous for was everythere, but at a terrible price. I got fatigue in 15 minutes and had to shut down by 30 as it would get actually painful. I replaced all the silver cables with copper and it solved it, but I never got back that N’th degree of Hovland detail. Until now.

On top of this the Swarm sub system is amazing. It is the first such system that doesn’t do it’s own thing, it actually works for the maggies. It picks up the low frequency waves the maggie makes at the point of their decay, and carries them out to their natural completion with complete and seamless integration. I think it can do this because instead of a thumping 15 inch woofer, there are 4 apx. 5 inch drivers. It filled in and completed the low end picture so subtly I didn’t know what I was more amazed at. When it sounded like the drivers softened a bit and broke in the other night, it got even more natural and breathtaking, and the effect it had on depth and soundstaging is not to be believed. I HAD to have a set of these.

After talking with Duke we came to the conclusion that both our products so complimented each other that we are going to partner our concerns, and I couldn’t be happier. His Swarm system is without a doubt the best thing to happen to maggies since...wooden frames I guess :^ )

OK, a quick evaluation of both. First the subs. They are a 4 unit system which come with a seperate boxed plate amp. The drivers are about 5-5.5 inches and each has a ported tube and when in use half sit with the tube on top, the others with the driver on top. They get arranged in a trapezoidal arc in front of you from 9 around to 3 oclock. I found they sounded best sitting on hockey pucks, and with the gain about 1/4 on and frequency at about 1/2. (90hrz) This way they do exactly what I said they did above, and may very well be the first such system to do this for maggies. They have since been shipped to auditioner number 2, and I found myself feeling like hartwerger described it that very day. "These maggies are great without them, but if I had the choice I'd definetly want the subs in." I think this product will rock a lot of pre conceived notions and if interested please contact Duke here.

Now, the frames. The change was simply incredible, so much so I am wondering if this should not be automatically part of my mod. The thing I discovered is in these frames the mylar can no longer be seen to vibrate at all. Even in my old stands vibration could be seen on the driver, and I assumed that was natural, you can see any other driver move when at work. Well, not anymore. Andy believes this is due to the fact they are now screwed down. I dismiss this however for the following reasons.

1 - I once put C clamps on one of the drivers to see if this "stiffening" did anything. Even with a number of C clamps holding the mylar driver to the frame the sound did not change. (which is why I never did the mod then) I don't believe my frames were loose. (some do get that way however)

2 - Even screwed down, there is a vibration being created which HAS to go into the frame. With mdf I believe those waves comes back into the driver panel, regardless of how rigidly you hold them. The wood however does not allow this. It appears that when they go into the solid wood frame they simply die there, and do not have the energy to go back into the driver frame and cause trouble.

I chose ash for these frames for a few reasons. First, I found some very nice suitable pieces that were very figured, and ash is indistinguishable from oak for most people. However I wondered if it was perhaps more ideal for this application because baseball bats are made from ash as the wood is noted for it's vibrational control, which is one of the reasons it can take the beatings it does without breaking. Time will tell on that one as I just made frames for Bill out of very figured oak (see below) and will soon start my 1.6 project which will also have these frames but made out of an african hardwood called makore. More will be posted on my Magnestand website as it develops, and hopefull hartwerger will add his comments to the thread. As it stands now it's a sockless design although fabric could be used. I even put the badges back on and felt they looked good for once.

Thanks for taking the time to get thru this. Despite that I'm sure I forgot something so if it isn't clear please ask.

It's all about the music...

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

Kimber Kable

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