Part 3: Magico Factory Tour - 1 on 1 With Alon Wolf

Be sure to visit my website to become a member for more behind-the-scenes content never before seen!
www.jaysaudiolab.com/
How to become a member:
www.jaysaudiolab.com/plans-pr...
I hope you have enjoyed this final part of the Magico Factory tour. I want to thank Alon and his team for being great hosts and for showing the world what it takes to build one of the world's best loudspeakers. Thank you !
Business inquiries contact me:
[e-mail]
if you are interested in a consultation with me to take your system to the next level, email me for further details:
[e-mail]
If you are a manufacturer and are interested in a factory tour, please contact me for further details:
[e-mail]
Chapters
0:00 Intro
1:46 Why is it called Magico
7:40 Driver replacement
10:15 Does Magico ship speakers back to their owner once repaired?
12:03 Magico Speaker Design philosophy
17:32 Are Magico speakers voiced?
19:42 Are speaker measurements important?
22:28 Has Magico attempted to use different tweeters in the past?
23:52 Will we see a new Magico speaker by the end of 2022?
24:37 How do you build a statement speaker?
28:17 How important is the A series speaker line for Magico?
30:50 Jay's take on Magico speakers
33:54 What hobbies does Alon Wolf have?
40:10 Can anyone tour the Magico Speaker Factory?
40:33 Will we see a Magico M9 at a show ?
#magico
#stromtank
#boulder
#thebest
#transparent
#tidalmusic
#qobuz
#audio
#boulder
#jaysaudiolab
#highendaudio
#hifi
#audiophile
#gryphon
#miami
#homeaudio
#focal
#magico
#krell
#nordost
#simaudio
#wilsonaudio
#sonusfaber
#kronos
#boulder
#rotel
#aurender
#krell
#taiko
#magico
#audioquest
#sonymusic
#hifiaudio
#homeaudio
#best
#analog
#turntable
#onemillion
#best
#mostexpensive
#thebest
#uglytruth
#stromtank
#magnepan
@Jay's iyagi
@Steve Guttenberg Audiophiliac
@cheapaudioman ​
#bowerswilkins
#boulder
#thebest
#transparent
#tidalmusic
#boulder
#jaysaudiolab
#highendaudio
#hifi
#audiophile
#gryphon
#miami
#homeaudio
#focal
#magico
#krell
#nordost
#simaudio
#wilsonaudio
#sonusfaber
#kronos
#boulder
#rotel
#aurender
#krell
#taiko
#magico
#audioquest
#sonymusic
#hifiaudio
#homeaudio
#best
#analog
#turntable
#onemillion
#best
#mostexpensive
#thebest
#uglytruth
#magnepan
@Jay's iyagi
@Steve Guttenberg Audiophiliac
@cheapaudioman ​
‪@Youthman‬
‪@Paulmcgowanpsaudio‬
‪@mcintoshlabs‬
‪@andrewrobinsonreviews‬
‪@bestsound1640‬
‪@AudiophileMusicio‬

[@jaysaudiolab]

I hope you guys have enjoyed this final video the Magico Factory Tour. If you are interested in watching behind-the-scenes footage of this factory tour not published on this channel, be sure to become a member of my website which will launch VERY SOON! PLEASE SUBSCRIBE AND LIKE THE VIDEO - That is the biggest help you can give me 🙂

[@rrd1975]

For any engineering students interested in pursuing a career in loudspeaker design, the Magico Factory Tour videos should definitely be on their suggested viewing/reading list! I completed my university education over 30 years ago, but these presentations rekindled a fire in my music loving soul! I really enjoyed these thoughtful and well made videos, and want to give them several thousand "thumbs up"! Bravo!

[@jaysaudiolab]

Awesome

[@user-od9iz9cv1w]

Fascinating interview. Really enjoyed meeting this guy and seeing his business. Really gained an appreciation for the company.

[@jaysaudiolab]

Thanks

[@Egofileo1]

Jay, simpli THANKS for this huge and accurate report. It has been a great journey together with you. Great great job, and also many compliments to Mr. Wolf and all his staff.

[@jaysaudiolab]

Thank you

[@tompa8945]

This was so impressive to see how they are producing their speakers 👍 The best I have ever seen!

[@exupgh123]

This is the pinnacle of the Magic’s factory tour for me. Alon is a visionary man, he and his team took the speaker and high-end audio industry a big step forward with every new creation they roll out from their design book. Thank you so much for those videos jay.

[@jaysaudiolab]

Thank you

[@GetOnWithItGaming]

Brilliant interview on both sides thank you for both of your time and for being very clear on all aspects of this great company

[@noamgellerdiy]

Fantastic tour and interview 🙌 Alon and Magico is such a Tour De Force of Vision Design and Execution!

[@Sam-ml9kd]

This was absolutely great. The interview was informative and tastefully executed. Thank you and kudos!

[@tkl0111]

Thanks Jae, and special thanks to your wife! Usually people would setup 3 cameras, one wide, one on each person, and edit in post, but she's doing basically live editing and a wonderful job at it!

[@jaysaudiolab]

Thank you

[@brodricj3023]

This is one of the best audio themed interview video's on YT. You could probably stretch it out for another hour or two and it would be just as captivating.

[@brentcollins9727]

That was WONDERFUL, Jay!

[@jaysaudiolab]

Thank you

[@davidcross890]

Thank You for Your coverage of MAGICO

[@jaysaudiolab]

Thank you

[@shaynakash4222]

thank you jay for the wonderful tour we realy enjoyed it and hats off to mr Alon Wolf and his team ,that a realy beautiful factory ,waiting for your take on the m 9 's .....

[@jaysaudiolab]

Thank you

[@bruceprouse5562]

What a great interview Jay.

[@colekyler002]

Jay, mazel tov!! Amazing series and interview. Alon seems like a genuine and humble man, which I never realized before your tour.

[@jaysaudiolab]

Awesome 😎

[@TheRealAudioDidact]

THIS room sounds good! This is what a room should sound like. I think that is why the speakers in the rooms sound so good.

[@davidcross890]

Interesting Circular Logic

[@AudioVideoReviews]

Very interesting video, thank you Jay 🙏

[@KT88gs]

Again great video Jay and Alon knows it all,great guy.

[@jaysaudiolab]

Thank you 🙂

[@abba96]

Absolutely great interview! Very interesting and hope for more to come 😎

[@jaysaudiolab]

Thank you

[@warren818]

Jay, very interesting topic. As I've mentioned before, I've heard Magico a number of times at shows or dealers, and they've never wooed me at all. But I also chalk that up to improper setup. I'm glad you've stuck it out with the S7s and found something you don't really want to change. I'm that way with my TAD system now but would at some point love to hear Magico with proper supporting gear and immaculate setup. Fantastic job on interviewing, videography, and editing. I believe that you are on a good trajectory as more and more people like what you are doing and thus your subscribers are increasing. Keep up the good work and blessings on building your journey and the rewards it brings.

[@markfischer3626]

The reason you need to have the tweeter at ear level is that high frequency dispersion is so poor that as soon as you move off axis in any direction the frequency response you hear changs. Ironically Edgar Villchur who invented the dome tweeter and midrange did so to maximize dispersion. Roy Allison improved them with AR3a. It is a paper dome, best for damping of internal resonances due to rapid frictional losses of paper pulp fibers, a full 3/4" hemispherical dome and no recess, the edge of the hemisphere is flush with the baffle plate. The characteristics are at 60 degrees off axis down 5 db at 15 khz. Not good enough says Allison. So in a souped up version he used two front firing and one each angled on a 45 degree angle left and right to further improve dispersion and add high frequency power handling capacity. It was sold by AR as LST and by Marantz marketed as Cello Amati. He also had 4 dome midrange drivers on the angled side panels and one 12" AR acoustic suspension woofer. In 1978 AR then owned by Teledyne threw in the towel on 3 way speakers as their best effort. The problem is that speaker drivers are resonant devices with a usable range of 2 1/2 to 3 octaves but human hearing covers 10 octaves. In a 3 way system there is always a compromise. For AR it was always between the midrange and the woofer. The answer was a 4 way system AR9 and AR90. For other manufacturers the deep bass is invariably one compromise. Two way systems can't possibly cover all ten octaves without exceptional measures being taken (That's what I had to do to re-engineer original Bose 901. Add an array of tweeters, bi amplify it and equalize the living hell out of it. To Equal AR9's bass takes four pairs and an amplifier with at least 1000 watts per channel such as Crown 2502.) When you add a subwoofer to a 2 way system you have turned it into a 3 way system. Better but still not so great and far too expensive. Deep bass is always a problem. The acoustic suspension principle works best. Villchur who invented it was not an engineer and didn't fully understand how his invention worked. All woofer/enclosure designs can be analyzed by looking at two laws in physics, Newton's second law of motion applied to forced oscillation and the ideal gas laws explaining expansion and compression of gases. Assuming you have a speaker that can produce deep bass without distortion and a source signal and amplifier that can drive it you still have a real problem. Look at the Fletcher Munson curves. It explains the problem. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equal-loudness_contour Here's the problem. Until bass gets loud enough you hear NOTHING. The lower the frequency the louder it has to get before you hear anything. Now notice how the curves at low frequency are squashed together. Every time you make the bass slightly louder, the vertical axis, you quickly jump from one curve to the next meaning that the perceived loudness increases greatly for a small increase in actual loudness compared to other frequencies. Roy Allison did a lot of research about how bass frequencies from loudspeakers are coupled into a room and how to avoid the 200hz suckout that plagues so many speakers. The results of his research were incorporated in AR9 AR90 and his own brand of speakers. Now lets take a look at the right side of the graph. The bottom curve is the softest sounds you can hear, the threshold of hearing. The top curve is the threshold of pain where sound is so intense it is experienced as pain. Now notice that at 20khz all of the curves go straight up where the threshold of hearing intersects the threshold of pain. Therefore anyone who says that you need FR beyond 20 khz is just plain wrong. In fact signals above 20 khz can damage your tweeters and even your amplifier. They can also cause distortion in the audible passband making the sound different meaning worse. If you want a lesson in metal dome tweeters just look at this measurement of the now popular "new" KLH model 5. Look at the ringing just below and above 20 khz. This is due to the tweeter's inability to dissipate energy at these resonances. Look at figure 3. It's horrible. www.stereophile.com/content/klh-model-five-loudspeaker-measurements The bass in not the equal of the original Model 5 either. It's closer to the model 6.

[@JDG1971]

Hey Jay. It was very beautiful and super interesting to share this with us. Words are just letters. Very impressive from start to finish to hear the answers from the friendly gentleman, who makes so many beautiful extreme good speakers. In this way we indeed know what is involved, with such a top loudspeaker of world class. Simply gorgeous. I want to thank you so much for this and of course for all the videos you share with us. Greetings from the Netherlands Limburg Maastricht and of course continue with Ultra High-end. Peace and love and of course coffee beans. Thank you very much again Jay. It was great. 💯%✌🏾🌍😘And Coffee beans ☕️👈🏿😉

[@jaysaudiolab]

Thank you Javier. Much appreciated 👍

[@rouhibougou6627]

Thanks for what ur doing, hope for another video just with better video quality 👌. GOOD LUCK

[@user-od9iz9cv1w]

I think that he is spot on wrt measurement on speakers. There is a set of well-defined measurements that must be met. There are other areas where the sound can be impacted but the measurements are not sufficiently understood. I am referring to things like cables. Clearly, they make a difference, but people can't seem to find what to measure to define what causes the difference observed.

[@lildadh5308]

Awesome as always j

[@jaysaudiolab]

Thank you

[@elliotg.5383]

well done Jay. !

[@incima00]

one of my favorite parts of this video is hearing Alon play the guitar - bravo. another layer of why the magico speakers are so good. when you can create music, i believe that you can have a deeper connection - the music coming from your mind through to (in this case with a guitar) your fingertips, and then i would imagine, seek to regain that connection when reproducing the music through your speakers

[@jaysaudiolab]

Yes

[@mesonto]

Then you'd really love Gershman Acoustics speakers from Canada!

[@mikealvarez8966]

Excelente entrevista y gracias por el trabajo que realizas por el apasionante mundo del audio, saludos desde México

[@jaysaudiolab]

Gracias Mike !

[@donpayne1040]

Dope.

[@michaela.5363]

Nice interview!

[@jaysaudiolab]

Thank you

[@ddzarafonetis1831]

Just fantastic Jay....I thought I knew what went into Magico but really I was clueless...for anyone who thinks the likes of Tekton competes with 30k plus speakers have them watch the Magico tour videi,lol

[@LS-ti6jo]

There is nothing I admire more than a person who admits when he said something incorrect, Well done. I wonder if Magico documented the construction of its music room, That would be fascinating to watch. Would also be interesting to get a run down of all the equipment in their music room.

[@jaysaudiolab]

That will be on my members only section of my website

[@j.m.harris4202]

Jay, you Relit a long lost Fire for me with Magico M6+Gryphon Pandora+ Gryphon Mephisto in your earlier Presentations! I can't even begin to imagine what "Kind of Intoxication" Magico M9+ Gryphon Commander+ Gryphon Apex could provide! The Knowledge and Understanding you have brought to your followers I will be Forever Grateful for! Awesome Content!

[@jaysaudiolab]

Thank you!

[@jeffriver9715]

Dude, gryphon isn't even in the same league as Pilium. Alon already heard the Apex and is still with Pilium. Just lol.

[@j.m.harris4202]

@@jeffriver9715 Fortunately Audio Fidelity is Subjective! Leaving room for Everybody to make up their own minds as to which Brand they Prefer! Thank "GOD" we all don't have to Agree that there is only One Best System! Hallelujah! I pity those who think they know what is Best for Everybody! Puffed Up Arrogance will not make it into the Eternal Kingdom of Heaven! Just Saying! PS: Time is growing short!

[@jeffriver9715]

@@j.m.harris4202 lol, is easy man... Boulder 3060, 3050 - Pilium Iasonas, Achilles, Hercules > Gryphon Apex by far. The density of their sound is in another level, its not trash talking. I hear many times Apex in Munich, but Pilium and Magico's room was better IMO. That's why is the reference for Alon. And actually he heard the Apex a long time and he still using Pilium.

[@jeffriver9715]

@@j.m.harris4202 And what is all that shit from the heaven? We are talking about achieving the maximum possible realism in the reproduction of an audio system. And that's a fact.

[@joelowens5211]

I think listening to the M9's at a dealer close to you makes sense. People that can spend 750,000 on a pair of speakers typically make thousands to tens of thousands of dollars per hour with their profession or business. They do not have time to take a week off to fly to a factory etc. plus the dealer would be no pressure. You could be more real with comments about what you think of it. That's just my take. When you have more money than time that time is precious.

[@tallpaull9367]

Has Magico ever explored using cast volcanic ash to make cabinets? If not, maybe worth exploring.

[@imosolar]

Awesome content and is that a subwoofer behind the m9?

[@willconnor7621]

Jay, could you share with us what power conditioner Magico is using in the listening room? Thanks for the great work!

[@matzeflamingos]

What brand is the electronic in the magico listening room ???

[@jennifercoleman3594]

Great interview Jay. If you don't mind me asking, what equipment is being used in that music room?

[@jaysaudiolab]

Pilium

[@Robaatosan]

What was the name of the group that made the album Magico?

[@ChrisJGull]

What amps are being used in his system?

[@Dave30867]

😊👍

[@enniol8043]

What electronics are they using?

[@jorgerodriguez6042]

hello Jay's you say part 3 or repeat 0f part 1 and 2

[@sebastienbremont6196]

I had a good laugh at the very beginning of the video. Even at Magico, they are lifting up the loudspeaker cables from the ground with this kind of "magical triangle". Come on, they don't do this at the LHC where the scientists are doing some of the most extreme measurements ever done.

[@samuelsalins8309]

👍

[@ibrahim-alani]

Man, I love this informative interview And I appreciate your hard work But with the $750k of M9 I can buy a gryphon Kodo speaker and a pair of mono apex amplifier and Commander preamp And MSB SELECT DAC In the end, it's just my opinion

[@jaysaudiolab]

K

[@ibrahim-alani]

@@jaysaudiolab and its a lot of that k 😂

[@markfischer3626]

I'm gong to try to make this as clear as possible. Why doesn't hi fi sound sound like real music sounds? Three reasons. If you want to hear sound as if the musicians were in your room you need to do two things you can't. 1. You need to get the frequency response flat not as measured in your room but flat back to the microphones which whether you know it or not is part of your system. The system starts with sound hitting the microphones and ends with the sound reaching your ears. 2. You need to recreate the reflections live musical instruments would make in your room and they have to be flat relative to what you'd hear from them live also. How do you do that? Understanding, engineering, and memory of live sound. 3. If you want to hear sound as it would be heard as a concert venue you have to somehow get the reflections heard at a live concert back also because that is most of what you hear at live concerts. Those reflections are NOT in the recording and even if they were such as binaural recording with microphones in the audience they're in a form that is useless because each reflection arrives at your ears from its own direction. That dimension is entirely lost as soon as the sound hits the microphone because electrical signals have only the dimensions of amplitude and time, not direction. How can this be done? Understanding , engineering, and memory of live sound. Which of these three things can your stereo system do no matter who made it or how much it costs? NONE OF THEM! Pity. So much time, effort, and money wasted on ideas that can't work. Jay, tell your engineering friends in industry to rip up everything they think they know and throw it in the trash because it doesn't work. You want to duplicate sound heard in one place and time in another place and time from a recording or broadcast? Better stop thinking about what you've been thinking about for your entire career and start taking up the real challenge if (and I doubt it) they have the mental chops to understand the problem and solve it. Otherwise this is what they are doing. kzbin.info/www/bejne/sJeleGOaarSdacU In a way it would be a shame if they could and did. I'm getting my enjoyment watching it.

[@michaelmityok1001]

Curious about the setup behind you guys that Alon uses to drive those M9s...

[@jaysaudiolab]

That video will be in my members only section of my website

[@daveuk1324]

Is this an infomercial?

[@chelovekvek1694]

👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@dominicdiclemente8877]

Would have loved to learn more about all the diffusion he is using in that room. Looks all custom built.

[@jaysaudiolab]

That will be addressed on my member only section

[@kraken-s]

what are the impressions of Pilium amps?

[@jaysaudiolab]

Don't have any

[@jeffriver9715]

He is a Pilium hater bro haha... Pilium Hercules sounds like Boulder 3050 in my experience, but a little bit more dense in the midrange and better bass >20hz when a play my organ songs. But in general both amps are rly best of the best, but for the price Pilium is the clearer winner.

[@tomhirschel8524]

Q1. M1? Maybe not.

[@carlosoliveira-rc2xt]

Disagree with Alon regarding tweeter level. It depends on crossover design, baffle slope and frankly listening distance. Average seating height at ear level is about 35 to 38 inches and many fine speakers have tweeters even 50 inches or more from the floor.

[@jaysaudiolab]

Ok

[@FOH3663]

You're right, there's countless examples of offerings with tweeter height variations... many aiming the energy at the listener's ears. The direct sound isn't the issue. The off axis lateral energy that fuels the sidewall returns, ... that's the relevant issue driving tweeter height. Supporting the later arriving diffuse energy can elicit a more pleasing perception of spaciousness and life. Ear level drivers radiating into a level horizontal plane, have the capability to propagate off the diffuse boundaries until the energy diminishes below our threshold. Ideally the listener experiences the direct sound, followed by an ample ITD Gap (initial time delay). Next is the arrival of the early reflections from the boundaries. This early energy within the first 10ms or so, needs to be at about -15dB lower than the direct sound... as to not alter our processing of the direct sound. Ultimately, after multiple reflections, the pleasant reverberant sound field is formed. Anyway, if the HF/MF drivers radiate outwardly level (parallel to the floor), then they can develop into a subjectively pleasant diffuse sound field that adds spaciousness, a sense of liveliness. If they're angled somewhat downward at the listener, the direct sound may not be impacted, but it's likely the diffuse sound field isn't fully supported,... over time,... it's truncated off prematurely. The ETC measurement is what's used to determine this (measures reflections' arrival time, frequency, dB level). I've seen your comments, you're likely aware of some or most all of this, yet it's still worth pointing out for everyone's collective consumption.

[@Luke-vu1wm]

​@@FOH3663 Off-axis tweeter response is critical (hint: 1st reflection point treatment - critical). Tweeter indeed needs to be at ear level for ideal performance. The fact that some designers ignore that does not make it right. Just look at Wilson Audio large speakers measurements, and then listen to them. Your head needs to be viced if you wish to hear any highs.

[@FOH3663]

@@Luke-vu1wm As I covered in my response; w/direct sound, tweeter height isn't as important, it's the subjective experience of the soundfield that carries the spaciousness and apparent source width. The "head in a vice" effect, isn't my take on Wilsons.

[@DrBroncanuus]

pair of Wisdom LS4 's will beat the Magico M9 's...

[@Smood47]

When your interviewing someone you might want to talk less and listen more. It seems you did a lot of talking and this takes time away from Alon who we really want to hear. If you're by yourself then ok fine but you are interviewing someone with 40 years experience. I want to hear him in this video.

[@sevestan]

What is this?….An actual audio engineer telling it like it is on KZbin? I prefer my hi fi truth from armchair blowhards!