Mark_ab 5,000+ posts
The Alpha Male
After placing the order for the Magnum D2 with Nick Lemons, the anxious anticipation of receiving this obscure and esoteric subwoofer was nothing short of inebriating. Upon its arrival, the poor girl at the post office couldn’t hoist the box from the floor. Once home, there was nothing to do but be awestruck at the aesthetic marvel that is this driver. The basket is both unique and striking; unlike any I’ve seen to date. It is a nice alternative to the standard 4 spoke.
The motor structure is also gorgeous, a vented pole piece with a beautiful backplate and magnet cover, the entire driver borders on transcendent. The suspension (Comprised of both dual 8” spiders and the surround) is extremely stiff. The woven tinsel leads completely eliminate the chance of slap, which can also lead to undue wear and tear on the spider. This stiffness has, however, loosened up after 10 hours of playtime. I’m not going to go in-depth about the actual design of the motor as Stereo Integrity’s website (http://www.stereointegrity.com) does an adequate job enough, and I’m sure if that does not quench your thirst, Nick will talk your head off about it. Now on to what people really care about, and why they spend so much money on this hobby, how it sounds.
I tend to have quite a diverse pallet as far as musical genres are concerned, so this review will be helpful to a broad range of listeners. First and foremost, I am composing this review for the average consumer. I purposely did not EQ this subwoofer because the vast majority of the subwoofer purchasing public does not.
The Magnum was placed into a ¾” MDF sealed enclosure with an airspace of 1.0 cubic feet before driver displacement. This yields a Qtc of 0.600, indicating that, as you can read on the site, this is an outstanding small enclosure subwoofer. It was placed in the “trunk” of my 1998 Honda Civic DX hatchback. It is being powered by an Arc Audio 1500D-R 2 channel class T amplifier, with the D2 wired in series to produce a 4ohm load. At this impedance the amplifier puts out right around 1000W RMS. Before tests began, I pointed the subwoofer in several different directions and found that an angle perpendicular to the rear windshield sounded best.
Song 1: Pink Floyd – Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2) [song #4 from Disc 1 of “Echos”]
I found this song to be an excellent source for discovering a driver’s overhang. The kickdrums are extremely sharp and sudden. The D2 handles these with ease, producing easily the nicest, most accurate kick I’ve heard to date, single and double. With sharp enough ears, you can hear the nearly inaudible rebound of the kick drum. Extremely impressive.
Song 2: Gary Jules – Mad World [song #11 from “Trading Snakeoil for Wolftickets”]
This is a tremendous song I found about a year ago. It was featured in “Donnie Darko” as well as played during the end of a Smallville episode. In this song the subwoofers job is simply to create an ambiance of wholeness. Its presence should not be heard so much as merely known. With a little tinkering on the remote gain control, the D2 shone once more, albeit a less taxing example. The subtleties are often overlooked this day and age, with such impact filled songs, and mis-mixed records.
Song 3: System Of A Down – Toxicity [song # 12 from “Toxicity”]
I chose this song due to the fact that, although hard, percussion remains oddly unpronounced compared to most modern music. The kick drums act as a compliment to the music more than a domineering impact. The difficulty with the song is determining the exact level you want the subwoofer to perform at. Regardless of preference pertaining to driver volume, the D2 performed admirably. Precise, transient, yet still remaining warm; which is a formidable task amongst the violent thrashings of a band like SOAD.
Song 4: Less Than Jake – Last One Out of Liberty City [sony #1 from “Hello Rockview”]
Not a lot to be said about the song, really. Great band, great song, great performance, as per usual, at this juncture.
Song 5: Carl Orff – O Fortuna [song #1 from “Carmina Burana”]
This is an incredibly moving classical work that most should recognize once heard. To juxtapose this song with some real world occurrence, marching into war enters the mind first and foremost (The song itself speaks of and personifies fate and describes it as an opponent). Without a capable subwoofer, this song is not given justice. The D2 does an excellent job and deftly powers through the song, making its presence known.
Indeed I did test more than 5 songs, however, on general, they all produce the same result. I find flaws everywhere else in the system but the subwoofer. Un-EQ’d it is the finest example of (to use a clichéd word) tonal accuracy I’ve heard to date. Complaints? The top of my dustcap was not glued completely so I had to glue it myself, and the simple fact that I did not learn of this subwoofer sooner. The unadulterated capacity to get obscenely loud, matched with tight, transient bass is simply too much to pass up if you’re in the market for a “super-woofer”. Thumbs up Nick, you did a heck of a job.
-Mark
The motor structure is also gorgeous, a vented pole piece with a beautiful backplate and magnet cover, the entire driver borders on transcendent. The suspension (Comprised of both dual 8” spiders and the surround) is extremely stiff. The woven tinsel leads completely eliminate the chance of slap, which can also lead to undue wear and tear on the spider. This stiffness has, however, loosened up after 10 hours of playtime. I’m not going to go in-depth about the actual design of the motor as Stereo Integrity’s website (http://www.stereointegrity.com) does an adequate job enough, and I’m sure if that does not quench your thirst, Nick will talk your head off about it. Now on to what people really care about, and why they spend so much money on this hobby, how it sounds.
I tend to have quite a diverse pallet as far as musical genres are concerned, so this review will be helpful to a broad range of listeners. First and foremost, I am composing this review for the average consumer. I purposely did not EQ this subwoofer because the vast majority of the subwoofer purchasing public does not.
The Magnum was placed into a ¾” MDF sealed enclosure with an airspace of 1.0 cubic feet before driver displacement. This yields a Qtc of 0.600, indicating that, as you can read on the site, this is an outstanding small enclosure subwoofer. It was placed in the “trunk” of my 1998 Honda Civic DX hatchback. It is being powered by an Arc Audio 1500D-R 2 channel class T amplifier, with the D2 wired in series to produce a 4ohm load. At this impedance the amplifier puts out right around 1000W RMS. Before tests began, I pointed the subwoofer in several different directions and found that an angle perpendicular to the rear windshield sounded best.
Song 1: Pink Floyd – Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2) [song #4 from Disc 1 of “Echos”]
I found this song to be an excellent source for discovering a driver’s overhang. The kickdrums are extremely sharp and sudden. The D2 handles these with ease, producing easily the nicest, most accurate kick I’ve heard to date, single and double. With sharp enough ears, you can hear the nearly inaudible rebound of the kick drum. Extremely impressive.
Song 2: Gary Jules – Mad World [song #11 from “Trading Snakeoil for Wolftickets”]
This is a tremendous song I found about a year ago. It was featured in “Donnie Darko” as well as played during the end of a Smallville episode. In this song the subwoofers job is simply to create an ambiance of wholeness. Its presence should not be heard so much as merely known. With a little tinkering on the remote gain control, the D2 shone once more, albeit a less taxing example. The subtleties are often overlooked this day and age, with such impact filled songs, and mis-mixed records.
Song 3: System Of A Down – Toxicity [song # 12 from “Toxicity”]
I chose this song due to the fact that, although hard, percussion remains oddly unpronounced compared to most modern music. The kick drums act as a compliment to the music more than a domineering impact. The difficulty with the song is determining the exact level you want the subwoofer to perform at. Regardless of preference pertaining to driver volume, the D2 performed admirably. Precise, transient, yet still remaining warm; which is a formidable task amongst the violent thrashings of a band like SOAD.
Song 4: Less Than Jake – Last One Out of Liberty City [sony #1 from “Hello Rockview”]
Not a lot to be said about the song, really. Great band, great song, great performance, as per usual, at this juncture.
Song 5: Carl Orff – O Fortuna [song #1 from “Carmina Burana”]
This is an incredibly moving classical work that most should recognize once heard. To juxtapose this song with some real world occurrence, marching into war enters the mind first and foremost (The song itself speaks of and personifies fate and describes it as an opponent). Without a capable subwoofer, this song is not given justice. The D2 does an excellent job and deftly powers through the song, making its presence known.
Indeed I did test more than 5 songs, however, on general, they all produce the same result. I find flaws everywhere else in the system but the subwoofer. Un-EQ’d it is the finest example of (to use a clichéd word) tonal accuracy I’ve heard to date. Complaints? The top of my dustcap was not glued completely so I had to glue it myself, and the simple fact that I did not learn of this subwoofer sooner. The unadulterated capacity to get obscenely loud, matched with tight, transient bass is simply too much to pass up if you’re in the market for a “super-woofer”. Thumbs up Nick, you did a heck of a job.
-Mark
