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Re: output impedance (aka 'damping factor')

Posted by EdG (A) on June 7, 2002 at 08:32:26

In Reply to: Re: output impedance (aka 'damping factor') posted by Arbelos on June 7, 2002 at 06:36:37:

I documented my crossover mod in a series of posts a few months ago.

The purpose of adding resistors was to increase the MG1.6's acoustic output in the crossover region. I was fortunate in that the design of the MG1.6 was such that the crossover's -3dB points could be shifted in the right directions by adding external resistors, and that the woofer resistance + inductor DCR pretty closely matched the tweeter resistance, so that the bass/treble balance would not be altered by adding same-value resistors to both the woofer and tweeter biwire terminals.

I use a solid-state amplifier of my own design. Its output impedence is less than 50 milliohms and it is capable of driving poorly-behaved loads without problems.

I drew a lot of flak for suggesting that the MG1.6's timbral accuracy could be improved, but to my ears the MG1.6 sounds like it has a slightly recessed midrange (both the Stereophile and Fi reviewers noted the same). This voicing gives the MG1.6 the impression of stronger bass and greater detail (and probably sounds better to most people), but I found it tiresome after a year. So I decided to re-engineer the crossover.

What I hear closely matches the electrical simulations - with the added resistors, the speaker's output in the crossover region increases. The MG1.6 now has an honest midrange. This is especially apparent on vocals, pianos, and acoustic guitars. The price paid is that the MG1.6's softness in the very top octave and lack of bass slam become worse (undoubtedly the reason why the stock speaker is voiced the way it is).

I'm not bashing Magnepan. They make a truly amazing speaker, one that has brought me a great deal of listening enjoyment. I just prefer my voicing over the stock one.
Ed

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