7THE ENCLOSURE
THE ENCLOSURE
The MAGELLAN’s enclosures stand out through their harmonious and uid
lines, and were designed with the help of the best cabinetmakers we could
nd.
MAGELLAN’s cabinets are nished in exquisite wood veneers, selected
for their graining. We then apply 10 layers of varnish, polished between
each layer, in order to give the enclosures their uniquely rich and luxurious
appearance.
However, a speaker enclosure is much more than just a container for the
drivers. Its design plays a major role in the quality of the sound in the low-
and mid-frequency ranges. In fact, the volume of air within the enclosure
constitutes the drivers’ acoustic load, which has to be properly matched to
their parameters in order to provide peak sound performance. For example,
the 21 cm TRIANGLE drivers used in the MAGELLAN GRAND Concert
series require a working volume of 67 liters for the pair. This calculated
optimal load will enable the subwoofers to reproduce extremely low-level
frequencies, down to 28 Hz, at –3 dB of the reference level.
We decided to put our new MAGELLAN enclosures through an elaborate
series of tests to better understand how they handled various vibratory
phenomena. One result of this research was that the enclosure itself needed
to be made rigid enough to withstand the powerful vibrations generated
by the subwoofers at high volume levels. It is essential that the drivers’
diaphragms themselves – and not the walls of the enclosures – generate
the desired frequencies, as the walls need to remain stable and not add
any unwanted coloring or distortion to the overall sound. TRIANGLE relies
on CNC machining to generate the precise theoretical shapes required to
properly construct the enclosure walls.
We took great care in rigidifying our enclosures, basing the design on
exhaustive measurements by means of laser-beam accelerometer. The
accelerometer makes it possible to highlight and model any deformation
or imperfection in the enclosure walls. We are now able to conduct tests
that isolate exactly those areas where the walls need reinforcement.
As a result we can eliminate almost all of the unwanted vibrations while
controlling the structural behavior of the enclosures themselves.
In our continued quest for perfection in the MAGELLAN line, we joined
forces with a world-renown specialist in mechanical decoupling to develop
a sophisticated system that would allow for the midrange to be completely
independent of its support bafe.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
