jwdrums0 reviews the Mag v4

[jwdrums0]

Hi All,

My name is Joe Whittle, and I've owned a Mag v4 for around a month now.

This sub was purchased by me to be used in the system I'm designing and building for my little sister's 1994 Civic.
Her tastes and sensibilities toward music are like mine (she is a young vocalist making her way in the local music scene) hence this system's focus on SQ and musical fidelity.
We will be building a 2-way front stage plus sub for her, running active from an Alpine PXA-H701. Amplifiers and speakers will be selected from my collection of spare components from previous builds (I have Dyn Esotec components and a couple of Rainbow sets in storage, and Butler, Sinfoni and PPI Art series amps ready to be considered.)
Previous subs I have owned and used include the Image Dynamics IDMAX, Focal 33WX and Boston Acoustics SPG555 as well as a slew of lower grade subs from JBL, Alpine, Sony Xplod, Clarion, Orion and Pioneer. (FYI for anyone interested, in my own car I use Rainbow Free Air 12s IB in my rear deck.)

After receiving the Mag I decided to build a box and give the woofer some running time before putting it into it's proper home later on. I was pleased with the results thus far so I felt it was only courteous to share my impressions with Nick to provide him with some feedback on how his new babies are doing Some of the comments I privately emailed Nick were quoted in this forum, and although I intended to write a detailed review of the Mag for posting on the web at a later date, he's asked for me to post my thoughts on the sub sooner rather than later. So here we are


The Box:
I checked out the cut list printed on the Mag’s packaging and ascertained that it had specified a 1ft^3 gross box. Then I saw the requirement for Polyfill in the instructions, so I decided to construct a 1.09 cube box without fill so it netted out to an even 1 cube after displacement. I used ¾” MDF, bonded with plenty of PVC glue and sealed up well with a commercial grade silicone acetate. On installing the sub, I noticed an air leak in the enclosure (this is easy to detect, and proven two ways when you gently push down on the cone while the sub's fastened in it's box; 1) you can hear air 'wheezing' somewhere on the sub or enclosure, and 2) in a properly sealed box, the cone should take several seconds to return to it's zero position. If it just springs back quickly, the airspring is not doing it's job). The cause of this leak was traced to the rubber gasket that is supplied with the sub preventing it from sealing tightly to the box. I removed this gasket and for extra peace of mind installed some thin sponge gasket (from the packaging of another sub) over the box's mounting screw holes. All fixed.


The Test System:
The car we installed the Mag in for this test was the Ford hatchback of my colleague at the audio shop I work at. I selected a PPI A600 in 4 ohm bridged mono mode to power the sub's voice coils in series with 600wrms. The car’s front stage consists of a set of Dynaudio 240GTs with modified passives, running off an older 4-channel Pioneer Class A amp bridged to produce around 120wrms per side. Head unit is a 2008 model Pioneer 6050DVD. The car's front doors have been sealed with Dynamat Extreme, and midwoofers are mounted to the steel door skin and sealed with silicone. We tried a variety of crossover settings (controlled by the head unit- the Dynaudio front speakers still ran through their passives after the head unit's high pass filter), and spent days listening to each. For this particular setup, I felt maximum bass response was achieved at a setting of 63 Hz for both high pass and low pass filters, but personally preferred the system clarity with the sub lowpassed at 80Hz and the front stage highpassed at 100Hz (not as much bass weight but very smooth, and due to the lower power from the front amp, more bass being handled by the higher wattage). Gain on the sub amp was settled at about 4/10 on the dial. I imagine more 'purist' SQ listeners would choose a slightly lower setting than this because at even 1/4 to 1/3 gain level, 600 watts is definitely starting to get this sub up and moving; an indication of good efficiency.


Preliminary Listening:
The owner of this car is a DJ who specialises in house and breaks, so the Mag was playing a lot of this kind of electronic music throughout the 3 weeks of evaluation. This music is almost entirely digital and synthesised (and hence a great starting point for putting a system through it's paces), featuring a wide variety of bass notes and kick drum sounds with clean definition and precise note durations. Other more acoustic instrument-oriented musics such as Jazz, soul and R&B were played to check out the sub's tonality.

Here's what I found: The SI Mag 12 v4, consistently amongst all genres of music listened to, effortlessly integrated with the front stage so as to almost raise the question of "Is there actually a sub playing in this car?" For those who aren't familiar with super-low distortion subs such as this one, there can be an illusion that it has disappeared into the system because the bass notes are not sticking out in the mix. One flick of the "Subwoofer: on/off" setting in the head unit's audio menu, however, quickly revealed exactly how much low frequency support the front speakers were receiving, and the shock of hearing the front speakers exposed with no bass had me scrambling to turn the sub back on!

In use, the sub's bass response is natural and accurate. It is quick to return to rest after playing high-excursion notes, and the efficiency of the sub and enclosure design means it is rarely moving much to give it's output. To my ears, the recommended sealed enclosure does not color the system's bass sound. It is definitely not "boomy" or "bloomy"; however if the source material calls for boom then the system faithfully reproduces it- no more and no less, though. Tight and punchy bass was also rendered accurately and to my satisfaction- but remember it just sounds like the mids up front are doing all the work.

So in essence, what we're dealing with here is a subwoofer that simply makes your front speakers sound like they're full range drivers with an ability to effortlessly play down to below 30Hz. Like many high-quality things in life, it delivers it's performance with no fuss or drama, and that performance is consistent and repeatable, all day long. It is designed as an 'Audiophile' component, and in my opinion aptly achieves that moniker. This will be a worthy inclusion into the system I'm building.





Now, I have one more topic I wish to discuss:


** PROSPECTIVE BUYERS, DEFINE YOUR SUB IDEOLOGY **


As far as I'm concerned, to hear the Mag 12v4 perform is to hear the true meaning of 'Sound Quality' bass. I'd be very comfortable in recommending this subwoofer to any customer wishing to build a successful SQ system. For those who have not heard this sub before and are thinking of buying it, and/ or those who perhaps don't have their own definition of 'Sound Quality', I wish to emphasise to you that the sound you're going to hear from this driver in your system could very well be something you've never experienced before.

Just about all of us have heard car audio systems whose sub setups produce some sort of physical sensation on the body other than at the ears when bass notes are played. This sensation is generally described using a word that connotes some sort of violent act; words like 'thump', 'kick', 'attack', 'punch' or 'pound' etc. The vast majority of consumers consider this trait to be a key distinguishing feature of a performance aftermarket car stereo. In fact, many people buy car audio subs looking for this ability to 'hit', thus creating a sensory experience that is additional to just listening to the music.

If you are looking for any such characteristic for your own system, I feel the Mag 12v4 would not be the answer for you. That physical sensation of 'attack' is just not there with one of these subs in the car. But that's not due to a lack of output- on the contrary, there is an obvious amount of bass in the music- it's just that hitting listeners in the chest is not in this sub's job description. Whether you consider that to be ideal or not, is up to you.
But consider this: one key indicator of a good sounding system is one that is non-fatiguing. The SI Mag 12v4 is never fatiguing to listen to, due to it's ability to blend and very low distortion compared to other drivers. Granted, you might not be getting the violence or drama with this sub, but you could work a 10-hour shift on a jackhammer breaking up concrete all day yet happily drive home enjoying your sound system at the end of it, such is the pleasure of the Mag's smoothness and fidelity. In my book that is worth more than the novelty of a hard-hitting sub system that ultimately sounds better outside the car than in.

Conclusion
It's unassuming. It's accurate. It's efficient. It's compact. It blends with the front speakers like nobody's business. It's neutral, treating any type of bass note with the same dignity, speed and composure. It's non-fatiguing to listen to. And to top it all off, at $249 represents great value for money. Two thumbs up from me on this sub. Well done Stereo Integrity!

Joe Whittle

[CrazyKenKid]

Wow very nice and very well descriptive write up regarding the sub. i still haven't installed my pair of subs yet which i want to do some time soon now. I myself and all my friend all have those "boomy" subs are you described and i am not pleased with thsoe type of subs so i though why not switch! now i am looking forward to the install but the weather still isnt' on my side o well. one day though.

again very well writen and a lot of time put into this. I think all new comers to the magv4 should have a read of this thread before they purchase only b/c it gives a great description of the sub! (lol i can't wiat to install mine)

also mine aren't installed yet only b/c of the weather and b/c i also moved away for school and all my tools are at home! lol!

[jwdrums0]

Awesome man 2 of these subs in your car are going to sound fat, I'm sure of it. Best of luck on your (hopefully sooner rather than later) install !

[jdc753]

Very good read for sure and sweet review. Thank you

I have been listening to my mags for a while and honestly don't have very much experience with subs or a majority of systems and such so I have been very reluctant to write a review. You most certainly summarized everything I have been feeling from the mags though.

[1sashenka]

I feel the same way about my Nobeliums. I have a pair of tens in 1.2 cubes total, feeding them 1000 wrms at 4 ohms. They are also super low distortion, and the sound could be described such as that of Mag's v4. I find with subs of this nature the one drawback I discovered, that as you say, you cannot really hear the sub/s, but now I can hear all kinds of rattles at high volumes. They move my hair and all with sheer output, but it sounds like you have no sub at all, as if music is coming from front speakers only, but with serious force. Retail price on the Nobeliums is pretty insane though. I think around $600 US per piece. This type os subs are def not for kids who like their big boomy bass, not even close. If thats what you are after, you need high distortion subs.

[jwdrums0]

Hi all,

Re: The rattles, that's a great point I forgot to mention...they will be more noticeable now so they'll NEED to be eliminated! We had to pull a front door apart and give it some attention because of a rattle that only became evident after the Mag went in.
This, combined with the quality and installation of the front speakers are two things that are absolutely critical to the outcome of the system's sound. The reward for the extra effort though is some nice, strong, upfront bass.

1sashenka's mention of the Nobeliums' (and other comparable high end subs) asking price also touches on the value that the Mag is offering. In it's own unpretentious way, the SI is keeping company with some pretty lofty marques here.

And to jdc753, if you haven't heard that many systems thus far, then the passage of time will suffice to show you how good of a choice you made in selecting this sub for your setup sir

[bigbangtheory]

Wow, that may be hands down the best review I have ever read! Your attention to detail is.........wow!

I am still up in the air though about if I want to try these or not. I used to be a big basshead back a few years ago and well my younger years. Well the older I am getting, the more I find myself looking for the sound you describe.......I think.

I am hoping the BM's come out soon and see some reviews on those as they may be more up my alley. I would love to hear what sounds like the bass coming up front, but for 250 dollars not sure if I am willing to take the chance. I guess I could just try and if not happy, sell it, which I have done a ton of on another forum with good luck.

Again, awesome review and I could imagine this system sounds great if you install as well as you review, lol!

[splxtreme]

Originally Posted by jwdrums0

Hi All,

My name is Joe Whittle, and I've owned a Mag v4 for around a month now.

This sub was purchased by me to be used in the system I'm designing and building for my little sister's 1994 Civic.
Her tastes and sensibilities toward music are like mine (she is a young vocalist making her way in the local music scene) hence this system's focus on SQ and musical fidelity.
We will be building a 2-way front stage plus sub for her, running active from an Alpine PXA-H701. Amplifiers and speakers will be selected from my collection of spare components from previous builds (I have Dyn Esotec components and a couple of Rainbow sets in storage, and Butler, Sinfoni and PPI Art series amps ready to be considered.)
Previous subs I have owned and used include the Image Dynamics IDMAX, Focal 33WX and Boston Acoustics SPG555 as well as a slew of lower grade subs from JBL, Alpine, Sony Xplod, Clarion, Orion and Pioneer. (FYI for anyone interested, in my own car I use Rainbow Free Air 12s IB in my rear deck.)

After receiving the Mag I decided to build a box and give the woofer some running time before putting it into it's proper home later on. I was pleased with the results thus far so I felt it was only courteous to share my impressions with Nick to provide him with some feedback on how his new babies are doing Some of the comments I privately emailed Nick were quoted in this forum, and although I intended to write a detailed review of the Mag for posting on the web at a later date, he's asked for me to post my thoughts on the sub sooner rather than later. So here we are


The Box:
I checked out the cut list printed on the Mag’s packaging and ascertained that it had specified a 1ft^3 gross box. Then I saw the requirement for Polyfill in the instructions, so I decided to construct a 1.09 cube box without fill so it netted out to an even 1 cube after displacement. I used ¾” MDF, bonded with plenty of PVC glue and sealed up well with a commercial grade silicone acetate. On installing the sub, I noticed an air leak in the enclosure (this is easy to detect, and proven two ways when you gently push down on the cone while the sub's fastened in it's box; 1) you can hear air 'wheezing' somewhere on the sub or enclosure, and 2) in a properly sealed box, the cone should take several seconds to return to it's zero position. If it just springs back quickly, the airspring is not doing it's job). The cause of this leak was traced to the rubber gasket that is supplied with the sub preventing it from sealing tightly to the box. I removed this gasket and for extra peace of mind installed some thin sponge gasket (from the packaging of another sub) over the box's mounting screw holes. All fixed.


The Test System:
The car we installed the Mag in for this test was the Ford hatchback of my colleague at the audio shop I work at. I selected a PPI A600 in 4 ohm bridged mono mode to power the sub's voice coils in series with 600wrms. The car’s front stage consists of a set of Dynaudio 240GTs with modified passives, running off an older 4-channel Pioneer Class A amp bridged to produce around 120wrms per side. Head unit is a 2008 model Pioneer 6050DVD. The car's front doors have been sealed with Dynamat Extreme, and midwoofers are mounted to the steel door skin and sealed with silicone. We tried a variety of crossover settings (controlled by the head unit- the Dynaudio front speakers still ran through their passives after the head unit's high pass filter), and spent days listening to each. For this particular setup, I felt maximum bass response was achieved at a setting of 63 Hz for both high pass and low pass filters, but personally preferred the system clarity with the sub lowpassed at 80Hz and the front stage highpassed at 100Hz (not as much bass weight but very smooth, and due to the lower power from the front amp, more bass being handled by the higher wattage). Gain on the sub amp was settled at about 4/10 on the dial. I imagine more 'purist' SQ listeners would choose a slightly lower setting than this because at even 1/4 to 1/3 gain level, 600 watts is definitely starting to get this sub up and moving; an indication of good efficiency.


Preliminary Listening:
The owner of this car is a DJ who specialises in house and breaks, so the Mag was playing a lot of this kind of electronic music throughout the 3 weeks of evaluation. This music is almost entirely digital and synthesised (and hence a great starting point for putting a system through it's paces), featuring a wide variety of bass notes and kick drum sounds with clean definition and precise note durations. Other more acoustic instrument-oriented musics such as Jazz, soul and R&B were played to check out the sub's tonality.

Here's what I found: The SI Mag 12 v4, consistently amongst all genres of music listened to, effortlessly integrated with the front stage so as to almost raise the question of "Is there actually a sub playing in this car?" For those who aren't familiar with super-low distortion subs such as this one, there can be an illusion that it has disappeared into the system because the bass notes are not sticking out in the mix. One flick of the "Subwoofer: on/off" setting in the head unit's audio menu, however, quickly revealed exactly how much low frequency support the front speakers were receiving, and the shock of hearing the front speakers exposed with no bass had me scrambling to turn the sub back on!

In use, the sub's bass response is natural and accurate. It is quick to return to rest after playing high-excursion notes, and the efficiency of the sub and enclosure design means it is rarely moving much to give it's output. To my ears, the recommended sealed enclosure does not color the system's bass sound. It is definitely not "boomy" or "bloomy"; however if the source material calls for boom then the system faithfully reproduces it- no more and no less, though. Tight and punchy bass was also rendered accurately and to my satisfaction- but remember it just sounds like the mids up front are doing all the work.

So in essence, what we're dealing with here is a subwoofer that simply makes your front speakers sound like they're full range drivers with an ability to effortlessly play down to below 30Hz. Like many high-quality things in life, it delivers it's performance with no fuss or drama, and that performance is consistent and repeatable, all day long. It is designed as an 'Audiophile' component, and in my opinion aptly achieves that moniker. This will be a worthy inclusion into the system I'm building.





Now, I have one more topic I wish to discuss:


** PROSPECTIVE BUYERS, DEFINE YOUR SUB IDEOLOGY **


As far as I'm concerned, to hear the Mag 12v4 perform is to hear the true meaning of 'Sound Quality' bass. I'd be very comfortable in recommending this subwoofer to any customer wishing to build a successful SQ system. For those who have not heard this sub before and are thinking of buying it, and/ or those who perhaps don't have their own definition of 'Sound Quality', I wish to emphasise to you that the sound you're going to hear from this driver in your system could very well be something you've never experienced before.

Just about all of us have heard car audio systems whose sub setups produce some sort of physical sensation on the body other than at the ears when bass notes are played. This sensation is generally described using a word that connotes some sort of violent act; words like 'thump', 'kick', 'attack', 'punch' or 'pound' etc. The vast majority of consumers consider this trait to be a key distinguishing feature of a performance aftermarket car stereo. In fact, many people buy car audio subs looking for this ability to 'hit', thus creating a sensory experience that is additional to just listening to the music.

If you are looking for any such characteristic for your own system, I feel the Mag 12v4 would not be the answer for you. That physical sensation of 'attack' is just not there with one of these subs in the car. But that's not due to a lack of output- on the contrary, there is an obvious amount of bass in the music- it's just that hitting listeners in the chest is not in this sub's job description. Whether you consider that to be ideal or not, is up to you.
But consider this: one key indicator of a good sounding system is one that is non-fatiguing. The SI Mag 12v4 is never fatiguing to listen to, due to it's ability to blend and very low distortion compared to other drivers. Granted, you might not be getting the violence or drama with this sub, but you could work a 10-hour shift on a jackhammer breaking up concrete all day yet happily drive home enjoying your sound system at the end of it, such is the pleasure of the Mag's smoothness and fidelity. In my book that is worth more than the novelty of a hard-hitting sub system that ultimately sounds better outside the car than in.

Conclusion
It's unassuming. It's accurate. It's efficient. It's compact. It blends with the front speakers like nobody's business. It's neutral, treating any type of bass note with the same dignity, speed and composure. It's non-fatiguing to listen to. And to top it all off, at $249 represents great value for money. Two thumbs up from me on this sub. Well done Stereo Integrity!

Joe Whittle

I can't help but ask this question. I have used many of the upper end drivers, and some have not impressed me. Reading the reviews have opened my eyes a bit, and makes me want to get a system again. My previous was stolen, and just haven't had the ambition to get another.

My only question is, is that I listen to a WIDE range of music and some that probably isn't really considered music, but mostly I listen to rock and metal. I have had a hard time finding a driver that accurately reproduces the attack and dynamics of kick drums. I know most of the kick is supposed to be reproduced from the fronts, but there are some fundementals in the kick drum and even floor toms, that need reinforcement from a sub. I've measured a lot of frequency responses of different instuments (sorry, been in a recording studio for a while) and found that a lot of them cover a wide bandwidth of sound.

My next question is, if the recording artist intended on have a hard hitting bass sound, that centered around 50-60hz, are you going to get that hard hitting bass from the Mag? Is it going to hit you in the chest per say, or will it just fill the cabin with a low frequency presence?

Hopefully I didn't jump around too much. My goal is to find a driver like the audiomobile mass series again. FYI, the Le of this driver was .507mH I sold the pair I had to a buddy of mine, about 6 years ago. I have yet to find a sub that sounded as good as these.

[jwdrums0]

Thanks for the responses gentlemen. I wrote the review for people like you who haven't heard this sub yet. I wanted to try and give you a 'virtual listen' to the sub before purchasing, so hopefully your decision could be a little better than pure blind faith.

You know, I read all the literature about the Mag on this forum before mine arrived, and in hindsight understand and fully agree with everything that's been written..but at the time of reading, having not heard the sub for myself yet, the sound I imagined it would have was way off how it actually turned out. Here's the honest truth: in those very first few seconds of listening, I was surprised and almost disappointed in the lack of drama from this woofer. I must say I had to: 1) shelve my preconceptions and take the sub on it's merits (knowing that I was being confronted with the very definition of SQ, and this sub was making the music sound very "right"), and 2) work with the sub and get used to hearing the system's new sonic character. After about half an hour my brain was starting to get a handle on the sound, and it was good. Over the next fortnight or so and a few tuning tweaks my listening enjoyment increased.
Now, before the sub is installed in it's final home I'm going to start experimenting with running it with more power than the 600wrms it's receiving right now. I've got my eye on a series VII Hifonics Zeus (a very real 1000 watts), and although I know the physical laws of power vs SPL state I may not be able to notice any difference in actual output, I'm still curious to hear if there will be any difference in the overall response of the sub.

...I think.

I hear you bigbangtheory. I'm 30 now and have been pursuing the boom with love for 12 years. Your sentiments are heading in the direction of the sound that this Mag offers. If you wanted a 2c opinion from me, I'd be looking into 2 Mag 12's with a decent amount of power on each (1000wrms per driver), if for no other reason than to help psychologically wean you off the big bass you're accustomed to. You could start there then over time move down to a single 12. I don't know if that's too expensive a proposition for your budget... and yes, I'm sure you'd have no trouble moving them if you decided to sell up. I've got a feeling, though, that liquidating these could be a move you'd grow to regret down the track? How many times do we hear stories of guys saying, "I had such and such a component back in 19xx and sold it...I wish I hadn't!" Let's try our best to not be that person

Is it going to hit you in the chest per say, or will it just fill the cabin with a low frequency presence?

Hey splxtreme, as you know I didn't include specific listening examples in this preliminary review. But I have a proposal: you post up a top-5 list of specific tracks on which you want to hear that good chest hit from the sub, and I will personally seek those out and play them on this test system. I pledge to give you a completely and brutally honest appraisal of the sub's renditions of the kick drums of your choice. What do you think...

Can I ask, do you achieve that sort of physical sensation from your home or studio reference system?

One other thing [btw I'm sorry to hear you lost all your nice gear ] as you rightly mentioned, if you're considering building another system your front speakers are going to be critical to getting a powerful bass presence up front. Do you have any thoughts for your front stage choice? (You're gonna need cone area and wattage to get your rock tracks rockin' sir)

But as for a direct answer to your question, my first instinct would be to answer that the Mag will neither hit you in the chest nor fill the cabin...As I stated in the review the bass sounds more like it's part of the front stage, almost as if there's no sub. But if you post up some hard hitting kick drum songs I'll be happy to test them out and report the results for you.

[jwdrums0]

PS. spl, after that post went up I just noticed your sig- you have the DLS. If they are the model I'm thinking of they're awesome