Bookshelf Speakers — MAGNAT Signature 703

The MAGNAT Signature 703 is the compact three-way speaker in the Signature 700 series, which the German company from Pulheim describes as the golden middle of its Signature range. It uses the same slim 21 cm front as the 707 tower from that series, and its footprint is roughly that of an A4 sheet. Black and white versions are made, each pairing a piano gloss baffle with a satin lacquered body.

Key specs that matter

The 703 places three drivers in a vented cabinet. A 170 mm woofer-midrange handles the lower band, and above it sit a 30 mm dome tweeter and a 20 mm super tweeter. MAGNAT lists crossover points at 2,700 Hz and 17,000 Hz. Rated bandwidth reaches from 31 Hz to 54,000 Hz, efficiency is 91 dB measured at 2.8 V and 1 m, while MAGNAT puts the load at 4 to 8 ohm. Power handling is 110 W RMS and 180 W maximum, with an amplifier of at least 20 W suggested. The cabinet measures 210 mm across, 372 mm tall and 305 mm deep, and each speaker weighs 7.7 kg.

Engineering and use context

The two small domes form a Hi-Res certified double tweeter module mounted in a specially calculated aluminium front plate. The larger dome has an extra wide surround so it can couple low to the midrange, while the smaller fmax dome is there for wide dispersion and extends output beyond 50 kHz. MAGNAT argues that overtones above 20,000 Hz play a part in how a tone is perceived, which is why the series carries this second dome. Neodymium magnet systems drive both tweeters, and the plate is fixed with six screws and shaped with dedicated waveguides. The woofer-midrange uses a ceramic-aluminium sandwich cone with an inverted dust cap, a vented, non-magnetic basket of die-cast aluminium against compression and air turbulence, and a ventilated voice coil for high load capacity. Driver design was optimised with Klippel laser measurement. The crossover is amplitude and phase optimised with acoustic 24 dB filters, and the multiply braced MDF cabinet ends in an Airflex port with rounded openings intended to reduce flow noise. A removable fabric grille is held by hidden magnets.

Pairing

The terminal panel carries large screw clamps with gold-plated contacts and splits into two sections, allowing two cable runs or two amplifiers per speaker. Within the Signature 700 family it can be joined by the Center 73, a three-way centre speaker with two woofer-midranges of the same size, and by the Sub 730A, an active downfiring subwoofer with a 300 mm driver and a Class D amplifier rated 190 W RMS, to build a home cinema system.

Alternatives

MAGNAT also makes the Signature 503, a three-way bookshelf model that the company presents as the entry point into its Signature line.