Bookshelf Speakers — MAGNAT Signature Edelstein

The MAGNAT Signature Edelstein is an ultra compact passive bookshelf loudspeaker, designed and developed in Germany and sold in pairs at a price of EUR 999 per pair. The name means gemstone, and MAGNAT pitches it at modern living spaces where a small cabinet is required. It is offered in a satin matt black, which the company compares to the look of a wristwatch, or in a subdued satin white.

Key specs that matter

MAGNAT combines, in a vented two-way cabinet, a 4.5 inch woofer-midrange and a 1 inch fabric dome tweeter, crossed over at 2,400 Hz. MAGNAT gives a frequency range of 45 Hz to 38,000 Hz at the -6 dB points, sensitivity of 90 dB and impedance of 4 to 8 ohm. Power handling is 75 W nominal and 150 W peak, and an amplifier with more than 30 W is suggested. Each speaker measures 13.5 x 23.2 x 24.6 cm and weighs 5 kg.

Engineering and use context

Up top, a dual compound fabric dome uses an extra wide surround to improve radiation above 20 kHz, and its output reaches 50 kHz. It sits in a newly calculated spherical waveguide machined into a solid aluminium front plate, which is burnished and also carries the guide for the woofer. A neodymium magnet system drives the dome. The woofer-midrange has a non-magnetic die-cast aluminium basket shaped for airflow, so that large cone excursions do not create turbulence or compression. Its magnet system includes an inductance control ring and stray field optimisation, and the voice coil former is made of Kapton. The cone is MAGNAT's 3L sandwich of ceramic, magnesium-aluminium and ceramic layers, paired with an inverse dust dome, giving a stiff yet well damped diaphragm. The MDF cabinet has a reinforcement plate with a chassis carrier behind the woofer to cut self-resonance, a specially coated Airflex port with a very large opening, and a double base of polished acrylic glass and solid aluminium that decouples vibration. Large rubber feet sit underneath.

Pairing

The crossover is phase and amplitude optimised and uses a low resistance path for the woofer-midrange to keep electrical losses small, with oxygen-free copper internal wiring of large cross section. Connection is through a milled aluminium terminal with gold-plated screw posts encapsulated in acrylic, sized for thick speaker cables.

Alternatives

For a larger box in the same category, MAGNAT offers the Signature 703, a three-way bookshelf model from its Signature 700 series.