AudioMachina is proud to present our new world-class reference loudspeaker system, "Maestro!"
While the title "best in the world" is used far too often and far too carelessly, this can be said for certain: I have never in my life experienced a loudspeaker, at any price, which consistently sounds more like "real live music" than Maestro. And not by a small margin. In fact, that is its greatest asset: While it is not perfect (nothing ever is), it is so thoroughly optimized to perform at an exceedingly high level in every single aspect of musical performance, that it is actually possible for the listener to "suspend disbelief" for huge stretches of time. That is to say, of all the "reference class" loudspeakers on earth, Maestro is virtually unique in its ability to "get out of its own way" to a sufficient degree that even those intimately familiar with the sound of live music will find it supremely easy, not only to listen to, but to actually forget that one is listening to, a loudspeaker. Which, in truth, is the rarest experience in all of audiophilia.
How did we accomplish such a freak-of-nature feat? Simply by taking a lifetime of accumulated wisdom and applying it to the nth degree in every way we know how. In a world of compromise, Maestro stands as a shining example of what can achieved by sheer relentless idealism.
The first thing one notices is that Maestro is so very different in shape and size from conventional "reference" loudspeakers. "Unbelievably dense" is usually the first impression, followed immediately by "it can't possibly do what it's doing!" While the laws of physics are still comfortably intact, there is no doubt that nothing else in the world comes close to the performance optimization which Maestro has achieved. After all, it shouldn't be possible to achieve in-room bass response, of a stunning level of fidelity to "the real thing," down to the single digits, without using a cabinet the size of a refrigerator and an amplifier the size of an oven. It shouldn't be possible to buy a loudspeaker which takes up less than one square foot of floor space, and can be easily transported and assembled by a single person, yet delivers the closest approach to "real live music" yet achieved by mankind. Welcome to the brave new world of Maestro.
For Maestro, in a nutshell, is a system of such stunning transparency, and so shockingly devoid of the insidious colorations and compromises which are simply "taken for granted" in every other loudspeaker on earth, that it has forever changed the playing field, and in a way which even I did not expect prior to hearing it for the first time. The sheer, uncanny (and often downright spooky) realism of Maestro can be quite unnerving to those accustomed to the "veiling" and "hifi-ishness" present in even the most expensive traditional "reference class" loudspeakers. But to those who search for the mythical sound of "real live music," Maestro is nothing short of a revelation, and an opportunity for which most people will search a lifetime and never find.
If you wish to achieve a quality of musical reproduction heretofore unattainable at any price, if you wish to be able to close your eyes and be transported back in time to the original musical event to an extent heretofore unimaginable, then we cordially invite you to audition Maestro for yourself at the earliest possible opportunity. But be forewarned: You will most likely be unable to return to "mainstream" high-end audio equipment ever again.
Those who search for truth and beauty are destined to leave the well-traveled paths behind them forever.
Dr. Karl Schuemann
AudioMachina
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| The incomparable Maestro au naturel..... |
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| and with magnetically attached grilles. |
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Maestro Specifications:
System Type: 3-Way Dynamic Loudspeaker, Modular Construction, Full-Range Upper Module floating on Active Subwoofer Bass Module.
Cabinet Construction: Full SSA (Solid Slab Aluminum), Precision CNC Machined, Dual Clamshell.
Finish: Anodized Satin Silver.
Frequency Response: <10Hz to >20kHz.
Impedance: 8 Ohms (Benign Phase Characteristic, Minimum Impedance 7.8 Ohms).
Driver Complement:
(2) 10" (27cm) State-of-the-art Subwoofer Drivers. Ultra long throw, high linearity, high power, Copper shorting rings, Oversized magnet systems, ultra-low-Q.
(2) 6" (16cm) State-of-the-art Midrange Drivers. Carbon/Rohacell/Carbon sandwich cones, Neodymium magnet systems, Underhung long-throw high-power voice coils, Copper shorting rings.
(1) 1" (2.5cm) State-of-the-art dome tweeter. Hand coated silk dome, Underhung long-throw high-power voice coil, Neodymium magnet system, Cast non-resonant rear chamber.
Upper Module Design: Full-range, Sealed Box Aperiodic Loading, Optimum Q, Natural Wool Damping, True First-Order Crossover using only the very finest parts.
Bass Module: Fully Active, Sealed Box, Optimum Q, Self Contained Powered Subwoofer. State-of-the-art Fully Analog SX Active Filter, 1000W Peak Power State-of-the-art Amplifier, heatsinked directly to SSA Cabinet.
Controls: Subwoofer on/off, Precision Stepped Attenuator Level Controls for both Tweeter and Subwoofer (9-position Rotary switches, precisely 1db per step, allowing extraordinary optimization of in-room response).
Dimensions (Assembled, with spikes):12" x 12" x 52"
Weight: Assembled System 180 lbs per side. As Shipped: Base 40 lbs, Subwoofer 85 lbs, Upper Module 55 lbs.
MSRP: $49,500 USD/ pair.
A note about specifications: As with all audio equipment, specifications are only a small part of the picture. In the end, the only specification that matters is "Does it sound real?" To which we can unequivocally answer: "More so than you ever imagined possible."
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