France-based Amadeus has announced that their highly-anticipated ML 28 subwoofer is now shipping and available through dealers in Europe and Asia.
The ML 28 subwoofer was premiered at the 2013 Musikmesse Prolight + Sound Frankfurt Expo. The new subwoofer, fitted with dual 18-inch speakers, combines a set of unique acoustical properties with high-timbral precision and extraordinary power handling capability.
The ML 28 system is designed for use with conventional loudspeakers as well as line array systems manufactured by Amadeus, including the company’s PMX, UDX and DIVA Series, and includes standard presets that are compatible with all well-known digital crossovers.
Pricing on the new ML 28 subwoofer for Europe is € 3999.00 (VAT excluded).
One of the innovations for the new Amadeus ML 28 subwoofer is the proprietary internal reinforcement structure designed to neutralize any standing waves and to suppress energy loss caused by vibrations.
This unique construction technique creates an unmatched tonal accuracy for low frequencies, even at high sound pressure levels. Engineers at Amadeus worked to compute these detailed and important internal physical characteristics, then built prototypes and tested them, then refined the structure until their sonic expectations were met.
Initially designed for the Chinese market, Gaetan BYK, Marketing Manager at Amadeus, describes the genesis of the ML 28.
“The Amadeus brand philosophy is built on the long-standing, close and productive relationships we maintain with our customers, both in France and around the world for over 35 years,” he explains. “The custom-made products manufacturing, following acoustical or technical issues as well as market demands, is a glorious tradition at Amadeus, which serves this philosophy.
“Originally designed for the Chinese market, the new ML 28 is the concrete expression of this ethos.”
Wymen WONG, CEO of Sign King Limited, which was appointed exclusive distributor of Amadeus brand in Hong Kong, Macau and Mainland China, adds: “The rapidly growing professional A/V equipment market aimed at rental companies and entertainment infrastructures in China, including sporting and leisure sites, live music clubs, performing arts centers and various nightlife venues, required us to propose more and more sophisticated, consistent and efficient technical solutions.
“We needed to provide our customers with a dual 18-inch speaker subwoofer, combining unmatched sonic properties, cutting-edge technology with hand-craftsmanship to make it unique. Charmed by the Amadeus history, values and savoir-faire and maintaining very close relationships with their teams, it seemed natural to ask them to develop this new subwoofer project for our market, which is going to be successful.”
As a dual speaker enclosure, the ML 28 is equipped with two 18-inch (46 cm) high-power transducers with ventilated voice coils, including high-density neodymium magnets and Double Silicon Spider (DSS) to improve excursion control and linearity.
The two drivers are positioned in direct-radiating mode. The ML 28 is also equipped with low-velocity laminar ports using progressive termination, which optimize the air streams to limit the effects of port compression and extremity diffraction. The ML 28 offers an extraordinary sound pressure level of up to 141 dB with a power handling capacity of 5.600 W at nominal 4-ohm impedance.
Revealing a proprietary manufacturing technique, applied to ML 28, Bernard BYK, co-founder of Amadeus and CEO of Atelier 33, the parent company of the Amadeus brand, explains: “This unique construction technique, resulting from a unique marriage of traditional craftsmanship and advanced technology, creates, among other things, a dramatic cut in the level of cabinet coloration of the sound using a longitudinal and transverse reinforcement crossed structure.
“It is partly inspired by the internal technicality of our custom studio monitoring systems, which result from processes borrowed from the aircraft industry and in particular the construction of the airplane wings.”
Michel DELUC, lead designer at Amadeus, adds more detail about this construction method, “It has been designed to neutralize the standing waves affecting both the sonic clarity and definition of the lowest frequencies. We achieve this through an extremely complex internal reinforcement structure, using a combination of interlocking panels arranged in two perpendicular planes, each hosting several tuned notch resonators.”
Designed to be used on the road for live events fitted with accessories to make its handling easier, the ML 28 subwoofer can also be used within fixed or long-lasting installations for amazing low-end audio reinforcement.
The subwoofer is available in a highly wear resistant black (water-soluble) paint finish, but is also available in several standard colors. Or the ML 28 can be ordered in a ‘made to measure’ finish, based on registered or non-registered colors and/or materials. To offer more possibilities, the cabinet and the acoustical fabric covering the front grill can each have a different color.
