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Last year we reviewed, very favourably, the superb Magnum2 home theatre package from Australian speaker manufacturer Whatmough. Not one to rest on its laurels, the good folk at Whatmough saw fit to conduct some fine-tuning to the Magnum main left and right speakers. The previous generation had a very high quality 10-inch bass driver that, by being side-mounted, helped to keep the speakers elegantly narrow, but also presented some room-placement challenges to the set-and-forget end-user.
The new main speakers are enough of a re-design to justify a new package name; it’s now simply the Magnum3 (with the mains now called M3F). Gone is the side-firing 10-inch driver; enter a twin team of 6.5-inch front-firing bass units that still allow for a relatively slim-line design. Having said that, the M3F’s front-ported enclosure is a little larger than its predecessor at 220 x 990 x 380mm (whd), as opposed to the old speaker’s 200 x 935 x 370mm. Whatmough has wisely used additional bracing to strengthen the larger box. The slightly larger internal volume in turn may have helped to wring an extra 1Hz from its frequency response of 47Hz to 40kHz (±3dB). Impedance is now eight ohms and the M3F is 90dB efficient at 1W into eight ohms. Whatmough has designed the M3Fs as suitable for use in home cinema and high quality stereo configurations.
The rest of the package remains the same, but we’ll refresh your memory… The M205 centre channel speaker is 455 x 186 x 370mm (whd) and is configured in the ubiquitous horizontal MTM arrangement. Frequency response for the M205 is quoted as 78Hz to 40kHz, again within the ±3dB window.
Bringing up the rear is the not so diminutive M210, a stand-mount or wall-mount that looks like the M3F after major surgery one third of the way down. Once again, the drivers are shared with the M205 centre channel.
The solid deep-bass platform for this Home Theatre system to build upon is provided by the Tornado2 subwoofer — mind you, the M3Fs are no slouches in this area. And solid is indeed what is potentially available from this sub. The Tornado2 sports a long-throw 250mm, or 10-inch in old school language, cellulose fibre cone with large 50mm voice coil and usable bass extension below 20Hz, with a -3dB point at an impressive 23Hz. The sealedbox subwoofer is a compact unit featuring an on-board 240 watts Class A/B amplifier, auto on/off switch, speaker level inputs on good quality binding posts, line level inputs and outputs and continuously variable volume, phase and crossover frequency via rotary knob.
Consistent with our past experience with Whatmough speakers, the Magnum3 package’s fit and finish, driver and connector quality is top-notch for the price point. The range is available in a choice of either black or dark cherry finishes.
Performance
We’ve had the Tornado2 subwoofer in at our labs for long-term testing and we’ve found it to be an outstanding performer. Bass-rich soundtracks from Iron Man to The Day the Earth Stood Still confirm the necessity of a great sub even when the mains are no bass slouches themselves. The Tornado2 delves the depths of the lowest frequencies with picture-rattling power while retaining total control of the resultant excesses in bass driver excursion.
Having said that, the new M3F speakers are one of the best bass fiends in our experience. The new twin 6.5-inch bass drivers punch with a power and bass quality that can compete with far more expensive designs. This is especially evident when used music listening mode.
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