REPRODUCED FROM HI-FICHOICE
N eatM ajistra Com bining elem ents ofNeat’s M inistra and Prestige Ultim atum XLS,can the M ajistra beteritssiblings?
Two years ago,this speaker’s baby brother– the M inistra (HFC 465) – did extrem ely wel in our standm ountGroup Test.Now it’stim e forthe next m odelup the range to be putthrough itspaces.In the words ofdesigner Bob Surgeoner:“there is es entialy no design diference between the two exceptsize”.The M ajistra boastseightm ore litres ofcabinetvolum e and three extra kilos ofweigh over its sm aler sibling in an efort to im prove eficiencyand bas extension.W hen alissaid and done,there is no substitute for cabinet volum e whenyouwantto m oveairaround theroom . No other speaker in this group sports isobaric cabinetloading;indeed it’sveryrare fulstop.
Surgeonerexplainsthatthisconfiguration:“m akes the drive units behave as ifthey’re housed in a cabinet of m uch larger internal volum e.” The m id/bas drivers– one on the frontbafle and the otherinside the speaker– are now 170m m to the M inistra’s134m m .The60m m trueribbontweeteris this speaker’s other pièce de résistance. It has super-fasttransientresponse thanksto itsultra-light diaphragm ,which has a lowerm oving m as than anyconventionaldom e tweeter–plastic,cloth,silk orm etal.A high-quality cros overdivides up the drivers. The exteriorpaintfinish on ourreview sam ple is verygood and the whole cabinetfeelssolid with its
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