Alpair 7 MS
70mm Fullrange drive unit
8ohm double ferrite magnet
- State of the art full range drive unit with Mono Suspension and Negative Camber technologies
- 4in grey or gold colour magnesium alloy cone
- Operating range to 30KHz –very linear response
- Negative camber cone profile –extremely broad directivity pattern
- Advanced low-distortion motor design
- Patented long-stroke Mono-suspension technology –spiderless design
- Aerodynamically sculpted surface-mount reinforced polymer basket
Description
New technology Full Range audio driver.
The advanced design Alpair 7MS (mono suspension) is a radical departure from previous models. The 7MS is completely new, utilising many new design components and manufacturing processes. The two main features are the patent-pending Negative Camber Cone and Mono suspension system. Other key features include a custom designed, gas-flowed glass fibre chassis and dedicated ultra light voice coil.
Negative Camber Cone (patent-pending). The 7MS cone is an ultra shallow design affording a wide dispersion pattern. The outer section of the cone profile is angled backwards creating a +180 degrees emittance pattern to help optimise stereo imaging. Vocals from quality sources sound more natural and detailed as the central cap and cone profile are geometrically close-aligned.
Mono Suspension (patent-pending). Much technical research has been done to balance the driver’s powertrain (cone, cap, coil and suspension) between its axis of travel and the corresponding centre of gravity. The new negative-camber cone facilitates the re positioning of the coil to avoid the need for a traditional rear suspension (spider). This new mono suspension design frees the coil from having a restrictive spider bonded to it, improving the transfer of energy from the driver’s motor to its cone. The new suspension employs an all new custom mix of four synthetic materials, resulting in improved linearity under low frequency loads.
The 7MS all new chassis is optimised to enhance airflow. The various slopes and rounded angles help improve sound wave emittance. Custom extended terminals are provided for push fit connectors or light soldering for cables up to 1.5mm diameter.
Other features. The run-in time for the 7MS is significantly reduced compared to previous models. Ten hours of light music at moderate volumes is sufficient for the suspension to reach its optimal operating pattern. An Arrestor (as deployed in previous Alpair models) provides an audible warning of accidental excess excursion. The low mass coil has a vented former and the motor employs custom made copper plating to reduce distortion.
The 7MS is an audio driver designed for the dedicated music lover and High Fidelity enthusiast. Attention to design detail along with an close tolerance manufacturing standard to +/- 0.05mm on most component alignments make this new generation of Markaudio transducers stand out from the crowd.
| RE | 7.2 Ohm |
|---|---|
| FS | 74.724 |
| SD | 50.270 cm² |
| VAS | 4.968 L |
| CMS | 1.384m M/N |
| MMD | 3.072 m KG |
| MMS | 3.277 g |
| BL | 3.859 TM |
| QMS | 2.350 |
| QES | 0.744 |
| QTS | .565 |
| LE | 124.716 uH |
| SPL | 86.324 |
| X MAX | 4.5mm one way |
| POWER (NOMINAL) | 15Watts |
Mike –
Really impressed with these. I bought them as a lockdown project mainly to hone my budding carpentry skills and didn’t really have high expectations on the sound quality, given the size and price.
I’ve built some 11 litre vented boxes for them (slim classic cgr’s) and now they’ve had a chance to warm up I’m amazed at how full and natural they sound. Comparing them to my other speakers (IPL M4’s which are small 5 litre 2 way sealed boxes, but with bigger and much more expensive drivers than these Alpairs), they really hold their own and in many ways they seem to be better, specifically in bass extension and soundstage.
Particularly pleased with how good they sound with hip-hop/rap music – closely mic’d voices come through really nicely (a couple of my test tracks that often sound muddy – ‘Buggin Out’ and ‘Verses from the Abstract’ by A Tribe Called Quest sound better than I’ve ever heard them). Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On just sounds incredible from start to finish.
Overall, a really good purchase and very likely the gateway to more Alpair projects…
Andrew Vigil –
I have lived with these speakers for 3 months now as my daily drivers, for general TV watching to critical listening. They sit in 0.39 cu. ft. boxes tuned to 56 hz, heavily damped with F13 wool felt. (I picked up (10) 5ft. rolls for $8 on clearance at Grainger. 🙂
What I can say about these speakers is, they are without a doubt, my favorite speakers I have ever heard, hands down. I come from a background of luxury theater design and building, and I have heard many speakers in all types of environments, and to MY ears, they are simply magic… Why magic? Because I don’t understand why I love them. The line between my objectivist mindset and subjectivist by the feeling these speakers make me have is… blurred.
Science tells me, no single driver should produce vocals and kick drums at the same time. Physics tells me treble and bass should not coexist in the same unit, so on faith I went for it, and THEY FREAKING DO IT ALL.
I know the frequency response is objectively not flat, and I will get to that later, but for some initial impressions first.
Imaging is beyond anything I have ever experienced in any speaker.
In fact my father-in-law came over after I finished them and I played him Emilie-Claire Barlow’s version of The Very Thought of You, and the first thing he said was “why is her voice in the middle if there’s no speaker in the middle?” Exactly.
On the subject of her voice: Female vocals and stringed instruments especially shine best out of the genres I have played. Mids are GORGEOUS. Spare the fancy terms. Sweet Love of Mine by Joy Williams and Teir Abhaile Riu by Celtic Woman are absolute gold from the Alpairs. Wind instruments as well have such a beautiful quality. When it comes to Drum & Bass, Dubstep, or anything with heavy amounts of bass, they tend to… Run out of steam? I don’t know how to concisely describe what happens. They DO play fine, but cohesion is understandably lost with higher excursion loads.
Initially in a room measuring approx. 14′ x 20′ x 8′ with with weird shapes and moderate damping, imaging was best but bass was lacking. Quick measurements put us at steep drop off below 70hz or so. And then I moved them to a moderately damped 12′ x 13′ x 8′ room, where I could make use of some wall boundaries, and NOW we have bass. Center image became a bit muddy, listening from about 9′ back, however we now have absolutely sufficient bass down to, I would guess the low 50’s with what feels like a much more shallow rolloff. No measurements. Toe-in aided the center focus.
In this same room I decided to run them as nearfield computer speakers and that’s where I got to experience the main downsides of these speakers.
Being so close to them, the treble is very apparent and at high volumes, I was becoming fatigued much quicker than anything else I’ve heard before. I’d have to blame that 12kHz peak for that. Just not flat enough for my liking. And that is really my only big gripe with these. Toe-ing them out a bit solves that but we lose the imaging magic as well. I personally prefer them as a mid to farfield speaker than nearfield, in a small to medium room. A/B-ing these against my TABAQ RS-100 2-ways with 5/8″ Dayton tweeters, I can admit to liking the treble a whole lot more than the Alpairs.
My other problem with these, is a cosmetic thing: the center cap. On both of my units, the overall build quality is fantastic aside from massive glue beads around each center cap. It really does not look good.
So in total, they are not for everybody, and they aren’t for ultra loud listening, or for multiple seating environments like a theater because I could hear the beaming and treble is destroyed off-axis.
I know they measure poorly on a scale, and I have a deep respect for objective measurements and science in the audio world, especially being in a work field involving so much physics and acoustical engineering. But I can’t shake these drivers. I was set when I got them to prove myself right in knowing they’d sound bad… But guess what? They just… Make me happy. And at the end of the day, that’s all that matters.
Do with that what you will. :p