Macarena

Reviewer: Srajan Ebaen
Financial interests: click here
Main system: Sources: Retina 5K 27" iMac (i5, 256GB SSD, 40GB RAM, Tahoe 26), 4TB external SSD with Thunderbolt 3, Audirvana Studio, Qobuz Sublime, Gustard U26 USB bridge, LHY Audio SW-8 & SW-6 switch, Sonnet Pasithea; Preamp: Hattor Audio ARP-S; Active filter: spl Audio Crossover MkII; Power amplifiers: Vinshine/Kinki Dazzle & Audiophonics NCx500 on subwoofer; Loudspeakers: Qualio IQ [on loan]; Subwoofer: sound|kaos D15; Cables: Exact Express Flame, Furutech; Power delivery: 2 x Kinki/Vinshine Tai Hang on amps and source stack, Furutech DPS-4.1 between wall and conditioners; Equipment rack: Artesanía Audio Exoteryc double-wide 3-tier with optional glass shelves, Exoteryc amp stands; Sundry accessories: Acoustic System resonators, AudioQuest FogLifters; Room: 6 x 8m with open door behind listening seat; Room treatment: 2 x PSI Audio AVAA C214 active bass traps
1st upstairs speaker system: Source: Shanling EM7 into Soundaware D300Ref SD transport to Cen.Grand DSDAC 1.0 Deluxe with POW; Preamp/filter: Lifesaver Audio iCon 4SE & Gradient Box 2; Amplifier: Kinki Studio EX-B7 monos; Loudspeakers: sound|kaos Vox3awf; Subwoofer: sound|kaos D12 on twin Nord Acoustic NC500 monos; Cable loom: Exact Express Earth; Power delivery: Vibex Granada/Alhambra, Akiko Audio Corelli Corundum & Castello Solo; Equipment rack: Hifistay Mythology Transform X-Frame [on extended loan]; Sundry accessories: Furutech cable lifts, Furutech NFC Clear Lines; Room: ~3.5 x 8m
1st upstairs headfi system: DAC: Cen.Grand DSDAC 1.0 Deluxe with POW; Headamp: Cen.Grand Silver Fox; Headphones: Raal 1995 Magna, HifiMan Susvara
Desktop system: Source: HP Z2 workstation Win11/64; USB isolator: LHY UIP; LAN distributors: LHY AS6 Pro & SW6-SFP; Ethernet reclocker: Stack SmoothLAN; DACs: Gustard R26II & Audalytic DR70; Preamp: Topping A900; Speaker amps: Topping B200 monos; Headphone amp: Enleum AMP-23R; Loudspeakers: Virtual Hifi Viper; Headphones: Final D-8000, aune SR7000, FiiO FT7, HifiMan Susvara Unveiled
2nd upstairs headfi system: Shanling EM5; Headphones: Meze 109 Pro, Fiio FT3, HifiMan HE1000 Unveiled
2nd upstairs speaker system: Source: smsl PL200T CD transport; DAC: Shanling EM7 w. 1TB microSD; Crossover: Lifesaver Audio Gradient Box II;  Amplifiers: LAIV Crescendo Chorus monos; Loudspeakers: MonAcoustic SuperMon Mini with Dynaudio S18 subwoofer
2-channel video system: Source: Oppo BDP-105; All-in-One: Gold Note IS-1000 Deluxe; Loudspeakers: ModalAkustik MusikBoxx; Subwoofer: 2 x Zu Mission; Power delivery: Furutech eTP-8, Room: ~6x4m
Review component retail: starting at $9'750/pr

"¡Dale a tu cuerpo alegría, Macarena!" Give your body joy and good things, Macarena. It's the chorus of the 1993 hit song by Los del Rio; about Macarena whose boyfriend Vitorino gets drafted into the army whilst she parties in Marbella and hooks up with two of his best friends. Today it's also the name for Toronto-based brand Maco's newest model; an exercise in dipole shrinkage executed in a hybrid manner à la Cube, Nola and Wolf van Langa. Maco's recipe combines an acrylic open baffle for their Markaudio Alpair widebander without spider; and an 8" woofer loaded into a box made from a proprietary nano-particle compound aka advanced structural composite with double-wall construction, specialized damping materials and ViaBlue decoupling footers. If we wanted a pure dipole of this size, we'd make no bass. It's why daudio from The Netherlands must combine their 6" 2-way M1 full-dipole monitor with a 2×10" force-cancelling active sub. That works like a charm—if one welcomes a 3rd box. If one doesn't, going hybrid is the fix. Qualio have done exactly that with their Quanteen. Just so, its open-backed bandwidth limits to ~2kHz and up. It restricts to the dipole Mundorf AMT. Fun-loving Macarena instead wanted bigger box-liberated bandwidth. So she hooked up with the same driver which MonAcoustic and Lindemann already exploit in their SuperMon Mini and Move Mini respectively; as unfiltered widebander. Macarena instead takes hers to 600Hz so far below the critical presence region before most gradually handing off larger air-motion duties to the bigger driver via a 6dB/octave so 1st-order high/low-pass filter. Unlike my own rear-ported SuperMon widebander's ~60Hz, Macarena now can hit a claimed 35Hz—not via port but rear-firing passive radiator of clearly high stroke as shown below. It nets the whole speaker 88dB/4Ω sensitivity.

The opposed orientation of woofer and radiator should build in some mechanical force cancellation in the overlap zone.

We already saw that Macarena is a sharp dresser. She arrives in three textile options—canvas, blue or black denim—and three real leathers called espresso, cognac and black. With a footprint of 24x33cm and 55.2cm baffle height, this is a compact standmount; or perhaps destined for a lowboy. After all, Macarena loves boys.

Deborah Ann & Armando Rehyez with their firstborn open-baffle Macaria with proprietary 15-inch Lii Song drivers.

Lucky for me, she's also into older men: "I'm so glad that you came across us. Thank you so much for your email and interest in Macarena. We are familiar with your work and would be delighted to have you review a pair. We are currently completely focused on getting ourselves to Washington for the Capital Audiofest where Macarena will be on demonstration in the Forté Distribution room with Eversolo for her US debut. Once we're back in the office, we'll be able to shift our attention to planning review units and reviewer allocations." With my name in the queue, now it's patience, grasshoppers; and looking out for Capital show reports. Here is a short one from Axpona 2024 showing off the Macaria in polished solid granite.

On the back of the dipole driver, we see a quasi reverse phase plug aka dispersion tail for rear-wave control. I only saw this once before; on a Lowther DX55 in Rethm's original Saadhana speaker.

And here is that other woman in the same dress—the 4" Alpair. Despite isobaric doubling and ported box loading, in this setup it's not self-sufficient for modern music with content to 30Hz. Hence my Dynaudio sub. Given its twin 9½" sealed woofers and their more convincing upper bass, I have the handover at 120Hz. With Macarena's baffle step at ~479Hz kicking off an open baffle's acoustic 1st-order function and here adding itself to the 1st-order electrical slope that's already down 3dB at 600Hz, at 120Hz her Alpair should be well faded so much dominated by the 8-incher. Two approaches to extend a small cone's LF bandwidth. Unlike mine, Macarena's is turnkey. No need for an extra sub and outboard crossover; no fussing over settings. Easier is pleasier.