Meet Magnat. Sound Champions.
Recently we took on a new brand, not a new audio company as you will read below, but a new company to Rapallo.
After having some demo stock delivered, we got to listen and experience the brand and its products. Very rarely does an audio brand surprise us as much as the Magnat range of products have. So we thought we should spend a little bit of time to let you know about some history and a selection of products from their large range.
Magnat – a success story
Legends are, perhaps, sometimes created overnight; products, on the other hand, require a great deal of craftsmanship, knowledge and, above all, experience.
Fortunately, Magnat have an awful lot of this.
Since the company was founded in 1973, more than 40 years have passed in which they have developed, expanded and continued to learn. Today, they are represented throughout the world in more than 50 countries, now New Zealand included.
The brand incorporates more than four decades of development experience and a great deal of passion into every one of their unique products. So it´s no wonder that numerous products have carried the Magnat logo over the course of the years which rightly deserve to be described as a “legend”.
With a pedigree of this stature you would be right in thinking damn these must sound good and sound good would be a huge understatement, Magnat products are built to extremely high standards, and sound wise, well we will let you decide, but if you are a regular reader of our blogs you will know products have to be exceptional for us to retail them.
So… to give you some context and background, as it is not a hugely known brand here in NZ, we’ve done a quick timeline to bring you up to speed.View MAGNAT Range
YEAR | 1978
The Magnat All Ribbon 10 is ready for the market: It contains a whole range of technical in-house developments and becomes the most widely sold loudspeaker of its class.
1978 Trivia – The very first “Garfield” comic strip is published in 41 U.S. Newspapers during June of 1978.
YEAR | 1983
Magnat becomes part of the car audio scene: The Magnat Car 5 becomes the first car audio speaker – and a complete success. A 2-way component system with external crossover immediately adorns the cars of the 80s.
1983 Trivia – The video game Mario Bros. was first released as a Nintendo arcade game in Japan during July.
YEAR | 1990
The King of the road: This is the year of origin for one of the most successful car audio amplifier series ever! The Magnat Classic range becomes a companion to a large number of car hi-fi fans. The Classic 360 model attains undisputed cult status.
1990 Trivia – The official demolition of the Berlin Wall begins in June of 1990. The removal of the wall began in June of 1990 and by October, the reunification of West and East Germany was completed. Demolition on the wall was finished in 1992.
YEAR | 1996
The big speakers break cover… the coronation: After many years of development, a speaker emerges at the highest level in terms of technology – Magnat introduces the high-end Vintage 770 speaker.
1996 Trivia – DVD’s are Launched in Japan and the number of users on the Internet exceed 10 million This is also the year Ebay and Ask Jeeves is started and the first ever cloning of a mammal Dolly the sheep (baaaa baaa).
YEAR | 2001
Magnat sets new standards: At the turn of the millennium (do you remember Y2k??), Magnat presents the most elaborate Magnat speaker of all time. The ultimate high-end Vintage 990 loudspeaker remains a unique product in the company´s history up to the present day.
2001 Trivia – The Apple Computer Company releases the iTunes program during January of 2001. The purpose of the software was to organize and manage digital multimedia files, primarily music and video files on a computer.
YEAR | 2003
Probably the most powerful home audio subwoofer in the world: Omega 530. Magnat breaks all deep bass records with a very large membrane surface area and acoustic pressure. Sensational power and power reserves give the powerhouse worldwide recognition.
2003 Trivia – NASA confirms the discovery of one of the oldest known exoplanets, PSR B1620-26 b. The planet, nicknamed “Methuselah,” was thought to be about 12.7 billion years old and is about 12,400 light years from Earth
YEAR | 2005
The beginning of a new era for loudspeakers: Magnat bundles its decades of cumulative experience into loudspeaker development and opens a new dimension in sound. A new legend sees the light of day with the Quantum 900 range!
2005 Trivia – The Live 8 benefit concerts are held during July. There were ten simultaneous concerts were organized by Bob Geldof who had run the first Live Aid concerts 20 years earlier in 1985. The concerts were held in London, Philadelphia, Paris, Rome, Berlin, Moscow, Edinburgh, Cornwall, Johannesburg, and Barrie.
Oh, and Rapallo opened its doors in 2005 too (cool aye).
YEAR | 2007
High-end customers aren’t left out at Magnat for the first time: With the RV 1, Magnat commits to retro values – the traditional tube amplifiers of the 60s and 70s are the force behind it. The concept of the RV 1 is being continuously developed to this day – with the RV 2 and RV 3 to follow.
2007 Trivia – The Apple Computer Company announces the release of the very first iPhone during January of 2007. The touch-screen mobile phone had been in development since 2005 and reportedly cost over $150 million to create.
YEAR | 2013
The legend lives: Magnat again makes an impression in high-end speaker construction. Before an international audience at the high-end trade show in Munich, the company presents its latest incredibly accurate sounding state-of-the-art audible signal transducer, the Quantum Signature. The press responded: “The most audiophile speaker in the company´s history!”
2013 Trivia – Twitter goes public on September 12th and shares were initially sold for $26.00, and buy 2014 they are at $60.28. Edward Snowden leaks information about the NSA’s secret internet and cell-phone data gathering program.
YEAR | 2016
High-end goes wireless: With the Magnasphere range, the Pulheim-based company offers a hi-fi system that makes no compromises. Uncompromisingly good sound is combined here with high-quality audio streaming technology, resulting in an absolutely outstanding overall concept.
2016 Trivia – Boxing icon Muhammad Ali died at the age of 74 June 3. What an amazing life and legacy he left to the world.
YEAR | 2017
Magnat presents the new RV 4 hybrid stereo amplifier. The unique hybrid concept with valves in the pre-amp stage (for audiophile sound) and transistors in the power amplifier (for rich performance) is a central element in the design of the RV 4. A large number of inputs, including a phono pre-amplifier, ensure maximum variety of connectivity options. Exceptional: Ther Magnat RV 4 also provides several digital inputs as well as Bluetooth, including aptX.
2017 Trivia – Not sure if this was good or bad, but “The Don” was sworn in as the 45th president of the United States on Jan. 20.
