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When I meet Jonathan Valin I  laugh. Jonathan is soft-spoken, kind-mannered person who does not have that revolting attitude of a typical audio reviewer. Most of audio reviewers that I met behaved like idiots, claiming:  “the entire world does not deserve to blow us”. Jonathan is different. He behaves like a kid who discovers “world” and who astonished that sun rises on East and that water when cold get converted in ice. Still there is very fine different between simplicity and foolishness that is hidden under umbrella simplicity. I do not know if Jonathan is fool but he (of someone behind him) does quote good job to cash on Valin’s simplicity/foolishness.

I dose not look as a big deal when Jonathan Valin took (actually he was given by distributor of that time) no name Belgium company that did their–class loudspeaker and convert if into a huge American hype. Sine then the distributor (another one) bought 5 BMWs and Kharma speakers sit in the rooms of each Moron who has his Audio IQ under 20. It would not be a big deal as any audio cetin deserves sound that represent it’s cretinism but there are two factors that are long term negative:

1) Despite Marketing success of Kharma they, any single model of them sound horrible. The progress in audio reviewing is not to sell more loudspeakers but build a composite awareness what it good and what it bad. Kharma’s way is not juts bad it is atrocious and Valin foolishly, or ignorantly or maliciously failed his duty.

2) By artificially worshiping the deprived and feeble Sound Jonathan Valin and Co inadvertently begin to subscribe to own believes to respect to this sound. As the result a notion of “Industry Typical Proposed Sound” enter the consumers minds. The “Industry Typical Proposed Sound” is an artificially created by audio propaganda notion that describes sound that is comfortable to sell. It has nothing to do with real sound and it is juts a surrogate of very poor audio reproduction. However, buttered by the Valin-like propaganda an average audio moron considers the “Industry Typical Proposed Sound” as a Mecca and goal of audio reproduction. oebbels who hides in audio under the mask of simplicity? I do not know. You decide….

What next for the Valinnians? The next was August issues of “The Absolute Sound” with Jonathan Valin going down on Alon Wolf’s Magico Mini monitors.  This “review” was so bogus, so fragrantly erroneous and so counterfeit in it’s finding that it overshadow what Jonathan did before. Does Jonathan feel that his readers built up immunity against his writing and not to “reach the public” he need to increase the dose of his “express Moronity”? I really do not know where to start to think… So, who is Jonathan Valin: fool of ignorant deaf or juts a cunning and wily Dr. Joseph Goebbels of Audio?

I did not read the Jonathan “review” to the end as it’s begging is the article made me to lose interest to the Jonathan’s further findings. I read juts a few fist few paragraphs and closed the TAS with disgust. Let see what I have managed to read.

Jonathan Valin wrote:

…. that he heard the Magico Mini at SEC 2006 and they impressed him.  He also said that HP, RH, WG and everyone else who heard than in CES were impressed as well.

Great, I’m glad that each reviewing whore who heard than was impressed but could someone point a moment what a reviewer was not impressed? Also, I would not blab that Magico Mini were such a good at CES. They were from my perspective unspeakably horrible. I was in that room 3 times and two times I was not able go closer then to stray in corridor next to the room. Evan in the corridor next to the room I was attached by sever feeling that I am chewing a desert dast – so dry, bright aggressive they were. The speakers completely locking any implication of upper bass and lower midrange and I would roll off 3-4dB from tweeters to make me to enter that room. Later on I have a change to expensively audition Magico Mini in a wonderful conditions with very capable electronics and I found a LOT more wrong with them, including the reasons why they sound so “sharp”. Well, it was not “sharp” in fact but it was a perfect compliance with the “Industry Typical Proposed Sound”. No wonder that a barbaric Industry Reviewer hears that ribs-piercing sound and screams “Alleluia!!!”

Jonathan Valin wrote:

… that the unique constriction of the Magico Mini enclosure…

Yes, it is true; the Magico Mini does have an “evolved” enclosure. It is fairly expansive but the only question that I would ask if it is effective. Sine the speakers have horrifying lower range that is it that something fundamentally wrong was done in Magico? Also, if you have no listening inelegance to detect in sound the enclosure sound then run the Magico and stick your ear to the Magico body. You will head so many very-very sharp, pinging resonances that you will look differently at Magico enclosure effectiveness. I know that in many instances manufactures write 80% of the reviews for the reviewers and juts let the reviews to sign the writing. However, if it was the carrying in the Jonathan Valin case then should Jonathan at least verify some facts?

Jonathan Valin wrote:

…that  Magico Mini uses proprietary, unique, exclusive, vapor-deposited titanium woofer  …

Well, Robert Harley a few issues ago said that c woofers was not proprietary or exclusive but source from “the only one lab in the world” (or something like this). At least Jonathan Valin and Robert Harley should synchronies the foolishness that they express in the SAME magazine! In reality the Magico Mini’s woofers have nothing to do with uniqueness and in fact if you look ay the family of those drivers then Magico Mini uses the worst driver, which is partially responsible for Magico horrible sound.  The driver idea of making uni-cone and impregnate paper (later plastic) with few lays of metal foil was developed by Dr. Podzsus in 1934 who used his “Sandwiches” of 4 layers of cellulose coved from outsize with thin aluminums layers. Later on a few companies make the very same drivers usually up to 19 ultra thin layers of paper or plastic (usually polystyrene and polesterol) imbedding between the 2-4 later of very thin aluminum layers (usually foils of vapor). In 60s-70s Klein & Hummel use it in their monitors and no one scramed about the uniqueness as those driver has own issuers that should be taken care. Also Pawel Acoustics and German Symphonic Line used Görlichs.... The West German company Görlich over many years produced Görlich drivers that were wonderful MF drivers (if they properly used). Zellaton did the very same drivers.  Later on ATD trying to do the same driver using the new magnets ands titanium coating instead of aluminum coating. They sound way more inferior and have even more “issues” than the original Görlich drivers. I might go into death why the Magico case the ATD driver sound so bad but context of the Jonathan Valin is not at the level when any serious discussion might take place. Any conversation should start after people do not lie and do not treat their readers as they area bunch of the idiots who would “swallow” any crap. Jonathan Valin would not wrote it in Europe where Görlich drivers are well know and used for decades in many loudspeakers. Also, during the  CES-2002 Italian company by Mauri Mauro "Omicron" brought a wonderful Coherence hybrid of well performing Zellaton/Görlich and Hail tweeter (you had to hear it on the 21 amp that they had but did not demonstrate publicly – it was the absolutely best sound in Vegas that year!!!), but Omicron falks did not speak English and Jonathan Valin did not how know how to say “I’m highly bribable” in Italian… 

Jonathan Valin then said …. wrote:

… high price, high expense, high demands, high qulety parts…. and blah-blah blah-blah blah-blah blah-blah blah-blah blah-blah blah-blah blah-blah …

He pretty much passed the point here where I lost interest to read further. Looking that cover of the TAS suggested that Magico Mini were “a Gaint Killer” I conclude that Jonathan Valin love them a lot. What else should I expect of Alon Wolf knows only and shoot only to hit the “Industry Typical Proposed Sound”. I my book the experience with Magico Mini was the most unpleasant loudspeaker I heard so far in 2006. Ironically they are very similar to what Khama dose but in much more extreme, detestable and obnoxious way.

Anyhow, Jonathan Valin should be congratulated as he dipped in the industry’s Vaseline one more manufacture. Good job, Jonathan. After all are you a fool or a marketing scumbag who hides under the mask of a fool? I am sure the Israelian Alon Wolf believes that you are Mousses who via his monitors leads people from hi-fi slavery to high-end freedom…

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