Hertz Mille ML 1600

Mille: once again, the reference. How do you improve a loudspeaker range that is already renowned as an absolute reference throughout the world? The new Mille range includes all the features and benefits that have throughout years of evolution been enthralling both the most advanced enthusiasts and the most demanding reviewers. The new range reaches its theoretical perfection through accurate refining not limited to the optimization of materials, building processes, new measurement techniques and verifications.

The Hertz R&D department, guided by their unwavering dedication and passion to acoustic reproduction has created a loudspeaker range that satisfies both emotional and physical traits in terms of listening and in-vehicle installation. The new range was born from researching public feedback along with hours and hours of in-vehicle and laboratory experimentation. The new Mille range introduces itself with a tweeter, a midrange, a woofer, two crossovers and four systems: a concrete answer for high-fidelity reproduction. Since the first version of Mille, the Hertz team established a new reference for the industry, especially in terms of technology and reliability. Today the new measurement and verification techniques used allowed a further leap forward with the new range. The mechanical vibrations were “captured” by the 3D Scanning Vibrometer, an instrument which detects critical resonances which have been improved due to the profile of the cone and to the characteristics of the materials that have been employed. Differing from traditional measurements, this instrument also allows to fine-tune the motor assemblies’ resonances right from the design stage, as it can simulate the behaviour and the distortion of the loudspeaker, without waiting for a prototype build. For example, the design for the surround of the ML 1600 woofer, already optimized thanks to the experience gained by our Hertz designers on this matter, proved to offer good performance. After the 3D Scanning Vibrometer analysis, more improvements were introduced and, in its latest version, shows exemplarily linearity, rigidity and frequency response. The other important investment regarding the components’ reliability is in the Klippel QC Certification. Each Hertz Mille loudspeaker undergoes the Klippel Quality Control System which certifies its quality, recording these measurements in a database, making it possible to create a history of the product life cycle.The project In every Mille component exists the perfect synergy between the motor assembly and the surround, ensuring absolute control and thus sound quality. With both ML 700 and ML 1600, 70 mm (2”3/4) midrange and 165 mm (6”1/2) woofer respectively, the motor assembly is centred upon a largely sized REN® Neodymium ring, a solution ensuring control of the moving parts and very high thermal capability, all leading to the dynamic trait of the Mille range. The same capability is ensured in the ML 280 tweeter, also equipped with a REN® Neodymium magnetic group and optimised through FEM simulation. An object of exciting appreciation throughout the years, the cone maintains the proprietary V-Cone® technology, first introduced in the previous Mille range. With its solid one piece construction and ideal exponential profile, outstanding dispersion characteristics continue. The pressed-pulp cone combined with cotton fibres and enriched with impregnated water-repellent materials eases that acoustic naturalness which only a high-end component can boast. On the ML 700 and the ML 1600 special effort has been focused on frequency response, achieving remarkable results in terms of linearity and efficiency. The surround has been improved in terms of its profile, smoothing the differences between itself and the cone’s contour for more harmonious movement, and to the material by employing Natural Butyl Rubber, aiding the symmetry of movement and extending high frequency response. The spider is constructed from Nomex® and features integrated lead wires; a material with specific acoustic properties which can reflect high frequency sounds and strengthen mid-high frequency sounds, thus turning a hidden detail of the music into an indispensable element. The die-cast aluminium basket, with its self-supporting design helps in mechanical damping, without affecting acoustics. The butyl rubber cover protects the magnet and contributes to the reduction of unwanted resonances and residual vibrations, while adding to the component's cosmetic design. A unique feature of the ML 280 tweeter is the Tetolon® Fiber dome featuring a hemispheric-hyperbolic profile: its 28 mm diameter, dome height and the special profile all combine to ensure maximum stiffness and linearity providing flat, smooth frequency response beyond the audible range. The little one of the Mille family also takes advantage of an advanced cooling system: the radial ducts found on the back plate dissipate the heat from inside the damped resonance chamber. The motor assembly’s geometry is centred upon a pure copper shorting ring that generates an anti-inductive effect, flattening the speaker’s impedance. All of the components in the range employ a very light, compact CCAW (Copper Covered Aluminium Wire) voice coil: wound on aluminium former for the ML 280, and on a Kapton® former for ML 700 and ML 1600. Each combination ensures maximum power handling and the smoothest mid-high frequency response. The grilles, also made of precious die-cast aluminium, provide maximum acoustic transparency, mechanical reliability as well as appealing, aggressive cosmetics. The four systems available within the new Mille range ensure versatility and offer unheard of timbre balance. There are two stereo passive crossovers; the MLCX 2 TW is used in the dedicated two-way ML 1600 and ML 280 system known as the MLK 2 TW, while the MLCX 2 TM is designed to be used with the ML 700 and ML 280 mid/high combination, the MLK 2 TM. The three-way MLK 3 PA and MLK 3 PA2 kits offer superior performance; composed of the ML 280, ML 700 and dual or quad ML 1600 respectively. The use of this mixed Active + Passive technology, with amplifier channels dedicated to the woofers (active) and to the mid-high combination (passive), provides the ability to obtain highly impressive acoustics results, with maximum simplicity and versatility. MLCX 2 TW and MLCX 2 TM feature first-rate components, all mounted to an FR2 PCB with very robust traces.The experience accumulated in the crossover design as well as in the selection of materials led the Hertz R&D team to make an unexpected choice: the woofer’s crossover section features an iron core inductor, instead of air core. The use of iron-magnetic material at such a high-saturation threshold avoided the typical sound deteriorations of traditional solutions. It also remarkably increases the system’s efficiency and damping capability, thanks to the generous reduction of the windings’ resistive loss. The innovative design of the crossover case combines thermal functionalities (plastic material featuring a passive cooling system), ergonomical functionalities (hidden mount system), as well as cosmetic functionalities (Rubber Touch finishing), for practical and impressive installations. The MLCX 2 TM and the MLCX 2 TW crossovers feature a three position level control, in 2 dB steps, for tweeter attenuation. This provides the ability to fine-tune the emission level to one’s own tastes.