Morel Supremo SW6, Supremo 6 Review

Audio Academy

MOREL SUPREMO 6

Established in the year 1975 by Meir Mordechai, Morel (acronym of Mordechai
Electronics) builds speakers of the highest quality with the passion that an artist
devotes to his creations. Intended for a definitive installati

on, the Supremo series
components are Morel s top production. We had the pleasure of trying out the first
two-way Supremo system, planned exclusively for a car setting and designed for bi

-

amplification.

The Supremo system was planned specifically for th

e interior car environment, without crossover,
to be used for bi-amplification! What a pleasure it is to try it on my car! At Morel they understand
the value of a set of speakers, which are sold and installed by expert technicians for people with
sensitive

ears. These speakers are a great market opportunity.

What can be said about not to including the passive crossover in the system? This news will please
anyone who wants to get the maximum from multi-amplification. Just think how much power these
transduc

ers can produce, which can be left free without the overload protection

usually integrated in
the filters.
They can also be combined with the classic circuit, and Morel itself includes instructions about this
subject in the product manual. In this case ca

reful verification of everything is recommended so

that the crossover will not break down first, causing the

item

to be useless. However I personally
believe that the best use of the system is the one recommended by the producer: to combine it with
a beaut

iful system, multi-amplified and seized in a professional way.

No-compromise

By looking at the package and at the paper material included, we learned that there is more than the
ACS tested tweeter during June 2005 (number 144) behind the name Supremo. T

here are 2 tweeters
(Supremo and Supremo Piccolo) and 3 woofers (Supremo Woofer 5, SW6, SW9, depending on the
size in inches). The test set states that performances can be found at the beginning and after.
Featuring: 200 watt RMS and 1,000 peak watt for each transducer (including the tweeters). It s
almost unbelievable.

My first reaction was: is this true? Morel is a brand name
that does not play with numbers, but to state the same

rated
power for the woofer and the tweeter (even if it is a
Supremo tweete

r) seems really challenging. At this point I

was a little doubtful but

deep inside I was hoping

due to the
past brilliant experiences with Morel s speakers, it would
work out. I headed for the tools box and the car, ready for
some serious heat. We won t forget this July s heat,
considered the World Cup s nights, Italy s victory against its
transalpine cousins, the thermometer was always above 30°
and a high fever virus affected me too.

Tweeter

The Supremo Piccolo is really small -just 67 mm in
diameter. P

ractically a trifle, if we compare it with the full
size Supremo s dimensions. The soft dome, covered with
Acuflex, a Morel s patented material used to improve the
sound parameters of its transducers, looks vaguely
transparent and glossy, as if it had been

oiled. The profile
has a marked curvature, optimized to enable the huge
frequency range that this splendid component promises,
together with the considerable angular dispersion along with
the cosmic

rated

power. This fragile and extremely light

masterpiec

e of the electro

-acoustic art is topped and

protected by a strong metallic

grill

which transparent and
neutral from an acoustic point of view, but fundamental for
its purpose which is to function as a protective shield against
mechanical accidents. To hold

it tight in its place, only the

attraction

force created by the permanent magnet is used.
The 28 mm diameter moving bobbin says a lot about its
capacities, and even more if we take into account the double
layer wrapping made of

aluminum

wire with hexagona

l
cross-section, on a base which is also made of aluminum. It
also offers the highest packing of coils, the highest intensity
of the

magnetic field created by the bobbin, the highest
thermal dissipation and high rated power. These are just
some of the tech

nical characteristics that differentiate this
component from thousand of others that fill the magazines,
catalogues and web sites pages.

SW6 upside down

. Try not to put it in
this position. Just for the picture, this is
the only way to let you appreciate

the

wonderful 6 support

enclosure

with

extraordinary thickness and

hardness.
Please note the moving bobbin support
which is external with regard to the
magnet.

Manufacturer: Morel, Ness Ziona
70400 Israel

www.more

lhifi.com

Distributor in Italy

: Unicars Italia, Via
delle Industrie 35, 20050 Mezzago
(MI). Tel: [phone]
Price: euro 1,690.00

CHARACTERISTICS STATED BY

THE MANUFACTURER

SUPREMO PICCOLO TWEETER
Power

: RMS 200 W, peak 1,000 W

(filtered crossover

at 2,200 Hz).

Frequency Response

: 1,400 25,000

Hz.

Resonance

frequency

: 790 Hz

±

10%.

Nominal Impedance

: 6 ohm.

Sensitivity

: 90 db

Diameter:

67 mm

General

: double layer 28 mm moving
bobbin in Hexatech wrapped on
aluminum base

, soft dome covered with

Acuf

lex, hybrid magnet of neodymium,

rear C.A.R.

SW6 SUPREMO WOOFER
Power

: RMS 200 W, peak 1,000 W.

Frequency Response

: 25

5,000 Hz.

Resonance

frequency

: 62 Hz.

Nominal

Impedance

: 3.5 ohm.

Sensitivity

: 89

db

Diameter:

165 mm

General

: 75 mm

moving bobbin in

Hexatech wrapped on

aluminum base

, one-piece cone covered

with

Acuflex, BxL 4.

32; hybrid magnet

of neodymium, rear C.A.R., die

-cast

steel basket

The Supremo Piccolo, despite its size, stands
up well against its bigger brother. The

grill

has been remo

ved to let you better

appreciate the flange and the soft dome.

LISTENING

The work required for the assembling is really minimal: the midwoofers fit in the prearranged
location with no problem at all; the tweeters may require a little more space than a

verage, but
compared to the full size Supremo they are much more convenient. Therefore, the size has been
perfectly optimized for car mounting and it is great to know that no detail was overlooked.
After a few tries at tuning the filters, a high pass cutof

f around 1,800-

2,200 Hz for the tweeter, with
even a slight slope (like 6 dB/oct., but be careful not to exaggerate) is suggested in order to enjoy
this component s splendid sound until the mid range. Also make room for the mid-

low at the same

frequency or

slightly lower, with a higher slope (at least 12 dB/oct. to make it clear). I also added on
the SW6 a high pass cutoff of 12 dB/oct., centered at 70 Hz, to push it correctly without any
problems.
You ll understand when you listen to it, this system has no

problem to playing high volume, and I

can assure you that considering all I wrote in order not to break anything, the nominal

rated

power
was confirmed to be trustworthy. On the contrary, during the test I moved the SW6 s high pass to
60 Hz, to enjoy the

system s ability to convey perfectly dynamic transients relative to the electric
bass and percussions.
Compared to the Elate 6 I found it to have higher installation flexibility. An accurate and
meticulous study of the load volume of the mid-bass chord is

not required to get the lower
spectrum: the bass is all there! It s enough to leave it at a low volume while you tighten the
mounting hole well. These operations must be performed anyway particularly in this case,
considered the transducers calibration.
Th

e ability to express the bass so well does not cause any loss of detail at the medium frequencies:
the voices, both masculine and feminine, are reproduced in a very realistic way, as well as all the
instruments in the test area. The SW6 expresses a mid ran

ge rich in details and very smooth, punchy
or soft depending on what is required at any given moment. And most of all they blended very well
with the lower frequencies of the Supremo Piccolo; a real giant of the mid range and up to the
highest peaks of th

e cymbals, harpsichord and triangle.
The Piccolo s performance (each certified by the manufacturer with documents that come with the
set of speakers) offers a quality level in the sound reproduction that can indeed be defined as

Supreme .

The highest not

e frequencies exist in all the nuances, with a silvery and measured timbre that
delights the mind and prepares for a listening session of total satisfaction. At the same time, the
voices, the brass and the piano s mid registers emerge with no hesitation, c

lean and extremely
focused in every situation.
What else can be said? The performance of the frequency extension is excellent from a dynamic
point of view and also for listening pleasure. I can affirm with pride that seldom have I had the
chance to listen

to a system so balanced, and at the same time persuasive.
I can only confirm what I said at the beginning; that this system is undoubtedly intended for a
definitive installation.

A.S.

The magnet build of Neodymium Pancake (whose name seems to indi

cate a
cake) is prepared with a Rare Earth base and metal with very high magnetic
permeability. As you can imagine, it is another Morel patent used for the
transducer s magnet, which accurately hides the material blend used to create this
very powerful eng

ine. The depth is very low (just 32 mm) and culminates as usual
with the C.A.R.; a felt-based material set within the back chamber, whose function
is to optimize the acoustic load in order to achieve the desired behavior.
No doubt this is a tough job, even

though the dimensions are smaller than those of
the bigger brother, which better hide all the work. And yet Mr. Mordechai has
decided to market the two way systems based only on the small and not on the
big Supremo tweeter in order to make the installat

ion more convenient and for
optimal interfacing between the two speakers, without loss of quality and power
rating. It is smaller, but lacks nothing on the bigger version.

Midwoofer

The 6

inches mid bass

(SW6) follows exactly the same philosophy seen in p

rojects
as the Elate, improving all the component s electric, acoustic and mechanical
characteristics. It seems that the membrane is made out of a type of metallic
smooth foam , but from its characteristics we have learned it is made from a
single piece o

f cellulose fiber (paper) covered with Acuflex, with no joints, seams
or glued parts. This is for full cone joint protection against dust and it s of really
big dimensions. The rubber suspension is very flexible, while the described cone is
rigid and at th

e same time very light. The magnet is made of a blend of
neodymium and ferrite, and therefore develops a very powerful magnetic field for
a total height of 16 mm. It is useful to know that in this midwoofer the permanent
magnet is within the moving bobbin,

which is just 5 mm high. According to the
manufacturer s statement, all this was optimized to keep the moving bobbin fully
immersed in the magnetic field all the time in order to assure control and response
regularity in case of high power input.
The spi

der (also called centralizer) that keeps the moving parts in position, is made
of very rigid and strong canvas, grooved to track the oscillations induced by the
strong flow and performs its task along with a rubber zip that has an outside
curved profile (n

ote: do not place it on the table facedown). It forms a dynamic,
perfectly balanced system that enables this splendid component to produce a
wonderful sound, which we ll write more about in the listening test section.
The aluminum cast basket gives the SW6

a very professional look, which appears
to be able to withstand any mechanical or thermal shock that can realistically
occur in a car s door. The magnet, made of the usual neodymium pancake with
Rare Earth, is well sized but at the same time not cumbersom

e and ideal for
mounting in a door without having to destroy upholstery and iron plates. It is
always advised to perform good sound insulation work before mounting it in order
not to distort the component s exceptional sound characteristics.
Very beautiful

, as usually, the cast grills offers so much open space compared to
the full ones, which makes the midwoofer easily identifiable while allowing it to
express itself best.

Zoom-in on
the terminals
and the area
above the
centralizer
(spider). Also
the bobbin

s
multi-threaded
wires are
enlarged.

THE MEASURES

Woofer:

Morel Supremo SW6

TWEETER:

Morel Supremo Piccolo

RESPONSE 2.82 V / 1m

RESPONSE 2.82 V / 1m

IMPEDANCE

IMPEDANCE

The speakers measurements were performed using the well­known Clio card, whose graphical setting was slightly different
than usual; therefore some attention is required in the comparison
of the new and old graphs in order not to make the wrong
evaluation. The frequency responses detected on the IEC panel a

t
a distance of one meter refer to 0, 30 and 60 degrees angles, in
order to check what will happen in the passenger compartment in
the case of a canonic door and A-pillar installation. In these
conditions we have noticed that the response of the valuable

6

inch Morel midwoofer is very wide in the high range in the on

­axis response (black curve), with some wide range component,
and without serious variations except for a narrow break

-up
around 5,300 Hz; declining in the off-axis response, though it can
b

e perfectly exploited until around 3 kHz and also for the wider
angle (blue curve). All this occurs at around a sensitivity of 88 dB.
The tweeter s response is a little more uneven. Even when
stopping to check the apparent unevenness, we can notice that it
tends to balance between the different angles, for a total response
in the passenger compartment that presumably will not show any
sign of unevenness. If this is an intentional and not random flow,
we can commend such a mastery of planning techniques.
Als

o the mid range extension appears interesting, and, if the rated
power is the same as you would expect from a tweeter of this type,
I would not exclude a priori

crossovers

even just a little below 2
kHz, maybe using a filter with a high enough grading and a couple
of reduction dB s, considering the medium sensitivity of 90 dB on
which the axis curve expands.
Checking the impedances, we have noticed that the midwoofer s
resonance peak, set on 70 Hz, is rather weak, to hold the foam
disc s efficiency. The dis

c can be seen within the decompression
hole and controls the mechanical quality factor. A slight alteration
at 1,200 Hz can be easily detected; an alteration that also appears
in the frequency response. Definitely less interesting, since the
tweeter s impedance graph is normal . This is also characterized
by a contained resonance module. The resonance frequency, next
to 1 kHz, is rather low, while the parasitic inductance seems to be
slightly higher than average.

F. Valeri

Awaiting to get a wide car
spea

ker TND survey, and
referring also to what was
observed in other speaker
types that underwent this test
until today, the Morel unit s
Total Noise Distortion seems
to be good: not too high and
free of rises in the mid and
mid-high range. The High pass
cutof

f at 60 Hz improves the
lower note response noticeably
until around 400 Hz, without
changing the mid frequencies,
and the general flow indicates
that the best performances
range starts from 50

-60 Hz and
stretches up to a little above 2
kHz.

F. Montanuc

ci