Madrigal Imaging MP-9 CRT projector
By Thomas J. Norton, January 2002

When Madrigal Audio Labs decided to get into the video-projector business, it was no surprise that they aimed right for the top. With its Mark Levinson, Proceed, and Revel lines, Madrigal is not exactly known for budget products, and the MP-9 makes an immediate statement that the company is as serious about high-end video as it is about high-end audio. Not so incidentally, the addition of a video line, Madrigal Imaging, now makes Madrigal dealers one-stop shops for state-of-the-art home theater.


The MP-9 is one of the most expensive 9-inch CRT projectors on the market (its smaller sibling, the MP-8, is equipped with 8-inch tubes). With DLPs and D-ILAs beginning to show real promise, stepping out with a new, upmarket CRT is a brave move. Granted, top-rung CRT projectors still exceed the alternatives in every video quality except peak brightness, but the competition is closing in fast. Still, there's no guarantee it will catch up any time soon. Madrigal is hedging its bets a bit by also marketing a D-ILA projector, but the Madrigal folks also know that their customers want the best—if they have the resources and don't need a huge screen, they'll opt for the CRT.

Red, Green, and Blue
Readers familiar with CRT projectors will instantly recognize the MP-9's major characteristics and features. Its large chassis, trimmed in a variety of available wood finishes, sports red, green, and blue CRTs and lenses at the front and an input panel at the rear. An additional small, movable lens, mounted front and center below the main lenses, is used for the ACON II (automatic conversion) system—a standard feature.

The MP-9's 9-inch CRTs bring several performance benefits over smaller ones: greater light output, better contrast, and, perhaps most important, higher resolution. The Madrigal also includes other performance-enhancing features, including scan capability for any current or conceivable video source, gamma correction (for better gray-scale tracking), nine-zone electronic astigmatism correction (for spot shape and focus at the periphery of the image), mechanical Scheimpflug adjustment (optimizes focus at opposite sides of the picture), memories for up to 75 different setups (certainly more than is needed for any home-theater application), compatibility with home automation systems, external computer-control capability, built-in test patterns, and more.

Starting with a basic chassis originally designed by ElectroHome of Canada, Madrigal has performed a number of significant upgrades, many of them recommended by video expert Joe Kane. Chief among these is color filtering of the CRTs for a more accurate color palette. The uniformity for multiple aspect ratios is also improved by adding greater flexibility to the horizontal and vertical deflection circuits. Enhanced software provides for a wider range of setup adjustments, including finer focus in the corners. And the electromagnetic focus may be separately optimized for each scanning frequency, making it possible, for example, to separately tweak the projector for maximum performance with both the upscaled standard definition programming and high definition (720p and 1080i) sources.

The MP-9 can be controlled with a wireless illuminated remote or with an identical wired remote located under the top cover. According to the owner's manual, a Madrigal IRIQ remote control should also come with the projector, but we did not receive one.



Onscreen menus provide for a full range of adjustments. A number of these provide step-by-step guidance for both setup and routine operation. While users will clearly make use of the latter, setup is no job for the amateur. We had two samples of the projector (see "Movie Time," below), and the final setup of each was handled by Nicholas Grieco, Joe Kane's technical assistant during the development of the MP-9. Careful setup by a competent specialist such as Grieco will take at least a day, assuming the normal complement of scanning frequencies for HDTV (720p, 1080i) and NTSC. For playback of DVDs and other standard sources, we set up the first sample for 960p. For the second sample, however, Grieco chose 864p, which he believes to be optimum for this projector on my current, 7-foot-wide screen. At this rate, it was just possible to see the scanning lines a foot or so from the screen; they were totally invisible from my normal viewing distance of 12 feet.

The scaler used with the Madrigal for much of this review was the Snell & Wilcox G2 Interpolator Gold. A considerable improvement on the original S&W Interpolator Gold reviewed in SGHT in December 1999, the G2 proved an ideal match for the projector. (See sidebar for more on the Snell & Wilcox.)

The owner's manual is reasonably good, if a little oddly organized. The geometry adjustments, for example, are included in the Operating section rather than under Setup, where you'd expect them to be. The manual also states that curved screens are useful, and that something other than a completely dark room is acceptable. If you want the sort of performance you have a right to expect from such an expensive, high-tech projector, you should disregard both propositions.

Convergence
Manual convergence of the MP-9 was not difficult but required more patience and skill than the average owner is likely to be blessed with. For those cursed with short tempers and 10 thumbs, the ACON II auto-convergence system works well. While not quite as precise as a careful manual setup, it's a worthwhile feature for the less technically inclined. You should be aware, however, that the auto-convergence feature involves several minutes of colored squares flashing across the screen. Flashing lights have been known to trigger seizures in susceptible individuals.

Movie Time
I lived with two samples of the MP-9 over several months. The first worked well at first, with no obvious faults. It seemed a bit less bright than I expected from 9-inch CRTs—I wasn't able to get much more than 8 foot-Lamberts of light output onto my 7-foot, 1.3-gain screen without noticeable image degradation. But I attributed this to both the screen size and the light-blocking, color-correcting filters. The latter can sacrifice as much as 20% of a projector's potential brightness.

Later, however, the projector's color quality and detail deteriorated slightly. I was becoming vaguely unhappy with the picture, though there was no clearly visible degradation I could point to with ordinary video material. But a recheck of the gray scale revealed that it was not tracking well. It had shifted noticeably to green in the midrange, and slightly to red on the bright end. The projector also jumped unbidden into the wrong setup mode several times (at turn-on, never during actual viewing), which caused it to lose both accurate geometry and convergence. The proper settings were still in the projector's memory and could be retrieved, but this had to be done by looking up the correct setup number in the onscreen menus and selecting it manually. This was another clue that something was amiss.

Setup man Grieco confirmed that the first sample was not performing up to par. It would not track a gray scale even at the low light output of 4.5ft-L. Madrigal ultimately concluded that the problem was somewhere in the motherboard, which is located beneath the CRT/lens assemblies. Rather than wait for a major repair, they submitted a second sample of the projector. The replacement was a noticeable improvement. The gray-scale tracking was vastly better, clearly demonstrating the advantages of color filtering (see "Calibration" sidebar). The peak brightness was still limited by the filters, but I was able to increase the output to 10.4ft-L with no visible loss of sharpness and only a small sacrifice in gray-scale linearity. The image on the second sample also looked slightly more detailed, though the improvement here was relatively subtle. Finally, in about six weeks of service it never jumped out of the proper setup.

The overall picture quality provided by the second, properly functioning sample of the MP-9 was anything but subtle. From a technical perspective, it performed about as well as any CRT I've seen—perhaps as well as anyone is ever likely to see from this mature technology. Most of the important test patterns on Video Essentials and The Avia Guide to Home Theater looked about as good as is possible with standard-definition images.

It wasn't perfect, but what is? On a crosshatch pattern, the geometry at the periphery of the picture wasn't perfectly straight. The blue convergence on the first sample was never spot-on. And while the second sample converged very well and the convergence was stable (assuming proper mechanical setup), I would have preferred a few more convergence zones than the 45 provided. That number seems generous, but I sometimes wished for a little more control in the areas between the zones.

However, none of these minor problems was visible with real-world program material. With DVDs, the quality of the MP-9's picture could set me back on my heels. On the new anamorphic transfer of Fly Away Home, the colors were superb, from the green of the foliage to the deep red of Amy's flight suit and helmet. Flesh tones were accurate. The image was crisp, easily revealing the presence of excessive edge enhancement on some scenes, and the shadow detail and blacks were impossible to criticize. Enemy at the Gates is an even better transfer—extraordinary, in fact, and one of the best I've seen this year. The MP-9 was a standout here as well, producing convincing depth and realistic though subdued color. The film itself is deliberately drab-looking, although, unlike Saving Private Ryan, it's not grainy. The picture was sharp without going over the edge into an unnatural "video" look. There was simply nothing to complain about.

I also had on hand a Proceed PMDT DVD player equipped with Snell & Wilcox serial digital output cards for driving the complementary digital video input on the Snell & Wilcox G2 interpolator. I was therefore able to experiment with a digital link between the DVD player and video scaler, and as both also had standard analog component inputs, I could compare the analog and digital links. I was at first very impressed with the digital connection. It produced a sharper, more subjectively detailed image on the best transfers, such as Enemy at the Gates.

But on DVDs with visible edge enhancement I definitely preferred the analog component connection. Waiting for Guffman is a solid transfer, very filmlike, with superbly natural colors, but the edge enhancement was much more noticeable with the digital feed. The analog link, while looking a bit less defined on some of the less-well-photographed scenes, had, overall, a smoother, creamier (but not soft) appearance. The jury is still out on whether a digital feed merely reveals flaws in the program material or whether it is, in itself, responsible for the differences. The S&W Interpolator's Horizontal and Vertical Detail Boost controls can not only sharpen but also slightly soften the image, which can help tame this problem. Alternatively, you could easily hook up both digital video and analog component video connections. This would allow you to choose the mode appropriate for a given DVD.

Moving On Up
As good as the MP-9 looked with DVDs, high-definition was on another plane. On lesser video displays, the differences between the best DVDs and HDTV are sometimes not all that significant. But with a good 9-inch CRT such as this one, the screen really does become a window looking out at what comes very close to, in every respect save full 3-dimensionality, the real world. And even the lack of 3D was not much of a limitation; the depth produced by the Madrigal was impressive. I watched a variety of HD material, and all of it was truly remarkable. The crispness and color depth on The Road to El Dorado easily surpassed even the superb DVD of the same film. Armageddon, though panned&scanned for broadcast to 1.78:1 from the original 2.35:1 by ABC, looked gorgeous, and made me wish yet again for at least an anamorphic remastering of the current, ordinary letterbox DVD. It was also completely absorbing, despite dynamically compressed, bass-shy 2-channel Dolby Digital sound and some very sloppy "for broadcast" sound editing. And while HD could do nothing for the dingy, brownish color of much of Gladiator—seemingly a deliberate stylistic choice—it certainly spruced up the detail. The costumes were particularly striking.

On all of the HD material I sampled, I was struck by how clean the images were, with virtually no edge enhancement, and by how much detail was visible, even in those medium and long shots that often look soft and fuzzy on even the best DVDs. I'm grasping for words to fully express this; you really have to experience for yourself high-definition on a big screen, produced by a state-of-the-art projector, to fully appreciate it.

Conclusions
I have now lived for at least six weeks each with four different 9-inch CRT projectors. The circumstances for each were somewhat different—slightly different screens, different scalers—and it's been three years since I parted with the first, the Vidikron Vision One (based on the same chassis as the MP-9). Each provided spectacularly filmlike images, and, short of putting them side by side, I would hesitate to name one as "the best."

But the Madrigal Imaging MP-9 had the advantage of the Snell & Wilcox Interpolator for DVD replay and high-definition material, neither of which was available to me when I had the other projectors. (I have since, however, seen hi-def on all of them in trade-show demonstrations.) The MP-9's only performance limitation appeared to be a maximum linear light output that was adequate, but not generous when compared with the best of the competition. This could be a problem with the larger screens likely to be demanded by many of those who can spend this much money for a video projector. According to Madrigal, the MP-9 is capable of either horizontal or vertical double stack, so you could always use two of them to increase the light output!

The MP-9 is also one of the most expensive stock 9-inch CRT projectors on the market. That could certainly be a factor in any purchase decision, and I strongly urge anyone shopping in this price range to see as many competing products as they can—even if it involves travel to out-of-town dealers and/or finding a way into those trade shows where they are likely to be on display.

Apart from those considerations, however, the Madrigal Imaging MP-9 produced outstanding images. The difference between a typical 7-inch CRT and the best 9-inchers is the "Wow!" factor, and when you see a great source—particularly a high-definition one—reproduced on a projector like the MP-9, you won't need me to tell you what that is.

Specifications

MP-9 CRT projector with 9" liquid-coupled lenses, electromagnetic focus
Resolution: 1500x1200 ANSI pixels
Inputs: RGBHV, RS-232 computer control
Sync: HV, composite, or sync-in-green, positive or negative, 0.3-0.5V p-p, 75ohms
Frequency response: 120MHz, -3dB
Vertical deflection: 39.5-185Hz autolock
Retrace time: <300µs
Power: 650W maximum
Dimensions: 30.5" x 16.75" x 32" (W x H x D)
Weight: 176 lbs
Price: $60,000