Hi Jason and ThomDpaul1,
The prototype Algonquin had a really loosey-goosey plastic enclosure with no braces inside--you could press in the sides really easily--and that's the version I auditioned in the blind tests. When you add some braces--the production Algonquin has a couple of interior plastic braces that make the sides more stable--it raises the resonant frequency of the system and tends to smooth out low bass response a bit.
That's what Ian and I attribute this to. He and I both believe that speaker enclosures can have too many braces, which may raise the resonant frequency of the system and reduce the bass output. By leaving the enclosure walls a bit of mobility, it keeps the resonant frequency lower. So that little bit of "punch" is what I attribute to the bit of flexibility in the sides of the Algonquin's plastic enclosure. The latter doesn't hurt for outdoor use, where bass output of any speaker really suffers, so a little artificial "punch" works well in the outdoors.
The M3's amazing midrange remains identical.
Regards,
