Just taken delivery of one of the first customer pairs of Q3s. Only ten hours on them over the last day but I can truly say they are something special. They replaced a pair of V3s in my system but they sound completely different. Alongside the normal attributes what really astounds is the sense of lifelike scale they deliver in all types of music. Nothing is exaggerated but everything is perfectly in its place. For example Sandy Denny was not a tall or large person, and this is how she sounds through these speakers. None of my other speakers have ever gotten this sense of scale right, in fact until I heard it I would not have known I was missing it but now with the Q3s I realize how much other speakers exaggerate and distort reality. I'll follow up with a fuller set of notes once they are completely broken in
Magico Q3's at Goodwin's High End
Just a quick note to say that Goodwin's High End (in Boston) along with Alon Wolf presented a demonstration of the Magico Q3's yesterday.
As usual, it was a class act by Goodwin's and a real treat overall. Mr. Wolf fielded a number of questions about the speakers (and Magico's approach to design) and his detailed responses were fascinating.
The Q3's sounded spectacular. They were setup in Goodwin's huge listening room (20x30x11) and they were positioned quite wide apart and deep into the room (almost halfway). I was transported to the symphony hall with a few tracks - like nothing I've ever experienced before. They were driven with very expensive electronics, inluding huge Boulder amps that were 1000w each (if I'm not mistaken) to compensate for the size of the room.
The Q3 is a modest size floorstanding loudspeaker, but it weighs 250lbs! Like the Q5 (if you've ever heard it) it is very clean and neutral sounding. Definitely a speaker that lets you listen into the music rather than wow you with a forward presentation. Besides classical, we heard some jazz, some instrumental and a cut from Jennifer Warnes Famous Blue Raincoat that was stunning. These speakers don't call any attention to themselves. They were so coherent and produced such an impressive soundstage that it didn't feel like they were the source of the sound. Jennifer's voice had no artifacts (sibilence, etc) that it was like she was standing there. I feel I finally heard how the record was supposed to sound.
Anyways, I'm not trying to do a proper review here, but I did want to thank Goodwins and Magico for the opportunity and I thought I would share my initial impresssions.
Would love to know what other folks at the presentation(s) thought.
As usual, it was a class act by Goodwin's and a real treat overall. Mr. Wolf fielded a number of questions about the speakers (and Magico's approach to design) and his detailed responses were fascinating.
The Q3's sounded spectacular. They were setup in Goodwin's huge listening room (20x30x11) and they were positioned quite wide apart and deep into the room (almost halfway). I was transported to the symphony hall with a few tracks - like nothing I've ever experienced before. They were driven with very expensive electronics, inluding huge Boulder amps that were 1000w each (if I'm not mistaken) to compensate for the size of the room.
The Q3 is a modest size floorstanding loudspeaker, but it weighs 250lbs! Like the Q5 (if you've ever heard it) it is very clean and neutral sounding. Definitely a speaker that lets you listen into the music rather than wow you with a forward presentation. Besides classical, we heard some jazz, some instrumental and a cut from Jennifer Warnes Famous Blue Raincoat that was stunning. These speakers don't call any attention to themselves. They were so coherent and produced such an impressive soundstage that it didn't feel like they were the source of the sound. Jennifer's voice had no artifacts (sibilence, etc) that it was like she was standing there. I feel I finally heard how the record was supposed to sound.
Anyways, I'm not trying to do a proper review here, but I did want to thank Goodwins and Magico for the opportunity and I thought I would share my initial impresssions.
Would love to know what other folks at the presentation(s) thought.