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.
madfloyd

Showing 6 responses by wolf_garcia

I forgot about that demo...damn. I did get my own demo a few weeks ago though when I stopped by Goodwin's for the first time. Heard the Q5s for a bit and they did sound great, and the cool thing was how nice the dude was who showed me around...their "no attitude no pressure" thing seems to be actually true, and refreshing.
Ronstadt, from a musicians point of view, had/has what is generally considered a kick ass voice...she could peel paint from your ceiling...strip the chrome off yer tailpipes...or something. In any case, I've never heard it described as "small" (I've also never been to Vienna)...and I have friends who toured with her (I saw her live a few times in the 70's). They said she would come through the monitors like a banshee and they'd beg the monitor mixer to turn her down. Even the drummer's monitor...
I get annoyed by the scale of some instruments in recordings...it's an engineering issue but I prefer the instruments to be sort of naturally placed and sometimes the mixer will, for example, imply that the drummer has a 20 foot wide kit...or a 30' piano...I imagine if you crank Magico's up (I heard the Q5s at Goodwins) in a gigantic room you might feel like the scale is off, but the Q5s I heard had perfect scale for what they were playing at the time, as do my much less expensive but groovy main speakers. Sort of the point of any good system isn't it?.
Did I mention Ronstadt's head...HUGE...like a gigantic Mexican mellon...just frightening....scares small children...although I doubt there's a connection to her vocal chops.
As a singer, I am now learning to perform test tones in case of an electrical grid meltdown. I have a large head but agree that, in the words of the respected bass player Will Lee, "everybody needs a little head."
Magico does have a weird issue with these new models seeming superior to the old ones...at WAY less money. I'm waiting for the outrage among the owners of the older stuff...and I'm glad I can live with sub 60K speakers....
I was referring to the Q5 vs. the M5 price (oops)...and for the record, I like Magico speakers (I'm sure Magico is relieved hear that). They sound great to me and I appreciate "cost no object" design even if it's doubtful I'll spend that much on speakers.