Maybe this would help. By comparison to the Wilson Sasha Mk 2s or B&W 802D’s (last ones I heard) the Magico’s missed nothing. The B&W’s and Wilson’s I’ve listened to by comparison made me feel the treble kind of stopped too soon or I was missing something. I think if you hear the Magico’s in the right situation side by side, you’ll feel like you have not been hearing everything before. The treble uptilt is related, but really separate issue.
If you know anything about capacitors and their sound, Magico has been taking advantage of the latest Mundorf Evo caps across their range. They are gigantic and hideously expensive. I personally am not a fan of those particular caps and believe I detect a little Disney-like sheen, or fairy sparkle to the top treble, so I don’t use them. I’m not completely against euphonic gear, this just isn’t a trait I seek out.
Still, please buy what you like.
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By comparison, I think the Magico's are far better built than the Focal's, which is why I was so bent out of shape. Bent pressboard cabinets, miniature, underdamped tweeter motors and crossovers deliberately designed to create a low impedance in the Focals does not create a high value proposition for me, even if I think I can hear the Archangel Gabriel on the other side of the speaker.
Magico speakers, whether I like the sound they produce or not, are class acts all the way, from the quality of the drivers, integration and crossover components. I could argue the internal wiring is "bargain" but I can't argue it's substandard by any means.
As for the room, I have to say, if Magico couldn't produce the absolute best sound in their amazing listening room with $200K tube amplifiers, where does that leave anyone else? That very wide listening angle in particular is something I think purchasers should consider. This would be a $5,000,000 purchase for me. I'd have to not only buy the speakers but a house with a room big enough to do them justice, so for me it's a weird little combination for the particular use of long-term critical listening. Also, your own ears matter a lot. Mine are really good for being nearly 50, so I'm a lot more sensitive to treble uptilt than others my age, and that lower male voice / piano I heard was just a little extra. .
Mind you, your ears and your room should be a better judge as to whether the Magico's should make you reach for your wallet or not. Please go listen to the Magico's yourself. My posting should help you avoid what I thought could be buyer/speaker mismatches that the dealer and current crop of professional reviewers would probably leave out.
A good question was what do I listen to. I listen to custom speakers using parts from Mundorf, Scanspeak and measurably flat and with very low distortion. The good folks at Raal traded help with me do some of the measurements so I know what I am used to listening to is pretty neutral, and distortion free, and free of current high-end fads or signatures. So if you are used to an uptilt in the treble, the S1 may sound very neutral to you.
Again, not really interested in proving the value of the S1, just sharing how I would describe them in the hopes that everyone who buys a pair loves them for a long time. :)
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You absolutely should get something that makes you want to listen to them! :) My current speakers make non-audiophiles stop talking in mid-sentence just to listen to what's playing. Personally that's what I seek out. Then I end up loosing sleep because I'd rather listen to music than go to bed.
I haven't spent a lot of time listening to other Magico's, but I found the S1's pretty dynamic actually. Maybe too dynamic to listen to at normal levels. They really do bring a sense of the dynamics of horn speakers into the room.
As for sterile, B&W's tend to be that for me, which is odd considering how their house sound / curve is tuned. I had a chance to listen to the original Nautilus in their Massachusetts offices and they were the same. Stacks of Krell amps and crossovers, and I would not really have been happy listening to them every day.
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Being smooth and being flat are two different things. Lots of "high end" speakers have a terrible and inconsistent high end. Wilson, B&W, Focal. Not smooth.
The Magico S1’s did not sound ragged to me at all. In fact it sounded very smooth and extended, just going up. I’m sorry that wasn’t more clear.
Still, as I make abundantly clear, only your own ears should determine what is worth taking out the checkbook for. Whether this is a smile shaped response, flat or whatever. The day that the pundits pay for my speakers I might let them choose them for me, but until then I’ll buy only what I like, I hope you do the same. :)
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As most successful speaker companies know, why consumers spend their money is much more complicated than reference grade frequency response. Whether my criticisms are apt or not has little to do with whether Magico will continue to be successful.
I’m amused you took this all so personally, it’s rather funny. As I’ve mentioned many times, buy what you like. If you ask me if the S1 sounds neutral, no I think it’s smooth but a bit bright with a little extra in the mid-bass. You are right, I do have a curve, it’s the B&K curve which I know is a personal preference and used (knowingly or not) by many recording engineers. How do I calibrate my ears? With lab grade instruments and listening to music played live. Does that mean you need feel the same way? No.
Again, I heard those speakers in what I would consider the best possible circumstances.
I think you completely misunderstand the point of the posting. It was not to sit on a Judge’s chair and pass judgement as to whether or not the S1’s were worthy of being called "High End Speakers." It was rather to describe and inform, a foil against the undoubtedly universally positive reviews they’ll get. You contradict yourself, on the one hand, you say that there is no such thing as neutral, and at the same time you seem to be criticizing me for not calling them perfectly neutral. It seems that overall you are upset with me for attempting to describe them as having any sort of tonal characteristic at all.
I think the idea that all speaker buyers are going to sit and listen for hours every night and that is the only measure of a good loudspeaker hogwash. We all have different listening styles and different things we want out of speakers. Some watch more movies, games or have it playing in the background while working. That is the reality of consumers. Far too many buy speakers entirely on price so they can have the speakers parked like a Bugatti in a music room they never actually use. Could I sit and listen to the S1 for an hour playing Jazz at live levels, yikes! Not for me. Could I buy small speakers that take up at least 20 square feet of floor space each? Also, not for me. You clearly took offense that I did not universally praise this brand, and call them all things for all people. They are not, but for many they will be ideal, and for those I say, buy them. :)
By the way, have you even heard the S1 speakers? It's amazing how much criticism I'm getting from people who have not.
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You are the only one criticizing my process, and I'm sure if I had said nothing but great things about the S1 you would be singing my praises as the best example of the audiophile intelligencia. Basically you are unhappy that I put out my opinion and how I formed them. Sucks to be in a country that mostly supports the right to free speech.
I was honest in my appraisal, and the circumstances thereof. I expect people about to spend nearly $20,000 on a new pair of speakers to use their own tastes as the final arbiters of whether the Magico S1s make the grade or not. You however are free to disagree with my assessment. Oh, wait, you haven't even heard them have you? Hahahhahahaha.
Your criticisms are ill placed and haven't a leg to stand on. You sound like a dealer or dedicated fanboy. |
Just like I think readers will hear things for themselves and make their own decisions, I am sure they can tell when a fan-boy gets all butt-hurt that I rained on his favorite brand.
Erik |
Thick wall of ego.... took the words right out of my mouth.
Erik |
Thanks to measurements taken at the National Research Center of Canada I've been able to produce an updated critique here. In some ways I was right, in some ways not so much.
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audio....
Great impressions! I won't berate you for not meeting any particular standards for listening like others here might! Hah. :)
I'm curious though, you kind of hedged your statement at the end, keeping your comparisons to other Magico's. How would you compare the S1 Mk II's to other speakers in the barely under $20k range you like?
Also, how would you compare it to live music? Do you think it was overall a better balanced 2 Way?
Thank you for further insights.
Best,
ERik |
