Quandry: Used Magico V2 vs. new S1

Hmm, there seems to be a pretty big discrepancy in opinions on the S1. I will just have to hear them some time for myself.

Strange comment. I own both speakers, and yes the Q3 are much better, but it is not a night and day comparison. You can clearly hear that these are of-the-same family. Particularly the highs, which have the same amount of sparkle. Sounds to me like there was something wrong with the setup you heard.

I auditioned the S1 5 months ago. The stage is like all Magico's very deep. I also heared the S5 and it gave the same deep stunning sound. I did not find them were wide according to the stage. This serie does not have a very fast respons of the low freq. like some other Magico's can. The S1 is a good looking speaker. The S5 is by far not that good looking.

Usermanual, It was indeed maybe the setup, which was quite different than the setup with which the Q3 was heard.

I give it another chance next week, when I am going to listen to S1 and S5 on the D'Agostino Momentum/ARC Ref 5SE/MSB set, so S1 will show it's capabilities much better.
S1 did not play in the S5/Q3 league however!

I would not put the S5 in the same "league" as the Q3. I've heard both at the same dealer, though with different equipment and in different rooms. I thought the Q3 was much more evenly balanced, more transparent and far more coherent. It just did not make me think about the equipment. The S5, on the other hand, did not disappear and sounded very mechanical with an emphasis on the lower frequencies. I did not hear the magic. But then they are at different price points.

The dealer did tell me that he thought the S1 was closer to the Q1 than the S5 is to the Q3.

To address the OP's original question, which will be preferred should be evident after you hear them in similar settings with familiar music.