Quandry: Used Magico V2 vs. new S1

I should have added, and I think this is critical to what I heard, that the set ups were not valued equally by the dealership. I heard the Q3 during that speaker's introduction/debut in New England. Alon Wolf was there and much effort was made to have them sound their best in from of an audience.

In the case of the S5, the set up was less serious. The previous day the S1 was in the room and I returned the following day to give it a listen. That morning the S1 was removed from the room and replaced by the S5. It did not seem to me that the same degree of care went into placing the speaker in the room. Perhaps this is why the imaging was not as impressive and the speaker did not disappear to the same extent. Of course, the associated equipment was also not of the same caliber, but more appropriate for the less expensive speaker.

I'm sure with more time and effort, the S5 could have been made to sound better in that demo. Perhaps your comment about the baffle width being bigger is important and clearly, the speaker is not built to the same level of excellence as the Q series. The cabinet is not as inert, the driver mounting method is different, the baffle is flat, not curved, etc. etc.

The Q3 is just an extremely refined and accomplished design which is only limited by its driver dimensions, IMO.

The demo I heard with the S5 the speakers dissapeared fully. I personal prefer a wider image. I like the image about 1 metre beside the speakers as well. The timing and speed of both the S1 and S5 did not convince me.

I can't say I found the S5's slow at all Bol. They use the same midrange driver as the Q3, although optimized for that speaker of course & basically the same berylium tweeter, only not manufactured in house. As for the twin 10" bass drivers, ok they may not be as fast as the smaller 7" bass drivers on the Q3, but imho they are plenty fast and more importantly, give a solid foundation to the sound with large orchestral pieces with kick drums, timpani, organ pipes and double basses. Perhaps most important of all (for me atleast), the S5's are wonderfully balanced and coherent, and a bit laid back and very easy to listen to. Some speakers like YG & Marten can be fatiguing to listen to in long listening sessions. Yes, the Q3's may be better, but for $10k less, frankly i'd rather put that into adding some Stillpoints isolation & bringing forward electronics upgrades. In other words, build around your speakers and optimize your system to get the very best out of them.

Guys,
Please... Diffractions are caused by corners (which the S5 does not have) not baffle width. In fact the ideal speaker will have an infant baffle... Most, if not all these discrepancies you are describing are due to poor set-ups. These are extremely reveling speakers, and one has to use utmost care in setting them up. Unfortunately, there are very few dealers that takes the time and/or have the knowledge to do that.

It's no quandry, go listen and decide for yourself. Ultimately it's your $$ and have to live with them unless you want Bol to move in. I'm surprise you haven't got a recommendation for Vandersteen, JBL 1400 or Monitor Audio yet. LOL!!!

When I was in the market for speakers ~7 months ago, I demoed Magico Q3 for 5+ hrs at Goodwin High End in 2 systems. One all Spectral and the other MSB Dac, Constellation amp and EAR pre. Spectral system gave me a headache after 30 minutes. Overall I found Q3 is a bit lean in the mid bass region but a nice speaker. It's high resolution, detail and very transparent but just not for me.