Magico S1

I have heard several Magico speakers over the years and have always been impressed with the incredible sound. Even the monitors have always had great range and dynamics. They do require beefy current to get the best sound but they always seem to be in complete control over anything you could throw at it. The fit and finish has always been best in class.
My opinion is you are probably going to get a healthy dose of the magic at a reasonable price. I would think they will sell more than a few of these.

Recently I was in the market for new speakers. I auditioned the S1 and was very puzzled by what I heard. First, I tried them with an E.A.R. tube amp and found the sound very dark and hollow with vague imaging. It was disappointing to the point where I believe something was seriously wrong. Next I heard them with a Spectral solid state amp and it was just the opposite--very bright sounding, almost too bright for my taste. Based on this experience, I would guess the speakers are extremely sensitive to the driving electronics.

I have not yet heard the S1, but I have seen it at my local dealer. It is a lovely looking speaker. The salesman told me that it sounds very much like the much more expensive Q1 for a lot less money. I own the Magico Mini2, a now discontinued Magico two-way.

If the S1 sounds completely different with completely different amplifiers, I would suspect that it is a very transparent speaker, adding little of its own signature to the sound.

These are small enough that a home audition should be very possible.