Magico S5 vs Infinity IRS speakers
 

Hi guys, I was intrigued by Alan Sircom's comment in his Hifi Plus review of the S5's "The only ugly truth about its performance is if you are clinging on to a pair of nine-foot- tall, cost as much as a house loudspeaker designs from the 1980s or 1990s, they just met their match.". Then I thought back to my own auditions of the S5's. Yes they do sound boxless, image great and have thunderous, concert level bass like I remember hearing with the IRS-V's. No, they don't have the phenomenal "reach out and touch it" imaging of the IRS-V, but ok...the IRS-V's were $60kUS back in 1991. Perhaps a fairer comparison would be the IRS-Beta's? Arnie himself admitted they got very close to the sound of the IRS-V's. Infinity, like Magico built some of the best loudspeakers in the world. The S5's have the advantage of over 20 years of materials and technological development, the mighty IRS the advantage of the sheer presence and scale of a full size line source. Do you reckon the S5's stack up against the classic IRS-Beta's, or even approach the great IRS-V's?

Cheers,
David

http://www.soundstagerecordings.com/...12/magico1.jpg

http://www.bobbyshred.com/images/IRS_Beta.jpg

Wow, if they are that good, maybe I bought the wrong speakers! Aren't they the same price as Sasha's?

Looking forward to hearing all kinds of stuff at RMAF.

The successor to the Infinity IRS-V is the Genesis 1. The present model, the 1.2 will set you back $300k MSRP in Brazilian Rosewood or $350k in black carbon fiber. Prices have really gone up in recent years. :eek:

Gary Koh, who owns Genesis Advanced Technologies actually has a hard time showing them at audio shows because he has said he can't get a room that satisfies him so he shows smaller models. He most recently showed the Genesis 1.2 at the Hong Kong show.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7FkdO6PjLc[/ame]

I owned a Genesis II system with mono sub amps for each subwoofer for about 10 years. The midrange ribbons wore out and I traded them. I can't say that I liked them nearly as much as my current speakers but they were really fine sounding speakers. The main problem was too much low bass compared to upper bass causing some heaviness to creep in on the male voices. I was never able to rid the system of this problem. Also the midrange could sound edgy at times when the system was pushed. But they made music like few speakers could. It's simply not true that newer designs are always better than older ones. The Gen II is probably the equivalent of the IRS Beta.:yes:

Thanks for your insight Charles. Yes I certainly agree newer speakers aren't always better than older designs. The IRS-V's are still the best speakers i've ever heard, but they require a large room of optimal dimensions to get the most out of them. Still I'm curious how the S5's, the new kid on the block, stack up against these old legends?

Jeez... I know Gary Koh and I still have never heard these things. I need to visit his shop. He's in the pnw audio society and so am I... Kinda...

I cannot comment on the IRS Beta, but I still have a pair of Infinity IRS Epsilon in my garage (my first serious speakers, before many others, I still have an emotional attachment, never wanted to sell them...): same EMIT, EMIM and L-EMIM drivers but a servo controlled single bass driver.
I took the IRS out a few years back, connected them to my Gryphon Antileon and compared to the evolution acoustic MM3 I had at the time. I am sorry, but modern speakers are in fact much better: better defined bass, more transparency, etc. The difference was shocking.
Since then I replaced the MM3 with a pair of Magico Q1 (temporary speaker, waiting for my Ultimate): going from a 600lbs monster to small monitors. As surprising as it can be for most of us thinking "bigger= better", I enjoy more the sound of the Q1, on the music I listen (70% Jazz + voices, J.S. Bach and church music), and I end up therefore listening much more to music. In short: More transparency, more faithful tones, more precise imaging, less bass extension.
And yes, I would take a pair of S5 over a Sasha anytime. Would even take it against a pair of Alexia. They are that good, even if I personally prefer the Q3 over the S5.

Twist the knife... Arghhh

I love my Sasha's. It's cool. There is always better... But not much.

I have sold my Sashas for the S5s.