Magico S1 vs Vivid B1
 

Has anyone had a chance to compare these two? I'm asking because I'm a current owner of the B1 and my eyes are starting to wander. The S1 seems like a natural competitor. Unfortunately, I have not had the chance to hear any magico. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

May I suggest that you consider a JL F112, or similar sub with your B1's. I use the F112 with my K1's, and the improvement is dramatic

Thanks Douglas. My room is smallish and I have no issues with bass extension. I'm concerned the S1 might not be as good as the B1 in this regard. Something about the B1 bothers my ears after a while. I wish I knew exactly what it is. I've never seen any other such complaints bout the vivids so it may be just be a mismatch with my ears.

What is the rest of your system?

My K1's proved to be hyper critical to positioning. The slightest changes, even a few millimeters change the sound balance completely in my room, I always thought the treble was a bit smooth lacking bite and edge, until I found the sweet spot in my room

Hi AQMAN

I've had many speakers in the Vivid line including the B1 and the Magico S1 now. To my personal preference, I probably like the B1 more. It definitely has more perceived bass extension. Both very good speakers though.

After trying several combinations I've settled on the Benchmark Dac2 and their new AHB2 amp. The other combos were permutations of the Benchmark dac2, Classe cp-800 Dac/pre, Ayre V5xe and Bryston 4b-sst2.

Thanks hiro. Could you comment on the tweeters? I really liked the ScanSpeak derived Be tweeter in the Rockport Avior and if I understand correctly, the Magico S series uses something similar.

Sure, what would you like to know? I feel the S1 has beautiful extension in the highs and the drivers overall integrates seamlessly. I too like the Rockport tweeter, having auditioned the Avior and Atria.

To my ears the Vivid's, although not bright at all, have a bit of false 'airyness'. I wonder if this is what is bothering me.

I listened to the B1s and Rockport Avior on the same day in the same setup. Although I preferred the Vivids overall due to their speed and clarity (and bought them), I really liked the Avior's sweet top end. The next day I heard a live, unamplified small ensemble that included a drum kit. I remember thinking how much the live cymbals sounded like those reproduced by the Aviors.

So, it would be interesting to me if you could compare the S1, B1 and Avior in the highest octaves. I know I need to just find a way to listen to the Magicos, but that won't happen for at least a few months. Until then, that is what audio forums are for!

AQ