Michael...I listened to the Q5 at the Goodwins High End launch of the speaker so it was in a group setting and I rarely got to sit in the sweet spot but having said that as far as I could tell the midrange was breathtakingly transparent and natural sounding. Tonally the entire speaker was very flat. I would not call them bright. The excellent attributes of the speaker when taken individually were probably best I have heard but the sum of the individual traits did not cohere for me into a compelling whole. I can't explain it beyond saying they just did not pull me into the music. Again, it could have been so many things (associated equipment was all Spectral amplification and MIT cabling; could have been group setting did not allow me to completely relax and enjoy the audition; ...
). I will say I have had the same reaction to the much lesser priced V2 and V3s of a few years ago. So there is just something about the Magico sound that does not pull me in. I always walk away impressed but not in love
