[S1chen]

Originally Posted by Bodhisattva

Espen, i'm in no way dismissing what you heard in your demo's of the two speakers in Munich, but there are a few things to consider. Firstly, I was told Magico improved the S5 since they debuted the speaker in Munich (not long after the first examples were produced). Secondly, I respect Alon, but also remember he is running a business and wants to make money. If he is speaking to a potential customer, it is in his and Magico's interests to talk up the Q3 over the S5. A wise person once told me "The truth is usually in the middle". And thirdly, my own listening tests a-b comparing the two speakers suggest, yes the Q3 is a bit more refined and transparent definitely comparative to the price difference (atleast in 2013). But unless you just like to listen to small band jazz and classical, I would not say the Q3 is "much better". To me, the S5's are better "all rounders". They suit modern pop, rock, big band jazz, blues etc & given the right amps and front end, can sound delicate and intimate with small ensembles, jazz and classical. Also i've seen several systems with Q3's where the owners have cut corners with amplification, front end or cables. Without optimizing these things, you will never exploit the full potential of the speakers anyway. And the Q3's will brutally reveal any chinks. I also agree with Adam's comment that the S5's have a slightly more relaxed presentation than the Q3's & are more forgiving of less than perfect recordings and upstream equipment. I always say your system needs to be balanced (and by that I don't mean having a balanced topology). To me, the S5's bass is better than the Q3. The S5's have solid and lifelike bass energy and depth which you can feel (as in live music). Kick drums feel like a kick drum and Timpani has proper scale and depth. The Q3's show their limitations with such instruments. The S5's are also outstanding in a 2 channel home theater; definitely no subs needed! It's all how you optimize them. I have a medium size room and am finding the S5's fit in well. I have my speakers set up in a near field listening position as per the Cardas room setup guide & find I am able to achieve a coherent image, good sound staging and am not having any issues with boominess. But I accept this is room dependent as no two rooms are alike. In practice, the speakers will be further improved once we install the Stillpoints Ultra 5's & Ultra bases. Cheers,

Can u advise what gear like amp, pre and source and maybe cable are setup at the time you are auditioning the Q3 or many occasional your heard them. I am curious why the Q3 would end up sounding not as good as the S5.