Thanks for the info, though I'm still not so sure if I have an understanding of how close these speakers could be placed to the Front wall and still be happy. Granted, moving them out as far as possible is ideal but would you think that 4ft should pose an issue? I guess the fact that these are sealed should "in theory" make them more friendly to close placement then a ported box.
When I demo'd the speakers it was unfortunately with unfamiliar music but I did demo them back to back (with different gear using the same unfamiliar songs) with the new B&W 803D3's which by contrast had a much wider soundstage and closer presentation. In both cases the speakers were pretty far from the front wall. I would say the Magico S3 was staged another 2ft or so further away from the front wall in the room compared to the B&W.
I was certainly interesting to hear these two speakers back to back and see how different they sound from one another. I don't think I could easily say which one was better then the other though if forced to decide and only given one listen to make a choice I would probably lean towards the B&W if for no other reason then it being very energetic and up close and personal compared to the Magico which was totally laid back and hyper focused on presenting the center part of the soundstage.
Whether or not the features I heard via the B&W would become fatiguing in the long run is hard to say.
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