S5 Hifi Critic review

[A.Wayne]

That about nails it Apexorca .......

[PlanarSpeakerFan]

Great photos Apexorca, thanks for posting. Two beautiful sets of loudspeakers.

[A.Wayne]

Originally Posted by KKF1

http://www.magico.net/images/Reviews...DEC%202013.pdf

Why a separate thread about this review? Well, read it first... It is by far the most complete review of S5 and IMHO the most important one so far.

I agree with all Martin Colloms findings and with its conclusions.

Only one speaker that I recenly audition is IMHO better overall then S5, it is Q7.

Do not get me wrong here as been die hard Magico fan-I still respect Wilson Alexia a lot and find it a good alternative for S5 if someone is Wilson house sound style fan.

Interesting to compare S5 to Q5 .......

Magico Q5 loudspeaker Measurements | Stereophile.com

It does not have the wrinkle (resonance) at 110hz but it is tuned in the bass the same as S5 ,

"The Q5 has a rated sensitivity of 87dB. However, my estimate was lower than this, at an estimated 84dB(B)/2.83V/m, which is also lower than average. The speaker is also fairly difficult to drive, with an impedance that drops below 4 ohms in the high treble, the lower midrange, and the upper bass (fig.1). As well as minimum values of 2.75 ohms at 56Hz, 3 ohms at 200Hz, and 2.8 ohms at 40kHz, there is an amplifier-crushing combination of 3.85 ohms and a –56° capacitive phase angle at 45Hz. This speaker really does need to be used with powerful solid-state amplifiers to sound its best, I feel, such as Michael Fremer's Musical Fidelity Titan. The traces in fig.1 are free from any wrinkles that would indicate the presence of cabinet vibrational resonances; listening to the cabinet walls with a stethoscope while I swept a sinewave tone up and down in frequency, I could detect only a small degree of liveliness at 418Hz. The cabinet's heroic, all-aluminum construction is obviously effective at minimizing vibrational resonances."
-JA

[willyjack]

Originally Posted by A.Wayne

Interesting to compare S5 to Q5 .......

Magico Q5 loudspeaker Measurements | Stereophile.com

It does not have the wrinkle (resonance) at 110hz but it is tuned in the bass the same as S5 ,

"The Q5 has a rated sensitivity of 87dB. However, my estimate was lower than this, at an estimated 84dB(B)/2.83V/m, which is also lower than average. The speaker is also fairly difficult to drive, with an impedance that drops below 4 ohms in the high treble, the lower midrange, and the upper bass (fig.1). As well as minimum values of 2.75 ohms at 56Hz, 3 ohms at 200Hz, and 2.8 ohms at 40kHz, there is an amplifier-crushing combination of 3.85 ohms and a –56° capacitive phase angle at 45Hz. This speaker really does need to be used with powerful solid-state amplifiers to sound its best, I feel, such as Michael Fremer's Musical Fidelity Titan. The traces in fig.1 are free from any wrinkles that would indicate the presence of cabinet vibrational resonances; listening to the cabinet walls with a stethoscope while I swept a sinewave tone up and down in frequency, I could detect only a small degree of liveliness at 418Hz. The cabinet's heroic, all-aluminum construction is obviously effective at minimizing vibrational resonances."
-JA

Yes high powered solid state is best to wake this speaker up and hear what it can really do at all volume levels. Constellation amp(s) are a perfect pairing with tube preamp.

[A.Wayne]

Agree , its effective loading will require a very stable amp into low Z loads (1ohm) , a big PS is a must ....

[KKF1]

First, why is this thread infected with Magico haters?

It is clear as a sky that some members here are very, very black and white in their opinion.

Second, is someone really comparing a extremly high distortion design-Sonus Faber Amati Futura to very low distortion like Wilson or Magico?

I owned Amati Anniversarion few years ago and it was my first true high end speaker. But, after replacing it with Wilson Sophia 2 I got an idea what low distortion speaker is all about. SF is IMO colored and is producing big amount of distortions-even at low level in comparison with Wilson and Magico designes.

Third,

Q3 is measured by german Stereoplay and get much bigger level of distortions then S5. Also, is about 10hz shy in bass in absolute term(its -6db is 10hz higher then on S5). Even Q5 can not produce low bass as good as S5. Measurements(both anechoic and in-room) proved that as well as my subjective listening sessions.
I can understand pretty well why would someone choose Q3 over S5. Just... Ask Alon Wolf directly which speaker is better for all kind of music-Q3 or S5? Q3 fans will not like the answer...

BTW, I will be lucky enough to directly compare Magico S5 to Wilson Alexia in my room and since here is such a strange atmosphere lately I will keep my finding for myself. Better to not disturb some spirits here...

[jsli]

Would be interested to know about the ancillary gear!

Originally Posted by KKF1

First, why is this thread infected with Magico haters?

It is clear as a sky that some members here are very, very black and white in their opinion.

Second, is someone really comparing a extremly high distortion design-Sonus Faber Amati Futura to very low distortion like Wilson or Magico?

I owned Amati Anniversarion few years ago and it was my first true high end speaker. But, after replacing it with Wilson Sophia 2 I got an idea what low distortion speaker is all about. SF is IMO colored and is producing big amount of distortions-even at low level in comparison with Wilson and Magico designes.

Third,

Q3 is measured by german Stereoplay and get much bigger level of distortions then S5. Also, is about 10hz shy in bass in absolute term(its -6db is 10hz higher then on S5). Even Q5 can not produce low bass as good as S5. Measurements(both anechoic and in-room) proved that as well as my subjective listening sessions.
I can understand pretty well why would someone choose Q3 over S5. Just... Ask Alon Wolf directly which speaker is better for all kind of music-Q3 or S5? Q3 fans will not like the answer...

BTW, I will be lucky enough to directly compare Magico S5 to Wilson Alexia in my room and since here is such a strange atmosphere lately I will keep my finding for myself. Better to not disturb some spirits here...

I agree with your views here KKF1. I'd be interested to hear your feedback comparing the Alexia to the S5's. Shoot me a pm if you remember..

Cheers,

[stock78]

Originally Posted by KKF1

BTW, I will be lucky enough to directly compare Magico S5 to Wilson Alexia in my room and since here is such a strange atmosphere lately I will keep my finding for myself. Better to not disturb some spirits here...

We are here to read and learn for fun about this hobby, so do not stop posting your findings!
Most of us can easily handle your thoughts about Wilson Alexia vs Magico S5,
so your post about it will be very appreciated, at least by me.

Best.

[kfr01]

Originally Posted by KKF1

First, why is this thread infected with Magico haters? It is clear as a sky that some members here are very, very black and white in their opinion. Second, is someone really comparing a extremly high distortion design-Sonus Faber Amati Futura to very low distortion like Wilson or Magico? I owned Amati Anniversarion few years ago and it was my first true high end speaker. But, after replacing it with Wilson Sophia 2 I got an idea what low distortion speaker is all about. SF is IMO colored and is producing big amount of distortions-even at low level in comparison with Wilson and Magico designes. Third, Q3 is measured by german Stereoplay and get much bigger level of distortions then S5. Also, is about 10hz shy in bass in absolute term(its -6db is 10hz higher then on S5). Even Q5 can not produce low bass as good as S5. Measurements(both anechoic and in-room) proved that as well as my subjective listening sessions. I can understand pretty well why would someone choose Q3 over S5. Just... Ask Alon Wolf directly which speaker is better for all kind of music-Q3 or S5? Q3 fans will not like the answer... BTW, I will be lucky enough to directly compare Magico S5 to Wilson Alexia in my room and since here is such a strange atmosphere lately I will keep my finding for myself. Better to not disturb some spirits here...

Please continue sharing your thoughts! I am interested in hearing your impressions regarding the comparison

Cheers