Magico S5

[turntable]

I thought the same thing after reading all the same reviews.

It is call relative I guess to what you are comparing to on whether something is slower or faster. BTW, I mainly compared it balanced vs Pass labs and Momentum.

Anyway, you seem to have it figured and want to move from your Boulder pre, so good luck.
What are you going to use as a phono stage?

[asiufy]

Yep, I'm with turntable here. I haven't heard recent ARC gear, but if I were to return to tubes, that wouldn't be the brand I'd invest in.

I'm just going to emphasize what I said earlier: move the speakers in, let them settle in your current gear, then see what needs changing, if at all I've been guilty of changing too many things at once, then ending up not knowing what was responsible for the change!



alexandre

Originally Posted by asiufy

Plaster is a sure fire way to kill the sound of any room. Tell him to play with adding some wood accents to that plaster wall.

I don't have a high regard for ARC gear, so I'd stick with Boulder if I were you. I've heard that pre you have, paired with the Boulder 2060, and they were great! I'd wait until you try your current setup with the S5, and see how it sounds.


alexandre

Originally Posted by turntable

IMO, If all you play is audiophile jazz and female vocals the ref5se might be a good fit. It is quite grand sounding, however I found it a bit slow, laid back and dark sounding. The cj GAT is quite a lot better.

Cheers

Originally Posted by asiufy

Yep, I'm with turntable here. I haven't heard recent ARC gear, but if I were to return to tubes, that wouldn't be the brand I'd invest in.

I'm just going to emphasize what I said earlier: move the speakers in, let them settle in your current gear, then see what needs changing, if at all I've been guilty of changing too many things at once, then ending up not knowing what was responsible for the change!



alexandre

Thanks Guys, I had a long think and reflect tonight on yours, and my Dealer's comments (which btw accord with your view) & have to agree with you here. Thanks Alexandre for your f/back on the 1010 pre. The 2060 is twice the price of the 1060, so if the 1010 kept up, that is impressive. You raised a good point that I should let my system settle in with the Boulder amps and see if I like the sound, then see what needs changing, if at all.

My concern with the 1010 was I would be missing some warmth, liquidity etc which you get from a good tube preamp, however that concern is probably unfounded. I think what i'll do is place the 1010 on a Taoc SCB-RS50G board & see how it sounds with the Prime cables. The Primes have a touch of warmth & sound very smooth/liquid, so that should be interesting

[hessec]

and start listening.... See what your current setup sounds like with the S5 and then make a decision. BOD, have you heard the S5 with tubes in the same room as solid state namely anything Boulder? If not, it would be impossible to judge this particular speakers' synergy with either. 1 component at a time.... I have to keep telling myself this as well.....

If you want to make a nice improvement (or change depending on how you look at it) try a different phono stage from the 1010 if that's what you're using. Or maybe a cartridge/arm/loading change to smooth things out if that is really the underlying issue here which judging from most of your posts it seems to be. I've been much happier with a focus on analog over digital..... and yes, I've had some great players including the K03 and K01.

I'm still waiting on my S5's should be end of Jan. I'm told.

[asiufy]

You're welcome, glad to be able to help
So, when do you get your S5s? What colour/finish did you chose?

alexandre

[Masterlu]

hessec... Welcome!

Originally Posted by hessec

and start listening.... See what your current setup sounds like with the S5 and then make a decision. BOD, have you heard the S5 with tubes in the same room as solid state namely anything Boulder? If not, it would be impossible to judge this particular speakers' synergy with either. 1 component at a time.... I have to keep telling myself this as well.....

If you want to make a nice improvement (or change depending on how you look at it) try a different phono stage from the 1010 if that's what you're using. Or maybe a cartridge/arm/loading change to smooth things out if that is really the underlying issue here which judging from most of your posts it seems to be. I've been much happier with a focus on analog over digital..... and yes, I've had some great players including the K03 and K01.

I'm still waiting on my S5's should be end of Jan. I'm told.

Hi Hessec, I appreciate your advice as I know you've been down the same path as me & can relate to my impulsiveness to go down the tube preamp road! As you remarked "one component at a time". The thing is, my system has been developing like a runaway train, and sometimes it's hard to know when to slow down. Mind you, even though my journey has twisted around a bit like snakes and ladders at times, i'm mostly very happy with my choices and approach. It's good to be able to benefit from your experience as I know you tried the Vac tube pre which is probably a better valve pre than the ARC, and gravitated back to a Boulder pre. Mind you, that 2010 is a bloody good preamp!

I haven't heard the S5's with tube amps, but have heard great feedback about the Reference Vac mono's with the S5's, though that is strictly anecdotal feedback from shows. As a rule of thumb, the S5's sound magical with tube-like amps such as Vitus & Dartzeel, though my Dealer said the S5's were awesome with a pair of 1050 mono's, 1010 pre, Vitus SCD-025 & Crystal Absolute Dream cables In my system, the Vitus & Primes should add a touch of warmth & liquidity & my Taoc racks also imbue a touch of warmth/body, so it should be a good combination once the 1010 & cables are played in.

I was committed to building an awesome vinyl rig to be honest, yet in the back of my mind I was thinking it will be a pain accommodating all that vinyl in my small apartment, a record cleaning machine & sending back warped pressings o/s. What changed my mind was some feedback I got from a good buddy who owns a TW Acustic Raven AC-3, 10" Raven arm & phono stage & said with less than 100hrs, his Vitus SCD-025 was already sounding as good as his vinyl rig. That was it for me. Bye bye vinyl! So my vinyl rig & cart will soon be up for sale in the FS section.

Btw, good to see you on AA...

Originally Posted by asiufy

You're welcome, glad to be able to help
So, when do you get your S5s? What colour/finish did you chose?

alexandre

Thanks Alexandre, my Dealer is setting aside a pair of gloss Titantium S5's in his next shipment due in 2 weeks. I think that finish is really nice. I found the gloss black just a bit "too black". All I need to do is move my Coltrane Alto's in the meantime which are going up fs on AA & elsewhere tonight, so with a bit of luck I should have my S5's about the same time as Hessec

To quote John Travolta "aint it cool?!" I used to salivate over classic Infinity's like the IRS-Beta's and awesome towers speakers like the IRS-Sigma's & IRS-Epsilon. To me they were spectactular; fast, dynamic & had the ability to get closer to recreating the live event than any other speaker systems i'd heard before. Fast forward to 2012 and it was the S5's which gave me that same sense of awe and excitement, like a kid in a candy shop These things were big, had amazing imaging, fast, shimmering transients which I loved about Infinitys & spectacular deep bass which so impressed me with the IRS-V's. To quote another member "the fun was back!". Tehe.

[turntable]

Enjoy your S5's. They look nice.

From what I have read they are competitive with Wilson Sasha ,Rockport Avior and Faber Amati speakers which is pretty good company for this price point.

Your dealer does not do trade in's ? Selling anything expensive and used in Aus is tuff ATM.