Magico S5

[jsli]

Originally Posted by KKF1

Just to add that even more interesting(from several points of view) will be S5 in-depth review by Martin Colloms in next issue of Hifi Critic, full set of measurements will be included.

Agreed. From several points of view.

[mgbaron]

I spent the better part of yesterday listening to the Magico S5 and Q3 on Spectral and Hegel Amps. I came in slightly predisposed to the S5. My thinking was that it close to the performance of the Q3, while perhaps more forgiving on some recordings, and with the added benefit of having a grill to protect from toddlers and dog drool. The audition changed none of those expectations. However, what I was not expecting was the degree to which I would fall in love the the Q3.

As background, you should know that probably 60% of my listening is Jazz, and perhaps 80% is acoustic in general. The Q3 is best Jazz speaker I have listened to extensively, hands down. While the S5 did have a nice kick that gave it a physical impact that only large speakers can deliver, the Q3 delivered amazingly realistic bass, that was as deep as I need it to be. One of my favorite test tracks is "Starbucks Blues" from the 2000 Ray Brown album, "Live at Starbucks." On a bass heavy speaker, some of the open notes Ray hits sound quite unnatural. I don't think I've ever heard it rendered as accurate as on the Q3. Meanwhile, the Q3 delivers it's entire range with the uncanny speed and transparency, which is a totally addicting sound.

Interestingly, I preferred the Spectral amp on the S5 and the slighly warmer touch of the Hegel on the Q3.

In the end, while both speakers are excellent, I decided that the Q3 is a bigger step toward what I like about Magico from what I have now. While I probably would be quite happy with the S5, I would always wonder "what if." So, no decisions yet, but I'm really considering it.

[bart]

Matt, thank you for sharing!
Haven't heard the Q3 yet.
The Q5 I heard in a set-up with an uberexpensive turntable and amps, but there was so much crackling on the LPs that I really couldn't enjoy the music. Have to do it another time with good quality albums or (SA)CDs.

[PlanarSpeakerFan]

Originally Posted by mgbaron

I spent the better part of yesterday listening to the Magico S5 and Q3 on Spectral and Hegel Amps. I came in slightly predisposed to the S5. My thinking was that it close to the performance of the Q3, while perhaps more forgiving on some recordings, and with the added benefit of having a grill to protect from toddlers and dog drool. The audition changed none of those expectations. However, what I was not expecting was the degree to which I would fall in love the the Q3.

As background, you should know that probably 60% of my listening is Jazz, and perhaps 80% is acoustic in general. The Q3 is best Jazz speaker I have listened to extensively, hands down. While the S5 did have a nice kick that gave it a physical impact that only large speakers can deliver, the Q3 delivered amazingly realistic bass, that was as deep as I need it to be. One of my favorite test tracks is "Starbucks Blues" from the 2000 Ray Brown album, "Live at Starbucks." On a bass heavy speaker, some of the open notes Ray hits sound quite unnatural. I don't think I've ever heard it rendered as accurate as on the Q3. Meanwhile, the Q3 delivers it's entire range with the uncanny speed and transparency, which is a totally addicting sound.

Interestingly, I preferred the Spectral amp on the S5 and the slighly warmer touch of the Hegel on the Q3.

In the end, while both speakers are excellent, I decided that the Q3 is a bigger step toward what I like about Magico from what I have now. While I probably would be quite happy with the S5, I would always wonder "what if." So, no decisions yet, but I'm really considering it.

Matt,

Nice write up! I also listen to mostly jazz. The Q3 must be a terrific loudspeaker. I'll have to audition them when I get the opportunity.

Ken

Originally Posted by mgbaron

I spent the better part of yesterday listening to the Magico S5 and Q3 on Spectral and Hegel Amps. I came in slightly predisposed to the S5. My thinking was that it close to the performance of the Q3, while perhaps more forgiving on some recordings, and with the added benefit of having a grill to protect from toddlers and dog drool. The audition changed none of those expectations. However, what I was not expecting was the degree to which I would fall in love the the Q3.

As background, you should know that probably 60% of my listening is Jazz, and perhaps 80% is acoustic in general. The Q3 is best Jazz speaker I have listened to extensively, hands down. While the S5 did have a nice kick that gave it a physical impact that only large speakers can deliver, the Q3 delivered amazingly realistic bass, that was as deep as I need it to be. One of my favorite test tracks is "Starbucks Blues" from the 2000 Ray Brown album, "Live at Starbucks." On a bass heavy speaker, some of the open notes Ray hits sound quite unnatural. I don't think I've ever heard it rendered as accurate as on the Q3. Meanwhile, the Q3 delivers it's entire range with the uncanny speed and transparency, which is a totally addicting sound.

Interestingly, I preferred the Spectral amp on the S5 and the slighly warmer touch of the Hegel on the Q3.

In the end, while both speakers are excellent, I decided that the Q3 is a bigger step toward what I like about Magico from what I have now. While I probably would be quite happy with the S5, I would always wonder "what if." So, no decisions yet, but I'm really considering it.

Thanks for your write up Matt. I tend to agree with your comments, though I found the differences between the Q3 & S5 more subtle (ie: not night and day). With that said, I listen to a bit more pop and classic rock. I also use my S5's in 2 channel home theater duties where they provide visceral impact on good scores.

Spectral wouldn't be my first choice of amp with the S5's. Personally I wanted to reduce my box count and get an integrated, and hands down the Vitus SIA-025 had the best synergy with the S5's; warm, musical, pure, tube-like sound when the amp is fully warmed up.

YMMV but I would prefer to spend more on my front end at this level that on speakers. Your speakers are only as good as the signal they're fed imho.

[dizzie]

David,

Do you use the Vitus in the 25W Class A mode or the 100W A/B mode? What are your feelings on adequate power?

Anyone, please chime in with actual experience on power requirements for the S5.

Originally Posted by Bodhisattva

Thanks for your write up Matt. I tend to agree with your comments, though I found the differences between the Q3 & S5 more subtle (ie: not night and day). With that said, I listen to a bit more pop and classic rock. I also use my S5's in 2 channel home theater duties where they provide visceral impact on good scores.

Spectral wouldn't be my first choice of amp with the S5's. Personally I wanted to reduce my box count and get an integrated, and hands down the Vitus SIA-025 had the best synergy with the S5's; warm, musical, pure, tube-like sound when the amp is fully warmed up.

YMMV but I would prefer to spend more on my front end at this level that on speakers. Your speakers are only as good as the signal they're fed imho.

[A.Wayne]

Spend the money on the speakers first then worry about the front end , there is more than enough detail , even from the most modest of frontend, the better speakers will take you to a different level when changing equipment than the other way around ...

Originally Posted by dizzie

David,

Do you use the Vitus in the 25W Class A mode or the 100W A/B mode? What are your feelings on adequate power?

Anyone, please chime in with actual experience on power requirements for the S5.

I thought i'd re-post my earlier response from another thread on the same subject..

"Most of that weight is from the massive 1.4kva UI-core tranny, so there isn't much spare real estate in the rest of the chassis I have to say I had one or two nerves when I connected the Vitus to my S5's. I wasn't sure if it would be able to properly control my S5's in my medium size listening room and move enough air. Fortunately it was obvious on the first day that the Vitus (even in Class A mode) was able to properly control the S5's and drive them to levels that would get me thrown out of the apartment building! Fyi, traditional toroids typically suffer a voltage drop of up to 25%, whilst Vitus' UI-core tranny measured loses max 1.5% voltage. Consequently, those 50 Class A watts @4ohms feel a lot more powerful than the specs suggest.

The real test imho is home theater. I find connecting my Oppo via single ended cables (as opposed to xlr's to my Aesthetix), I have to crank up the volume more than with my main source. For movies I switch the Vitus over to Class A/B mode & find I usually turn the volume up to between -6db to +1db (max volume is +6db), so even under less than optimal conditions, this amp doesn't run out of steam. Actually the harder the Vitus works, the better it seems to sound. Balanced cables as we know have twice the signal noise than single ended cables which is worth between 4-6db in line level gain. Switching to single ended cables means the clipping point will remain exactly where it was. The only difference is the position on the volume control where that occurs."

My current Oppo BDP-103 is not really ideal in my 2 channel system due to it's lack of gain and oomph, so I plan to step up to a BDP-105 soon. The BDP-105 uses a more powerful toroidal tranny & offers balanced outs.

Originally Posted by A.Wayne

Spend the money on the speakers first then worry about the front end , there is more than enough detail , even from the most modest of frontend, the better speakers will take you to a different level when changing equipment than the other way around ...

Between keeping my Aesthetix Romulus cdp and buying Vandy 7's, or keeping my S5's and stepping up to a reference SACD transport/dac combo, I would be leaning toward the latter option. Yes the Vandy's are better, but the S5's are already very good, and can sound amazing with the right front end. I've got an audio buddy who added one thing to his system...a reference vinyl rig and was blown away by the improvement (and that guy has a Vitus SCD-025), so a better front end can have a profound impact on the sound. It makes no sense to me feeding $50k speakers with a $7k source. But it makes more sense feeding $33k speakers with a $73k source. These seem to be two different schools of thought, though the philosophy of spending more on your front end seems to be more pervasive amongst vinylphiles.

[imprezap2]

Hi David,

I read that the Vitus sounds beter at a higher volume, this is where my Accuphase E-560 is excelling, no change in sound at any volume setting.

Anyway Class A amplifiers seem to work very well with Magico speakers.
My V3's are a tougher load than S5 and Q3, but absolutely no problem for the E-560. The magico's need amplifiers that can deliver lots and stable current, down to 1 Ohm.

Olaf