Magico S3 Review

[lloydelee21]

i know this is dangerous to say, but sometimes i have not been able to audition everything i wanted to and went with what was available.

in this case, given the size of your room, instinctively i would say it would be hard to go wrong with the S5 your dealer has. Just a personal comment, btw. But that is one remarkable speaker.

[jazzman]

I would go for the S5 over the S3 given the size of your room.
Btw, a friend of mine upgraded from a B&W802D to a S5, he is very happy about this decision.

[lloydelee21]

makes sense to me, Jazzman...

[CLEE]

Originally Posted by jazzman

I would go for the S5 over the S3 given the size of your room.
Btw, a friend of mine upgraded from a B&W802D to a S5, he is very happy about this decision.

+1. I also know of someone who switched to the S5 from the 802D and found the S5 substantially better.

[Shelly40]

Thanks for the opinions....


To keep the comparison equal,

How do the 800 Diamond compare to the S5...

Even the demo S5 will cost as much, or more,
than a new pair of 800 Diamonds..
but the prices are much closer than the 802s...

maybe this should be in the S5 thread

Thanks
Shelly

[davros]

I can give some advice on the differences between the B&W 802 diamond and Magico S5 speakers.

I owned the 802's (twice) and they are a very good speaker. Different in presentation to the Magico and can see how each would suit individual tastes. Having said that and for my tastes, the Magico S5 is much more refined speaker that can play most genres with aplomb. I would say the B&W's have a more upfront presentation with more sparkle up top. The Magicos are more laid back and that could be an issue with a valve based system if it tends to be on the darker side of neutral.

Bass between the 2 is different, with the Magico's having the upper hand on neutrality and detail with a deeper more musical bass. The 802's have the mid-bass hump that a lot of people like, including me, so it takes time to get used to a more linear bass.

The midrange is no contest. The Magico is much, much better due to an incredible level of micro and macro detail.

Hope this is of some help.

Dave

[Owl1]

Originally Posted by gardener

Having owned B&W 800s they are a great speaker do need a lot of power
I now have the S5 with tube amplification I much prefer this set up
Recently heard the S3 at a hifi show in large room was most impressed Constalation amplification
Good luck Shelly
802 also a good speaker

gardener, I am considering the same (S3) in a large room. I have a theater screen which is 11 feet wide so I am thinking/wondering if that setup had the speakers that far apart? Most Magico setups tend to be about 8 or 9 feet.

Thanks!

[gardener]

I think you will be fine
Because sealed back they are very easy to place
You can also toe in as much or as little as you like
As long as you are not to close to screen

They totally disappeared in this room and this was a 2 channel set up
All that was left was the music
Good luck

[Mourik131]

Hi,
Everybody I'm thinking of buying a new set. Still not sure about a few thinks. Maybe you can help me.

For speakers I'm thinking of magico s3 or s5 and also Wilson sascha.

For power amp I'm sure it will be audio research gs150 Galileo

Pre amp between audio research ref 5 se and Soulution 725. I would love to buy the soulution but the price is so high.

And Dac en streamer will be wadia 321 dac and a streamer from aurender

Also not sure about the cabels.

Hope you will have some good tips.

Ciao

[4RE]

The review is rather academic, it reads as all has been approved by NASA.
He might be very well impressed technically, but there is no enthusiasm to be read, let alone a stirring-of-the-soul, to be emotionally involved and carried away experience..

Btw, we never listen to reproduced music, we listen to reproduced recordings of music.