MAGICO S1 speakers ....

[CKKeung]

Originally Posted by CLEE

Hi CKKeung, how did the S1 sound compared to the S5 and Q1? I guess 250 sq ft would be a nice size for the S1.

Hi CLEE,

I listened to S5, S1 & Q1 individually at the local dealer. No direct comparison.

But my S5 will arrive soon. I will post some photos & comments here then.

[jazzman]

I have both the S1 and Q1: both are excellent speakers. I have posted my impressions at whatsbestforum.

[mulveling]

I've heard S5 and S1 now at my dealer, but no chance for a direct comparison. The S5 was run by Rogue M180 monoblocks (w/ KT120 tubes) and a VAC Renaissance III preamp; the S1 by an modded (upgraded) VAC Sigma 160i integrated. Same room, positioning, and source (Clearaudio Innovation Compact w/ Magnify & Ortofon Cadenza Red)

The S5 system was very nice. Somewhat surprisingly to me, the S1 system is a killer. I'm a hugely biased Tannoy fanboy, and these S1 are about the 1st non-Tannoy to give me those "everything's right" and "I'd be quite happy with this" feelings.

The treble is just fantastic (they did a great job with that beryllium tweeter), the mids are simply lovely (highly resolving yet organic), and the bass is very well integrated (much more so than with the S5). There's obviously less bass than with the S5, but they did a great job engineering for its size. Soundstage is notably improved in the S1 system.

I don't like the low efficiency of the Magico speakers, but when it sounds so great from 80 Watts/ch, it's hard to complain much. There might be something special to that VAC integrated, but certainly the S1 is also special.

Now I think I'm gonna need to get the supertweeters for my Canterbury SE...

[CLEE]

Originally Posted by CKKeung

Hi CLEE,

I listened to S5, S1 & Q1 individually at the local dealer. No direct comparison.

But my S5 will arrive soon. I will post some photos & comments here then.

Congrats on your S5 .What colour/finish did you choose? Do they offer any grille option?

[CLEE]

Originally Posted by jazzman

I have both the S1 and Q1: both are excellent speakers. I have posted my impressions at whatsbestforum.

Jazzman, thanks for the informative write-up. I guess the Q1 may be the most transparent among Magico’s Q series, possibly with the exception of the Q7 which I never heard. Are you driving the Q1 with DartZeel 108? With Q1’s sensitivity, does the 108 do justice in the macro dynamic department?

[jazzman]

I may be wrong but I have the impression the Q1 are a bit easier to drive than the Mini. They are also probably 0.5 or 1dB more sensitive than the S1, as I always had to raise a bit volume on S1 when I was switching. Yes, I am driving the Q1 with the Dartzeel at the moment. I didn't have the impression that the power of the Dartzeel was limiting the Q1. But on the other side, I am hearing from a friend that when driven with the Devialet, the Q1 sounds better using two of them in mono configuration.

For sure the Q7 (and the Magico Ultimate) are still more transparent than Q1, but also at a very different price point!
I never compared the Q1 and Q3 in the same room, but I would assume that like all 2 ways, the Q1 would image with more precision, and on the other side the Q3 would have more bass extension and bass slam. Both sounds great to my ear, I believe the choice depends more on size of your room and type of music.

[CLEE]

Originally Posted by jazzman

.........
I never compared the Q1 and Q3 in the same room, but I would assume that like all 2 ways, the Q1 would image with more precision, and on the other side the Q3 would have more bass extension and bass slam. Both sounds great to my ear, I believe the choice depends more on size of your room and type of music.

Quite so. I settled on the S5 as my listening priorities are mostly symphonic classical. I prefer a good foundation. A few weeks back, I listened to the Q3 for an hour at the dealer's and was tempted with the even better transparency. It could also be the excellent synergistic match with the Constellation Centaur mono blocks used.

Originally Posted by mulveling

The S5 system was very nice. Somewhat surprisingly to me, the S1 system is a killer. I'm a hugely biased Tannoy fanboy, and these S1 are about the 1st non-Tannoy to give me those "everything's right" and "I'd be quite happy with this" feelings.

The treble is just fantastic (they did a great job with that beryllium tweeter), the mids are simply lovely (highly resolving yet organic), and the bass is very well integrated (much more so than with the S5). There's obviously less bass than with the S5, but they did a great job engineering for its size. Soundstage is notably improved in the S1 system.

I don't like the low efficiency of the Magico speakers, but when it sounds so great from 80 Watts/ch, it's hard to complain much. There might be something special to that VAC integrated, but certainly the S1 is also special.

Reading your comments, in summary Mulveling you feel the S5 was "very nice" and the S1 is "a killer" and "special" and the S1's bass "is very well integrated (much more so than with the S5)". Is that correct? I commented as I have not before heard such contrasting comments about these two speakers in the same series, and am now left thinking I should have bought S1's instead of S5's...

[CLEE]

Originally Posted by mulveling

The S5 system was very nice. Somewhat surprisingly to me, the S1 system is a killer. I'm a hugely biased Tannoy fanboy, and these S1 are about the 1st non-Tannoy to give me those "everything's right" and "I'd be quite happy with this" feelings.

Interesting. I would have thought Tannoy and Magico are at different ends of sonic spectrum. I may be outdated on Tannoy, haven't listened to one for years.

[jazzman]

Originally Posted by CLEE

Quite so. I settled on the S5 as my listening priorities are mostly symphonic classical. I prefer a good foundation. A few weeks back, I listened to the Q3 for an hour at the dealer's and was tempted with the even better transparency. It could also be the excellent synergistic match with the Constellation Centaur mono blocks used.

I was invited by the Paris dealer to a demo in his new showroom two weeks ago: S5 driven by Constellation Centaur, in an untreated room but with very good acoustic. Sound was stellar, very dynamic, better than last time I heard the Centaur. Must be also the fact that power amps are often sounding much better in 220V version than 110V. Had the same experience with Spectral....
Unfortunately I live in a 110V country :-(