Magico S5 review

[m.tonetti]

Magico Factory Tour - March 30, 2011

[imprezap2]

I listened to the Magico S5 now almost a year ago, at a dealer in Munich at the same time the highend show was on. I very much liked the way they played music.
Later that year I got a good deal on a pair of Magico V3's and never looked back, in my room the low frequency energy is excellent with the V3's and I am wondering if the S5 would be too much in that perspective.
Anyway, I like the way the new S5 looks, with a big plus that you can choose the color you want.

One thing about the S5 I find a bit strange, a few years ago when the V3's came out, all the reviews were mentioning that the first prototype of the V3 had a flat baffle and that later Alan Wolf insisted on a rounded baffle because that was enhancing the performance a lot. And now the the S series are there all with a flat baffle.

Wondering if this is a compromise money/design wise ?

Olaf

[musicargyle]

If one were shopping for a speaker in the magico family that would have the dynamic range, bass weight & tonal balance of a revel Salon 2 what model would that be? Clearly more expensive I assume?

[KKF1]

Originally Posted by musicargyle

If one were shopping for a speaker in the magico family that would have the dynamic range, bass weight & tonal balance of a revel Salon 2 what model would that be? Clearly more expensive I assume?

Revel Salon 2 is an excellent speaker for the money. Period. It offers very nice dynamic range and true 20hz bass response(in room).
From current Magico range I would suggest serious audition of S5. IMHO S5 beats Salon 2 in all aspect save for sweet spot size and bass depth. Regarding S5 bass it is awsome bass for sealed box design that in room goes to around 20hz(-10db point). Character of that bass is different then most ported speakers. It is tighter with great impact, but without mid bass hump mostly normal on ported designs.

Of course, if money is not the object I would go for Q7.

[CLEE]

Originally Posted by imprezap2

One thing about the S5 I find a bit strange, a few years ago when the V3's came out, all the reviews were mentioning that the first prototype of the V3 had a flat baffle and that later Alan Wolf insisted on a rounded baffle because that was enhancing the performance a lot. And now the the S series are there all with a flat baffle.

Wondering if this is a compromise money/design wise ?

Olaf

I would prefer a rounded baffle as in the Q series. I guess it may have been a cost consideration. Having said that, I was pleased that my S5 projected an excellent layered soundatge. It would be interesting to compare with a Q3 in this respect.

[jazzman]

Originally Posted by KKF1

Revel Salon 2 is an excellent speaker for the money. Period. It offers very nice dynamic range and true 20hz bass response(in room).
From current Magico range I would suggest serious audition of S5. IMHO S5 beats Salon 2 in all aspect save for sweet spot size and bass depth. Regarding S5 bass it is awsome bass for sealed box design that in room goes to around 20hz(-10db point). Character of that bass is different then most ported speakers. It is tighter with great impact, but without mid bass hump mostly normal on ported designs.

Of course, if money is not the object I would go for Q7.

Agree with you: Revel Salon is a very good speaker but a pair of S5 would beat it easily. And when you get used to sealed box design there is no way back.

Originally Posted by CLEE

I would prefer a rounded baffle as in the Q series. I guess it may have been a cost consideration. Having said that, I was pleased that my S5 projected an excellent layered soundatge. It would be interesting to compare with a Q3 in this respect.

Congratulations on your S5's Clee Which color did you get?

Originally Posted by imprezap2

I listened to the Magico S5 now almost a year ago, at a dealer in Munich at the same time the highend show was on. I very much liked the way they played music.
Later that year I got a good deal on a pair of Magico V3's and never looked back, in my room the low frequency energy is excellent with the V3's and I am wondering if the S5 would be too much in that perspective.
Anyway, I like the way the new S5 looks, with a big plus that you can choose the color you want.

One thing about the S5 I find a bit strange, a few years ago when the V3's came out, all the reviews were mentioning that the first prototype of the V3 had a flat baffle and that later Alan Wolf insisted on a rounded baffle because that was enhancing the performance a lot. And now the the S series are there all with a flat baffle.

Wondering if this is a compromise money/design wise ?

Olaf

Olaf, yes I would say without a doubt the convential flat front baffle is a cost-saving measure. Magico also directly mount the drivers onto the heavy front baffle, instead of onto the complex internal skeleton in the Q series. In regard to the overall design of the V & Q series, yes they use a rounded front baffle, but the cabinet itself is a box shape. More important in my view is the S5's rounded front edges & cabinet shape which reminds me of my old Infinity Rensaissance 90 with their rounded front edges & trapezoidal shape which was designed to eliminate cabinet diffraction and smearing, provide excellent sound staging & mimick the effect of their dipole speakers. The most sophisticated cabinet shape i've experienced is Avalon who amaze me. But as they say, it's all about the final equation.

In regard to your concern that the S5's might be a bit too boomy in a small-medium size room, yes I had those initial concerns as well. My concerns were allayed however by this helpful post from another thread on the S5's - http://www.audioaficionado.org/426090-post125.html

Regards,

[CLEE]

Originally Posted by Bodhisattva

Congratulations on your S5's Clee Which color did you get?

I got Pearl White, mainly my wife's choice to match with the front walls and drapes.

--Charles

[CLEE]

Originally Posted by jazzman

Agree with you: Revel Salon is a very good speaker but a pair of S5 would beat it easily. And when you get used to sealed box design there is no way back.

I can appreciate this. My previous speaker has a ported design. Compared with the S5 it has more bass output. On the other hand, the S5's bass is better defined, tonally richer, and most importatly more coherent to the mid-range.