Magico S1- MK 2 Review

mauidan · June 15, 2016, 08:22 PM

http://www.soundstagehifi.com/index....i-loudspeakers

**Mike** · June 15, 2016, 09:48 PM

Great review!

"It’s the finest two-way speaker I’ve heard."

**Kuoppis** · June 15, 2016, 11:54 PM

I liked my S1s when I had them. And the mkII is likely to be one of the finest 2-way speakers made - but it is a 2-way speaker with bass down to 32 Hz.

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**KeithR** · June 16, 2016, 12:30 AM

Wow- 83db efficient. These speakers love power I bet.

**Mike** · June 16, 2016, 07:08 AM

Originally Posted by KeithR

Wow- 83db efficient. These speakers love power I bet.

Keith - they are 86db. "The S1 Mk.II’s sensitivity is a modest 86dB -- par for the course for a two-way design -- and the nominal impedance is 4 ohms."

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**Kuoppis** · June 16, 2016, 07:14 AM

Originally Posted by Mike

Keith - they are 86db. "The S1 Mk.II’s sensitivity is a modest 86dB -- par for the course for a two-way design -- and the nominal impedance is 4 ohms."

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This is not significantly different from the first generation, which could be easily driven by a 90 wpc amp. And as Mike mentioned earlier, there have been very nice demos with lower powered amps as well.

So this is maybe an opportunity with the S1 mk2 - if you want Magicos and to power them with more modestly powered tube amps, this might be your speaker of choice.

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**Mike** · June 16, 2016, 07:50 AM

I had no issues driving the S1 mk2 with the Vitus SS-103, Devialet 400 or a single VAC Sig 200iQ.

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**pweg** · June 16, 2016, 05:23 PM

i had the first generation and drove them with a Vitus SIA 025. Never ran out of steam and always sounded bigger than they were. My only complaint was that they were slightly lean and the top end was a little too forward for me.

recently i heard the mark2 version and couldn't believe it was the same speaker. The top end is beautiful and the overall character of the speaker is a little warmer than the first. I really enjoyed it. It would be fabulous in a HT setup x 4 with matching magico sub!!

**kevinkwann** · June 16, 2016, 10:59 PM

Originally Posted by Mike

Keith - they are 86db. "The S1 Mk.II’s sensitivity is a modest 86dB -- par for the course for a two-way design -- and the nominal impedance is 4 ohms."

Not according to the NRC: "Sensitivity: 83.1dB (averaged 300Hz-3kHz on Listening Window, 2.83V/1m)"

**Face** · June 17, 2016, 08:58 AM

Originally Posted by kevinkwann

Not according to the NRC: "Sensitivity: 83.1dB (averaged 300Hz-3kHz on Listening Window, 2.83V/1m)"

http://www.salksound.com/wp/?p=56

**Elberoth** · June 17, 2016, 06:46 PM

Just got a pair of S1 mk2s setup while still waiting for my S5 mk2s.

**Mike** · June 17, 2016, 06:56 PM

Originally Posted by Elberoth

Just got a pair of S1 mk2s setup while still waiting for my S5 mk2s.

Pics please!

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**Elberoth** · June 20, 2016, 10:10 AM

Ask and you shall receive !

**bthomas9** · June 20, 2016, 10:18 AM

Thanks for the pics. Looks great!! How do they sound after having the s5's??

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**Mike** · June 20, 2016, 11:16 AM

Great looking Adam! How do you like them?

**bthomas9** · June 20, 2016, 11:26 AM

Ps...where's the TT?

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**Julot** · June 21, 2016, 03:26 AM

I have a dealer who has them and I must admit I spent an inordinate amount of time there, listening to music. Here in France Ayre electronics are being pushed with Magicos because they have the same distributor, but I wasn't fully convinced. I like the results with an all-Esoteric combo (I think K-05X and I-05) much better, even so there might have less depth and the small integrated was overwhelmed on big orchestral masses.

To me the basic criterion for judging gear is: do you come back to listen to more music? Do you want to listen to more, different music? Do you enjoy discovering new music on it? (OK, that's three, but you get the spirits) and the S1 mkII clearly passed. In fact, my sense was, they're not even that expensive (and yet 24k€...) because they provide a sui generis experience, something that is different enough, and a strong experience enough, that you understand it is in a league of its own.

I guess bigger Magicos can go lower, with faster, deeper bass, and thus also give a sense of better treble, but I can't say I missed anything when listening to those. I did feel like upgrading all that is upstream, though.

**Elberoth** · June 21, 2016, 04:30 AM

Originally Posted by Mike

Great looking Adam! How do you like them?

Didn't have the time to listen yet. I was out the whole weekend, yesterday I was on Steve Vai concert, today there is Poland vs Ukraine footbal match on Euro Cup ... Hopefully tomorrow

**Elberoth** · June 26, 2016, 06:16 PM

I have spent the last two days listening to them.

First impressions:

They certainly image much better than my S5s ever did. I'm not sure if that is due to the new mid and tweeter design, or much narrower baffle (I have never heard the original S1 mk 1 at home, so just speculating here). Stage depth is especially impressive. In terms of soundstaging, they are almost on the level of Vivids K-1, which is not a small feat, as to my ears Vivids are soundstaging champs.

The very deep bass and slam of my S5 dual 10 inch woofers is of course missing. As motorheads use to say - there is no replacement for displacement (woofer area in our case).

The similarly priced Vivids K-1 and Wilson Sabrinas certinnly have more bass and bass punch (larger woofers), but at the expense of some boominess (esp. the Sabrinas).

The S1s sound very, very smooth (which seems to be the hallmark of the Magico beryllium tweeter) and uncolored. I only wish they were a bit faster sounding - both the Vivids and Blumenhofers FS-3, which I also had at home (with a hornloaded tweeter and 90+ dB efficiency) sounded noticable faster and more imediate.

I think that my MSB monos may be at least partially responsible here - they are very sweet and full sounding, but a sheer transcient speed was never their forte. I think the S1s would be more happy with amps like the Vitus SM-011 monos (although no sane person would use $50k amps to drive $16.5k speakers, so my remark is more geared towards a general character).

I can't wait to listen to my S5s mk 2 !

**Cincy2** · October 21, 2016, 07:21 AM

My S1 Mk2 experience is coming to an end soon (I hope) as my M3's are due next month. I have to say the experience has been beyond pleasurable. I've put back a lot of the acoustic treatments in my room that I removed as part of my Raidho experiment. I have been rewarded by the S1Mk2's. The soundstage, presence and detail are superb. I shake my head wondering what the M3's will sound like if the S1 is this good.

One interesting note. With my side wall traps and sound planks back, I found the center image was overwhelming and I had to take out most of the toe-in (after I took these pictures) The center voice is still well defined but is now more balanced with the rest of the image. I did not spike these as they are temporary. I'm certain that would have produced further improvements in the sound as my room is carpeted.

Truth be told, I'm going to miss these little rascals when they get returned to Mike. I don't think he's got enough room for yet another set of speakers. Hopefully someone will give these a good home. They deserve it.

Cincy

**Rhapsody** · October 21, 2016, 08:38 AM

Originally Posted by Cincy2

My S1 Mk2 experience is coming to an end soon (I hope) as my M3's are due next month. I have to say the experience has been beyond pleasurable. I've put back a lot of the acoustic treatments in my room that I removed as part of my Raidho experiment. I have been rewarded by the S1Mk2's. The soundstage, presence and detail are superb. I shake my head wondering what the M3's will sound like if the S1 is this good.

One interesting note. With my side wall traps and sound planks back, I found the center image was overwhelming and I had to take out most of the toe-in (after I took these pictures) The center voice is still well defined but is now more balanced with the rest of the image. I did not spike these as they are temporary. I'm certain that would have produced further improvements in the sound as my room is carpeted.

Truth be told, I'm going to miss these little rascals when they get returned to Mike. I don't think he's got enough room for yet another set of speakers. Hopefully someone will give these a good home. They deserve it.

Cincy

Love your room....looks GREAT!!!

**Mike** · October 21, 2016, 08:39 AM

Eric - the wait is soon over. Glad you're loving the S1 mk2's, they are very special. As for M3's....they're on another planet entirely. Sleep now, because when your M3's arrive, insomnia will occur. Guaranteed.

I have my crew ready for the install. Looking forward to hearing them in your beautiful room.

**Kt77** · November 2, 2016, 12:14 PM

As always, I'd like to thank all of you for another insightful read. As there have only been 3 makes of floor standers in which I've ever heard that were capable of moving me to tears, said S1 MK IIs | Verity Audio Parsifal's | Rockport Technologies.

And this coming from a renowned proponent of Mini-Monitors, is saying a lot........, whom amongst those whom know me " would've thunk it? ".

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