Thread: should i sell my S3MK2?!?!

Hello everybody, long time...
i enjoying my relatively new S3mk2 for a few months now, and like always my Audiophile head is running forward with Upgrades decisions. i was flipping a lot of gear last two years and recently all my analog set up was changed too. (you could see in my signature my all set up)

in the speakers department - although i LOVE my S3 mk2 a lot,- i was thinking maybe going all the way and get the M3 (sadly the M6 are not in my league) !
my room is very very small but Magico sealed box is contributing to the overall acoustics and air management along with my passive acoustic treatment around my walls.

the "problem" are:
1- the M3 is Very very expensive for my blood! its a huge step forward from anything i got till now days in a single piece of equipment. so i'm shaking in my pants to make the move although i could swing it some how.

2 - i don't think i will get nearly the M3 full potential in my room so the money issue is here too. (i don't think i'm getting from the S3MK2 his full potential also, but i love his 80-90% I AM getting. from others 100% speakers i tried).

3 - AND HERE is the spot that the plot are thickened: i was offered to make a Head to head switch for a few years old Q3!!!
so maybe this is the answer to my dilemma?!

what would you do\suggest?
will you get a Q3 instead of a S3MK2? (if we for now eliminates the M3 factor)
the Q3 is an awesome speakers . and i remember a few years ago people asking about it VS the S3MK1 and every single thread or post in the internet was 100% behind the Q3! as a superior and way better then any S around. small or medium rooms.
but there is the matter of the MK2 now, for a better drivers, sweeter sound, and of course new model instead of discontinued old model of sort.

oh sorry:
a few things i Know will be asked in this thread:
1 - yes i can listen to the Q3 but in a different house\system (i was listen to it a few tomes before, so i know how it sound but not with my system and in my house)
2 - no, i cant bring the Q3 in to my home and get an AB test between it and the S3MK2
3 - yes, it will be with no money exchange. the Q3 will be delivered by our Magico distributer and he will take back my S3MK2 to sell by himself.

any thought will be appreciate,
Thank you
A

Interesting question!

I can’t speak to the Q3 (having never listened to it) but I am also thinking of a speaker system upgrade sometime this year and to me the next logical step given my medium size room is adding a couple of subs to my S3 mk2.

I have no room for a sub nor I need any with my tiny room.
So that out of the question now.

ao back to topic
q3 instead of S3mk2 or not.

Unnecessarily brutal and far from a plain response - having a bad day?

Originally Posted by sharkmouth

It has nothing to do with the size of your room. Your comment, even though this will sound harsh & is not meant to be in any way & a plain response to what you wrote, shows your ignorance...

dont know why I deserve this comment from you, maybe I offended you somehow?
When i said I dont have a room for a sub! I meant it. I don’t have space in my room to put a sub woofer in a proper way. That all.
sorry for intruding the peace and quiet around audio shark.
Mike, hope to see you in Munich my friend.
ciao.

Aviad - I would not make the move down to the Q3’s. Yes, I said “down”. I really feel the S3 mk2 is a much more musical speaker and in fact, might just be the perfect speaker for your room.

What I would suggest is saving your pennies for the M3’s if you feel they could work in your room. Yes, it may take a couple of years, but it would be so worth it.

If not, enjoy the S3 mk2’s, because they work so well in the smallest of rooms.

Originally Posted by AJR

Unnecessarily brutal and far from a plain response - having a bad day?

honesty can be that way sometimes..............

to the Op, I think Mike's suggestion makes the most sense. Take some time to enjoy what you have !

This is almost always a friendly forum. Plenty of ways to correct, educate etc without calling someone ignorant.

Originally Posted by AJR

This is almost always a friendly forum. Plenty of ways to correct, educate etc without calling someone ignorant.

Agreed. If you haven't seen his room, how can you know what works and what doesn't? I have had the pleasure of spending several days with Aviad, and he is one of the smartest (and nicest) audio guys you will ever meet.

Even though the Q3 and Q1 were the best of the lot, I still feel for musicality and fit for room, if it ain't broke, don't fix it and even a contemplation of a move to the M3 would have to be in the category of "proceed with caution". The M3 has no problem pressurizing my 20 x 25 room, so it may in fact be too much speaker for a tiny room and I fear the Q3 may fit in that same category. Having voiced the S3 mk2's in Larry's small room, I was shocked at how well they integrated. I said to Larry, "I doubt there's a speaker on the market that would work better in this room." It's a real testament to the sealed cabinet and overall world class design of Magico loudspeakers.

I will also tell you, when Jim Smith was voicing the M3's in my 20 x 25 room, we tried for hours to dial in the subs. The result, he said, "they're adding nothing and probably taking something away." I agreed.

So subs aren't always the panacea that people think. They can work terrific in some rooms, but in others, not so much.

I agree with Mike. I think you will be much better off keeping the S series rather than switching to the Q. I had Q5's a while ago. Very difficult to drive. I've had S5's and now have S3's. I think the S series are far more user friendly and musical.

I also agree with Mike. I would say S3 Mk2 or M3 possibly but no Q3. Depending on your room dimensions, the M3 could be too much bass, even with its sealed cabinet. Bass traps could help if there’s an issue.

You may find post number 92 of interest to you.
http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showth...ghlight=Magico

Best of luck with your decision.

Ken

I have been pointing out the quality of the Q3’s on the forum before, but now even this excellent design is becoming of age in the short-lived hi-end world. Hence if you make a change I feel you should be getting some change in the process for the rather new S series.

I think Q3 might be more transparent, but the S mk2 might have a better top-to-bottom coherence. Hence I am not really sure whether a Q3 would be an upgrade or a sideways move.

I think it was stated earlier, before rushing into anything, rather move to the M3 when you can as those will clearly be next level. The positive thing is, you can hardly do anything wrong, only great choices on your list.

Just my 2 cts.



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Funny how similar our journeys are .

My room is 12ftx13ft and using S3’s (version 1). It took some work to get them setup, but the reward was worth it. The sealed box definitely lets me get away with a larger speaker in the room I feel. I would not think of going any bigger as well, as I don’t think I could make S5’s work in my small space.

While I have not heard the M3’s, I suspect they are my next step and I intend to search out an audition. Heard the Q3’s and preferred to keep my S3’s. For me, the S3’s were more musical.

Welcome to the forum, thank you for joining.

Originally Posted by jluhiex

The M3 is chump change compared to a full loom of double crown

Originally Posted by Tony007

I have been listening to Q3’s over 5 years now. I will tell you this.. There is no way in the world that I would let someone take these Q3’s from my room and bring me a set of S3 mk2 along with $25k cash and make me have to listen S3 mk2’s for the next 5 years. I am not suggesting in any way that the S3 mk2 is not a damn fine sounding product because it truly is. I am saying that I suggest you go for M3 if you can pull it off.

you are the first one in a lot of posts around here and other forums i raised the question that said that the Q3 is better (for him) then the s3, although you suggested keep up with the M3 and not the q3 I was suggested to take head to head.

thank you .

Originally Posted by Mike

Agreed. If you haven't seen his room, how can you know what works and what doesn't? I have had the pleasure of spending several days with Aviad, and he is one of the smartest (and nicest) audio guys you will ever meet.

Even though the Q3 and Q1 were the best of the lot, I still feel for musicality and fit for room, if it ain't broke, don't fix it and even a contemplation of a move to the M3 would have to be in the category of "proceed with caution". The M3 has no problem pressurizing my 20 x 25 room, so it may in fact be too much speaker for a tiny room and I fear the Q3 may fit in that same category. Having voiced the S3 mk2's in Larry's small room, I was shocked at how well they integrated. I said to Larry, "I doubt there's a speaker on the market that would work better in this room." It's a real testament to the sealed cabinet and overall world class design of Magico loudspeakers.

I will also tell you, when Jim Smith was voicing the M3's in my 20 x 25 room, we tried for hours to dial in the subs. The result, he said, "they're adding nothing and probably taking something away." I agreed.

So subs aren't always the panacea that people think. They can work terrific in some rooms, but in others, not so much.

thank you for the kind words my friend. in a matter of fact i will remember our friendly dinner last year for years to come as one of the picks of my years and years attending the Munich show. ! such a great conversation and brain storming about all is audio and music in the world!

regarding the subject in hand:
i hear you big mike! and of course i know if i move to the Q3 i was offered, instead of my S3MK2 its a bit of a side move with some elements upgraded and some lost (especially in the musicality department... ) but i was thinking maybe it will be more in the way of some of the abilities of a M3 without spending the "18 wheel track" of money for that.
but, no matter what would happand, you guys had me think about it again. no doubt!

BTW - i listen to music in average for 6-7 hours a day... so, music is my life sort of speak and i enjoy it a lot .

thank you all.

The S series has always sounded better than the Qs to me.

Originally Posted by Mike

The M3 has no problem pressurizing my 20 x 25 room, so it may in fact be too much speaker for a tiny room and I fear the Q3 may fit in that same category. Having voiced the S3 mk2's in Larry's small room, I was shocked at how well they integrated. I said to Larry, "I doubt there's a speaker on the market that would work better in this room." It's a real testament to the sealed cabinet and overall world class design of Magico loudspeakers.

Mike,

Your description about speakers (the M3s, but the particular speaker is irrelevant to the point I am about to try to make) “pressurizing” your room is fascinating. It is a great way (at least for me) to visualize how to solve the ‘problem’ of matching speakers to the geometry of a particular listening room - ie is the ‘space’ in the room being filled up (in a balanced way) by the music coming from your speakers? This was one of the first things you said to me when I asked AS for guidance as to whether the S3 or S5 would make the best sense in my medium room. This will be obvious for some but for example in my 16” x 25” room the S7s would be too much. The S5s maybe also. But the S3s are perfect.

I for one would love to hear an A/B comparison in Aviad’s room (and mine!) between the S3 mk2 and the M3.

Given I have a medium size room with room for sub woofers, I would also love to test the M3s and the S3mk2s + two decent subwoofers.

Originally Posted by RDSChicago

Psychology 101. If you don’t get the ones you really want (M) you will never be satisfied with the Q and will in all likelihood regret going for a top of the line yet somewhat obsolete model compared to the S II’s you now own.

Keep the S until you stumble across a pair of M’s under ideal circumstances, comparable to the opportunity you appear to have right now to trade your S for a Q. I bet it won’t take all that long for such an opportunity to knock at your door.

Easy to to be objective with someone else’s decision …

you are absolutely right!
but, M3 or either M's dont exist around, i will be the first one to have if i ordered it, as i was the first one who had the S3MK2 around.
so, i dont know when and if such of opportunity will appear
the Q3 flip is rare as 4 leaf shamrock around my area... so i was jumping out my chair when i was got the call..
but, i guess you are right and unless il get the M3 im not done... but maybe with the Q3 on hand i could be more happy then with my S3MK2?!
i dont know....

Originally Posted by RDSChicago

Sheryl Crow in her song “Soak up the Sun” says the key to happiness is not getting what you want, but wanting what you’ve got.

If she was an audiophile, she's now cured (or she sings it as a mantra to get cured)...

Well. After I read the whole posts on this thread. I think you just have to scratch your itches. I don’t think you can really digest all these great advices at this moment and I know exactly how you feeling


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I apologize upfront for the total off - maybe M3 on the 4 wheels sorts the problem...you go for a spin on Nurburgring crank the music inside and you are healed for a while...