M
Great review!
"It’s the finest two-way speaker I’ve heard."
"It’s the finest two-way speaker I’ve heard."
KeithR
Active member
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."
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Kuoppis
New member
- Joined
- Jan 19, 2015
- Messages
- 5,203
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.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
I had no issues driving the S1 mk2 with the Vitus SS-103, Devialet 400 or a single VAC Sig 200iQ.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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!!
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
New member
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2014
- Messages
- 106
Not according to the NRC: "Sensitivity: 83.1dB (averaged 300Hz-3kHz on Listening Window, 2.83V/1m)"
Face
New member
Great looking Adam! How do you like them?
Julot
New member
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.
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.
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
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 !
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 !
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
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
