Magico S1 mk2's - 2 way magic

BayStBroker,

Congrats on the new S1 MK IIs.

Would love to see a picture.

 
I guess this means I'm not getting them back... ;-)

Have fun with them. They are awesome speakers eh.


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The S1 mk2's at Eric's (on loan from me). We are both patiently awaiting our M3's!


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I finally received my Transparent Speaker Cables back from their Gen 5 upgrade yesterday. I hooked them up to Mike's loane S1's and sat down for a listening session. I've upgraded my Ref XL and Opus speaker cables several times over the years. They always take 50 to 100 hours to open up so these initial impressions of the S1Mk2 are subject to that limitation.

First- I couldn't believe how easy it was for the D'Ag's to drive these things. I am driving the mono's direct from the dCS Vivaldi DAC with a 6V output selected. I had to crank the volume way down to get to a listenable level. The needles on the Mono's (that never moved much anyway) now don't even blip when listening at volumes that annoy my wife. Very sensitive speakers. Very sensitive wife also but that's another story.

Mid range. My first test of a speaker is always a file from one of Sara K's Chesky recordings. She has a very earthy sound that tells you what the mid range driver is doing. Passed that test with flying colors. The speaker reproduced the chesty sound I love. Same with Cecilia Bartoli on her Decca recordings. Just ethereal.

Tweeter speed. I've got a few disks that have lots of percussive effects. The Raidho's I had to sell reproduced these better than any speaker I ever have owned or heard. The S1's didn't surpass the Raidho's but the shimmer and detail was a lot better than it had the right to be for a speaker at this price point. Still very very good just not the airy-ness and incredible detail of the Raidho ribbon tweeter. This would not be a deal killer for me because of the other baggage that came with the Raidho D3's.

Most impressive quality - Balance. A good classical or acoustic guitar plays bass and trebles with equal volume and gives you the feeling the sound spectrum is fully integrated with no segment standing out above the others. So it is with this speaker. I found myself getting sucked into the presentation because it was neat and tidy and everything was where I expected it to be at the proper level.

I've only owned one other two way speaker, a Thiel offering many many years ago before Jim's untimely death. It was one of my first audiophile grade speakers and I remember it vividly. It was good but the S1 is great.

Oh yeah..One more point. The bass. I had to lose the Raidho's because I couldn't get the bass to work in my room with all other parameters the way I like them. The first track I played was a cover of Spanish Harlem by Rebecca Pidgeon. It starts out with a heavy bass line that boomed like crazy with the Raidho's regardless of what I did to tweak them. The S1's handled it with aplomb. Tight, articulate and no resonance whatsoever. I am fully converted to sealed box speakers, especially for my mid size / smallish listening room.

Having heard Magico's S1's I can only imagine (for the next four months unfortunately) what their juggernaut M3's will sound like. Tick tock. I'll update this thread over the next month or so as I get more familiar with the speakers.

Cincy
 
Cincy,

I consider myself a sealed box convert as well. Since I sold my S5 mk 1s in December, I spent the last couple of months playing with different speakers (I have the S1 mk 2 right now). The ONLY speakers which bass I really liked was ATC SCM7 and 11, which happen to be ... another sealed box design !

The Sabrinas were especially boomy in my room, to the point I had to put two bath sponges into the reflex port to tame the bass, making it basicly a semi-closed design.

The S1 mk 2 are breaking in quite nicely, although I will probably get my S5 mk2s sooner than I break in those completely.

The one single quality that impressed me the most, apart from all the usuall Magico-magic, is soundstaging, especially the soundstage depth. The S1s can disappear like the best minimonitors.
 
Cincy2 said:
I am driving the mono's direct from the dCS Vivaldi DAC with a 6V output selected. I had to crank the volume way down to get to a listenable level.
Click to expand...

With the M400's 26.5 db gain they need 2.7V input for full power so the 2V output option of the Vivaldi DAC should be better with less digital attenuation and clipping protection.
 
I am new to sealed box and to Magico, which I've long admired. On Monday I am installing the PS Audio BHK300 monoblocks. For the moment my Rogue tube amp is driving the S1's to musical satisfaction. But I sense that I am living with a sleeping giant...
 
BayStBroker said:
I am new to sealed box and to Magico, which I've long admired. On Monday I am installing the PS Audio BHK300 monoblocks. For the moment my Rogue tube amp is driving the S1's to musical satisfaction. But I sense that I am living with a sleeping giant...
Click to expand...

That's great.

Once again, would love to see a picture.
 
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I too was strucked by the soundstage and depth. But I like the capacity for nuance even more, that they sound great at very low volume, and what really sets them apart for me are the incredibly crisp attacks. I wonder if some harmonics are not lost however, but I would probably need to work with more resolving electronics than the I5 (which I just started in the picture).
 

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Cincy2 said:
I finally received my Transparent Speaker Cables back from their Gen 5 upgrade yesterday. I hooked them up to Mike's loane S1's and sat down for a listening session. I've upgraded my Ref XL and Opus speaker cables several times over the years. They always take 50 to 100 hours to open up so these initial impressions of the S1Mk2 are subject to that limitation.

First- I couldn't believe how easy it was for the D'Ag's to drive these things. I am driving the mono's direct from the dCS Vivaldi DAC with a 6V output selected. I had to crank the volume way down to get to a listenable level. The needles on the Mono's (that never moved much anyway) now don't even blip when listening at volumes that annoy my wife. Very sensitive speakers. Very sensitive wife also but that's another story.

Mid range. My first test of a speaker is always a file from one of Sara K's Chesky recordings. She has a very earthy sound that tells you what the mid range driver is doing. Passed that test with flying colors. The speaker reproduced the chesty sound I love. Same with Cecilia Bartoli on her Decca recordings. Just ethereal.

Tweeter speed. I've got a few disks that have lots of percussive effects. The Raidho's I had to sell reproduced these better than any speaker I ever have owned or heard. The S1's didn't surpass the Raidho's but the shimmer and detail was a lot better than it had the right to be for a speaker at this price point. Still very very good just not the airy-ness and incredible detail of the Raidho ribbon tweeter. This would not be a deal killer for me because of the other baggage that came with the Raidho D3's.

Most impressive quality - Balance. A good classical or acoustic guitar plays bass and trebles with equal volume and gives you the feeling the sound spectrum is fully integrated with no segment standing out above the others. So it is with this speaker. I found myself getting sucked into the presentation because it was neat and tidy and everything was where I expected it to be at the proper level.

I've only owned one other two way speaker, a Thiel offering many many years ago before Jim's untimely death. It was one of my first audiophile grade speakers and I remember it vividly. It was good but the S1 is great.

Oh yeah..One more point. The bass. I had to lose the Raidho's because I couldn't get the bass to work in my room with all other parameters the way I like them. The first track I played was a cover of Spanish Harlem by Rebecca Pidgeon. It starts out with a heavy bass line that boomed like crazy with the Raidho's regardless of what I did to tweak them. The S1's handled it with aplomb. Tight, articulate and no resonance whatsoever. I am fully converted to sealed box speakers, especially for my mid size / smallish listening room.

Having heard Magico's S1's I can only imagine (for the next four months unfortunately) what their juggernaut M3's will sound like. Tick tock. I'll update this thread over the next month or so as I get more familiar with the speakers.

Cincy
Click to expand...

After several more hours with these speakers, I am even more impressed. I have been fooling with their position in my room. I pushed them back towards the rear wall and moved my listening position farther back. The speaker faces are currently five feet from my front wall, eight feet apart center to center and the path distance from my ear to the tweeter is 11'6". My ears are three feet from the back wall. The soundstage is huge. The center image is firm despite the fact I have yet to dial in any speaker toe-in. This helps create the spacious soundstage. I continue to be amazed at the sensitivity. I have to turn down the volume on all of my critical listening files. I don't know how they manage that with so little driver area. I expect further soundstage improvement as my upgraded Opus speaker cables break in. Previous cable upgrades took about 50 hours to fully open up. I've only got about 10 so far and I just love what I'm hearing. Thanks again to Mike for the loan.

Eric
 
Update:

My TA speaker cables are breaking in nicely and now the S1 Mk2 soundstage is revealing itself. No small, "inexpensive" speaker should sound this good. I'm growing fond of the tweeter. While it doesn't have the shimmering detail and air of the Raidho ribbon, it does have a beautiful, saturated sound that plays nicely with the fat trebles my D'Ag's produce. The attack on percussive instruments is fast and the timbres are accurate. Easily a match for my front end. Great overall speaker and I'm happy to have the chance to get to know them while my M3's are under construction

Eric
 
Eric, I'm running my S1 Mk2's with the new PS Audio BHK300 Monos and Nordost Frey 2 speaker cables. There are 6922s in my preamp and in the input stage of the BHK's, so the sound is likely very different from your rig's. But I recognize your description of the new Magico 2-way's sound as the speakers in my listening room. I would add that the difference in SQ between a very good recording and a very mediocre/poor one is vast when played over S1 Mk2's.
 
BayStBroker said:
I would add that the difference in SQ between a very good recording and a very mediocre/poor one is vast when played over S1 Mk2's.
Click to expand...

I agree but that is the reality for any audio system that emphasizes transparency. With me, that "truth" for better or for worse is essential.

Eric
 
I understand why some want brutal transparency but there is so much good music that was recorded terribly that you just can't enjoy anymore. I'm so glad I finally gave in and went coloured, I quit listening to the speaker and started listening to the music again.
 
Dr Tone said:
I understand why some want brutal transparency but there is so much good music that was recorded terribly that you just can't enjoy anymore. I'm so glad I finally gave in and went coloured, I quit listening to the speaker and started listening to the music again.
Click to expand...

I think it all comes back to the source. When you hear some A2D conversions, especially early ones, you want to run for the hills. Frankly, I don't have any albums that are as bad as some of my CD's from the 80's.

Jerry was over the other day and I had him compare a 1962 first pressing of Peter, Paul and Mary's debut album to the CD. The difference was night and day. The vinyl had body, detail, tonality, etc. The CD was just nasty.

There are hundreds of examples like this.

That being said, an album like Chris Jones' Roadhouses and Automobiles shows just how good the entire process can be - even on CD - when done properly.


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