Magico S3 (2023) Listening Impressions

Yes, good point. That's a reservation that I share. I will be present when the new S3s will be presented in the Netherlands in an upcoming show later this year and I will write a report about that as well. By then, I hope to have a better handle on the speakers' inherent performance. But so far, it's looking good!
 
I wanted to post a link to a YT vid with more info about the new S Sub but I'm not allowed to post links until I have reached 10 posts. So, here's post 7...
 
No doubt this will be crossed shopped with the newly announced Wilson Audio Sasha V.

Which surprisingly, the S3 2023 is less expensive (US MSRP) than the Sasha V.

45.5 K for the Magico and 48.9K for the Wilson. Both in their standard finishes.

Looking forward to the eventual comparisons.
 
The new Magico S3 was impressive in Munich. Haven’t heard the new Sasha; however, I’m quite sure it will be good as well. All subjective in terms of musical taste. Both among the best at their price point.
 
Wilson and Magico are indeed very different animals but both are exceptional in their own way. It should be mentioned that they do place different demands on the listening environment. Wilsons can be more difficult to integrate well in terms of bass response, especially in hard-floored and -walled Dutch homes. This makes it tricky to judge them in uncontrolled listening environments. They can be boomy but need not be. On the other hand, Magico can be sterile or flat but they also need not be. All that said, one of my favorite demos is still Wilson Alexia with Nagra in Munich some years ago with a very lifelike, LIVE, and realistic sound. But Magico also made a very strong case for itself with the S3 2023 in Munich this year, even if they used subs with DSP. In any case, I would say the new Sasha V is indeed also a good candidate in this price range.
 
So we received our new Magico S3 speakers and have had them set up and running in for a little bit.

After hearing the S3 here in our own setup I'm even more impressed! Everything I've said earlier about how good the S3 speakers is was evident in spades and I'm only going to double-down on it. Across the board the improvements to detail, clarity, speed, and tonal presentation are incredible.

Anyone considering Magico speakers for their next upgrade (or first pair) should be placing the new S3 speakers at the top of their list.
 
NekoAudio said:
So we received our new Magico S3 speakers and have had them set up and running in for a little bit.

After hearing the S3 here in our own setup I'm even more impressed! Everything I've said earlier about how good the S3 speakers is was evident in spades and I'm only going to double-down on it. Across the board the improvements to detail, clarity, speed, and tonal presentation are incredible.

Anyone considering Magico speakers for their next upgrade (or first pair) should be placing the new S3 speakers at the top of their list.
Click to expand...

Nice! Can’t wait for ours. You must have gone for black? The other colors are coming next. We went with Pewter.


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NekoAudio said:
So we received our new Magico S3 speakers and have had them set up and running in for a little bit.

After hearing the S3 here in our own setup I'm even more impressed! Everything I've said earlier about how good the S3 speakers is was evident in spades and I'm only going to double-down on it. Across the board the improvements to detail, clarity, speed, and tonal presentation are incredible.

Anyone considering Magico speakers for their next upgrade (or first pair) should be placing the new S3 speakers at the top of their list.
Click to expand...

I see you are a dealer for Vivid and I would be curios to know you impressions of how the new S3 compares to a comparably priced Giya model.
 
The diamond coated tweeter in S3 would give it a significant advantage over A5. But the A5 would make up ground with the extra 9" bass driver. They are difficult to compare on paper, you really need to listen to both in the same space.
 
Mike said:
Nice! Can’t wait for ours. You must have gone for black? The other colors are coming next. We went with Pewter.
Click to expand...

Yep, went with black. :)

Audio 1 said:
I see you are a dealer for Vivid and I would be curios to know you impressions of how the new S3 compares to a comparably priced Giya model.
Click to expand...

In my experience, people who prefer the Vivid Audio speakers over Magico speakers (or vice versa) have their preference because they are prioritizing different aspects when evaluating them. I think that will likely still apply for most people in the case of the new S3 compared to a Giya. Perhaps a bit of a diplomatic answer, but people really do seem to firmly end up in one camp or the other, instead of being pulled towards both.

pdxaudio said:
How would these compare to A5?
Click to expand...

The previous generation S-models already provided a big jump in performance over the A5, assuming you're not just evaluating based on raw SPL output. And the new S3 is so, so much better than the other S-models. Like brodricj mentioned, the A5 has an extra 9" bass driver and has a slightly higher maximum power rating (at comparable sensitivity), but the quality of bass on the new S3 is a lot better than the A5.
 
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