Magico S3 mk2 vs Dynaudio Contour 60

Nataraja said:
I have never listened to RI-100, but the reviews - both from magazines and customers are great. So many people in love with this amp... I understand that it is not in the league of SIA-025 but it is half the price and since it would be a replacement for a Devialet, I was just wondering. Anyway, thank you for the opinion, I would be interested to read more of your and other guys experience of the combo Magico S3 II / S5 II + Vitus RI-100.
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Nataraja - as we've been discussing via PM, I hope you get to audition the Gryphon Diablo 300. I'm sure in Europe there is plenty of places to hear one. :)
 
Evening All - I'm a newcomer to Audioshark & see this is an old thread but had to chime in here because the OP's relatively unique journey in terms of Focal experience, then Dynaudio C60/Magico decision and then Gryphon is so similar to mine. And I thought I was alone!

AJR, I actually bought the C60's - to replace too-bright Sopra 2's (feel familiar?!) and to calm a Naim presentation too harsh on leading edges. I used a Mcintosh pre amp to further warm-up the Naim amp before ditching the lot for the stunning and infinitely more sophisticated Diablo 300. Sound, now, is fabulous in every respect - big airy soundstage, palpable lead instruments and vocals, masses of definition and micro detail with no brightness, almost tube-like warmth, great delicacy and utterly non-fatiguing. A far more revealing and sophisticated speaker than the Sopra 2. The bass is wonderful but the speakers needed a lot of careful position-tweaking before it got like that. My only gripe would be that, sometimes, some key elements in tracks which were obvious with Naim are a little bit veiled and buried at back of soundstage, which reduces the 'toe-tapping' element. I'm really curious about whether the S3's might change this & make a great set-up, perfect? I don't expect (and don't want) it to be in any way Naim-like; but do think there might be a bit more left to come.

Incidentally, you were thinking about cables? My speaker cable is Naim Super Lumina and I've found nothing better balanced including TQ Black Diamond and Furutech Speakerflux. XLR's are HFC Reveal - same as above. Real game changer was an Audioquest Coffee USB cable. Latter wa like a lens snapping into focus and everything became much more 'in the room'. It was a far from subtle change. Hope this helps.

So - to Magico or not?
 
Hi eagle3333,

Congrats on the C60 speakers. I am enjoying my C30s .... although I have plans to move into the C60 when my dedicated room is built this year.

I have not had the pleasure of hearing any Magico speaker so I cannot offer any insight to how it may differ with respect to your C60 or Gryphon amp.

As you can see reading through this thread, lots of Magico fans here, I’m sure you will get some good responses.

Magico has a new $10k speaker, A3, IIRC. That would be an interesting comparison. This thread was comparing the $30k S3mk2 and $10k C60. I’m sure the Magico is a better speaker. It all comes down to what’s it worth to you.


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The C60 is quite remarkable at its price point, j3'. I should have checked-out the C30's really but thought I'd always lust after the bigger brother.. In the UK, the Sopra 2 is 33% more expensive than C60, yet latter is multiple times better than the Sopra in every department, unless you prefer a very fast, in-your-face, bright presentation - Sopra is very forward. (I've lived with both on the end of same electronics, but do acknowledge that different electronics can produce a different result..) Sometimes, though, maybe cost isn't necessarily an indicator of relative performance quality.

Yes, that $10k Magico comparison would be interesting. I assume it's a 2-way at that price? Hard to imagine it bettering the 3-way C60.
 
That was very interesting, thanks Kuoppis - and the Magico is 3-way. At the price, I'm pleasantly surprised. Just about all of the writer's comments could easily have applied to the C60 in the context of Sopra 2. What worries me about the Magico S range is what I read from time to time about brightness - this article being no different. Even Alon seems to acknowledge it in this review. I have ears over-sensitive to high frequencies and brightness hurts me before it hurts most folks. Anyway, kind of pointless writing about it as it's all relative. I'll just have to listen for myself in my room. But, great to see a more affordable 3-way Magico.
 
eagle3333 said:
That was very interesting, thanks Kuoppis - and the Magico is 3-way. At the price, I'm pleasantly surprised. Just about all of the writer's comments could easily have applied to the C60 in the context of Sopra 2. What worries me about the Magico S range is what I read from time to time about brightness - this article being no different. Even Alon seems to acknowledge it in this review. I have ears over-sensitive to high frequencies and brightness hurts me before it hurts most folks. Anyway, kind of pointless writing about it as it's all relative. I'll just have to listen for myself in my room. But, great to see a more affordable 3-way Magico.
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If you prefer a smoother top-end the something like the Dynaudio Esotar or Wilson silk dome or a Sonus Faber sound signature might be of interest for you.

Personally I like the latest Sonus Fabers, the Serefino sounded great with ARC gear:

http://www.sonusfaber.com/en-us/products/serafino-tradition


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I don’t like ‘bright’ HF speakers at all (one of the reasons I didn’t like the Sopras) and I don’t find the S3 mk2s bright at all. Detailed and ‘forward’, yes. But not ‘bright’.

Agree that the C60s are amazingly good value for money. That’s why I felt they were a worthy comparison to the S3 mk2s, despite the price difference.

A C60 v A10 showdown would be very interesting!

Let us know how tour testing goes!
 
Agree with Kuoppis re SF. I listened to the new SF Amati Traditions with a Pass Labs power amp and an AR pre amp. That combo sounded fantastic. Very ‘warm’ but still detailed. But I prefer the Diablo + S3 mk2 combination. I mainly listen to hard/alternative rock and electronica so that may (or may not) have something to do with it.
 
AJR, since you're familiar with the Sopra and the C60 yours is probably the most accurate reference to relative 'brightness', in my context, that I could hope to get; so that gives me great confidence. A wee bit more forward but without brightness would be perfect. I'll feedback as and when.
 
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts! Hope you have as much fun testing as I did.

A word to the wise: I tested the C60s and S3 mk2s numerous times and in that order (and on separate dealer’s systems, which is not ideal of course hence the importance of testing at home with your amp, other gear and room acoustics). After listening to the C60s first then shortly after the Magicos, my first reaction was always ‘where is the visceral bass feeling’ with the Magicos (I am a bass-head so bass is always what jumps out at me first). The Magicos would go deeper and were more precise but I wouldn’t ‘feel’ it like I did with the C60s. I then reversed testing order, would love the bass in the Magicos, and then when I listened to the C60s my immediate reaction was that the bass was a bit ‘flabby’ and too dominant. Once I got over that hump, I then realised that the Magicos had more detail in the mid and high ranges and generally produced a more unified, coherent soundscape. And with ‘better’ bass. So a full 180.

Having listened to them for many hundreds of hours now, particularly now paired with the Diablo, I can say that the bass produced by the S3 mk2s is awesome. Deep, rich, precise and also (when cranked up) visceral.

I have also been toying with the idea of an S-Sub. Not because I feel the S3s lack bass, but to see what the overall sonic improvements will be. That is a project for later this year...
 
Sounds excellent! My C60's were on a Naim amp originally. IME Naim rob the mid bass and bump-up the rest to give a thrilling ride, but one that is therefore compromised in subtle detail, texture.. So I'm used to a lean bass sound. By comparison, the C60's on Gryphon produce a lot more 'wafty' bass than on Naim (bit unfair because it's still very controlled) and I've always had the feeling that the extent of it may interfere with mid and high range a little, in my room, resulting in a bit less excitement to the sound. I don't need to feel my bass - I'm probably older than you! And play a lot of acoustic, female solo etc.. So what you're describing does sound like my nirvana.
 
I would say that break-in for the C60's was a revelatory experience that I haven't experienced with anything else. After about 200hrs bass generation & focus tightened up enormously from where it was and that Esotar tweeter became so liquid.. It'll be a fascinating comparison.
 
eagle3333 said:
I would say that break-in for the C60's was a revelatory experience that I haven't experienced with anything else. After about 200hrs bass generation & focus tightened up enormously from where it was and that Esotar tweeter became so liquid.. It'll be a fascinating comparison.
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You would find a similar break-in experience with S3 Mk IIs.
 
Agree with GSOphile. I actually had a scary few moments when at about the 150-200 hour mark I noticed a lack of top bass and low end treble. Kuoppis put me at ease by saying it would return. And it did. And the bass tightened and deepened and it all came together beautifully around the 250 hour mark. Then it just got better and better. Was fascinating.
 
AJR said:
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts! Hope you have as much fun testing as I did.

A word to the wise: I tested the C60s and S3 mk2s numerous times and in that order (and on separate dealer’s systems, which is not ideal of course hence the importance of testing at home with your amp, other gear and room acoustics). After listening to the C60s first then shortly after the Magicos, my first reaction was always ‘where is the visceral bass feeling’ with the Magicos (I am a bass-head so bass is always what jumps out at me first). The Magicos would go deeper and were more precise but I wouldn’t ‘feel’ it like I did with the C60s. I then reversed testing order, would love the bass in the Magicos, and then when I listened to the C60s my immediate reaction was that the bass was a bit ‘flabby’ and too dominant. Once I got over that hump, I then realised that the Magicos had more detail in the mid and high ranges and generally produced a more unified, coherent soundscape. And with ‘better’ bass. So a full 180.

Having listened to them for many hundreds of hours now, particularly now paired with the Diablo, I can say that the bass produced by the S3 mk2s is awesome. Deep, rich, precise and also (when cranked up) visceral.

I have also been toying with the idea of an S-Sub. Not because I feel the S3s lack bass, but to see what the overall sonic improvements will be. That is a project for later this year...
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Although I listen mostly to large scale classical and jazz, I came to a similar conclusion regarding the Magico bass after listening at length to Aerial 7Ts, Wilson Sophia 3s, and B&W 802-D3s. If you're not familiar with the Magico bass, IMO it's something of an acquired taste, as AJR describes. Once you've got it, hard to go back.
IMO another advantage of Magico's sealed-box design is that they are less sensitive to room/placement issues to get good results.
 
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