Magico S3

TARA labs?
OMG! That is sufficient to function as the main cable coming from a power plant!
Schermafbeelding_2014_12_27_om_20_50_05.jpg


Like here in the largest power plant in the world, the Three Gorges Dam in China, they could replace all the individual cables by one Tara labs cable!

Schermafbeelding_2014_12_27_om_20_53_59.jpg
 
Hey Joe, So you liked the S3's with the Rogers integrated. Hum….. imagine that….. Yes I have heard properly set up 5's. Fantastic. I just prefer the 3's in my system and room size.
 
I did, but a friend I was with wasn't crazy about that combo. I'm not sure what to make of it but I think I'd have no problem living with it long term.

I also have to admit that I did not hear it in triode mode. I did love the Viva SET integrated more on the S1 and S5 and can only imagine the Viva SET on the S3 would have been perfect.

What are you using or plan on using on your S3?

Hey Joe, So you liked the S3's with the Rogers integrated. Hum….. imagine that….. Yes I have heard properly set up 5's. Fantastic. I just prefer the 3's in my system and room size.
 
Doesn't the midrange chamber on the S3 which the S1 and S5 do NOT have give it a leg up? This is my understanding, anyway.
 
I did, but a friend I was with wasn't crazy about that combo. I'm not sure what to make of it but I think I'd have no problem living with it long term.

I also have to admit that I did not hear it in triode mode. I did love the Viva SET integrated more on the S1 and S5 and can only imagine the Viva SET on the S3 would have been perfect.

What are you using or plan on using on your S3?

What type of music did you hear with the S3? I heard the Viva on the small M1 (?) and it really didn't cut it. Pretty but for only small stuff. Not much transparency and bass was wooley. Maybe the S3 is different.
 
As good as the S3 is, that S1 is an incredible sounding speaker. Cyril and I demoed it together and we loved it. I think we heard it directly against the Q1....but can't remember.
 
The music was not very dynamic, vocals and mostly acoustic. It was pretty and sounded great but I'm sure could use more power.

What type of music did you hear with the S3? I heard the Viva on the small M1 (?) and it really didn't cut it. Pretty but for only small stuff. Not much transparency and bass was wooley. Maybe the S3 is different.
 
Doesn't the midrange chamber on the S3 which the S1 and S5 do NOT have give it a leg up? This is my understanding, anyway.

The midrange is really superb on the S3. Is it just because of the chamber or the entire design, not sure, but it is very rich and liquid sounding.
 
Has anyone here heard the Devialet 120 with the S3's? Jeff Fritz lost his mind over this piece. It would be nice to simplify my setup as I transition back to 2 channel from HT (Classe SSP-800 and McIntosh 207 amps).
 
Has anyone here heard the Devialet 120 with the S3's? Jeff Fritz lost his mind over this piece. It would be nice to simplify my setup as I transition back to 2 channel from HT (Classe SSP-800 and McIntosh 207 amps).

Just before Christmas I listened to the S3 with the Devialet 800 after hearing them with the Soulution 530. After a half hour I asked him to go back to the Soulution which I preferred.
 
Just before Christmas I listened to the S3 with the Devialet 800 after hearing them with the Soulution 530. After a half hour I asked him to go back to the Soulution which I preferred.

The Soulution is a MUCH better amp. The Devialet is grossly overrated, for a true High Fidelity experience, IMO.
 
Just before Christmas I listened to the S3 with the Devialet 800 after hearing them with the Soulution 530. After a half hour I asked him to go back to the Soulution which I preferred.

Interesting - do you know if SAM was enabled with S3 profile and/or if it was using the D/A or A/D?

By the way, isn't the Soulution something like 10x the price of the Devialet? Where did you find the D not to your liking?
 
Interesting - do you know if SAM was enabled with S3 profile and/or if it was using the D/A or A/D?

By the way, isn't the Soulution something like 10x the price of the Devialet? Where did you find the D not to your liking?

SAM was turned off. The unit had just returned from being loaned for audition. When something didn't sound right at all when we first switched to the 800 they guessed correctly that SAM had been left on. Once SAM was turned off for my listening everything sounded pretty good but I thought something was missing compared to the 530. When we swapped back to the 530 everything sounded better.

I do not think that there is that large of a gap between the 530 integrated and a 800. Someone with more knowledge of both products will have to respond.

I am not knocking the Devialet. Maybe with other speakers or with SAM it might have faired better. If I was interested in a second system it might be a great starting point. I would save a lot of money on cables.
 
SAM was turned off. The unit had just returned from being loaned for audition. When something didn't sound right at all when we first switched to the 800 they guessed correctly that SAM had been left on. Once SAM was turned off for my listening everything sounded pretty good but I thought something was missing compared to the 530. When we swapped back to the 530 everything sounded better.

I do not think that there is that large of a gap between the 530 integrated and a 800. Someone with more knowledge of both products will have to respond.

I am not knocking the Devialet. Maybe with other speakers or with SAM it might have faired better. If I was interested in a second system it might be a great starting point. I would save a lot of money on cables.

Jim, was the source was analog or digital? My initial research is the 120 has different DAC from the 800 and that the A/D conversion is not so good and that it's a better unit in the digital domain. Again, I have no horse in this race other than wanting to see what is the best solution for driving the S3 to its apex without having to spend SOTA type money. I like the simplicity and the bang for the buck seems to be off the charts as I sold all my audio gear when attempting to achieve a stellar home theater system. In fact, Jeff Fritz's experience with the 120 was so powerful he's given up the world's best audio system on account of it: SoundStage! Ultra | SoundStageUltra.com (UltraAudio.com) | Closing the Curtain on TWBAS. For me, this means not having to do a ton of research on what is best out here and having a DAC, pre and amp in a single unit saves not only money but time and effort to have to voice an entire system around S3. The synergies Jeff describes are intriguing but am also open to other input for people who have experienced a good synergy with the S3.
 
I only listened to digital that day using Aurender out to MSB when using the Soulution and I believe Aurender to the Devialet.

I have no idea who Jeff Fritz is or know anything about UltraAudio so I don't know what his references are. All I can tell you is that without SAM on the 800 in this set-up was not a world class set-up, not even close. As you note it isn't priced that way either. If you go that way you will have a very fine set-up for a very reasonable price and you should be happy. There is no one best pairing for everyone on the S3's.
 
The Soulution is a MUCH better amp. The Devialet is grossly overrated, for a true High Fidelity experience, IMO.

Have to disagree. Devialet is proof of God. Soulution is massively overpriced designed to separate naive audiophiles from their money IMO.
 
Back
Top