Kuoppis
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Magico S5 mk2
- Thread starter vagabundo
- Start date
They are terrific speakers
. I know the Harbeth 40.2 uses a ferro-cooled soft dome tweeter. Perhaps other models use different tweeters?Regarding the greater frequency response of Magico's BE tweeter vs typical soft domes, yes I agree & prefer tweeters which extend to 40kHz and beyond. My speakers use the Infinity Emit-R planar tweeter which is fairly flat to 40kHz. I think tweeters which roll off at 20 & 30kHz miss a bit of 'sparkle' in the highest octaves, perhaps because in the upper range of human hearing tweeters like the Emit and BE domes are flatter up to 20kHz, whereas soft domes as you said tend to roll off well below 30kHz. Anyway, that's a subject for another thread.
Btw, Nile added this commentary in the Axpona pics thread -
Mike has a good ear, so i'm leaning toward his take on this :audiophile:
Here's my two cents: after listening to an assortment of speakers this past weekend, I kept coming back to the Magico S5 mk2 room. I think I was in that room 10-15 times. What I noticed was how consistently good the Magico room was. I have a whole new appreciation for their linearity. I could not believe how good they sounded in a hotel room! There were no self-imposed mid-bass humps. There were no ports to cause confusion. There was only a very musical, linear, balanced sound that when played with familiar vinyl, was absolutely amazing. At times the tape sounded nice, but at other times, the recordings were uniquely miked and the songs unfamiliar to me.
I am so excited to get my pair and hear them with all the new VAC gear I have coming.
I am so excited to get my pair and hear them with all the new VAC gear I have coming.
FlexibleAudio
Member
Yes they are extremely linear. More so than any speaker I have ever heard (whether that is a good thing is in the eye of the beholder).
The top end is something I find remarkable but am one of those whom fears I would not want to live with them over the long term. I guess I must be counted as one of those with sensitive (bad?) ears at the higher frequencies. I never liked Wilson's high end until this show and thought what they did with the new silk tweeter in the Alexx was absolutely wonderful. I have always loved the YG top end (am not how there forged core architecture works but to me its sounds very different than this speaker). I obviously like Raidho's. I think if you like the Raidho highs you should carefully audition this speaker because they are certainly not the same things.
I found the mkii to be a double down on the Magico philosophy of extreme linearity and resolution rather than a move back toward a musically "tuned" sound like that used by many designers. If you like that you will love these speakers like no other. They are truly unique.
The top end is something I find remarkable but am one of those whom fears I would not want to live with them over the long term. I guess I must be counted as one of those with sensitive (bad?) ears at the higher frequencies. I never liked Wilson's high end until this show and thought what they did with the new silk tweeter in the Alexx was absolutely wonderful. I have always loved the YG top end (am not how there forged core architecture works but to me its sounds very different than this speaker). I obviously like Raidho's. I think if you like the Raidho highs you should carefully audition this speaker because they are certainly not the same things.
I found the mkii to be a double down on the Magico philosophy of extreme linearity and resolution rather than a move back toward a musically "tuned" sound like that used by many designers. If you like that you will love these speakers like no other. They are truly unique.
Kuoppis
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Understand where you are coming from. The reason I have S3s and not S5s is their musicality. I'm not able to comment on the S5 mkIIs before High End in a couple of weeks, but e.g. the Q3s are too cold to my liking - even though they are superb in many respects.
Interesting write-up by Steve Guttenberg about this in current Stereophile editorial, incl. comments from Andrew Jones, Paul Barton, Nelson Pass and alikes.
Essentially, our ears are different and we like different things, so there is no universal truth. And in my book, why should there be?
FlexibleAudio
Member
True dat.
If I was a gazillionaire and world hunger had been fixed, I think I would have three systems:
1) The one I have;
2) A set amp and source with high efficiency speakers; and
3) A Magico rig.
For me it would be in that order; the more gazzillioniare-ish I was the more rigs. Each represents something pretty unique in the hobby imo.
Sorry, but that is simply not true. Floyd Toole and others have showed clearly that in blind tests people preferences are very similar. But when we see things, and get to inject our prejudice into the equation, we suddenly all have different opinions. So yes, we do "hear" differently but sound has very little to do with it.
FlexibleAudio
Member
Well, I guess that settles that discussion: so every product which polarizes our community is wholly a function of irrational prejudice. Digital versus analog; DSD versus PCM; tube versus solid state; silver versus copper; each category has a respective best (or equivalency) that could be proven by testing and the wars are all due to our misconceptions. Man am I glad that is finally resolved; this whole process has been such a struggle. I am going to sleep like a baby tonight.
Dr Tone
Banned
Unless I'm mistaken, the Revel Salon 2 tweeter is beryllium and it is one of the best tweeters in the world.
FlexibleAudio
Member
Are you referring to the S5's at Axpona?
KeithR
Active member
Agree with you very much Kuoppis. Particularly with speakers, there isn't one model for the masses which is a great thing. Its also the reason I don't get JV and the Absolute Sound.
As a corollary, when folks ask for speaker recommendations I try to understand what they are looking for first for in a speaker and not nominate what I like the best.
Dr Tone
Banned
No, the ones in my Focals. Yes off topic but I couldn't help but reply to that one remark.
+ 1. I spent a fair bit of time in my friend's room listening to his fully run in S5 Mk1's & they were smooth & easy to listen to over long listening sessions. Perhaps his Vitus amps & Jorma cables helped? As kzhtoo said, with hard domes a little warmth/softness in the chain helps.
MDP
Behavior Moderator (be nice police!)
Mike couldn't be more right on this subject.
Anyone who thinks that a beryllium tweeter can't sound sweet, needs to listen to a Revel tweeter!
FlexibleAudio
Member
C'mon David you don't have to keep referring to yourself as your friend; I (we) are happy to have you back. I vote we should have you invite your friend back with his record expunged for good behavior and time served.
Mods: What say you????
I've received multiple complaints from Tom about this. He insists David is his friend and he is not David. I would suggest we move on. We are happy to have Tom.
FlexibleAudio
Member
Sorry, I presume Tom knows I am goofin if not I do apologize Tom. That said, I do think we should have a process to reconsider guys like David but I realize this thread aint the place for it....again sorry about that.
Back to the topic....
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Hi Paul,
I concur. In my audition of the Magico S7, I found it to be the second most linear and transparent speaker I ever heard. The first will be arriving at my house in a couple weeks.
Best,
Ken