BlueFox
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I am sitting here and really enjoying the sound coming out of the S5s from my Bryston BDP-1, since I added a Shunyata Sigma Digital power cord to it this afternoon. The Sigma took the background noise floor even lower. You really have no idea about this phenomena until it is reduced, or gone.
Anyway, none of that matters if the speakers aren't up to the task, and I am happy to report the Magico S5s are sounding even better than when I got them in April. However, I have to admit that I have had some incidents with these speakers over the last few months, but Magico has stepped up and made things right.
As some may remember, in July I accidentally toasted the right S5 tweeter and mid-range by having the preamp at its maximum. Well, that was completely and totally my fault. Fortunately, Magico is 30 minutes up the road, so I took the speaker there, and they fixed it. Of course, it cost me $2k, but that's the price you pay for screwing up. At the time, Alon told me to keep an SPL meter handy to monitor the sound level as it can get really loud without you realizing just how high it is. Since then the highest I play these, and only occasionally, is in the low to mid 90s, with maybe a bounce into the upper 90s. This is measured 8' feet away in my chair. With the Pass XP-20 preamp this occurs with the volume in the 60s, while it was at 83 when I originally toasted the drivers.
After a month or so, I started noticing the sound didn't seem as balanced as before, with the left seeming more dominate. I tweaked the right volume a touch, and that bought the balance back. It still sounded great, but unbalanced. Then one night the right speaker sounded like crap. It turns out the midrange died. WTF! I knew I hadn't exceeded any capability of the speaker, but it broke.
So, I took it back to Magico, and they dissected the driver. They showed it to me, and said it appeared the driver banged against the magnet. Maybe it did, but I knew it wasn't from me. Alon said there was no other sign of abuse, and it was probably a manufacturing defect. So, they replaced it for free, and I was back in business.
Then in October I am listening to the stereo, and I notice the left side volume go down, then it would come back. After a while, it did that trick again. Now what I wondered. Finally, it went down again, but didn't come back. Now I have to shift the balance to the left, but even then it didn't sound quite right. At this point I started waiting for whatever is breaking to completely break so I could get it fixed. A week later I am listening to a new CD of chamber music that has a lot of ping type sounds, such as striking a triangle, and it was sounding dull. At that point I started to use the balance on the DAC to alternate between left and right, and I realized the tweeter on the left speaker wasn't working.
My first thought was this is just a continuation of the damage I caused in July. I figured that while the right tweeter broke, at the same time I probably weakened the left, and it finally failed. I ordered a tweeter from Magico, and replaced it a week later. No help. Same issue. Well, that sure was a waste of $800 I thought. However, Dave, the support manager, said they would refund me since that wasn't the problem.
On Tuesday I once again returned a speaker. It turns out this time a resistor on the cross-over cracked, and failed. Although I was ready to pay to fix this, Magico fixed it for no charge. Friday I picked up the speaker, and a check for $800. Now I am sitting here, and once again, am just amazed at how good these speakers sound.
I have had a bit of bad luck, but I hope that is all behind me now. I am also grateful Magico is right up the road. I have never bought used gear before buying the S5s, and never will again. It is my understanding the previous owner played vinyl through them, and they can't take that abuse from the pops, clicks, and rumble. Just kidding.
Anyway, none of that matters if the speakers aren't up to the task, and I am happy to report the Magico S5s are sounding even better than when I got them in April. However, I have to admit that I have had some incidents with these speakers over the last few months, but Magico has stepped up and made things right.
As some may remember, in July I accidentally toasted the right S5 tweeter and mid-range by having the preamp at its maximum. Well, that was completely and totally my fault. Fortunately, Magico is 30 minutes up the road, so I took the speaker there, and they fixed it. Of course, it cost me $2k, but that's the price you pay for screwing up. At the time, Alon told me to keep an SPL meter handy to monitor the sound level as it can get really loud without you realizing just how high it is. Since then the highest I play these, and only occasionally, is in the low to mid 90s, with maybe a bounce into the upper 90s. This is measured 8' feet away in my chair. With the Pass XP-20 preamp this occurs with the volume in the 60s, while it was at 83 when I originally toasted the drivers.
After a month or so, I started noticing the sound didn't seem as balanced as before, with the left seeming more dominate. I tweaked the right volume a touch, and that bought the balance back. It still sounded great, but unbalanced. Then one night the right speaker sounded like crap. It turns out the midrange died. WTF! I knew I hadn't exceeded any capability of the speaker, but it broke.
So, I took it back to Magico, and they dissected the driver. They showed it to me, and said it appeared the driver banged against the magnet. Maybe it did, but I knew it wasn't from me. Alon said there was no other sign of abuse, and it was probably a manufacturing defect. So, they replaced it for free, and I was back in business.
Then in October I am listening to the stereo, and I notice the left side volume go down, then it would come back. After a while, it did that trick again. Now what I wondered. Finally, it went down again, but didn't come back. Now I have to shift the balance to the left, but even then it didn't sound quite right. At this point I started waiting for whatever is breaking to completely break so I could get it fixed. A week later I am listening to a new CD of chamber music that has a lot of ping type sounds, such as striking a triangle, and it was sounding dull. At that point I started to use the balance on the DAC to alternate between left and right, and I realized the tweeter on the left speaker wasn't working.
My first thought was this is just a continuation of the damage I caused in July. I figured that while the right tweeter broke, at the same time I probably weakened the left, and it finally failed. I ordered a tweeter from Magico, and replaced it a week later. No help. Same issue. Well, that sure was a waste of $800 I thought. However, Dave, the support manager, said they would refund me since that wasn't the problem.
On Tuesday I once again returned a speaker. It turns out this time a resistor on the cross-over cracked, and failed. Although I was ready to pay to fix this, Magico fixed it for no charge. Friday I picked up the speaker, and a check for $800. Now I am sitting here, and once again, am just amazed at how good these speakers sound.
I have had a bit of bad luck, but I hope that is all behind me now. I am also grateful Magico is right up the road. I have never bought used gear before buying the S5s, and never will again. It is my understanding the previous owner played vinyl through them, and they can't take that abuse from the pops, clicks, and rumble. Just kidding.
