New Magico speakers arriving 04/2015!

[Alpinist]

well apparently a Devialet is as good as a 100k Soulution stack, so you're better off trying one of them

i find Soulution dry and not particularly dynamic. but i have not heard the MK2 or what not they recently released. did you like Magico w/ Spectral at Goodwins? if you did, you would probably enjoy Soulution. Its not for me.

Hi Keith,

My Soulution 501's paired with the Raidho D3's are the antithesis of dry. In fact, I can't think of a more organic and musical pairing. I'm not sure what model you were listening to, but the 501, 701 and 711 have a more organic presentation than the 700 and 710 by most accounts. It also comes down system matching and component synergy.

Best,
Ken

 

[Bodhi]

Interesting that we hear conflicting reports. I was told the 160.8 is more detailed and has better bass control along with a couple other traits that I can't recall. I was literally talked out of buying the XS-150.

I still want a better amp, but now that I know that most of the typical Magico matches are dry sounding, my search is also coming up dry. Maybe I'll discover something at Axpona...

Floyd, just get the the amps that cleaned up at CES last year with the S3's; Vitus SM-102 mono's and MP-L201 linestage. Those amps sound a bit warm, analogue-like, mellifluous & have awesome bass. Most importantly they have known synergy with Magico.

 

[Alpinist]

David,

I totally agree with you about the Vitus/Magico synergy. I would love to hear the Vitus monoblocks with the M-Projects or the S7's. Class A all the way!

Best,
Ken

 

[BlueFox]

I still want a better amp, but now that I know that most of the typical Magico matches are dry sounding, my search is also coming up dry. Maybe I'll discover something at Axpona...

Pass X600.8, get some power for those speakers, assuming you have two dedicated 20 amp circuits with no transformers choking the current. The X600.5 play string quartets at low volume, female jazz at moderate volume, and rock at driver breaking volume. I would expect the X600.8 to be even better. The X600.8 play in Class A up to 100 watts versus a little less for the X600.5 version. Darn, I have almost talked myself into upgrading.

 

[MDP]

Pass X600.8, get some power for those speakers, assuming you have two dedicated 20 amp circuits with no transformers choking the current. The X600.5 play string quartets at low volume, female jazz at moderate volume, and rock at driver breaking volume. I would expect the X600.8 to be even better. The X600.8 play in Class A up to 100 watts versus a little less for the X600.5 version. Darn, I have almost talked myself into upgrading.

Go for it Bud !

 

[Bodhi]

David,

I totally agree with you about the Vitus/Magico synergy. I would love to hear the Vitus monoblocks with the M-Projects or the S7's. Class A all the way!

Best,
Ken

Yeah my long-term plans are to retire with a pair of Vitus Class A mono's & future Sig Series preamp (that is if my future MP-D201 doesn't kick it's arse! :ko.

 

[Kuoppis]

Interesting that we hear conflicting reports. I was told the 160.8 is more detailed and has better bass control along with a couple other traits that I can't recall. I was literally talked out of buying the XS-150.

I still want a better amp, but now that I know that most of the typical Magico matches are dry sounding, my search is also coming up dry. Maybe I'll discover something at Axpona...

At your level the Twenty version of KX-R/ MX-R might be interesting. The recent Twenty upgrade gives them a significant leg up.

A friend of mine replaced his Pass X30/ XA160.5 with Ayres (felt the bottom end needed more control) and says he even preferred them to the latest 7 series Solution, which sounds interesting.

 

[Alpinist]

At your level the Twenty version of KX-R/ MX-R might be interesting. The recent Twenty upgrade gives them a significant leg up.

A friend of mine replaced his Pass X30/ XA160.5 with Ayres (felt the bottom end needed more control) and says he even preferred them to the latest 7 series Solution, which sounds interesting.

What speakers is your friend using?

Ken

 

[Kuoppis]

What speakers is your friend using?

Ken

Hi Ken,

I think that is the thing, he has Lansche 4.1. They have this truly superb Ione-tweeter (sound produced by an arc of light, up to 100 KHz they say), but overall a bitch to drive and maybe not the reference in bass reproduction overall.

Not saying the Pass are not very good, rather the speakers are difficult.

/Kuoppis

 

[Mike]

At your level the Twenty version of KX-R/ MX-R might be interesting. The recent Twenty upgrade gives them a significant leg up.

A friend of mine replaced his Pass X30/ XA160.5 with Ayres (felt the bottom end needed more control) and says he even preferred them to the latest 7 series Solution, which sounds interesting.

I would agree with your friend on the old (soon to be sunset) .5 series. It had so many great qualities, but bass control was not one of them. The new .8 series changes things and bass control is now excellent. The XS series even takes that a notch better due to its huge separate PSU.

As for the Ayre - hard to argue there!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Alpinist]

I would agree with your friend on the old (soon to be sunset) .5 series. It had so many great qualities, but bass control was not one of them. The new .8 series changes things and bass control is now excellent. The XS series even takes that a notch better due to its huge separate PSU.

As for the Ayre - hard to argue there!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Big +1

Ken

 

[Bodhi]

I've been reflecting on the design features of this speaker & think Magico definitely had their eye on rivals YG, Wilson and Raidho when they dedveloped the S7, and indeed the M Pro which preceded it. You can see that in the development of lighter, faster and more accurate midrange drivers and tweeters, a new separate midrange/tweeter module, further evolved crossover & improved fit and finish. YG have definitely taken strides forward in those areas with the Hailey and Carmel 2, so it is good to see Magico respond so convincingly. Healthy competition is a good thing! .

 

[BlueFox]

I mostly agree. I always felt Magico was trying to upstage Wilson by having better speakers at a lower cost, and by not being butt ugly. YG brings more technology into the game, so we are seeing an arms race between manufacturers. However, we need to start seeing the end results in much lower priced products. Of course that will happen, but I'm not getting any younger, and I don't want to work my entire life.

 

[Bodhi]

I mostly agree. I always felt Magico was trying to upstage Wilson by having better speakers at a lower cost, and by not being butt ugly. YG brings more technology into the game, so we are seeing an arms race between manufacturers. However, we need to start seeing the end results in much lower priced products. Of course that will happen, but I'm not getting any younger, and I don't want to work my entire life.

I think you hit the nail on the head Bud. I wouldn't say there is a cold war-style arms race going on, but definitely a healthy rivalry between Magico, YG, Wilson & Raidho. Wilson Benesch and Vandersteen are also in the mix. This rivalry is driving forward technology which is trickling down to high price-performance products like the YG Hailey 1.2 & Magico S7.

With the above said, I think the Magico S1 should be replaced with a 2 way stand-mount design, and a new 2.5 way speaker introduced similar to the V2 (S2?) which would offer more bang for the buck options :thumbsup:.

 

[apdoc2004]

I agree with these comments. I have a lot of respect for Magico and YG acoustics. My apologies for posting this in the Magico thread but another technology driven company is Wilson Benesch (from the UK) that has been using carbon fiber & aluminum in their cabinet construction for years. The drivers are also top notch and the finish is much more attractive and WAF friendly than Magico, Wilson or YG acoustics. Wilson Benesch does not get the attention they deserve here in the US. I am listening to their Vector, a compact floor stander, in my room, and I am frankly astounded. The bass, imaging, dynamics, transparency/resolution is unbelievable. Mid range and treble is equally gorgeous. All this from a speaker that weighs 66 pounds (easy on my back) that does not visually dominate the room. I will put them up against Magico S3 and YG Carmel 2 (they come in at ~ $ 9000 cheaper). Magico S5 will definitely have more output given its 10 inch bass drivers.
I would love to see the top of the line Wilson Benesch speaker (Cardinal) go head to head with the Q7.

Anshul

I mostly agree. I always felt Magico was trying to upstage Wilson by having better speakers at a lower cost, and by not being butt ugly. YG brings more technology into the game, so we are seeing an arms race between manufacturers. However, we need to start seeing the end results in much lower priced products. Of course that will happen, but I'm not getting any younger, and I don't want to work my entire life.

 

[Bodhi]

It's funny you mentioned WB Anshul as I was thinking earlier that WB's pioneering use of carbon fibre, curved and monocoque cabinets, simple crossovers & low distortion design influenced Magico. You can see that in a number of design elements of Magico speakers. I was thinking more about commercial rivals when I mentioned YG, Wilson & Raidho. I went back and edited my earlier post following your comments. Thanks for chiming in!

 

[Myles B. Astor]

I mostly agree. I always felt Magico was trying to upstage Wilson by having better speakers at a lower cost, and by not being butt ugly. YG brings more technology into the game, so we are seeing an arms race between manufacturers. However, we need to start seeing the end results in much lower priced products. Of course that will happen, but I'm not getting any younger, and I don't want to work my entire life.

I'm not sure how you arrived at that perception but that's not my personal up close and personal experience.

One should take a visit to the Magico factory. One example. Magico has five CNC machines in house, YG has one. If nothing else,that's a major capital outlay. At least as of last April. You should see the CAD software and modules that Magico has written for them and uses to design their speakers. In fact every speaker is designed and tested on the computer for resonances, etc. before any prototypes are built. As Alon mentioned, the technology of using lasers to study cabinet resonances is really made obsolete with this computerized design process.Then take a look at the design, tolerances and machining that for instance goes goes into their under hung drivers. That's a major part of the success of their drivers not to mention the use of grapheme in the drivers.When it comes to testing and Q/C, there are only three other speaker manufacturers that use this particular software and two of the others are KEF and B&W (?) IIRC. The factory inventory is completely computerized and organized almost like Amazon. Oh, and you should see their listening and testing room at the factory. There's probably few quieter rooms around.

So I really don't understand how Magico is technology challenged.

 

[tunes]

As a former wilson benesch user (ACT and Torus), i agree that they are under the radar in NA and deserving of a listen if you can find a dealer - the biggest challenge. Looking at the m pro's is like looking a a fatter version of a benesch with carbon fibre integrated. Underneath, clearly there are tons of differences. Benesch use a monocoque design as opposed to the massive aluminum that magico are using. Diff drivers, yadda yadda.

 

[PeterA]

I think you hit the nail on the head Bud. I wouldn't say there is a cold war-style arms race going on, but definitely a healthy rivalry between Magico, YG, Wilson & Raidho. Wilson Benesch and Vandersteen are also in the mix. This rivalry is driving forward technology which is trickling down to high price-performance products like the YG Hailey 1.2 & Magico S7.

With the above said, I think the Magico S1 should be replaced with a 2 way stand-mount design, and a new 2.5 way speaker introduced similar to the V2 (S2?) which would offer more bang for the buck options :thumbsup:.

I would add Rockport to the mix of speaker manufacturers at this high level.

I would also like to see Magico develop a speaker like the old V2, though I guess the S3 comes close. I've been waiting for a more beautiful replacement for my Mini 2. With the curved side walls of the S and M speakers and the curved front baffle of the Q and M lines, I can see an aluminum or aluminum/graphite Mini 3 on a stand. Same curves, better drivers and crossovers, but basically the aesthetics of the Mini 2. That would be something for $20K. And compared to the Wilson Duette.....

 

[LVB]

I'm not sure how you arrived at that perception but that's not my personal up close and personal experience.

One should take a visit to the Magico factory. One example. Magico has five CNC machines in house, YG has one. If nothing else,that's a major capital outlay. At least as of last April. You should see the CAD software and modules that Magico has written for them and uses to design their speakers. In fact every speaker is designed and tested on the computer for resonances, etc. before any prototypes are built. As Alon mentioned, the technology of using lasers to study cabinet resonances is really made obsolete with this computerized design process.Then take a look at the design, tolerances and machining that for instance goes goes into their under hung drivers. That's a major part of the success of their drivers not to mention the use of grapheme in the drivers.When it comes to testing and Q/C, there are only three other speaker manufacturers that use this particular software and two of the others are KEF and B&W (?) IIRC. The factory inventory is completely computerized and organized almost like Amazon. Oh, and you should see their listening and testing room at the factory. There's probably few quieter rooms around.

So I really don't understand how Magico is technology challenged.

+1

There is no comparison between Magico level of technology then just about any other company in the high-end today. The only one that comes close will be Vivid, but with a much inferior enclosure. It is a shame consumers don’t seem to have enough understanding of these products and their merits to really understand what is real development and what is just smoke screens. Machining cones out of aluminum, using silk dome tweeters is VERY low tech, BTW (no matter what kind of fancy name you give it).