I have heard three pairs of S5 in three different settings. I can not attest to whether or not they were optimally set up. Two were at Magico dealers and one was at Ian's. They are very good speakers, though I personally happen to prefer the voicing of the Q3, which I have also heard in three different settings.
To me, the M Project in Ian's system sounded better than both the S5 and Q3 even before he bypassed the transformers. Now after hearing them the other day with Al M., I think they are MUCH better sounding than both the S5 and Q3. There is simply no comparison. Are they ideally set up in Ian's system now? I don't think so, but they are much closer and in my opinion only, and in my admittedly limited experience, they are the best sounding speakers I have ever heard. They are the first large speaker system that I have heard play both large and small scale material in equally convincing ways. The M Project is a real achievement.
I think much of the great sound is the result of the very successful pairing with the Pass XA160.8 amplifiers. I love my system, but I would really prefer to listen to Ian's system every day. Just with my analog front end
To me, the M Project in Ian's system sounded better than both the S5 and Q3 even before he bypassed the transformers. Now after hearing them the other day with Al M., I think they are MUCH better sounding than both the S5 and Q3. There is simply no comparison. Are they ideally set up in Ian's system now? I don't think so, but they are much closer and in my opinion only, and in my admittedly limited experience, they are the best sounding speakers I have ever heard. They are the first large speaker system that I have heard play both large and small scale material in equally convincing ways. The M Project is a real achievement.
I think much of the great sound is the result of the very successful pairing with the Pass XA160.8 amplifiers. I love my system, but I would really prefer to listen to Ian's system every day. Just with my analog front end
