On the 12th Day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

Mike said:
Ian - how are the M Projects sounding?
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Hi Mike,

Ian told me the following three days ago. We'll see if anything has changed since then.

"The M's are certainly evolving, but slowly and the character is still on the analytical side - at least compared to my S5's. I feel like the speakers are still 'holding back' in terms of dynamics, presence and slam. Hopefully that will change with more break-in (it's been a week so far)."

Ken
 
Alpinist said:
Hi Mike,

Ian told me the following three days ago. We'll see if anything has changed since then.

"The M's are certainly evolving, but slowly and the character is still on the analytical side - at least compared to my S5's. I feel like the speakers are still 'holding back' in terms of dynamics, presence and slam. Hopefully that will change with more break-in (it's been a week so far)."

Ken
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Thanks Ken. That leaves me saying.."hmmm..." I wonder if there had been any change.
 
I'm happy to report that I'm starting to hear some great changes.

The tweeter has progressed quite a lot. This new tweeter is one of the big features of the M Project and we're likely to see it in future products, whether they be revisions of the Q or otherwise. It blends so seamlessly with the midrange. It did this from day one, but there was a little zing that was detectable at times. Now it's very rare to notice that at all and I suspect it will disappear altogether as the speaker continues to break in.

Up until recently I didn't like the sound of the speakers when played loud (loud for me is anything above 88db or so). It felt forced, a little congested, somewhat forward and bright. Almost like you were turning up the treble and not the bass. I experienced something similar with my S5's - the sound didn't stay linear as the volume went up, but that perception totally went away over time. Now the M's are much more robust sounding. The midrange is VERY full and beautiful. I'm now noticing that many problematic recordings that came across with some glare on the S5's (that I thought was in the recordings) sound perfectly clean and glare-free. The same thing happened when I switched from Wilson Alexias to the S5's. Every degree of distortion removal is a Good Thing.

On Thursday night I was listening to my digital server so I could go through my test playlist and played Ode To Billy Joe by Patricia Barber. This is a pretty sparse recording but I was stunned by how good it sounds. Surfing around my playlist I was thrilled with how many tracks sounded. The next morning I listened again - wondering if i would feel the same way and after about 10 minutes of sampling various tracks I stood up and shouted "YEEEAAHHH BAAAABY!!!!!". OK, I didn't actually do that, but in my mind I did. :)

I do feel that I don't have what I would call 'explosive dynamics'. The presentation is incredibly clean with a beautiful sized soundstage, but there were tracks where the dynamics would blow me (and others) away on the Alexias that don't sound nearly as impressive on the M's. Wilsons are known for dynamics of course and while I don't think Magico is a slouch in any way, I don't know if this will improve over time or not - I'll have to wait and see.

Tonight Peter Ayer is coming back to listen. He heard the speakers out of the box, cold and on casters a week and a half ago (a week ago this past Tuesday but I lost a day of break-in this week). I also have another audiophile friend coming down so it will be fun to get their impressions.
 
MDP said:
Thanks Ian, I hope they continue to improve. is the bass not as you would like yet ?
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Mark, I think the bass is pretty darn good at this point. It has bloomed a lot since I received the speakers. Out of the box there was deep, super tight bass but not much else immediately above it - almost like you were just listening to a subwoofer. Now it's very full. Maybe not as strong in the power region as I might like (no killer 'slam') but I'm not sure it has stopped developing yet. I heard 'two weeks' and we're not there yet. That said, if nothing changes I'm not sure I'll be unhappy. I'll have a better impression over the course of the weekend (a 3 day weekend for me) as I've been busy at work and haven't spent that much time listening on weekdays.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the speakers were placed in the same spot as my S5's and never moved. They will be voiced in a week and a half from now.
 
madfloyd said:
I'm happy to report that I'm starting to hear some great changes.

The tweeter has progressed quite a lot. This new tweeter is one of the big features of the M Project and we're likely to see it in future products, whether they be revisions of the Q or otherwise. It blends so seamlessly with the midrange. It did this from day one, but there was a little zing that was detectable at times. Now it's very rare to notice that at all and I suspect it will disappear altogether as the speaker continues to break in.

Up until recently I didn't like the sound of the speakers when played loud (loud for me is anything above 88db or so). It felt forced, a little congested, somewhat forward and bright. Almost like you were turning up the treble and not the bass. I experienced something similar with my S5's - the sound didn't stay linear as the volume went up, but that perception totally went away over time. Now the M's are much more robust sounding. The midrange is VERY full and beautiful. I'm now noticing that many problematic recordings that came across with some glare on the S5's (that I thought was in the recordings) sound perfectly clean and glare-free. The same thing happened when I switched from Wilson Alexias to the S5's. Every degree of distortion removal is a Good Thing.

On Thursday night I was listening to my digital server so I could go through my test playlist and played Ode To Billy Joe by Patricia Barber. This is a pretty sparse recording but I was stunned by how good it sounds. Surfing around my playlist I was thrilled with how many tracks sounded. The next morning I listened again - wondering if i would feel the same way and after about 10 minutes of sampling various tracks I stood up and shouted "YEEEAAHHH BAAAABY!!!!!". OK, I didn't actually do that, but in my mind I did. :)

I do feel that I don't have what I would call 'explosive dynamics'. The presentation is incredibly clean with a beautiful sized soundstage, but there were tracks where the dynamics would blow me (and others) away on the Alexias that don't sound nearly as impressive on the M's. Wilsons are known for dynamics of course and while I don't think Magico is a slouch in any way, I don't know if this will improve over time or not - I'll have to wait and see.

Tonight Peter Ayer is coming back to listen. He heard the speakers out of the box, cold and on casters a week and a half ago (a week ago this past Tuesday but I lost a day of break-in this week). I also have another audiophile friend coming down so it will be fun to get their impressions.
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Hi Ian,

Thanks for that great update on the M Projects. It sounds like they are really making some progress. I would expect that as the woofers continue to break in, you will start to hear increased dynamics and more robust bass. What does Magico say total break in time is on these babies and how many hours do you have now?

All the best,
Ken
 
madfloyd said:
Mark, I think the bass is pretty darn good at this point. It has bloomed a lot since I received the speakers. Out of the box there was deep, super tight bass but not much else immediately above it - almost like you were just listening to a subwoofer. Now it's very full. Maybe not as strong in the power region as I might like (no killer 'slam') but I'm not sure it has stopped developing yet. I heard 'two weeks' and we're not there yet. That said, if nothing changes I'm not sure I'll be unhappy. I'll have a better impression over the course of the weekend (a 3 day weekend for me) as I've been busy at work and haven't spent that much time listening on weekdays.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the speakers were placed in the same spot as my S5's and never moved. They will be voiced in a week and a half from now.
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Excellent ! Thanks Ian, I agree that more time will definitely help.
 
Alpinist said:
Hi Ian,

Thanks for that great update on the M Projects. It sounds like they are really making some progress. I would expect that as the woofers continue to break in, you will start to hear increased dynamics and more robust bass. What does Magico say total break in time is on these babies and how many hours do you have now?

All the best,
Ken
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Hi Ken,

I have 250 hours on them so far.

Yesterday I had two audiophile friends over. By the end of the night we were shocked to realize that we had listened for 9 hours... with zero fatigue. At this point the speakers no longer sound analytical in any way - they are very warm sounding and the tweeter disappears. One of my friends pointed out that this is the first time the three of us had been in my house and nobody even suggested tweaking something - that it was hard to find a fault in anything.

Both said it was the best speakers they've ever heard. One said it has renewed his faith in the high-end audiophile industry, citing that too often in his opinion you simply don't get what you pay for. He arrived very skeptical but didn't leave that way. :)

The evening culminated in us listening to Stravinsky's Firebird (Reference Recordings version) on vinyl. Wow.
 
madfloyd said:
Hi Ken,

I have 250 hours on them so far.

Yesterday I had two audiophile friends over. By the end of the night we were shocked to realize that we had listened for 9 hours... with zero fatigue. At this point the speakers no longer sound analytical in any way - they are very warm sounding and the tweeter disappears. One of my friends pointed out that this is the first time the three of us had been in my house and nobody even suggested tweaking something - that it was hard to find a fault in anything.

Both said it was the best speakers they've ever heard. One said it has renewed his faith in the high-end audiophile industry, citing that too often in his opinion you simply don't get what you pay for. He arrived very skeptical but didn't leave that way. :)

The evening culminated in us listening to Stravinsky's Firebird (Reference Recordings version) on vinyl. Wow.
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Hi Ian,

They must sound stunning. I think the M Projects are the next big evolutionary step for Magico. A smoother and better sounding tweeter, an improved enclosure, reduced distortion and most importantly, increased musicality. I think everything Magico has designed into the M Project will trickle down in one form or another to all of their future speaker designs. Congrats on getting in on the ground floor!

Best,
Ken
 
Hi Ian,

Love the look of your new M speaker. Never had the chance to listen to Magico but my local dealer just picked their line. I can't wait to here their house sound.
 
Just getting home from visit with Ian.

First off, many thanks to Ian and his wonderful family for being so welcoming. I really really enjoyed my short stay this weekend. Thanks Ian.

After spending the most part of Saturday moving the Big M's around, surprisingly at the end of the day they ended up exactly in the same place they were when we started. A few observations and possible conclusions - I find many times the so called experts (me included) know less about the user's system, room and listening biases and therefore are unable to a better a job than the user (client, owner, whatever he may be). The other thing I noticed is there wasn't the usual big changes in sound usually associated with moving the speakers around (or moving your head fore and aft) than I am used to. I think this says two things. Ian's irregular room must have pretty good acoustics and the Magico's are a special product in term of power response (dispersion).

The M Projects are as wonderful as I expected. Size-wise bigger than I expected! Many great things have been said about the tweeter, but what impressed me the most was a complete lack of awareness that there was a tweeter, a mid and 3 woofers, completely seamless it was. The speaker combines that ultra low distortion, tight bass and calmness associated with other Magico's (I have not heard the Q7's BTW) but with a bigger open presentation and improved liveliness, speed, and dynamics.

How I wish I could have a pair all to myself. Ian you are a lucky man - in more ways than one, enjoy.
 
Super news Mark, thanks for sharing!

Ian, congrats with the new loudspeakers, they appear to be real gems!
 
Mark Jones said:
Just getting home from visit with Ian.

First off, many thanks to Ian and his wonderful family for being so welcoming. I really really enjoyed my short stay this weekend. Thanks Ian.

After spending the most part of Saturday moving the Big M's around, surprisingly at the end of the day they ended up exactly in the same place they were when we started. A few observations and possible conclusions - I find many times the so called experts (me included) know less about the user's system, room and listening biases and therefore are unable to a better a job than the user (client, owner, whatever he may be). The other thing I noticed is there wasn't the usual big changes in sound usually associated with moving the speakers around (or moving your head fore and aft) than I am used to. I think this says two things. Ian's irregular room must have pretty good acoustics and the Magico's are a special product in term of power response (dispersion).

The M Projects are as wonderful as I expected. Size-wise bigger than I expected! Many great things have been said about the tweeter, but what impressed me the most was a complete lack of awareness that there was a tweeter, a mid and 3 woofers, completely seamless it was. The speaker combines that ultra low distortion, tight bass and calmness associated with other Magico's (I have not heard the Q7's BTW) but with a bigger open presentation and improved liveliness, speed, and dynamics.

How I wish I could have a pair all to myself. Ian you are a lucky man - in more ways than one, enjoy.
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Thanks for the update, Mark. What I like best about your description is that you can't even discern there is a tweeter. This speaks strongly to the treble smoothness of these speakers. I admire Magico's tireless pursuit of audio perfection.

Ken
 
Ian,

I am so happy for you. They must be amazing speakers and a stunning system. Mark's wonderful service is worth every penny. Congratulations.

Are there any plans to change amps/preamp? Just curious because I love my XA60.5's but wonder what the .8 or higher Pass gear brings to the table.
 
Great update Mark! You've already provided much better services than Ian's previous (Wilson) dealer. How did the Pass gear sound with the big M's?
 
The Pass gear is really similar to Magico, low distortion, clean but not bright. I guess if you were looking to change the sound of the loudspeakers another amp could be a better choice, but for hearing what's on the recording and how Magico intended the M's to sound, I think Pass is a great choice.

Ian had been mentioning about some upper midrange glare, It did not show its head to me until about two hours in. So I guess there is some (a little) and only noticeable on some recordings. Is it the pre-amp, an issue with the room at a certain frequency? Without changing the room or the gear I would be only guessing.

I couldn't help myself from suggesting a Tenor audition maybe one day!!! But really, the bottom line is, the system is great, the Pass electronics are great, Ian really does not need to run out and spend more money at this point. Time to just relax, listen and enjoy.
 
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