S5s in for audition

It's very interesting. I know Mark and Mike flat out preferred the Magico S5s over the Rockports and I am the exact opposite. There is something about the Magico sound that I just find clinical and emotionally uninvolving (I am always awed by their performance in a hifi way but never pulled into the music), whereas the Rockports for me don't smack you in the face when you demo them but when you listen to them after a while they just sound natural and are very musical and almost always get me engrossed in the music. It just shows you how different strokes for different folks is very apropos in high-end audio. To be fair, I have had more extended listening sessions with the Magico V2s, V3s, Q3s and Q5s and listened over the course of 45 mins only to both the Q1s and S5s with Mike when he was at Goodwins, so for sure I did not listen to the S5s at length and it wasn't with music I was familiar with (of course since it was Mike's audition) but in any case, it's just interesting to me.
 
Cyril, interesting you use the word 'natural' describing the Aviors as that's what sticks in my head when I think about the Aviors. Natural. It sounded very natural and musical to me. But I like both the S5s and the Aviors. To my ears, the S5s actually had a smoother, more coherent sound than the Aviors though, which caught me by surprise given Rockport's reputation in these areas. As always, YMMV.
 
Allen to be fair, it sounds like the S series Magicos are cut from a different cloth from the Q-series and even the earlier V-series, so I should make an effort to listen to them at length with music I know and re-evaluate.
 
mdkim said:
Mark:

I think you may be right about the XA.8s and the S5s being a good pairing. IMO, Pass has found a good balance between air/delicacy and just plain old full bodied "music," and, wrapped it in a no-nonsense case that is alluring for a lot of buyers. Please keep us posted of your impressions.

I would love to hear Pass on the Wilsons as well. I think Mike should try this "experiment" immediately and report back to us :snicker:.
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Problem is real estate and heat.
 
cmalak said:
Allen to be fair, it sounds like the S series Magicos are cut from a different cloth from the Q-series and even the earlier V-series, so I should make an effort to listen to them at length with music I know and re-evaluate.
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Cyril, I lusted to hear the Rockports for many years. The S5's just sounded better to my ear. Of course it's all individual taste.
 
If i could handle the size and heat I would get the pass. Darrin
 
Very interesting thread. I live near Goodwins and very much like the S5's and Rockports. A little while back I was considering S5's (heard them with Spectral and was VERY impressed) and the only amps I had at home were tubed and wasn't sure they would be a good match. So I brought them in to Goodwins and verified that they weren't a good match. :)

I've since got Pass amps (which are a very nice match with my Alexias) and have been wondering how they would mate with the S5's (was thinking they might be too warm sounding) but I'm guessing from this thread they might be a good match after all.

I've never heard Rhaidos but they sound nice. I also listen around 80-85 db with peaks up to 90db. My room is such that the speakers have to be 5-6 feet out from the front wall and I adore depth in the soundstage so my curiosity is piqued...

Not that I'm unhappy with my Wilsons, but you know how it is... :)
 
MDP said:
Michael, how goes the audition process ?
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Went ahead and ordered a pair of S5s. There are some things I'm missing (with the demo pair) but I'm willing to try and tweak another ten percent out of them with some soon to be received Synergistic goodies. I can't say they're my end all speaker but, so far, pretty damn good.

The Rockports are still on my radar but I've bought myself some time. Wilsons will require an in-home to really show me their stuff IMO.

madfloyd said:
Very interesting thread. I live near Goodwins and very much like the S5's and Rockports. A little while back I was considering S5's (heard them with Spectral and was VERY impressed) and the only amps I had at home were tubed and wasn't sure they would be a good match. So I brought them in to Goodwins and verified that they weren't a good match. :)

I've since got Pass amps (which are a very nice match with my Alexias) and have been wondering how they would mate with the S5's (was thinking they might be too warm sounding) but I'm guessing from this thread they might be a good match after all.

I've never heard Rhaidos but they sound nice. I also listen around 80-85 db with peaks up to 90db. My room is such that the speakers have to be 5-6 feet out from the front wall and I adore depth in the soundstage so my curiosity is piqued...

Not that I'm unhappy with my Wilsons, but you know how it is... :)
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Pass/Alexia is something I'd love to hear. The 160.5s are great amps! And yeah, we all know how it is :bonkers:.

The Raidhos, IMO, have a few issues but everyone should hear what they're capable of. Even though the writing is on the wall for my pair, I can't get certain Raidho attributes out of my mind.
 
mdkim said:
Went ahead and ordered a pair of S5s. There are some things I'm missing (with the demo pair) but I'm willing to try and tweak another ten percent out of them with some soon to be received Synergistic goodies. I can't say they're my end all speaker but, so far, pretty damn good.
...
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Congrats, Michael!! I think you'll be happy with them.:audiophile:
 
Congrats.

There are so many good speakers out there now. They all fit in different rooms and personal tastes.

The S5s are certainly one of those.
 
Thanks all. The S5s, for me, just get out of the way and allow me to enjoy my music. No "ohh's" and "awww's" over anything in particular, or some imagined epiphany moment on a track because I noticed a note or buzz I'd never heard before. Simple :eyebrow:. And they play plenty loud…something I'm doing more of lately.

Now, I did play with the Raidhos for a few days just to make sure I wasn't out of my mind. It took about a day to get the speakers sounding right again and I must say the Raidhos are pretty dark sounding. Anything rock/blues or pop sounded very cloudy in comparison to the Magicos. Slap a classical or vocal track on and the magic begins. There is still a darkness but the speakers really shine here. If I were strictly a classical guy, I would keep the Raidhos and never look back. Unplugged albums (without a heavy mix'd bass line) sounded better than with the S5s once my ears adjusted to the darker presentation. Raidho stage depth is unequaled as is its precise imaging.

I'll post again once my tweaks arrive to see if I can bridge some of what's, IMO, missing with the S5s.
 
Strength of Magicos is uncolored sound and speed of a planar speaker
 
I had the pleasure of hosting a visit by Mr. "Synergistic Research" (Ted Denny III) yesterday who put up a slew of tiny little horns (HFTs) in my room. We even opened up my Aurender unit and he placed 10 of them inside! He really wanted into my DAC2X but it wasn't as easy to crack open. I know we all smoke a little bit of "audio crack" but holy cow are the S5s singing! I must be smoking something because there's no reason these things should work. But, a haze, or confusion, that I didn't even realize was there, disappeared right before me. And, when Ted took them all down, the chaos returned. WTF! I thought I had things dialed in!

I don't want to turn this into a SR post (which I'll do later) so I just wanted to add that the Magicos hold their composure at high high SPLs better than anything I've ever had in my room. A tight punchy kick drum, strong full textured bass lines, and rock and roll are driving my wife crazy :lol: If you only listen to "audio show" music you'll never know just how good the Magicos are.

Ted and I also discussed the Raidho tweeters/mids and he agreed that the clean leading edge is what makes them so addicting and so hard for me to let go of. I'm getting closer though.
 
You just need to buy some D1s and S5s. S5s for loud and the D1s for the unplugged stuff. Or for that matter, try Raidho's new X1s. They aren't quite as good as the D1s but close and only $7,000ish retail.

mdkim said:
I had the pleasure of hosting a visit by Mr. "Synergistic Research" (Ted Denny III) yesterday who put up a slew of tiny little horns (HFTs) in my room. We even opened up my Aurender unit and he placed 10 of them inside! He really wanted into my DAC2X but it wasn't as easy to crack open. I know we all smoke a little bit of "audio crack" but holy cow are the S5s singing! I must be smoking something because there's no reason these things should work. But, a haze, or confusion, that I didn't even realize was there, disappeared right before me. And, when Ted took them all down, the chaos returned. WTF! I thought I had things dialed in!

I don't want to turn this into a SR post (which I'll do later) so I just wanted to add that the Magicos hold their composure at high high SPLs better than anything I've ever had in my room. A tight punchy kick drum, strong full textured bass lines, and rock and roll are driving my wife crazy :lol: If you only listen to "audio show" music you'll never know just how good the Magicos are.

Ted and I also discussed the Raidho tweeters/mids and he agreed that the clean leading edge is what makes them so addicting and so hard for me to let go of. I'm getting closer though.
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