Sounds like an awesome trip. Thanks for sharing the photos. Were the listening rooms at Goodwin as incredible as they look? It's been my dream audio store to visit. I'm sure you're not the only one that is not moved by Rockport. I was super impressed by the Rockport Avior but I would say it's all based on my subjective impressions. I can't say I've liked any of the Magico speakers (in theory I love them with all the innovative tech involved) but have yet to hear the Q series.
Goodwins is terrific and everyone there was great to me. I wish I had a dealer like that in Sarasota.
Don't get me wrong, the Rockports are great speakers - but its just not a sound for me. I can see why many people love them.
I'm not terribly keen on the Magico Q series, but the S series is a home run IMO. The S1 is an engineering marvel. How do they do it? Disappearing act. Bass that you think a subwoofer is in the room and sweet highs. The only knock? You wouldn't put the S1 in a 20 x 30 and expect it to compress the room and play super loud.
That being said, I really did like the Q1. It does nothing wrong, but isn't as involving (emotionally) as the S1/S5.
The biggest winners from the trip for me, were:
Audionet Max amps (very high resolution and musical)
Audionet DNP preamp (engineering marvel. It does it all - and all well)
Raidho D3 (I couldn't find fault!)
Raidho C1.1 (these are better than the D1's IMO. Others may disagree.)
Soulution 501/520 (these are not clinical amps. They are beautifully musical and a big thank you to my friend Jon for bringing them for me to listen!)
Magico S1 (engineering marvel)
Spectral (now I understand all the fuss).
Just my opinion of course. YMMV.