What are you driving your Magico's with?

Shodhan,

Your reaction is actually quite common. A lot of people don't warm up to the Q-series sound. Even within the Magico line, the S-series have a lot more fans... I love my Q3s, but when I heard YG Haileys, I "got" what people complained about the Q-series ("sterile", "cold", "frigidity", etc). Similar quality/transparency, but altogether fuller, more natural!


cheers,
Alex
 
Agree with you about our subjective reactions to our audio systems! "To each his own" definitely applies!

i was ready to give up on my Q3's at one point because while I prefer accuracy and neutrality, if my system has to err, I prefer for it to err on the side of "warm, liquid and rich" rather than "cold, dry and detailed", and my digital, while really good for digital, still had just a tad too much "cold, dry and hard" for my taste. And that was after all the tube rolling in the amps and preamps, and fiddling with all the Synergistic Research interconnect and speaker cable bullets (which gently tailor the sound).

One day while listening to some new records, I realized I WAS getting "warm and rich" from my vinyl but not my digital. So now the MH Lio-8 dac is out. Just received a TotalDac-d1-six-tube DAC, and I'm hopeful that this change will finally get my digital to sound as good as my analog.

Dave
 
asiufy said:
Shodhan,

Your reaction is actually quite common. A lot of people don't warm up to the Q-series sound. Even within the Magico line, the S-series have a lot more fans... I love my Q3s, but when I heard YG Haileys, I "got" what people complained about the Q-series ("sterile", "cold", "frigidity", etc). Similar quality/transparency, but altogether fuller, more natural!


cheers,
Alex
Click to expand...


Yg more “musical” then the Q3, I don’t think so. Softer sounding (silk dome) yes, but that does not equate “musicality”, and as you increase volume, it gets harsh and fatiguing, again silk domes just harden when pushed. A well set up Q3 will add or subtract very little, at any volume you play. A very fine speaker, indeed.
 
When i was auditioning the S1's a few years ago, I listened for several hours to the ARC Ref75 (non SE) and the Hegel H20 both paired with a REF5SE. The ARC had great mid's and smooth high's but the grip on the bass was lacking IMO...and not just a little bit. The H20's sound was little more recessed but the bass was there in spades. Later I had the s1's with an H30 and it was the best of both worlds. And the imaging was to DIE for. I really wish i hadn't gotten rid of it :(. I can't comment on the ARC with the slightly easier to drive 3 way magico's. It may be a sublime pairing. I am very curious about the new VAC Signature 200IQ in stereo and mono config's with Magico's new mk2 speakers :popcorn:
 
LVB said:
Yg more “musical” then the Q3, I don’t think so. Softer sounding (silk dome) yes, but that does not equate “musicality”, and as you increase volume, it gets harsh and fatiguing, again silk domes just harden when pushed. A well set up Q3 will add or subtract very little, at any volume you play. A very fine speaker, indeed.
Click to expand...

I fully respect your opinion, but mine is coming from long term, personal experience with both speakers and assorted amplification.
Do you have any first-hand experience with YG, or you're just guessing, based on the fact they use soft domes? We've driven the YG Sonjas in the store to 110dB peak levels, and it was quite enjoyable. I like to listen loud, actually, louder than your average audiophile even, so you can bet I'd know when something's not quite right...
Anyway, I didn't say the Q3s weren't "fine", I actually think they're better than 99% of what's out there.
Now, if you allow me, the Q3 is the one that gets "harsh and fatiguing", not the YGs. Sorry, again, personal experience here.


cheers,
alex
 
Lamm M1.2 driving S7 - quite good actually. A guy came to audition the M1.2 and made an offer to buy the M1.2 on the spot, so safe to assume he liked what he heard.

custom Gm70 PSET monos driving S7 - magical (in my opinion)
 
asiufy said:
I fully respect your opinion, but mine is coming from long term, personal experience with both speakers and assorted amplification.
Do you have any first-hand experience with YG, or you're just guessing, based on the fact they use soft domes? We've driven the YG Sonjas in the store to 110dB peak levels, and it was quite enjoyable. I like to listen loud, actually, louder than your average audiophile even, so you can bet I'd know when something's not quite right...
Anyway, I didn't say the Q3s weren't "fine", I actually think they're better than 99% of what's out there.
Now, if you allow me, the Q3 is the one that gets "harsh and fatiguing", not the YGs. Sorry, again, personal experience here.


cheers,
alex
Click to expand...

I have experience with both speakers. I replaced my Annat Reference with Magico’s Q1 and then the Q3. LVB is right, "opinions" asides you can see how the Yg behave when played loud (actually not even that loud) on Soundstage distortion measurements, it tells a very sad story. You can look at the S5 for comparison, probably overall the best set of measurements of any speakers SS ever tested. The Q3 is just as good, or even better (I remember seeing its THD in a German magazine some time ago).
I understand that SS measurements are on the main module only, but that does not explain the tweeter poor behavior above 90db.

Sorry I could not add links to the measurement since it is my first post. You can easily google it.
 
JanF said:
I have experience with both speakers. I replaced my Annat Reference with Magico’s Q1 and then the Q3. LVB is right, "opinions" asides you can see how the Yg behave when played loud (actually not even that loud) on Soundstage distortion measurements, it tells a very sad story. You can look at the S5 for comparison, probably overall the best set of measurements of any speakers SS ever tested. The Q3 is just as good, or even better (I remember seeing its THD in a German magazine some time ago).
I understand that SS measurements are on the main module only, but that does not explain the tweeter poor behavior above 90db.

Sorry I could not add links to the measurement since it is my first post. You can easily google it.
Click to expand...

JanF,

I have nothing but good words for Magico, but I want to understand where you're coming from with your slamming of YG.

Here's YG Anat, a 10-year old product, that hasn't been manufactured in a while. Taken from here: http://www.soundstagenetwork.com/measurements/speakers/yg_anat_ref_main_module/

attachment.php


And here's Magico's S5, a much newer design/speaker. Taken from here: http://www.soundstagenetwork.com/in...ts-magico-s5-loudspeakers&catid=77&Itemid=153


attachment.php


I know Mike is now a Magico dealer, but I know him, and he won't back this kind of lies... So if you don't like the YGs, and prefer the Magicos, that's all perfectly understandable. But don't say things like the YG tweeter is this or that. Thank you :)


cheers,
alex
 

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asiufy said:
JanF,

I have nothing but good words for Magico, but I want to understand where you're coming from with your slamming of YG...
I know Mike is now a Magico dealer, but I know him, and he won't back this kind of lies... So if you don't like the YGs, and prefer the Magicos, that's all perfectly understandable. But don't say things like the YG tweeter is this or that. Thank you

cheers,
alex
Click to expand...

I actually like Yg, I just don’t think they can play very loud, and I gave you a point of reference to support my claim. The “new” tweeter behaves just the same (to my ear), if you have data backing up a different story, please provide it (you are showing the wrong measurements, BTW, and I like how you played with the scaling trying to make the S5 look bad - very slick) . Anyway, I did not realize you are actually a Yg dealer, did not mean to upset you, but you had asked for a personal experience and I simply gave you one, I think it was you who started this topic. Again, sorry if I upset you, that was not my intention :)
 
asiufy said:
JanF,

I have nothing but good words for Magico, but I want to understand where you're coming from with your slamming of YG.

Here's YG Anat, a 10-year old product, that hasn't been manufactured in a while. Taken from here: http://www.soundstagenetwork.com/measurements/speakers/yg_anat_ref_main_module/

attachment.php


And here's Magico's S5, a much newer design/speaker. Taken from here: http://www.soundstagenetwork.com/in...ts-magico-s5-loudspeakers&catid=77&Itemid=153


attachment.php


I know Mike is now a Magico dealer, but I know him, and he won't back this kind of lies... So if you don't like the YGs, and prefer the Magicos, that's all perfectly understandable. But don't say things like the YG tweeter is this or that. Thank you :)


cheers,
alex
Click to expand...


Alex,

Why not to post THD distortion figures ? Those are plain embarassing for the YG (lower line shows THD):

90dB
thd_90db.gif

95dB:


thd_95db.gif


The numbers are already very high at 90dB, at 95dBm they are simply unacceptable.

Now compare that to THD measurements of the Magico S5:

90dB
thd_90db.gif


95dB
thd_95db.gif


After 70Hz, THD is so low that it doesn't even show on the scale.
 
I've been driving the S1 mk2's with the Devialet 400/Lumin U1 combo and it's fan-dabby-dozzy! The bass is starting to come now. Been playing pretty much non-stop. Spiking was a nice boost in performance too. You know, I have to say, in a small to "average" sized room, they are really superb. I have a lot of customers with a 12 x 15 or 13 x 16 size room. These would perform beautifully. There is just something magical about a two-way...
 
JanF said:
I actually like Yg, I just don’t think they can play very loud, and I gave you a point of reference to support my claim. The “new” tweeter behaves just the same (to my ear), if you have data backing up a different story, please provide it (you are showing the wrong measurements, BTW, and I like how you played with the scaling trying to make the S5 look bad - very slick) . Anyway, I did not realize you are actually a Yg dealer, did not mean to upset you, but you had asked for a personal experience and I simply gave you one, I think it was you who started this topic. Again, sorry if I upset you, that was not my intention :)
Click to expand...

Excellent, so your ears tell you the tweeter is not good. That's fine. But please don't claim the measurements will provide some sort of legitimacy to your ears, as they clearly don't, as I have showed.
The graphs I posted are called "Deviation from linearity @ 95dB", which, to me, describes perfectly the situation you mentioned, that the tweeter would, at high volumes, break from linearity. As the graphs show, both speakers deviate just as much in the high frequencies, but again, the YGs are a much older project, and the tweeter is not the same as current production.
In the future, also refrain from implying I "played". I posted the link where I got the two graphs, which is way more than you did. Anybody could go to the links I provided and see the graphs. If you download each individual graph to your computer, you'll see they're EXACTLY the same file/size as I posted, which I did for convenience. The YG graph is smaller because the review is so damn old that back then people used dial-up modem or something... Please, do not imply I'm dishonest, as that's hurtful, while all I'm trying to do is bring forth information.
As I said, personal experiences are fine, but you came in here and claimed graphs would show something, while they clearly don't. I'm not upset because you don't like YG, I'm upset because you branded me as dishonest, and I'm sure nobody would like that.

Be well,
Alex
 
Adam,

The OP came in here and claimed the tweeter in the YG was this-and-that. I showed the graph I deemed most appropriate, as it shows both tweeters deviating from linearity at 95dB.

And as for your question why I didn't post other graphs. Well, I did. I posted the links to both reviews/measurements, so anybody was welcome to see all the graphs you ended up posting anyway.

Guys, this is not a competition, who's got better graphs. Just like you did, Adam, I could've picked other graphs or reviews to show a purpoted superiorty of the YGs, but I just wanted to point that graphs didn't corroborate the whole "tweeter" thing.

Now, it's not fun being offended... And to think I actually like the damn Magico speakers, and I've defended the Q3s against all sorts of arguments...

Alex.
 
Just a minor correction. Technically, I think I was the OP. [emoji41]

OP = Opening Poster


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Elberoth said:
Alex,

Why not to post THD distortion figures ? Those are plain embarassing for the YG (lower line shows THD):

90dB
thd_90db.gif

95dB:


thd_95db.gif


The numbers are already very high at 90dB, at 95dBm they are simply unacceptable.

Now compare that to THD measurements of the Magico S5:

90dB
thd_90db.gif


95dB
thd_95db.gif


After 70Hz, THD is so low that it doesn't even show on the scale.
Click to expand...

Adam,

How are your THD measurements taken for the two different speakers? I presume you are accounting for the fact that each speaker's individual impedance and phase angle spectrums puts a different load on the "Test Amplifier" creating a unique level of distortion seen by each speaker?

I know you probably have your ducks in a row, but I was a bit surprised by your plots. I presume your measurements account for this but I know the S5 drives with half the power of the Q3 and the old Anat needed an amp with a lot of current. Just wondering if you know how your measurements were done.

From Stereophile:

"The Anat Reference II's voltage sensitivity was significantly higher than average, at an estimated 90.1dB(B)/2.83V/m, though it is a little lower than the specified 92dB. The impedance is specified as 4 ohms, with a 2.7 ohm minimum. However, while our sample was basically a 4 ohm design, the magnitude did drop to almost 2 ohms in the mid-treble—which is why WP felt the tubed VTL amplifiers lacked sparkle—and below 2 ohms above 25kHz (fig.1). The phase angle also varies widely, and the combinations of 4 ohms magnitude and –53° capacitive angle at 110Hz, and 4.8 ohms and –46° at 2.4kHz, mandate the use of a power amplifier that can deliver unrestricted amounts of current."



 
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