Yes, Q3 cost more than the V3 but the improve in performance is quite significant. What I tried to say was that, eventhough Q3 costs more, my dealer felt that most people, if they can, probably would try to stretch their budget from V3 upto Q3 because of the gain in performance.
I almost bought V3 a couple of years ago and I am glad I waited this long.
I think there are good reasons why some people may not like Magico. People who are used to big heavy bass from ported loudspeakers may not be used to the type of bass that Magico produces. They are also not easy to drive. I am not sure why Magico would list 50 watts or was it 100 watts as adequate for Q5. At least Q3 seems to be a much easier load than even V3. Th 120 watts 710 Soulution amp certainly seems to have easier time driving Q3 than V3.
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Hmmm, interesting point about voice and scale of singers. Unfortunately, in my experience, I have not heard any stereo system that can quite produce the kind of impact that a truely large voice can produce in a concert hall or opera house. In part, that may be the false of microphone recording the voice, perhaps. Having heard Eva Marton, Alexandra Marc, Deborah Voigt, Hildegard Behrens, Nina Stemme among others and listen to their recordings, I never quite get the kind of goose bump experience from their wall of sound come crashing through. Birgitte Nilsson mentioned in her autobiography that when they tried to record her voice, the sound engineer kept asking her to step away from microphone as she kept overloading it as she sang.
Behrens is rather petite and Stemme is certainly quite slim (at least by opera singer's standard) but their voice is certainly not.
Not sure what this has to do with Q3 but oh well... our local dealer is supposed to get in his first pair to demo by the end of the month and from what I have been audition locally so far in my price range, I really think that Q3 is probably going to be the one I will get later on this year. |
Finally I got to hear Q3. However, the speakers only arrived at the dealer 2 days ago and not even closed to burn in yet but it sounds very promising. Like Q5, it made just about all other cone speakers sound boxy in comparison. Excellent detail and I could hear separation of each instruments much clearer. The improvement over V3 is quite significant. My dealer is now worried that it may be more difficult to sell the remaining stocks of his V3 because the difference is price and performance seems to favor Q3 quite a bit. I should have Q3 in my living room in the next week or so after they are burned in more. |
Ebm, I am not sure what you are upset about? I assume that in part, you are responding to my post regarding V3 vs Q3. I never said that V3 is bad. I first fell in love with Magico since I first heard V3. May be not quite enough that I would want to upgrade my speakers but Magico suddenly became one brand that I would like to own one day. The M5 came out which is way out of my reach. Q5 followed where the price range is almost in a realistic range but I am afraid that I will have to upgrade my amp as well to really drive it well. Suddenly Q3 came out that I think would work well with my amplifier, in a range that will not be too much of a burden to me. So I am very excited.
Why would I need a reality check or wake up as you said, just because I find Q3 better than V3. Magico releases a speaker that cost more than V3. It is bigger, has more drivers and updated drivers, at that, more expensive material which is probably more difficult to manufacture but because it is being done entirely in house rather than relying on outsourcing (and not to cheap labor country either), they could make something that is better but does not cost and arm and a leg more! Does that sound too much like a dream and not a reality?
Would it be better if Magico make something new that is more expensive but is not better than the old speakers?
I don't really get your point at all! |
CES 2012, I also wonder what Magico will do. V2 is still a current model but M6 was discontinued. May be a M6 replacement? |
Depends on how big the room you are using 710/Q3 with, I suppose. I heard the combination at my dealer over the weekend in a smallish room and it has no problem driving Q3 to more than adequate loudness with no sign of stress.
I have not yet heard Q3 with other amplifiers but on V3, I prefer it driven by Spectral. Personally, I find Soulution a bit too lean for my taste (I heard 710 with Q3 and 700 with Q5), perhaps its damping factor which is incredibly high, couple to Magico very very fast bass just sound a bit fatiging to me after awhile. No tympani or snare drum is that tight in real life I think. May be it was also Argento cable that my dealer was using that is also on the lean side of neutral. They are getting in MIT cables which I heard sounds great with Spectral/V3 in the past. |
The room I heard Q3/710 in was roughly 3.5mx4.5m or about 11x15ft and a little over 9ft tall. There should not be trouble with volume at all but you will need significant room treatment otherwise Q3 will definitely be too much for the room. Now Q3/710 was moved into a larger room, about 5x7m but I have not heard it yet. However my dealer said that 710 was still adequate for Q3 in that room and 710 actually had an easier time driving Q3 in comparison to V3. |
I got Q3 in my living room and I am impressed. The tonal balance is rather different from what I heard at my dealer with Soulution. Q3 replaces Usher Be-20 DMD in my room. Lamm M2.2 certainly has not problem driving it in 8 ohms tab mode. I have not tried 4 ohms tab yet but figure that Q3 may benefit from a bit more power.
Surprisingly, Usher Be-20 diamond tweeter appears to be a bit more extended than Q3 at the moment (with the same Lamm amplifiers). However, these Q3s only have about 200 hours of music playing so far. I understand that it will need about 500 hours to break in.
I understand that some people complain that Magico is not suitable for rock and bass heavy music. In a way, it is true that Q3 does not have the volume or with weight of Be-20. But its bass is almost as deep, faster, more precise, and much better detail. I could hear the note in each instrument much clearer. Be-20 in my room has rather big bump from 50Hz all the way down to 20 Hz and some people may prefer its punchiness and slam over Magico, I suppose. But listening to large scale orchestral work, I find double bass, tympani etc on Q3 to have more natural and realistic balance in comparison to what I hear in concert hall than Be-20 and other great port speakers that have bigger bass slam than Q3.
I have been debating about upgrading Be-20 to V3 for a couple of years, feeling that it was not quite worth the upgrade even though there are many things that I really like about V3. Q3 however is a clear and worthwhile upgrade, at least to my ears, anyhow. |
James, Usher midrange is a little bit larger, more forward, not quite as well focus, and may be a touch rougher. Image is also a touch flatter on Be-20. I found Usher older Berylium/titanium tweeter a bit on the cool side and DMD sweeter and rounder, which I prefer. Right now Magico is a bit darker in overall tonal balance. Q3 definitely has Usher beaten in term of resolution, detail and absence of any boxiness. Mind you, when I bought Usher (over here it is quite a bit cheaper than in the US), in its price range I could not find anything that I like better so I do have very high regard for Be-20.
Peter, I completely agree with you about Magico's bass. I listen to about 70-80% classical and vocal music. Pop/rock may be only about 5% of the time. |
Just a slight update, not sure how to explain this, using Lamm 4 ohms tab instead of the 8 ohms tab, Q3 is not quite as dark as before. Usher impedance is 8 ohms so I never tried 4 ohms tab with it. On the other hand, string seems to have more sparkle with 8 ohms mode while 4 ohms is more creamy, a bit softer. The speakers are really hyperdetail but in an absolutely non fatiguing way. The first day, I started listening at about 2.30pm and did not turn the stereo off until 10 at night. This is how easy and non fatiquing Q3 is to listen to. Perhaps Lamm is also helping here quite a bit as well. |
In comparison to Q5, the major benefit for Q3 is that it you will have a lot more choices of amps to choose from. A friend of mine has Q5 and it seems to thrive on lots of power, the more the merrier. Q5 bass definitely will go down deeper. I also agree with JV comments in his CES report that Q5 does sound more neutral and Q3 a bit warmer. However, I have not heard Q3 and Q5 driven by the same amps. With Q5, I probably would forget anything less than 3-400 watts. |
I heard from my dealer a few weeks ago that the price will go up, I think First of September if I am not mistaken to $38,000+. I got mine at the original price. Supposedly the price went up because cost of aluminium went up considerably since Q3 was planned and initial price was announced. However I am not in commodity market so I would not know for sure! |
I agree with Peter. For what it's worth, I really like V3 but not quite enough to upgrade my Usher Be-20. Q3 is a different story. Not that is matter much but I understand that locally, my dealer seems to get more order for Q3 these last couple of months than V3 were sold here in the last 2-3 years.
I can't really comment much regarding M5 vs Q3. I only heard M5 once with Krell Evo One/Two. Definitely great speakers regardless of what Q5/Q3 can do. |
