Magico's M9

This thread shows how jealousy can mask the truth. None of these NA-SAYERS have even heard these speakers but think their words mean something. Are they ridiculously expensive? Yes. I will never be able to afford anything near their price but that doesn’t mean I I’m here to trash them. Hats off to Magico for building something that represents the ultimate realism!

Well honestly, I find the cabana boy smarmy, but loyal. So far he has been happy with Rockports, but it seems like it’s always something with him, 

The Cabana Boy - don't forget him.

You poor rascals with no sense of humor! Come on, life can be fun if you let it!

@bolong I agree with that, same with wires vs wireless, but the arguing will never go away from this hobby!

Anyhow, the butler likes his speakers and all the world is good! However, the pool man is here and I need to get ready for afternoon polo. 
 

Toodles

We all know where we are headed eventually - total digital manipulation of sound that can give you whatever you desire in whatever room you have without much fuss. We will miss arguing about sound quality.

I like the guy (uncledemp) who built the M9 11.4 AV system. I think I am going to do that. I am going to use the M9 or 10 Bose 901 speakers with the 55 inch Samsung TV and skip the subs. I will post pictures, stay tuned.

You actually would have to not use your "flea watt" amp as the Magicos aren’t particularly efficient. Also, I'd have to borrow a pair from nearby Goodwin's to see how they sound in my room and I'm afraid they might not loan them to me...I mean...I'll ask 'em...I did spend 125 bucks there a couple of years ago...

Now I know where failed comedians go.

Sorry about your dog, dude. LOL

No need for further discussion. I just ordered the last two for my butler. I upgraded the finish to a dip comprised of 24k gold mixed with dinosaur bone dust. 

I just completed my 11.4 setup with these, and they kick some serious butt. My 4 subs are built into the floor, and sadly cracked my dogs pelvis during a scene from X Men last Wednesday. I’m considering podiums for them all once I have my room treated. 

I’d put pictures on the ‘my system’ page, but my phone camera is acting up. I’m due for an upgrade this coming October. 

If you can never fulfill your lust for an M9, you can always use the other one to end your sorrows. They bear a resemblance!

M9

Will be so sorry to see you go, dude... Your contribution was priceless. Will rush to check out some "Japanese magic", I am sure no one here ever heard a Luxman or Yamaha receiver, wow!  

@mikelavigne , The emotional envelopment is effortless with my TAD+Luxman or Yamaha gear. It is a bit less with the Technics. But, i primarily bought the Technics as a hot summer solution (some compromise for mitigation of constant air conditioner operation and resultant higher noise floor). I initially felt that it was all some Japanese magic sauce or the fact that TAD engineers use some Luxman gear when voicing their speakers. But, it also happens with the Schweikert (a completely different speaker). So, I don't know what the hell it is. Maybe, some manufacturers are able to deliver some magic sauce that others don't, while there is no question about either side's technical proficiency.

Unfortunately, the discussion of one's negative personal experience with any brand turns that brand's forum fanboys or dealers carrying that brand into psychotic dudes. So, I'll end the discussion here and im you instead. If I am in the Seattle? area, I'll let you know. If you are in the KC metro area, you let me know.

And then make the trip to Hayward to listen to another one :/

@deep_333 

I can certainly understand making a mistake in audio purchases as I've made quite a few, especially with speakers, but twice with the same brand seemed unusual. 

Thank god for Deepy. He will show us the way!

@deep_333

i do appreciate you taking the time to comment on your Magico experiences. i can mostly relate. i could never wrap my head around the Magico sound, until two years ago when i spent a couple days at a local audio show where they had the Magico S5 MkII with the Q sub15 and for the first time i heard a Magico that i connected with in terms of musical emotion.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/michael-fremer-enlivens-impressive-audio-ultra-demos

the Magico had always had top level cohesion, but maybe previously the speaker had been thread bare, lacking emotion and somehow now the QSub integration completed the picture. it was at this point when i looked at the M9’s differently. i figured it deserved the benefit of the doubt. but i still have not heard it.

but i respect how your long term Magico viewpoint came to be. it’s where i was until that point where i was touched by their sound.

@jjss49 

Thanks Steve. I was unaware of that. I guess the fact that he didn't respond to my question was proof of that.

@roxy54 

that username is definitely on the 'high b-s quotient' list -- i've called it out numerous times in the recent past

Let's see if he explains himself.

LOL. Just go back and look at some of deep33 posts. He “had” any speaker on the planet (and just added Magico to the list). Tekton are among the best. Probably written from his mother basement ;)

@deep_333 

You call people who are taken in by percieved value of these speakers doofuses, and then you say that Majicos have always sounded clinical, and yet you say that you have owned a couple of pairs in the past. How do you explain that?

@mikelavigne , i heard it at hayward. I've owned a couple of the older Magicos. After a certain price point, many speaker brands converge to a threshold for resolution, detail, slam, visceral bass impact, imaging, etc, whatever...But, Magico has never been my type of speaker, it has always had a clinical sound typical of what is produced by an engineering base that doesn't understand music. The nature of these forums is that doofuses already have a pre-emptive standing ovation in place when they see a high enough price tag (Otherwise known as 'market positioning' by manufacturers, which absolves them of all their speaker's shortcomings because doofuses are unable to be truthful to what they perceive anymore when they see that price tag..)

On the same note, all speakers at any price point have their pros and cons. After a cetain price point, many speakers are "carried" by the electronics tied to it instead. Atkinson has always been right about that. Put some overengineered Gryphon piece in front of anything, and it gets so overwhelming (the drool's dripping down in bucket loads) that the dudes with their pre-emptive standing ovations can't even think anymore.

@deep_333   AND  !!! Your point being, I for one have definitely seen worse looking speakers and I am sad I have not heard the M9s . 

People can debate “pretty” (some people think SF are pretty, I think they look like a fancy coffin). The Magico beauty is first and foremost in its built quality and materials. It is second to none. Just like a Leica or Porsche.

I’m with you Mike I’d love to hear the M9’s as well. Hopefully at some point I will. I own the Magico Q7 II and bought them used on this site. The speakers have brought  my listening and enjoyment of music up to a much higher level. I just can’t imagine what the M9’s would do. My Magico’s may not be as pretty as some of the other  speakers I have had but boy do they sound good. I don’t think I could ever rationalize buying the M9’s but I hope someday Magico comes out with speakers in between mine and the M9’s. Then just maybe…….

I think there are other products with unreasonable prices, Magico isn't one of them. E.g. Linn's anniversary BS design turntable

In the meantime from someone who actually experienced it: https://parttimeaudiophile.com/2023/07/14/the-magico-m9-experience-review/

@deep_333

so tell us details about what you did hear with the M9, what was special, and what it did not do for you. how it compared to others. and where you heard it.

ignore the price and the look....if that is ok?

@mikelavigne , what "performance" are you hoping to hear? Put it in words. 

On the same note, i have heard this speaker. Did i hear anything otherworldy that any ol' Scweikert, Borresen, etc didn't do? No. But, if you heard anything wild w.r.t "performance", enlighten us one day.

the 'look'? the 'price'? yawn. double yawn. thanks for nothing.

not much brain power needed for those sorts of flippant comments.

i do appreciate any comments on the performance. thank you. and thank you to Magico for the efforts to build such a speaker. hopefully someday i can hear it myself.

@jim204 I certainly DO NOT wish i can afford this eye sore.  I know they are selling diddly on this model in spite of all the ferocious marketing. Alon needs to admit he effed up making a speaker look like a overpriced giant whale phallus and move on in life, lol.

Why begrudge the speakers and the people who can afford them. If I were a multi-millionaire and had a room to do them justice, I would certainly entertain the idea of having a magnificent hifi. It’s disposable income to someone of those means. Personally I’d love Air Tight or VAC electronics and Magico, Wilson or MBL speakers. 

Let the world turn. Or better yet, get that crowbar out of the garage and get the world to stop.

I really wish that probably everyone else here does, that I could afford these beautiful speakers and ancillaries to go with them and do them justice. I would certainly be a very happy man and count my blessings but not to be. That means I would love to have them without resorting to jealous tirades about the speakers and the lucky people who can afford them . I would also love an Aston Martin but I have Toyota Auris Hybrid pockets but I can say the Auris gives me at least 4 times the miles to the gallon that an Aston would give me, doesn't mean I wouldn't like one. Remember also the trickle down factor and thank the expensive speaker manufacturer's for that. 

They look ugly...which is the final nail in the coffin for this speaker...If it looked better, i know guys who would buy it. 

@pennfootball71 what you’re saying is that they chose to make a speaker for $25,000 that’s not very good because the cabinet cost 20,000, but they didn’t choose to make one for 30 or 35,000 instead that would’ve actually been good? None of this makes logical sense, they put their name on a bad speaker and perhaps you’re making excuses for them?

1. for $25,000 we can get a really nice pair of speakers, and the Magico 5 was not a really nice pair of speakers. Not even close. I wouldn’t pay 10k for those

2. Seemingly the next level for them is 180,000. My thought is that if you can’t make something good for 25,000 you can’t make something for 180,000.

And where’s the in between / 75k model ?

So much hype around the construction of the cabinet

Making a nice cabinet does not mean that we know how to make a great speaker

Speaker shaped jewelry is a thing

The new Evolution Acoustics offering is in the $350-$400,000 range, I can’t imagine that anything could be better

It’s all a matter of zeros.  As I am retired, I think about net worth, but the same could be said about salary.   
 

if an audiophile has a net worth of $1m, and has a system that he spent $10k on, it is no stretch to think that if he was worth $10m, he could easily have a $100k system, or if he was worth $50m, he could have a $500k system. And considering that the more money you have, your % of disposable income actually increases, that $50m guy could easily afford $750k speakers (and appropriate electronics) as easily as the $1m guy can spend $10k on his system.

I am not a wine guy, but this logic was used by a friend in reply to me pondering “who regularly drinks $1000 bottles of wine?”  

Lets see. The Magico M9 is $750k. I will admit I am a blue collar guy so I am going to spend all this money assuming I have already put investments aside. I live in Ohio so I can get a very nice home for $400k and I can have a dedicated room for another $50k. That leaves me around $300k for the speakers and an updated HiFi system. If I can find a decent set of speakers for $100k I still have $200k for all the electronics. Digital $15K TT $15k Two mono amps $20k Preamp $15k Cables $10k. I still have money leftover for a decent Truck and buy the wife a new car. Maybe a Ford or GMC or Toyota Truck and get the wife her Prius. Now I look like a hero.

If only they had a influencer like Jay who offered technical expertise. And maybe some critical commentary comparing gear. This would be a GameChanger. No one really does this very well.

Do any of these influencers really make much money? Or is it just for the joy of doing something. Are they really paying for these mega speakers they put in front of them? Doubtful

roxy54

... He's not an audio guru, he's an entrepreneur.

I think that's true of almost all of the YouTube crowd. They seek to be "influencers." Jay had a really aggressive, promotional thread on A'gon, which he shut down after he attracted critics, which he just could not abide. There's a thread now where the guy who runs ASR is vigorously defending himself. He has to work really hard at it and it isn't a pretty sight.

@emergingsoul 

"Jay’s audio puts forward all this extremely expensive gear and doesn’t really talk about it. What makes it so great? He doesn’t seem to have any technical expertise or willingness to share it. The continual sound comparisons and teasing is difficult to comprehend. No one can hear her a difference it’s ridiculous"

Well said! He's not an audio guru, he's an entrepreneur.

I know everyone is sick of hearing about this

But you made a post about it anyway. Was that useful, you think?

FWIW, I heard the Magico M6 ($172,000/pair) at AXPONA last year. They sounded absolutely stellar — best sound of the show, along with the Avantgarde Trio G3 horns and the Focal Maestros.

That kind of quality costs money. Never heard the M9s but I have no problem believing their performance is a level or two above that of the M6s. It’s worth it to some of us. So what? Why do you care? If the price of a product offends you, don’t buy it.

I mean, I’d love to drive a Bugatti but I won’t/can’t plunk down a million dollars for it. Doesn’t mean I’ll go complain about its price on an automotive forum.

For me, a Bugatti isn’t in the cards, but I’m glad supercars exist, pushing the performance envelope. So it is with the M9s. If the M9s aren’t for you (based on price alone), fair enough, but why would that matter to us — or to Magico — in the slightest? It’s not interesting and it’s not relevant.

Jay’s audio puts forward all this extremely expensive gear and doesn’t really talk about it. What makes it so great? He doesn’t seem to have any technical expertise or willingness to share it. The continual sound comparisons and teasing is difficult to comprehend. No one can hear her a difference it’s ridiculous

Personally I’d like to learn about this gear, but his website doesn’t come through.

Clearly all this ultra high end gear is extremely overpriced. And only serves to elevate pricing of lower tier gear which is a strategy.

Audio gear sales our way down, surprising audio research has made it this far.

@brianlucey A5 is entry level and at 25k there’s only about $5000 left to build the speakers in terms of manufacturing. There’s just not enough meat of the bones.

Having heard the Magico A5 only, is was not worth the ask.