I heard the Magico S3 MKII | Magico S5 MKII | Parasounda Person 5F | KEF Blade 2 all on the same day at the LA Audio Show a few days ago.
I was shocked at how much I liked the Magico S3 MKII. I spent a lot of time with them. So much so that I searched out the S5 MKII at the show. I did not like the S5 MKII as much but that could have been attributed to the VAC electronics | room | or music being played through them. The S5 MKII is likely the better choice for a bigger room. I was never a huge Magico fan in the past even after hearing their more expensive speakers with excellent electronics.
I spent about an hour with the Parasound Persona 5F, mainly by myself. I wanted to get the general idea of the Persona sound since I was interested in the Persona 9H. I did like the sound but I was not enthralled as with the Magicos. Now these 5F Persona's were in a terrible room with electronics I would not have considered. They did have a wide soundstage and disappeared pretty well. The 9H in a better room with good electronics would likely have driven more interest in me.
My favorite speaker at the show was the KEF Blade 2 driven by Hegel electronics. I was lucky again to be able to listen for about a 1.5 hours mostly by myself again (Friday is a good day to go). A few years earlier, I had heard the Blade 1 with the much more expensive top end Chord gear and they sounded better than the Hegel gear. However, even with the Hegel gear the Blade was still my favorite. The soundstage was massive, the speakers totally disappear, with layers of music. The Blades also look awesome to me and the enjoyment factor was through the roof (this last point is the one that matters most). Do not get me wrong the Hegel gear was also very good. I am considering buying the Hegel ROST amp for the bedroom to drive KEF LS50's.
I was also lucky to be able to hear the Luxman C900u preamp and a Luxman 1000f monoblock amp driving the $93K Vivid Spirit speaker. Lucky, because I was considering matching the KEF Blade 2 with the Luxman C900u and M900u (amp). These 2 pieces are $15 MSRP, the 1000f was $60K. After this listen I am confident that the Luxman C900u and the M900u will be a great match for the Blades.
Not sure if this helps but I would be happy with the Magico or Blade 2 for long term
I was shocked at how much I liked the Magico S3 MKII. I spent a lot of time with them. So much so that I searched out the S5 MKII at the show. I did not like the S5 MKII as much but that could have been attributed to the VAC electronics | room | or music being played through them. The S5 MKII is likely the better choice for a bigger room. I was never a huge Magico fan in the past even after hearing their more expensive speakers with excellent electronics.
I spent about an hour with the Parasound Persona 5F, mainly by myself. I wanted to get the general idea of the Persona sound since I was interested in the Persona 9H. I did like the sound but I was not enthralled as with the Magicos. Now these 5F Persona's were in a terrible room with electronics I would not have considered. They did have a wide soundstage and disappeared pretty well. The 9H in a better room with good electronics would likely have driven more interest in me.
My favorite speaker at the show was the KEF Blade 2 driven by Hegel electronics. I was lucky again to be able to listen for about a 1.5 hours mostly by myself again (Friday is a good day to go). A few years earlier, I had heard the Blade 1 with the much more expensive top end Chord gear and they sounded better than the Hegel gear. However, even with the Hegel gear the Blade was still my favorite. The soundstage was massive, the speakers totally disappear, with layers of music. The Blades also look awesome to me and the enjoyment factor was through the roof (this last point is the one that matters most). Do not get me wrong the Hegel gear was also very good. I am considering buying the Hegel ROST amp for the bedroom to drive KEF LS50's.
I was also lucky to be able to hear the Luxman C900u preamp and a Luxman 1000f monoblock amp driving the $93K Vivid Spirit speaker. Lucky, because I was considering matching the KEF Blade 2 with the Luxman C900u and M900u (amp). These 2 pieces are $15 MSRP, the 1000f was $60K. After this listen I am confident that the Luxman C900u and the M900u will be a great match for the Blades.
Not sure if this helps but I would be happy with the Magico or Blade 2 for long term