As I mentioned before, the Infinity IRS-V's are the best sounding speakers i've ever heard, though in many ways my current Magico S5's are better. The S5's don't have the dynamic headroom of the Infinity's, nor the 3d imaging or off-axis performance, however they are more resolving of inner detail from the low bass region to lower mids, they have more texture and body than the fives & are more seamless and coherent. There is also a greater quality to the sound which is to be expected given the S5's superior drivers, crossover, cabinet & internal wiring. The S5 is also more room friendly in terms of placement. So it depends on how you define "best". |
Gpgr, I'm not surprised by your comments as you have a long history on this forum of being firmly in the Wilson camp and vocal in your commentary about Magico. In regard to shows, they are poor litmus tests for any loudspeaker, so i'm surprised you're relying on notoriously poor show conditions to form a view. The S series have a warmer, fuller and more relaxed sound which to my ears sound well balanced and coherent. Atleast paired with Vitus Sig series, they sound anything but sterile. I do agree with you however that audio is subjective. |
David12, Whatthe is not criticizing your choice of words or your entitlement to prefer other loudspeakers over Magico, only the fact that you have formed a view based on 3 auditions in notoriously poor show conditions. Whatthe and I actually own Magico speakers and have spent years optimizing them, so we can offer an informed opinion, whereas to be honest you seem to be speaking from a position of ignorance. All I'm saying is your comments should be less effusive given your limited experience with those speakers. |
@Whatthe, congrats on your Q5's! If you're running the big SS-102 or SM-102's your Q5's will have enough juice to properly control them. Because the Q5's are more neutral, I would (personally) lean toward the SS-102 which sounds a bit warmer than the mono's, but that's a matter of personal taste.
In general, Vitus pairs extremely well with Magico & is one of the few amps which makes the Q series sing. I've also heard good things about The Gryphon, Pass XS series & CJ Art/Gat amps. |
@Whatthe, your comment is fair enough. I just made the point that I think if you're relying on sub-par setups at a show to form a view about a loudspeaker, you're likely to be misguided.
@David12, I understand your constraints given you've got limited opportunities to hear Magico and other speakers in well sorted rooms. Fyi, I wasn't suggesting you can't or shouldn't proffer an opinion on those speakers unless you'd heard them outside show conditions. I just suggested that you should not be so effusive in your comments if you're relying on auditions at shows and should keep an open mind.
Magico speakers are transparent to source, linear and generally neutral in tonal balance, so they demand an owner take care in matching upstream gear. The old saying "rubbish in, rubbish out" applies. Thus when 'philes post descriptions like "lean", "cold", "dry", "sterile"..it is often the upstream gear which is to blame. You could say they are honest, though as I said the S series are warmer, fully bodied & have a more relaxed presentation than the Q series. |
David12, do you have any suggestions for Alon Wolf to make Magico speakers sound less "sterile"? |
Ctsooner, I have a solution to your problem with Magico speakers...try auditioning them with more emotional upstream gear like CJ Art/Gat or Vitus Sig Series and KS Emotion/Elation or Siltech Royal Sig series cables ;). Btw, the Magico S5's are both time and phase coherent according to Magico. And to my ears they are very coherent, well balanced and non-fatiguing which suggests their claim is true.
I agree 100% with your comments about audiophiles relying on notoriously sub-optimal show conditions to form a view about loudspeakers. That's why I am reserving my judgment on the Vandy 7's as I haven't heard them in a dedicated room, though anecdotally they can have boomy bass and an issue with sound stage height (depending on the room). Whilst the Vandys are known to have a narrow sweet spot (not that that's necessarily a bad thing. It depends on how you listen). My point being, with work and perseverance it is possible to make the 7's sound wonderful...in the same way as the S5's ;). |
As I mentioned before, the Infinity IRS-V's are the best sounding speakers i've ever heard, though in many ways my current Magico S5's are better. The S5's don't have the dynamic headroom of the Infinity's, nor the 3d imaging or off-axis performance...however they are more resolving of inner detail from the low bass region to lower mids, they have more texture and body the IRS & more seamless and coherent. There is also a greater quality to the sound which is to be expected given the S5's superior drivers, crossover, cabinet & internal wiring. And the S5 is more room friendly with placement. So it depends on how you define "best". |
David, i'm not sure which Magico speakers you've heard, but from your description it sounds like you've heard Q series speakers which do lean in that direction, and with poor amp choices for synergy imho. The S series are warmer and more full bodied sounding speakers. They should still be matched with warm, tube-like ss amps or powerful tube amps for best synergy, but because the S5's for example are warmer sounding than the Q series, Vitus Signature series (ss) amps a perfect match imho. With that said, Magico are not unbeatable because audio is completely subjective. We all (literally) hear things differently, so the old adage "One man's trash is another man's treasure" holds true.
As an example, I heard the Alexia's in a treated listening room with top range ARC amps and was underwhelmed. The bass was slow and flabby, they were not as coherent or well balanced as S5, and are not as warm, full bodied or intimate sounding. Sound stage depth was good though. The Alexia's have airy mids and highs, though I didn't equate that with greater accuracy. The S5s are definitely more accurate and have better image specificity. Another punter might walk out of the same room with a completely different view. Incidentally, I heard the Alexia's with D'agostino mono's & a full DCS Vivaldi stack. It was a better demo, but the sound was fatiguing and walked out of that room after 20 minutes. |
Mapman, you pretty much nailed it in your description of Magico's latest generation of speakers. Their transparency, resolution & linearity (accuracy) demand much of their owner as their 'honesty' means they will faithfully pass on shortcomings in upstream electronics and wire. And their potential means you're really short-changing yourself if you don't explore their potential with well-matched high end amps, front end, cables and isolation of equal caliber. And like a race car, synergy is very important to get the best out of these loudspeakers. If you accept that, they are wonderful transducers. |
