Magico S5 vs Tannoy Westminster Royal SE

Good to see you on the forum Bill. Even though we differ in our preference in this instance, I know where you're coming from & respect your viewpoint.

Putting the above aside for a moment, the S5's are the most transparent and resolving of speakers, and are very coherent. As such, they will faithfully reproduce what is fed to them without editorializing. To me, although the S5's are a bit more laid back in presentation & warm sounding than the Q3's, and are easier to place than the Alexia's for example, they still require patience and careful setup to extract their full potential. I have heard Magico speakers sound haunting with Vitus Signature Series & Siltech Royal Sig series cables, and lean and unmusical with the old Soulution amps (have heard the new series are better). Another factor previously discussed is run-in time which is long (atleast 1000hrs).

As one member eluded to above, you could walk into a Dealer's showroom and hear a not-yet-fully run in pair of S5's with something like Spectral, Boulder or Soulution and completely dismiss these speakers. Yet if you take the time to get it right (ie: built your system around the speakers and fully optimize your setup), the S5's are capable of stunning sound.

.... the sound of the Magico S5 is salubrious, exquisite, stunning, glorious and dazzling and the sound of the Tannoy Westminster Royal SE is superlative, smashing, magnificent, superb and impeccable...

Look, these are two entirely different speakers. I prefer the Tannoy - but that means Jack Shite

It means Jack Shite because you have no empirical data to support why you prefer it.
Why would anyone prefer a higher THD, trainwrack frq and power response, lack of extension, bloated bass loudspeakers to one that is the exact opposite?
It will be very difficult to explain why would anyone prefer an inferior speaker, but that is hi-fi for you.

'It means Jack Shite because you have no empirical data to support why you prefer it. Why would anyone prefer a higher THD, trainwrack frq and power response, lack of extension, bloated bass loudspeakers to one that is the exact opposite?
It will be very difficult to explain why would anyone prefer an inferior speaker, but that is hi-fi for you.'

Dear oh dear - its obvious you have a long way to go in your Hi Fi journey.

Here is the truth. The purpose of Hi Fi is to trick the listener into thinking this is real. That is an emotional response not accounted for by measurements. I have heard plenty of gear that measured ho hum that sounds glorious, as well as plenty of gear that measures impeccably but sounds - well ho hum. And conversely as well - plenty of gear that measures dubiously and sounds that way, and plenty that measure impeccably that sounds fantastic. No hard and fast rule here.

There is a guy in Sydney Australia, by the name of Steve Garland, that has what many people that have heard it say is the best system in Australia - it simply sounds so beguilingly real. Some people from the states who had heard everything under the sun were on a holiday and called in to hear it. They left shocked - it was better than anything they had heard state-side.

It has a Axiom 80 driver in a cabinet that acoustically is a joke - its as resonant as hell. It uses a hand built and tuned valve amp and DAC. Many many hours have been spent getting it to sound just right - and it was by ear - no measurements at all. It will likely measure terribly - but the proof of the pudding is in the eating.

Forget measurements - you hear music - not measurements.

BTW my speakers are the exact opposite - technically a tour de force - but that is another story. Some people actually prefer a system I know the uses the same speakers as mine to Steve's - and having heard that particular system many times I wish I could get mine to sound as good. But the guy installs systems for a living and has spent many hours getting it just right using his many years of experience.

Its all in how you react to what you hear. Check out the following review of exactly the same speaker to see what I mean:
http://www.stereomojo.com/LENEHAN%20ML1%20REFERENCE%20SPEAKER%20REVIEW/LenehandML1ReferenceSpeaker.htm

For one person - the best he has ever heard - and he is a speaker builder of many years experience - for another - ho hum - and he is a very well respected audio engineer. The speaker measures impeccably - yet we have two different reactions.

BTW they were my personal speakers that were reviewed and I obviously side with the speaker builder. But the other guys view is equally valid. There is only one way to know which camp you fall into - listen for yourself.

Just as an aside those speakers are quite famous here in Australia, with many like me liking them a lot. But it wasn't until that review was published quite a few people came out of the woodwork saying they sided with the Audio Engineer, but were intimidated by the loyal following it had and were afraid to say anything.

The moral is its VITALLY important to always use what you hear as the measure - not what others hear.

Thanks
Bill

Bill, I agree with your view measurements should only be used as a guide & not determinate of what sounds good to your ears, and so conversely disagree with how Usermanual framed up his above comment. As you said listening is the ultimate lipmus test. That said lol I was wondering when your commentary was going to turn into an advertisement for DIY and aLenehan speakers :D. You, like Mbovaird have a long history of evangelizing about your beloved Lenehans on SNA and other forums & being in the DIY camp. Everyone has a natural bias toward thier own gear. Nothing wrong with that until it practically becomes a religion. One form of dogmatism is not cured by another.