Magico S5 review

BlueFox

I have been slowly building my final system over the last few years by upgrading everything to a higher level of performance. This includes the gear, the power, the cables, the rack, and now the speakers. I refer to this as my retirement system since some of it came from retirement savings, and other pieces by using bonus money, stock options, etc. that should have gone into retirement savings. My rationale is that once I retire (3-5 years) I will be hesitant to spend any money, so I may as well buy this stuff now, and enjoy it.

Anyway, as I add/upgrade each piece I have been happy with the result, but also knew there is something better. However, at some point it just gets to the point of throwing money at the system for incremental gains. If you can afford it then great, but while I am fortunate to have gotten a degree in a field that pays reasonably well today, there is a point where it needs to stop, and I have reached that point.

I have bought this stuff because I love listening to music. Depending on the situation I find music to be relaxing, inspirational (from a creative perspective), or motivational, and because of this I have been trying to make it sound as good as I can possibly afford. With the addition of the Magico S5 speakers I am completely satisfied with the result, and seriously doubt if I will be upgrading anything in the future.

My speaker evolution over the last decade has been SDA-2B, PSB Synchrony One, Aerial Acoustics 7T, and Magico S5. Interestingly, the cost has basically been a doubling with each upgrade. While I have forgotten what I paid for the SDA in 1988, the PSBs are $5K, the Aerials are $10K, and the Magicos are $22K. However, the performance increase has also followed that model. Each one clearly outperformed its predecessor by a factor of two, but the S5 is in another class.

I lucked out on this purchase since it is a steal. The S5s were purchased 4 months ago by an audio forum founder for his family room system. He has his main system, the HT system, and at the bottom is the family room system. Anyway, he goes through gear like I go through beer, and he decided to try something else. I saw his for sale post as soon as it went up, and my mind started calculating. I realized these were essentially brand new S5 speakers for less than new S3 speakers! By grabbing these I saved what I paid for the Aerials. As the song goes, "I call that a bargain. The best I ever had."

Other than spending the money, my main concern was the cross country shipping. However, after unpacking them yesterday, setting them up, and listening last night and today I see that concern was unwarranted. They look perfect, nothing rattles, and they sound great.

Okay, enough BS, let me describe the speakers.

New, they come in a variety of finishes, and these were purchased in bronze. They are 48" tall, and weigh close to 200 lbs each. I bought a hand-truck from Lowes with an 800 lb capacity, and this proved perfect to allow a friend and myself to get them from the garage and into the living room. Just going up two steps from the garage to the dining room was exhausting.

They weigh so much because Magico has them incredibly braced internally with an aluminum infrastructure, and the cabinet itself is also aluminum. Rap on it and you just hurt your hand. There is no resonance. They have two 10" woofers, a 6" midrange, and a 1" tweeter.

At low levels the sound is similar to the Aerials, clear, detailed, and precise. However, turn them up and the sound doesn't change! I did an SPL check last night, and I found it was in the low 90db range while listening to a rock play list. Since I was by myself, and not talking to anyone, unless I used the meter I would never had guessed they were that loud. It truly was a startling and amazing discovery, and completely erased any lingering doubts I had about buying these speakers. It is hard to describe how effortless they play. They are just loafing where the Aerials, while still sounding great played loud, did give a hint of effort at playing there. I suspect the lack of vibration by the cabinet plays a big role in this effortless behavior. A simile would be the S5s are like a race car loafing at 100 MPH compared to a decent passenger car at 100 MPH.

As at a low level, the sound at a high level is easy on the ears, instruments and voices are clear, and precise in their location in space. Of course, this is also happening because I have created a very detailed system with gear, cable, power and rack purchases the last few years. All of this has come together to let the S5s shine at their best.

I have no complaints at all with this setup and can easily listen to it until my hearing goes, or I go, whichever comes first. But I will do my best to postpone the inevitable to get max enjoyment time from this system.

Oldfatdogs

Congratulations on your retirement setup,very nice.

Dan

Jhayman

Congrats Bluefox..
Nice little review and they look Great would love to hear a PR when I get a chance..

hochpt21

That is crazy system.

ENJOY the music!!

BlueFox

Thank you all. From here on out, all I am doing is listening to tunes. Of course, never say never, but I can't imagine needing anything else. Bryston is supposed to have a firmware release at the end of the month that will allow the BDP-1 to play DSD files. If that works then I have my DSD file player, which is the only thing I can think of that I MIGHT need.

ZLTFUL

Your race car analogy is spot on. My time with the S5s at my buddy's shop showed me how good they really are. Like you experienced, you can listen to them at 90+db with absolutely zero fatigue.

Grats on your last best speaker acquisition...

danz1906

Awesome system.......Congrats!!!

F1nut

That's a very nice rig you've put together and the new speakers look great, congrats!!!

I have to say though, I listen at 90+dB all the time and don't find it loud at all.

tonyb

F1nut wrote: »

I have to say though, I listen at 90+dB all the time and don't find it loud at all.

Me too....could explain why I can't hear sh$t when not listening to music.


Nice speakers man, big speakers...big power....quality sources, your my hero bro. How about a tad more description on the Magico's sound signature. Comparable to anything else ?

northernwind

F1nut wrote: »

That's a very nice rig you've put together and the new speakers look great, congrats!!!

I have to say though, I listen at 90+dB all the time and don't find it loud at all.

Same here,its loud but very smooth and I only have lsim in a untreated room.

Polk&Beans

Very Nice! Those remind me of the old Infinity RS's but even nicer!

Thorton

Congrats Blue! If your system sounds half as good as it looks, WOW. I do like the bronze finish too.

sandworms

Small world, I was just in portland to visit my daughter, Pearl audio had these set up and I had never seen a magicio product until then, I was like wow check these out, very impressive. They were in a deep blue that was quite unique. Wanted to hear em but had my granddaughter with us and wouldn't have been ideal. Beautiful set up you have I'm jealous

FTGV

Very nice system.Both yours and Scomps are rigs I would really like to get a listen to.

BlueFox

Thanks guys. I have had these for a week now, and continue to be just amazed at the clarity and level of detail these speakers create. While I still plan on NO MORE purchases, I have to admit I am wondering how much better the Q7s can be compared to the S5. At 750 pounds each and $180K for a pair, they better be a big improvement, but I just can't imagine it since the S5s sound so good.

The last three speakers I have used in the stereo have been about the same height, 48", and shape. The first two pair, PSB Synchrony One and Aerial Acoustics 7T, were on 4" speaker plinths, while the S5s are 48" tall. Anyway, with the PSB I found that putting a 2' by 2' piece of Auralex acoustic foam behind the tweeters tamed the highs. When I bought the Aerials I tried them with and without the foam, and found I preferred the foam. Last week I listened to the S5s the first day/night with the foam, and no foam the rest of the week. Today I put the foam back. For whatever reason, having this behind each speaker takes a sharpness or edge off the sound while still keeping it clear, clean, and precise. However, of the three, the S5s sounded the best without the foam, and I can live without it if it were necessary.

Face

That may have to do with the S5's tweeters are far superior to the others you mention. The Scanspeak Be tweeter is one of the best out there right now.