Magico visit to hear S7 vs S5

BlueFox

Tuesday, 9/1/15, I visited Magico to hear the S7/S5 as described in the thread link below. Alon was kind enough to spend nearly an hour of his time talking, playing music, and switching cables, for me. As others have mentioned, the S7 is a better speaker, as it should be for twice the price. The word I used to describe the difference is the S7 sounded ‘cleaner’. The bass was certainly more distinct and detailed over the S5, and the overall sound better. The S7 is a bit more efficient than the S5 so that could be a small factor in the difference in sound.

One point he mentioned, and I might have this slightly wrong so don’t go Internet berserk about it, is that the drivers in the S7 are so much better that they were able to eliminate some circuitry in the cross over, and this helps make the sound appear more enveloping (my word). Anyway, the point is the S7 is an all new speaker that clearly outperforms the S5.

A design issue I am not too crazy about, but is probably okay, is that the mid and tweeter module is separate from the woofer section. It is bolted and epoxied to the woofer section. In my mind that is one more thing that can work loose over time with negative sonic implications, but that is just a personal non-speaker designer feeling.

Now for the best part. I have always felt my system really starts to shine around 11 PM, as the air cools down, and the ambient noise goes very low in my house and neighborhood. Due to the Shunyata cabling and power, along with the 500 pound solid maple rack, vibration control, and positioning of furniture in my living room, I have really been able to extract outstanding performance from my system. Yesterday while listening to the S5 in their outstanding listening room, I felt like I was listening to my system. It really seemed that close on songs (Patricia Barber, Holly Cole) that I also have and play. Of course, audio memory is short, and I might be wrong, but that was my impression.

Now I need to get a pair of S7s to see if they sound the same at home as at Magico.

Magico S7 thread on AudioShark:
http://audioshark.org/magico-61/magico-s7-s5-8196.html#.VekAUreCOK0

Pictures below are by Myles Astor from an AV Showrooms forum thread.
http://avshowroomsforums.com/showthread.php?208-I-Left-My-Speaker-in-San-Francisco

S7 on the outside, S5 on the inside:



Listening room:





Soulution 701 amps:



MIT cables:


S7 crossover:

BlueFox

LOL. I wish I were even close to being a millionaire. Unfortunately, I have to work for my money, and the S7 will have to wait for my winning lottery ticket. But they sure do sound great.

Thorton

nbrowser - lay off the Molson...just kidding.

At 58,000, just work longer hours!

That would have been a nice way to spend a Tuesday. That is some serious equipment on hand.

Joey_V

That's awesome bud... I would love to hear that set up of Alons.

Man he spent an hour with you... That's sweet.

And that's a room!!! That's how you do it

BlueFox

Alon was very gracious, and down to earth. For an individual who has built a world class speaker company in 10 years, I am humble he spent his time with me. In fact, all Magico employees I have met (hi Dave and team) are outstanding.

Joey_V

Sounds like a winner company.

I would love to own a Magico someday.

WLDock

Magico is a company I was not familiar with years ago. I've been out to Hayward, CA a couple of times for work. Was out there for about two weeks or so both times. The storage warehouse we use is about 3.3 miles from Magico!

It would have been cool to see if they would have allowed a quick tour had I'd known back then.

BlueFox

It can't hurt to ask. I would check ahead before making any commitments. Did you use 880? That road is a PITA.

Joey_V

Next time I'm in Cali I will see if I can swing by magico.

BlueFox

One negative to the visit was Alon didn't have any Marilyn Manson on his music server. Listing to my MM playlist now makes me wish I could have heard a few tunes from The Pale Emperor on the S7.

ZLTFUL

I was hooked on Magico the first time I heard a pair of V2s and have been ever since.

My buddy's shop carries Magico and currently has the S1s, S5s, Q1s and Q3s in stock and out of those, the S5s are still my favorites.

Don't worry Bud...when the time comes for you to upgrade to the S7s, I will happily take those S5s off your hands.

ZLTFUL

Price to performance, I love the S1s...but ultimately, they sound and "feel", for lack of a better term, like a bookie with a built in stand.

They are, IMHO, 80% of the S5s and a single JL Audio sub bridges most of the remaining 20% but you end up losing some of the imaging quality of the S5s with the single sub. It tends to collapse the soundstage a bit and things get ever so slightly muddled versus the separation of the S5s without a sub.
Build quality is, like the rest of the S line, outstanding. That extruded aluminum cabinet is a thing of beauty.
I have never had the opportunity to try any of them out in home but if I had to pick my top 5 Magicos that I have actually heard, in this order, from top down would be S5s, V2s, Q1s, S1s (With single JL Audio F112), Q3s
I rate the Q3s lower than the S1s because, for the price, I expected a lot more. And it wasn't a diminishing returns thing...just something was lacking that none of the others did.

The S1s are a great speaker and their (real) price make them a good step into the fabulous world that is Alon's Magico.

Joey_V

I want the mini II