Excited for a speaker demo tomorrow, accompanying my friend

Joey_V

Looking like tomorrow's going to be a great day.

Accompanying my good buddy who's got a larger budget than me in listening to a system that I only dreamed of. I didn't even know a dealer of this caliber existed in the Dallas area.

We are listening to a truly spectacular set of speakers and upstreams.

Full onslaught Constellation gear going into Magico Q7.

This will be great to be the wingman on this one.

I'm going to egg him on to buy a pair. And 6 SVS SB13 Ultras.

What are friends for?

WLDock

That's just nuts! Have him go for the Funk Audio subs that others were talking about in your other thread. If he is going to spend $200K plus on mains, custom finished $4K+ each subs x 4-6 is the way to go! Enjoy the music man!

http://www.funkaudio.ca/store/c3/Subwoofers.html

Joey, does he own a bank? Can he get me a low interest car loan? Help a Brother out! LOL!

WLDock

Or that $36K Q-Sub. They had that thing at the show in Chi. It was massive! 6000 watts, 570 lbs!

Joey_V

DSkip wrote: »

Is this the guy in Plano?

Nope. Flower mound.

He is literally 4 minutes from my place. I think it's one of those gated homes around here.

The guy in Plano is Rockport/BW/Quad dealer.

Joey_V

WLDock wrote: »

That's just nuts! Have him go for the Funk Audio subs that others were talking about in your other thread. If he is going to spend $200K plus on mains, custom finished $4K+ each subs x 4-6 is the way to go! Enjoy the music man!

http://www.funkaudio.ca/store/c3/Subwoofers.html

Joey, does he own a bank? Can he get me a low interest car loan? Help a Brother out! LOL!

Yo WLD bro

Nah, this guy is something like investment banking. His budget is sky high, I can't even see the ceiling.

I just roll along for the ride.

Kinda like that guy at the passenger seat of a ferrari.... I'll just be there to experience all that Constellation/Magico has to offer.

I'll take pics and post it here and my thoughts, also on audioaficionado where they eat up this stuff.

I'm very interested in hearing this Q7 combo... I've read how good it is, I want to see if it really is that good. I would've never scheduled a demo at this guy's place (it's a private screening type thing) as I would feel awkward going there knowing I can't afford it...

So when my friend said let's go because he wants a pair of Q7.... well... you don't gotta ask me twice... I'm there!

I expect it to blow away what I got... and I'm ok with that... I just need a memory erasing thingy after... like in Men In Black.

WLDock

I hear you man. I heard the Q7's at the show last year and the S5's this year. I was just amazed and thankful to be in the room with some of those $100K-$300K systems.The Magico's just flow with sound and are unrestricted. You'd have to go with horns to get better. Detail and clarity in spades. Enjoy it and take it all in. Play some good tunes!

Joey_V

Thanks @WLDock ... I just need a reset switch.

Hope this trip doesn't cost me.

My wife already said, "You're going with Tony? He's bad influence."

BlueFox

The Q7 weighs what? Around 400 pounds isn't it?

Love my S5s at 200 pounds.

Enjoy, it will be fun. I'm looking forward to the AudioShark Magico trip next month.

Joey_V

BlueFox wrote: »

The Q7 weighs what? Around 400 pounds isn't it?

Love my S5s at 200 pounds.

Enjoy, it will be fun. I'm looking forward to the AudioShark Magico trip next month.

I'll get to hear the S5 tomorrow too Bud

[Deleted User]

I'd say the Dealer has the newer Q7 Mk2's with the graphene drivers & diamond-coated BE tweeter. That is a great speaker & should sound awesome! Mind you, the S5 Mk2's are surprisingly good as well, and closer to the M Pro than the old S5 in sound. Enjoy the audition & be sure to take plenty of photos!
ps: I'll be interested to hear your impressions of the S5 Mk2 Joey.

Joey_V

T minus 2 hours

ZLTFUL

Tease.

Joey_V

All done. Couldn't take pics... Will do full report later.

[Deleted User]

didn't happen.

Joey_V

I had to run home and listen to my system to see how far off I was.... hahahaha....

HOnestly, I wish I could have taken pics...

But seriously, I just felt the guy out since I was wingman on this operation... and I just did not feel comfortable asking or just taking a picture.

I will tell you, probably one of the best if not the best room I've been in. The room is a standalone unit on the property, it's the guy's house otherwise. House is in the wealthy part of town, I would hazard a guess... probably a 2M property. He builds audio rooms and homes as well, in addition to high end audio.

I told him I was buying a lot in my part of town and was looking for a builder, but I could not afford him as he was charging approximately $225/sq ft WITHOUT lot costs. So yeah... I told him that's a no go.

I asked him if he would act as a consultant when I built my audio room... but he said he does not do piecemeal contracts. So that's out too... haha

Regarding the room... the front wall collapses into a "treehouse" effect, it's a 2nd floor dedicated audio room, approximately 18ft wide by 29ft deep. It overlooks trees. Room is treated with absorbers and diffusors.

The Q7mk2 and S5 were on the short wall. THe seated position was around middle of the room, not too far back. If I were to hazard a guess, ear location was probably 13 feet from each Q7. He had devialet and constellation. He also had Boulder but we did not have that hooked up. Air Tight tube amps and also had a bunch of Luxman gear.

And yes, it was good.

Be back in a bit...

Joey_V

And while my Rockports took 2 people to lift up...

The Q7mk2 took 6 (six) men. Are you kidding me??!!

[Deleted User]

Thanks for your report Joey. Looking forward to reading your listening notes. Just to clarify, did the Dealer have the S5's, or S5 Mk2's with outrigger feet?

Joey_V

It was Q7mk2 and S5mk1 unfortunately. The S3 was there also but I could not listen.

[Deleted User]

@Joey, cool the S5 Nk1's should still hold their own, but we're comparing a Porsche Cayan vs a Porsche 918 spider

megasat16

Well, Q7 to me sounds perfect from the upper bass to the highest octave in the audible range. But it can use about 4 Gotham (2 per side) at the lowest lows. Let your banker friend knows?

No hurt feelings to the Magico fans! I just want to chime in where it does matter.

BlueFox

Joey_V wrote: »

It was Q7mk2 and S5mk1 unfortunately. The S3 was there also but I could not listen.

I hope the S5 grills were off. Magico grills are to protect the speakers, and off when playing. There is an audible decrease in sound when putting the grills on while playing.

WagnerRC

Reading the reviews and prices on those speakers are unreal. 750 lbs each 230k.... Damn

Joey_V

BlueFox wrote: »

Joey_V wrote: »

It was Q7mk2 and S5mk1 unfortunately. The S3 was there also but I could not listen.

I hope the S5 grills were off. Magico grills are to protect the speakers, and off when playing. There is an audible decrease in sound when putting the grills on while playing.

Grills were off.

Joey_V

Alright, so I was able to gather my thoughts, sorry it took a while to write it up.

I don't want to get too long winded, I'm sure you'll get bored of reading pretty quick. So I'll try to avoid excessive hyperbole and flowery audiophile terms.

S5mk1:

Summary:
I would say it sounds like a complete speaker, top to bottom. I would say that the bass is actually a little much at times, to me, sounded slightly boomier than the Q7 for sure. The midrange was good, the highs were good as well. The imaging was probably not as good as the Q7, but difficult to say since it's not easy to position, reposition, and pull out the S5 or Q7 each time. What I noticed was an ease to the sound, definitely a large loudspeaker. We listened to some jazz, classical, some solo vocals with guitar or piano... all sounded good and believable. I also thought it was quite easy to listen to... which was an especially good revelation since I've read some reviews that suggest the S5mk1 to be an amusical speaker. I also read in some places that the bass is lean, but I didn't think so.

Q7mk2:

Bass:
Dual 12" nanotec bass woofers and a single 10" nanotec midbass woofer...

Wow, impressive. I will say it again - WOW. I have never heard anything so dominant in the lower registers as I did that day. The bass just hits and hits and hits.... and it just stops on a dime. Quickest bass out of a loudspeaker ever. I thought my bass at home was pretty quick, but this just smokes it. I had no feeling that I needed to augment the lower end with subwoofers, JL Audio Gothams be dam*ed. This was a loudspeaker that was just as fast with the bass as it was with the tweeter/highs.

Midrange:
That graphene midrange....

Impressive... very impressive. I thought my system at home was transparent... but man, this guy was just on another level. The window to the recording was so clean and so large, that you can't help but sit back and peek around the stage. What really stuck out to me was how correct the tone and timbre was on pianos... just the right amount of body and harmonics. I would also say that I heard the "recording" moreso on the Q7 than on any other loudspeaker. On my system, the recording materializes as players or instruments on a neat stage... but on the Q7, I could almost hear the effect of the microphone or the studio on the playback.

Did I make sense on the last line?

On my system or other high end systems, they are transparent enough that you can hear the hall or jazz club... but on the Q7mk2, they were so transparent that you can tell it was a recording of a an event at a hall or jazz club. Spooky really. It just picked up so much detail and low level information.

Highs:
Newly designed 28mm 40nm beryllium tweeter with 10nm diamond top coat...

So this was the most interesting observation I had. You guys know I'm a BW Diamond fan... so keep that in mind.

I thought the highs were detailed to a hyper-level. Everything was exposed... and I mean EVERYTHING. From upper level harmonics to ambient information... it was all there in spades.

That said, I actually thought the treble was... dare I say.... too bright at times. There was sibilance and a slight zing to it... almost like a hot knife through cold butter. I noticed it repeatedly and believe me, if it makes a Bowers guy take note... then you know it's bright.

Imaging:
The imaging was precise, it was nearly laser like in some instances, the image height was just right (none of this singer at 7 feet tall), the width clearly left the lateral aspect of the boxes, and front to back staging (when appropriate for the music), was all there INCLUDING projectile force... singer spitting at you type of sensation. Definitely had a very engaging effect but not being overly forward. I did feel that perhaps at times, the imaging was a little "larger" than life, but it could've been a result of volume attenuation.

Summary:
I thought the Q7mk2 was a tour-de-force loudspeaker with many strengths and minimal weakness. I thought it was the most complete, most impressive speaker I have heard thus far. I thought the bass was SUPERB, just absolutely superb. The midrange was transparent and realistic in all that might matter to the audiophile. I thought the treble was a little hot at times, but I wonder if that's more of a reflection of the upstream components, cabling, etc. The imaging was just superb, it was just as I liked it. Though at times, the imaging did seem a little on the more hefty size of things, I thought perhaps it could be upstream or volume related.

After hearing the Q7mk2, I realized what audio reproduction could sound like... I envy those with this particular speaker, it truly is that good.

At the end of the day, while the S5mk1 was a good speaker... I honestly felt like while the delta in cost from the S5mk1 and the Q7mk2 was approximately 190,000$... I felt like for my taste and my biases... I would be happier spending the extra on the Q7mk2 if I had the spare cash.

I felt like I understood why others might feel like the Q7mk2 is worth the price of admission.

[Deleted User]

Joey, great job with the review of those Magico models! It's a work night for me, and very late here so i'll post a proper reply tomorrow .

megasat16

Joey_V wrote: »

Bass:
Dual 12" nanotec bass woofers and a single 10" nanotec midbass woofer...

Wow, impressive. I will say it again - WOW. I have never heard anything so dominant in the lower registers as I did that day. The bass just hits and hits and hits.... and it just stops on a dime. Quickest bass out of a loudspeaker ever. I thought my bass at home was pretty quick, but this just smokes it. I had no feeling that I needed to augment the lower end with subwoofers, JL Audio Gothams be dam*ed. This was a loudspeaker that was just as fast with the bass as it was with the tweeter/highs.

Midrange:
That graphene midrange....

Impressive... very impressive. I thought my system at home was transparent... but man, this guy was just on another level. The window to the recording was so clean and so large, that you can't help but sit back and peek around the stage. What really stuck out to me was how correct the tone and timbre was on pianos... just the right amount of body and harmonics. I would also say that I heard the "recording" moreso on the Q7 than on any other loudspeaker. On my system, the recording materializes as players or instruments on a neat stage... but on the Q7, I could almost hear the effect of the microphone or the studio on the playback.

Did I make sense on the last line?

On my system or other high end systems, they are transparent enough that you can hear the hall or jazz club... but on the Q7mk2, they were so transparent that you can tell it was a recording of a an event at a hall or jazz club. Spooky really. It just picked up so much detail and low level information.

Highs:
Newly designed 28mm 40nm beryllium tweeter with 10nm diamond top coat...

So this was the most interesting observation I had. You guys know I'm a BW Diamond fan... so keep that in mind.

I thought the highs were detailed to a hyper-level. Everything was exposed... and I mean EVERYTHING. From upper level harmonics to ambient information... it was all there in spades.

That said, I actually thought the treble was... dare I say.... too bright at times. There was sibilance and a slight zing to it... almost like a hot knife through cold butter. I noticed it repeatedly and believe me, if it makes a Bowers guy take note... then you know it's bright.

Imaging:
The imaging was precise, it was nearly laser like in some instances, the image height was just right (none of this singer at 7 feet tall), the width clearly left the lateral aspect of the boxes, and front to back staging (when appropriate for the music), was all there INCLUDING projectile force... singer spitting at you type of sensation. Definitely had a very engaging effect but not being overly forward. I did feel that perhaps at times, the imaging was a little "larger" than life, but it could've been a result of volume attenuation.

Summary:
I thought the Q7mk2 was a tour-de-force loudspeaker with many strengths and minimal weakness. I thought it was the most complete, most impressive speaker I have heard thus far. I thought the bass was SUPERB, just absolutely superb. The midrange was transparent and realistic in all that might matter to the audiophile. I thought the treble was a little hot at times, but I wonder if that's more of a reflection of the upstream components, cabling, etc. The imaging was just superb, it was just as I liked it. Though at times, the imaging did seem a little on the more hefty size of things, I thought perhaps it could be upstream or volume related.

After hearing the Q7mk2, I realized what audio reproduction could sound like... I envy those with this particular speaker, it truly is that good.

At the end of the day, while the S5mk1 was a good speaker... I honestly felt like while the delta in cost from the S5mk1 and the Q7mk2 was approximately 190,000$... I felt like for my taste and my biases... I would be happier spending the extra on the Q7mk2 if I had the spare cash.

I felt like I understood why others might feel like the Q7mk2 is worth the price of admission.

I think I agree that Q7 was that great except the part that you have damned the Gotham. Obviously, the dealer didn't had two of them to supplement the bass. I think the low bass in the Q7 to me was sloppy and mushy if that's a word to describe it. Anyway, to each it's own and time to buy 4 x 18" subs.

kharp1

Great review. I wouldn't even put myself through the torture of listening to something I couldn't afford to own without winning the lottery. It's make me want to go home and throw my "junk" in the garbage!

Joey_V

megasat16 wrote: »

Joey_V wrote: »

Bass:
Dual 12" nanotec bass woofers and a single 10" nanotec midbass woofer...

Wow, impressive. I will say it again - WOW. I have never heard anything so dominant in the lower registers as I did that day. The bass just hits and hits and hits.... and it just stops on a dime. Quickest bass out of a loudspeaker ever. I thought my bass at home was pretty quick, but this just smokes it. I had no feeling that I needed to augment the lower end with subwoofers, JL Audio Gothams be dam*ed. This was a loudspeaker that was just as fast with the bass as it was with the tweeter/highs.

Midrange:
That graphene midrange....

Impressive... very impressive. I thought my system at home was transparent... but man, this guy was just on another level. The window to the recording was so clean and so large, that you can't help but sit back and peek around the stage. What really stuck out to me was how correct the tone and timbre was on pianos... just the right amount of body and harmonics. I would also say that I heard the "recording" moreso on the Q7 than on any other loudspeaker. On my system, the recording materializes as players or instruments on a neat stage... but on the Q7, I could almost hear the effect of the microphone or the studio on the playback.

Did I make sense on the last line?

On my system or other high end systems, they are transparent enough that you can hear the hall or jazz club... but on the Q7mk2, they were so transparent that you can tell it was a recording of a an event at a hall or jazz club. Spooky really. It just picked up so much detail and low level information.

Highs:
Newly designed 28mm 40nm beryllium tweeter with 10nm diamond top coat...

So this was the most interesting observation I had. You guys know I'm a BW Diamond fan... so keep that in mind.

I thought the highs were detailed to a hyper-level. Everything was exposed... and I mean EVERYTHING. From upper level harmonics to ambient information... it was all there in spades.

That said, I actually thought the treble was... dare I say.... too bright at times. There was sibilance and a slight zing to it... almost like a hot knife through cold butter. I noticed it repeatedly and believe me, if it makes a Bowers guy take note... then you know it's bright.

Imaging:
The imaging was precise, it was nearly laser like in some instances, the image height was just right (none of this singer at 7 feet tall), the width clearly left the lateral aspect of the boxes, and front to back staging (when appropriate for the music), was all there INCLUDING projectile force... singer spitting at you type of sensation. Definitely had a very engaging effect but not being overly forward. I did feel that perhaps at times, the imaging was a little "larger" than life, but it could've been a result of volume attenuation.

Summary:
I thought the Q7mk2 was a tour-de-force loudspeaker with many strengths and minimal weakness. I thought it was the most complete, most impressive speaker I have heard thus far. I thought the bass was SUPERB, just absolutely superb. The midrange was transparent and realistic in all that might matter to the audiophile. I thought the treble was a little hot at times, but I wonder if that's more of a reflection of the upstream components, cabling, etc. The imaging was just superb, it was just as I liked it. Though at times, the imaging did seem a little on the more hefty size of things, I thought perhaps it could be upstream or volume related.

After hearing the Q7mk2, I realized what audio reproduction could sound like... I envy those with this particular speaker, it truly is that good.

At the end of the day, while the S5mk1 was a good speaker... I honestly felt like while the delta in cost from the S5mk1 and the Q7mk2 was approximately 190,000$... I felt like for my taste and my biases... I would be happier spending the extra on the Q7mk2 if I had the spare cash.

I felt like I understood why others might feel like the Q7mk2 is worth the price of admission.

I think I agree that Q7 was that great except the part that you have damned the Gotham. Obviously, the dealer didn't had two of them to supplement the bass. I think the low bass in the Q7 to me was sloppy and mushy if that's a word to describe it. Anyway, to each it's own and time to buy 4 x 18" subs.

Mega

I wonder if it's room dependent. I am very particular about lower registers and it was just quick as all get out. No doubt a pair of gothams would plumb lower, but I was 100% satisfied at that point. The room that this was in, was superb.

txcoastal1

kharp1 wrote: »

Great review. I wouldn't even put myself through the torture of listening to something I couldn't afford to own without winning the lottery. It's make me want to go home and throw my "junk" in the garbage!

Not really torture actually educational.
Gives perspectives on what you can wring out of your system and budget. I've been to high-end shows and showrooms. Played with a ton of recordings. Trust me also there is plenty of 200K frogs.

Joey_V

kharp1 wrote: »

Great review. I wouldn't even put myself through the torture of listening to something I couldn't afford to own without winning the lottery. It's make me want to go home and throw my "junk" in the garbage!

Yeah, I ran home right after and turned my system on.

I wasn't too far off IMO.

nooshinjohn

Joey_V wrote: »

Alright, so I was able to gather my thoughts, sorry it took a while to write it up.

I don't want to get too long winded, I'm sure you'll get bored of reading pretty quick. So I'll try to avoid excessive hyperbole and flowery audiophile terms.

S5mk1:

Summary:
I would say it sounds like a complete speaker, top to bottom. I would say that the bass is actually a little much at times, to me, sounded slightly boomier than the Q7 for sure. The midrange was good, the highs were good as well. The imaging was probably not as good as the Q7, but difficult to say since it's not easy to position, reposition, and pull out the S5 or Q7 each time. What I noticed was an ease to the sound, definitely a large loudspeaker. We listened to some jazz, classical, some solo vocals with guitar or piano... all sounded good and believable. I also thought it was quite easy to listen to... which was an especially good revelation since I've read some reviews that suggest the S5mk1 to be an amusical speaker. I also read in some places that the bass is lean, but I didn't think so.

Q7mk2:

Bass:
Dual 12" nanotec bass woofers and a single 10" nanotec midbass woofer...

Wow, impressive. I will say it again - WOW. I have never heard anything so dominant in the lower registers as I did that day. The bass just hits and hits and hits.... and it just stops on a dime. Quickest bass out of a loudspeaker ever. I thought my bass at home was pretty quick, but this just smokes it. I had no feeling that I needed to augment the lower end with subwoofers, JL Audio Gothams be dam*ed. This was a loudspeaker that was just as fast with the bass as it was with the tweeter/highs.

Midrange:
That graphene midrange....

Impressive... very impressive. I thought my system at home was transparent... but man, this guy was just on another level. The window to the recording was so clean and so large, that you can't help but sit back and peek around the stage. What really stuck out to me was how correct the tone and timbre was on pianos... just the right amount of body and harmonics. I would also say that I heard the "recording" moreso on the Q7 than on any other loudspeaker. On my system, the recording materializes as players or instruments on a neat stage... but on the Q7, I could almost hear the effect of the microphone or the studio on the playback.

Did I make sense on the last line?

On my system or other high end systems, they are transparent enough that you can hear the hall or jazz club... but on the Q7mk2, they were so transparent that you can tell it was a recording of a an event at a hall or jazz club. Spooky really. It just picked up so much detail and low level information.

Highs:
Newly designed 28mm 40nm beryllium tweeter with 10nm diamond top coat...

So this was the most interesting observation I had. You guys know I'm a BW Diamond fan... so keep that in mind.

I thought the highs were detailed to a hyper-level. Everything was exposed... and I mean EVERYTHING. From upper level harmonics to ambient information... it was all there in spades.

That said, I actually thought the treble was... dare I say.... too bright at times. There was sibilance and a slight zing to it... almost like a hot knife through cold butter. I noticed it repeatedly and believe me, if it makes a Bowers guy take note... then you know it's bright.

Imaging:
The imaging was precise, it was nearly laser like in some instances, the image height was just right (none of this singer at 7 feet tall), the width clearly left the lateral aspect of the boxes, and front to back staging (when appropriate for the music), was all there INCLUDING projectile force... singer spitting at you type of sensation. Definitely had a very engaging effect but not being overly forward. I did feel that perhaps at times, the imaging was a little "larger" than life, but it could've been a result of volume attenuation.

Summary:
I thought the Q7mk2 was a tour-de-force loudspeaker with many strengths and minimal weakness. I thought it was the most complete, most impressive speaker I have heard thus far. I thought the bass was SUPERB, just absolutely superb. The midrange was transparent and realistic in all that might matter to the audiophile. I thought the treble was a little hot at times, but I wonder if that's more of a reflection of the upstream components, cabling, etc. The imaging was just superb, it was just as I liked it. Though at times, the imaging did seem a little on the more hefty size of things, I thought perhaps it could be upstream or volume related.

After hearing the Q7mk2, I realized what audio reproduction could sound like... I envy those with this particular speaker, it truly is that good.

At the end of the day, while the S5mk1 was a good speaker... I honestly felt like while the delta in cost from the S5mk1 and the Q7mk2 was approximately 190,000$... I felt like for my taste and my biases... I would be happier spending the extra on the Q7mk2 if I had the spare cash.

I felt like I understood why others might feel like the Q7mk2 is worth the price of admission.

Great review, but it sounds like you just described some fully modded and hot-rodded SDA 1.2tl's backed up with amazing gear.