Magico Ultimate 3

[microstrip]

A very enthusiast report about the Ultimate3 from HifiClube http://www.hificlube.net/pt/artigos/eventos/highend-2014-munich/high-end-2014-part-3-best-sound.aspx.

Jose Victor Henriques is now suffering from withdrawal symptoms!

 

[earlinarizona]

Another report just in.
Magico's Ultimate III (approximately $600,000/pr.) was the most physically imposing product at High End 2014, and was certainly the most expensive we saw and heard. The Ultimate III is a five-driver array, four of which are horn-loaded compression drivers. The fifth drive unit is a front-firing 15" aluminum-cone subwoofer. The crossover is electronic, and an original Magico design -- therefore there are no passive components between the amplification and the drive units, which is ideal. From a dynamic-capability standpoint, the 112dB-efficient Magico stands clearly apart from everything else -- it can go from a whisper to uh-oh within the expenditure of a single watt. And that, perhaps, is what leads to the unique magic of this Magico. To say that the Ultimate III can truly soar is an understatement -- it does so literally like no loudspeaker I've ever heard. Other speakers seem to hit a wall reproducing, for example, the taiko drums, whereas by comparison the Ultimate IIIs just cruise right past the red line and keep on going. It's the first speaker that I've heard that can mimic the dynamic range of real live music, no matter what that music is. The Ultimate III is also the first horn-based system that has no horn colorations -- the speaker is as neutral as you could ask for. What else is there to be said? The line outside the Magico room was about 100-people deep as I walked by on Saturday. At least many listeners now know what can be done when cost is truly no object.

Jeff Fritz
Editor-in-Chief, The SoundStage! Network

 

[earlinarizona]

This is where that info came from http://www.soundstageglobal.com/ind.../509-high-end-2014-product-coverage-gallery-4
About the Ultimates Quote . . the midbass and low-bass drivers are powered by internal amplification, leaving three channels per side of external amplification for the owner to provide. The price of the Ultimate III in this configuration is $600,000/pr., not including the external amplifiers.

 

[LL21]

Another report just in.
Magico's Ultimate III (approximately $600,000/pr.) was the most physically imposing product at High End 2014, and was certainly the most expensive we saw and heard. The Ultimate III is a five-driver array, four of which are horn-loaded compression drivers. The fifth drive unit is a front-firing 15" aluminum-cone subwoofer. The crossover is electronic, and an original Magico design -- therefore there are no passive components between the amplification and the drive units, which is ideal. From a dynamic-capability standpoint, the 112dB-efficient Magico stands clearly apart from everything else -- it can go from a whisper to uh-oh within the expenditure of a single watt. And that, perhaps, is what leads to the unique magic of this Magico. To say that the Ultimate III can truly soar is an understatement -- it does so literally like no loudspeaker I've ever heard. Other speakers seem to hit a wall reproducing, for example, the taiko drums, whereas by comparison the Ultimate IIIs just cruise right past the red line and keep on going. It's the first speaker that I've heard that can mimic the dynamic range of real live music, no matter what that music is. The Ultimate III is also the first horn-based system that has no horn colorations -- the speaker is as neutral as you could ask for. What else is there to be said? The line outside the Magico room was about 100-people deep as I walked by on Saturday. At least many listeners now know what can be done when cost is truly no object.

Jeff Fritz
Editor-in-Chief, The SoundStage! Network

Hi Jeff...fantastic feedback. How would you guesttimate they compare in scale with the Arrakis? You know them well...and without getting a professional reviewer into too much of a pickle, it would be helpful to get a sense of the U3 scale relative to the mighty Arrakis. (The good thing is the U3 is 3x more expensive, so if it goes where no speaker has gone before...one cannot say they are apples to apples...at that price difference, they should not be.)

Thanks for any thoughts on this...

 

[Barry2013]

Um well yes re that TT-I suppose it it works fine--the Brits have a saying for it--"Heath Robertson" but hey if the sound is great-why not!

Carry on chaps

BruceD

Don't want to sound pedantic but its Heath Robinson not Robertson

 

[BruceD]

Ha!--I had Robinson and changed it-- silly Moi!

Thanks for that

Bruce D

 

[cannata]

There is a basic thing no one mentioned. These horns are very efficient, and therefore very directional. You MUST to sit in the middle, directly on axis, with no one in front of you to really hear them. I had the good fortune to do so in short the first day, when they were not doing the demos, yet. Even though you can clearly hear what they can do, almost anywhere in the room, It is just this central point that everything comes together in the most glorious way. I had a religious experience that quick moment, Madone!!

 

[stereo]

There is a basic thing no one mentioned. These horns are very efficient, and therefore very directional. You MUST to sit in the middle, directly on axis, with no one in front of you to really hear them. I had the good fortune to do so in short the first day, when they were not doing the demos, yet. Even though you can clearly hear what they can do, almost anywhere in the room, It is just this central point that everything comes together in the most glorious way. I had a religious experience that quick moment, Madone!!

You are perfectly right, the Ultimate are very efficient and very directional, which from a room acoustic point of view is an advantage as side walls and ceiling pretty much disappear... but that's why unfortunately most of the people who visited the room in Munich did experience only 70% of how the Ultimate can really sound, you have been very lucky to sit in the sweet spot!

 

[PeterA]

Stereo, you must be getting quite excited about getting your own Ultimate 3. Do you know when you will be taking delivery and of what the rest of your system will be comprised?

As a big fan of Pass Labs, I'm also quite interested in what lead them to select the Pass XP30 and Firstwatt amps for this demo in Munich. Alon Wolf told me a while ago that he did not feel Pass was the best choice for my Mini2, or the V or Q series. Perhaps it has to do with just how efficient these horns are, but I'm still curious about the preamp and the choice of solid state. (Of course, I use Pass with my Minis and think it's a great combination.)

Analog is also quite big in Germany and in Asia and from the show photos, there were many turntables in various rooms. I wonder why Magico only used digital for this demo. Any thoughts?

 

[earlinarizona]

I can't speak for Alon but he likes accuracy more than he likes tube sound in my opinion and there is no problem with that. He has built a company on accurate sound and maybe having a noisy preamp or tube amp would have interfered in the sound to him. The First Watt amplifiers are so simple and fast and low noise that I can understand his choice. He also could have used Solution amplifiers but it may make the system just look too expensive with multi Solution amplifiers. With First watt it keeps the system price in a better ranger. This is understandable. I am very sure if the system had all Kondo electronics it would have sounded different. So many comments were of the snappy fast sound and I saw two that said a little solid state sound but maybe the tubes would not have been as fast. At the same time the hallmark of his company is accuracy and not tube sounds. He made some very good business decisions on his pick of equipment. Off the subject. I wonder when the major magazines are going to chime in on the Ultimate's and Vox Olympian. They must have been totally jammed up at the show and it looks like attendance was off the charts.

 

[edorr]

Apparently Paul McGowan @ PS Audio was less than impressed .....

http://www.psaudio.com/pauls-posts/did-i-just-miss-the-invitation/

 

[earlinarizona]

The other thing you have to think about is, how many horn systems have you ever heard or seen with solid state. For me 100% have always been tubes. If you look in all of the horn forums it is 100% tubes and I mean exotic ones. That was quite an accomplishment if you think about it by putting solid state on massive horns and listening at close range due to the room size. Many of the horn setups are in large rooms and the listening positions are far back. In Munich there were people on the first row listening to speakers right in there face and so many comments said, best ever, life changing, the rest of the speakers at the show sound bad now to me. Magico I think wanted low noise so people could not complain that they sounded good but to noisy. I think the solid state move at the show was a good insurance policy and strategic business move and it paid off. Also think about all of the shows that the company itself displayed at. Can you EVERY remember a tube amp? Not me and I have been to 6 shows listening to there product in there room.

 

[PeterA]

Apparently Paul McGowan @ PS Audio was less than impressed .....

http://www.psaudio.com/pauls-posts/did-i-just-miss-the-invitation/

Why do you think that? I missed his comment about what he thought they sounded like. And unaware that these speakers exist? As a reviewer? How could one go into that room and not listen or comment on the sound? A bit strange.

 

[edorr]

Why do you think that? I missed his comment about what he thought they sounded like. And unaware that these speakers exist? As a reviewer? How could one go into that room and not listen or comment on the sound? A bit strange.

If I read the post correctly, he appears to be taken aback by the idea of someone building a $600K speaker, and sees the project primarily as a marketing ploy.

 

[puroagave]

Apparently Paul McGowan @ PS Audio was less than impressed .....

http://www.psaudio.com/pauls-posts/did-i-just-miss-the-invitation/

I didn't get that at all except for the sarcasm re price.

I'll bet Wolf sold at least ten pairs as a result of this show. it was a ballsy move b/c it could have been a disaster but all im hearing is that its the best thing since sliced bread, if enough people say so it will become fact. just think about how many russian billionaires in Money Carlo will want to be the first on the block to own a set not to mention the Count Dracula's and Baron von munchausen of the world - and we haven't even touched on the middle east! yeah, 10 pairs easily (now im sounding like Paul )

 

[edorr]

just think about how many russian billionaires in Money Carlo will want to be the first on the block to own a set not to mention the Count Dracula's and Baron von munchausen of the world - and we haven't even touched on the middle east! yeah, 10 pairs easily (now im sounding like Paul )

I just to work quite a bit in Monte Carlo and remember the 'giftshop' netx to the casino, selling $50K lighters and fountain pens, lined up next to the $100K+ watches. These speakers are a steal.

 

[marslo]

The other thing you have to think about is, how many horn systems have you ever heard or seen with solid state. For me 100% have always been tubes. If you look in all of the horn forums it is 100% tubes and I mean exotic ones. That was quite an accomplishment if you think about it by putting solid state on massive horns and listening at close range due to the room size. Many of the horn setups are in large rooms and the listening positions are far back. In Munich there were people on the first row listening to speakers right in there face and so many comments said, best ever, life changing, the rest of the speakers at the show sound bad now to me. Magico I think wanted low noise so people could not complain that they sounded good but to noisy. I think the solid state move at the show was a good insurance policy and strategic business move and it paid off. Also think about all of the shows that the company itself displayed at. Can you EVERY remember a tube amp? Not me and I have been to 6 shows listening to there product in there room.

It was a very good sounding set up in Munich with Avantgardes Trio, Vitus ss power amp and Vitus front end, really impressive. Avantgarde acoustic which is probably the largest horn producers in terms of units, offers a proprietary amplification , XA pre and power which are also ss. When you check the owners gallery at Avantgarde website then you will find many Audio Notes, Kondos, Ayons but also many ss brands.
I agree with the opinion that efficient horn speakers need few watts to be driven, the selection of fristwatt was perfect imo. Whether the ss or tube amps are better is the matter of taste and sonic preferences, but with ss U3 just blow every critic away.
I also agree that the sweet spot of U 3 was much larger than with other horns i have heard . The room was the worst element of presentation , i would love them in my 100 sqm living room but I miss one zero on my $ account

 

[jdza]

If you look in all of the horn forums it is 100% tubes and I mean exotic ones

I respectfully disagree. The very high eff drivers by the 2 Japanese expert producers Goto an ALE do not like tube electronics at all. Goto's export agent in particular gets extremely agitated if their drivers are used with tubes ( in fact their drivers have a nasty habit of blowing up with tube amps -do not ask how I know this!) while ALE (used by Magico ) used to push the SS BP Satri amps.Most users would use Accuphase class A amps. I'm told that the owner of Accuphase uses a Goto system.

Personally, I have gone through a number of SETs in my multi amped horn setup before happily settling on the humble First Watts.

 

[PeterA]

If I read the post correctly, he appears to be taken aback by the idea of someone building a $600K speaker, and sees the project primarily as a marketing ploy.

I was responding to your earlier post where you write "Apparently Paul McGowan...was less than impressed...." You then provided a link to what I thought would be his comments about the sound of the speakers. All McGowan writes about is being struck by the reactions of the audience and to what he viewed as a spectacle. How do you conclude that he "was less than impressed"? He does write about the project being a marketing ploy. I just wonder how you reached these conclusions. Perhaps you are referring to something other than the link you provided. I was unable to scroll down to read the comments left by other readers.

 

[edorr]

I was responding to your earlier post where you write "Apparently Paul McGowan...was less than impressed...." You then provided a link to what I thought would be his comments about the sound of the speakers. All McGowan writes about is being struck by the reactions of the audience and to what he viewed as a spectacle. How do you conclude that he "was less than impressed"? He does write about the project being a marketing ploy. I just wonder how you reached these conclusions. Perhaps you are referring to something other than the link you provided. I was unable to scroll down to read the comments left by other readers.

He never commented on sound quality. I made the inference he was "less than impressed" with the project...... Here is what he said. Not exactly a ringing endorsement.


"I suppose now the gauntlet has been thrown and someone must top this price tag. We sure have an interesting field of endeavor, rich with spectacle and show.

Maybe someone could make a few bucks selling tickets to the sideshow ….. oh, wait a minute, it’s all included in the price of admission. And here I thought this was about music. Silly me."