Does Magico have a "house sound", and if so, how would you describe it?

[JackD201]

Jack, curious why you list the 10 series for CH and not the 1?

Well mainly because I have the M1s and not M1.1s one the brain LOL

The 1.1s, I1s and A1.5s have their balance more towards the 10s than the A1s and M1s. The latter can still be made to increase grip by goosing up the gain (more effective and better sounding than increasing feedback, trust me) but the limits of power storage capacity of the old models would still remain. In my case I leveraged room gain more than I normally would. With the 10s I'm back closer to my old speaker positioning.

For people who don't have to deal with sealed bass like we do this is not an issue, like say Gian. Those of us on Magico or VSA Ultra 9s or 11s I would recommend getting the .1 upgrade or space and funds permitting go 10 series.

 

[JackD201]

I thought my Magico Q3s were fantastic speakers. I experienced a metamorphosis by improving set up, speaker positioning, and finally switching to Lamm electronics. Sadly my audio file friends never heard the final iteration before I sold them and went in a different direction.

Everyone knows I'm a fan of all things Vladimir. The lack of remote never even bothered me. My partner Keith (Nephilim here on WBF) is inseparable from his ML2.1s. I'm so happy you found the right speakers for you and your fantastic amplifiers.

I ended up going on a different direction but who knows? Maybe 10 or 20 years from now I will circle around. It just isn't my time to get of this ride yet

 

[Ultrafast69]

Worth bearing in mind that lean and clinical can come from:
a poor mains supply
cheap networking components like routers, switches or extenders
poor DC power supplies
poor DC cables
poor cable selection
excessive EMI
anything that causes voltage limiting
anything that ’impairs’ resolution in the source chain
any component that is not fully run in
‘unflattering’ room reflections
poorly selected digital components
sub-optimal speaker positioning
poor or dirty contacts in the signal, network or power chain
Poor materials used to support a key component like a DAC, amp or pre-amp

A speaker like Magico will faithfully reveal whatever is in the source. It will not take a problematic source and ‘refine’ it. If the incoming source is lean and clinical, then lean and clinical is what you’ll get. There’s a very easy way to check. Just take a few of your favorite tracks and play them back. If your overall impression is ‘lean and clinical’ with non of the tracks sounds full, rich, warm and natural, then the challenge is to find what’s causing the problem, because something is.
For example, listening to Magicos in dealer showrooms or at trade shows can give a really poor impression of their performance, due to one, several or many of the above. In my experience that’s always been the problem with trade show demos where some components are maybe new and the installation environment is hugely sub-optimal.

You nailed a good chunk, if not all the variables that will degrade any speaker. In the world of speakers, Magico IMO is a top shelf contender!