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

Lagonda

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honestly Peter; ddk's use of the term "disturbing hifi trend for new boutique cartridges" is disturbing in itself (in his typically 'in-your-face' style) and makes it anything but useful unless you jump on the ddk freight train. i guess everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

yes; we could all make charts. but most of us would not stick it to everyone with it. but his fans surely love it.
I’m a fan ! But he is an acquired taste, that is for sure ! Like eating those Japanese poisonous fish dishes that can kill you if not cooked right :eek:
 
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PeterA

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honestly Peter; ddk's use of the term "disturbing hifi trend for new boutique cartridges" is disturbing in itself (in his typically 'in-your-face' style) and makes it anything but useful unless you jump on the ddk freight train. i guess everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

yes; we could all make charts. but most of us would not stick it to everyone with it. but his fans surely love it.

Mike, I don't think anyone with SS electronics, a suspended turntable, and Magico speakers is on the ddk "freight train", whatever that is. I do however see much discussion here about vinyl, vintage tables, horn speakers, and low powered tube electronics.

Many people do in fact discuss "disturbing trends" in hifi, from pricing, analytical sounding speakers, colored cables and power cords and footers, sterile sounding electronics, bling encrusted turntables, not to mention the ever escalating prices and the disappearance of brick and mortar stores. There are trends in the industry that many people do find disturbing. Certainly people are free to have opinions, and people are free to be offended.

Magio is a company which elicits many emotions, that is for sure.
 

Rhapsody

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I haven't heard the A5 yet, just the S5 if we're counting 5's.

I think that if you get to hear a pair of the A5s in a well set up system, you will find they jump to a different level with regards to resolution and transparency especially in the midrange and mid-bass. YMMV of Course, but I personally still cannot get over the advancement over all past Magico offerings with respect to these mentioned attributes with the A5's.
 

Folsom

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I think that if you get to hear a pair of the A5s in a well set up system, you will find they jump to a different level with regards to resolution and transparency especially in the midrange and mid-bass. YMMV of Course, but I personally still cannot get over the advancement over all past Magico offerings with respect to these mentioned attributes with the A5's.

I wouldn't be surprised if a "lower effort" speaker somehow translated to better sound accidentally. It doesn't use the midrange cone on the back I don't think?
 

Rhapsody

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I wouldn't be surprised if a "lower effort" speaker somehow translated to better sound accidentally. It doesn't use the midrange cone on the back I don't think?

After talking to Alon for hours and hours this weekend I know it was not by accident. There is SERIOUS new technology in the new drivers/surrounds. The first time we are hearing this is in the A5. All future Magico are going to jump to a different level with this latest found implementation of the drivers/surrounds.
 
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PeterA

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I wouldn't be surprised if a "lower effort" speaker somehow translated to better sound accidentally. It doesn't use the midrange cone on the back I don't think?

I would find it difficult to believe that anything happens by accident at Magico. There might be some pleasant surprises during the development stage but this is a released product now and I don’t think anything about the release was an accident.
 

morricab

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Damping is complicated. Your favorite compression drivers are internally very damped (they have QTS below .3) but they don't lack dynamics. This is why I say not all damping is equal for the type of sound you'll get. The frequency range and damping is another interest factor since it doesn't seem to sound universally appealing at any given amount. It also varies with speaker type etc.
Yes, but this is electrically damped and not absorptively damped...they also typically produce 110db/watt due to great big magnets.
 

microstrip

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To break them in running 24/7 for the last five days I had them connected to the Extreme server then into the AF xHD dac into the Devialet ExPro 1000.

I connected the A5's up to the Constellation pre and Centaur II and sonically it was a big step up as expected, BUT for some reason I love the sound with the Devialet on them. Just something about it. I know I will sell many systems with the Devialet on the A5s. Such as simple and wonderful sounding system, especially for those that want/need a simple but great sounding system.

Interesting - can you share some details on how you are you connecting the Extreme to the Devialet?
 

Rhapsody

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Interesting - can you share some details on how you are you connecting the Extreme to the Devialet?
I have a usb cable from the Extreme to the AF x HD. Then rca analog outs from the AF dac to the line in of the Expert Pro 1000.

I tried the usb out onto the usb in of the D and it was good but much better with the AF
 

andromedaaudio

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Every product( not limited to audio ) has a house signature/ sound ,its the signature of the designer / skill of the employees .
Magico changes the(house ) productline often quit drastic , but i would say very revealing speakers although commonly a bit bass shy not so full in the bass .
Well made products, aluminium housings do have a signature off their own imo.
 
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microstrip

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I have a usb cable from the Extreme to the AF x HD. Then rca analog outs from the AF dac to the line in of the Expert Pro 1000.

I tried the usb out onto the usb in of the D and it was good but much better with the AF

Suprising, but even more interesting! BTW, do you know of anyone having tried AES/EBU from the Extreme to Devialet?
 

JackD201

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In the Magico newsletter they discuss the new midrange drivers for the M9. Graphene aside, they mention what is very similar to what Thiel and Partners have been doing with the 4D drivers whose variants are in use by two of my favorite box speaker manufacturers. Underhung, Neo, Titanium former, lower inductance, bypass connection to the surrounds. The other two have gone with different formulations of the corundum (sapphire) ceramics. If you look closely you'll see differences in the color indicating differences in Al and Ti of the mix that also negates the need for the cutouts that deal with resonant peaks.

When I spec'd my Ultra 11s a few years ago I begged Leif to use the 4D drivers. That necessitated the special order of larger magnet/higher sensitivity versions resulting in redoing the practically the entire crossover. That all took a loooooong time but by 2018 that ultimately became the mids on the current Ultra 11's and then the 9's and now Ultra 5's.

If the A5s are using drivers made with the same design philosophy, I can see where Bob is coming from. Underhung motors are more difficult and more expensive to make but yes the distortion is indeed a lot lower. Since they typically also, by design, are limited in excursion, that larger magnet is needed. If the magico driver is likewise open backed hence no reflections behind the diaphragm, again more gains, aids in cooling too as the coil surface area is increased as a result.

I also think Peter and I are on the same train of thought as far as Alon and company being in a constant state of evolution. Of all the speaker manufacturers I can think of none that make changes as drastic as Magico does. As Peter says, they do get a lot of attention as drastic changes do tend to generate that especially if the changes are readily apparent to the naked eye.
 
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PeterA

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Peter asked for our personal impressions and that is all I provided. Can a Q3 sound warm sure. I never said it wasn't or could't be. If memory serves me right, I was the only one that voted Q3 when Peter was deciding on what to replace his Mini's with based on his Pass/SME/Matsudaira/Townshend/Vibraplane system while everybody else was shouting S5. Warmth is easy to add, speed not so much.

MY context is between the wood bodies, Q3, S5 Mks 1 and 2, S7 and M3 or roughly 12 years of Magico sound.

What thread was that Peter?

Hello Jack,

I agree with you that "warmth is easy to add, speed not so much". Speaker set up, cables, amps, cartridges, etc. can warm up a system. This may or may not be the thread to which you refer:

https://www.whatsbestforum.com/threads/magico-mini-2-q1-raidho-c-1-1-or-tad-cr-1.7634/page-4

This thread I think predates the S series. Interestingly, it was Stereo who in Post #72 wrote this:

"If your room size can accommodate a Q3, yes, it would be a perfect upgrade to the Mini2!"
 

howiebrou

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I’m a fan ! But he is an acquired taste, that is for sure ! Like eating those Japanese poisonous fish dishes that can kill you if not cooked right :eek:
Fugu is eaten raw which is why chefs train for 3 years just to be licensed.o_O
 
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JackD201

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Aaah! Stereo beat me to it! This isn't the thread. It is a later one. I'm certain the discussion was on S5 vs Q3 and for your purposes my pick was the Q3 to have the better chance of getting your nod.

Stereoe ditched us after he got his Ultimates. I hope Stereo is living in bliss but not because he left us LOL :)
 

Lagonda

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Fugu is eaten raw which is why chefs train for 3 years just to be licensed.o_O
And i thought Fugu was a cartridge ! DDK is a little raw too ;)
 
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JackD201

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Fugu is eaten raw which is why chefs train for 3 years just to be licensed.o_O

Fugu in aspic. Nice tingle on the lips.

Okay Lagonda, II teed up your next pun. You better hit it on the green. LOL
 

south

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I never owned a Magico speaker, but I gave them very often a listening.
Your description follows my personal experience as well.
All series are slightly different, still depending of the room you here them.

When I listen to my speakers from Neil Patel or David Wilson, I do understand, what their vision of music reproduction is.
Avalon and Wilson are different in their approach and in their Designs. But within the product family they are consistent.

If their is a change in voicing, like Avalon did a couple of years ago, this is consistent to every new model as well.

But I have a problem with the Magico sound (not only them...), searching for Alon's vision about his personal best music reproduction, as I cannot identify a consistent house sound for all series.

But maybe this is not the goal, maybe he likes to address different target customers with differently voiced speakers?

Anyhow, so far no Magico speaker demo were able to connect me to the music.
I believe, that I never heard a set up, which was able to show the qualities of the speakers in the best way.

So I have to wait, the time will come, that I will understand the Magico way of Music reproduction :)

Shakti,
I fully agree with you. I have heard Magico of all the different series (with the exception of the original M series). I respect and admire their commitment to new technologies (wood, aluminium, carbon, mix) but the outcome fails to impress me and it changes with each generation in a way I do not see with brands I prefer. There is however an area where they made an interesting contribution, namely by using sealed boxes. There is a certain definition in their reproduction of lower frequencies which i like and seems linked to the use of that design.
 
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Lagonda

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Fugu in aspic. Nice tingle on the lips.

Okay Lagonda, II teed up your next pun. You better hit it on the green. LOL
I’m afraid the RON (Random Offense Neutralization) software will kick in and penalize me :oops:
 

JackD201

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LOL!
 

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