Hi Peter,
In terms of tone, do you think the Magico / Pass combination is faithfully reproducing what you heard in the live string quartet?
If you assume the live quartet at 100, and that other speakers are less than 100, then if you have heard only one speaker, you might place it at 90. The more speakers you hear, the more likely this 90 will go down and others will fall in between that score and 100. So, to ask how a speaker compares to live in absence of other references is not valid. A lot of guys who sit next to me at concert halls own Bose and B&O are happy, they don't have other references.
In cone oomph, the new B&W D3 series is pretty good