Magico M3 MPod 3 Point Speaker Stands

[KeithR]

Yes, I own stocks, one pair of S5 (almost sold), and another one (Mk2) coming

But back to the MPod/stand etc,

Let me try, since the manufacture didn't find the time to do so to explain how these footers work and why they are anything but simple or economical.

Assuming this foot is similar to a QPod, then it is a multi-layer device were a “sandwich” is formed by laminating the stiff base layer to a damping layer and adding a third stiff constraining layer at the bottom. In the QPod case, Magico has double up on the "sandwich" and added copper and stainless steel to the mixture. When the system flexes during play, vibrations are channeled to the middle damper where they dissipate, preventing vibration from going thru the component to the floor and vice versa. I have 2 set of 3 QPods, one under my Cd player and one under the Preamp, and I can tell you that it is the most effective foot I have ever heard in my set up (I also tried the SP, which are actually more expensive).

Doesn't look or read remotely like a 10k product, but to each their own.

 

[microstrip]

microstrip

Criticism advance the state of the arts more so than blatant shill. You seem to take offense to any criticism toward any product or High End manufacturer. I am not sure why. Are everything they make all great and good? mhhhh??? If they were so perfect why do you think they issue updates or change models? This tendency of yours is also to me, amusing if somewhat puzzling.
WBF is that: A forum where people are allowed to voice their opinions. If you do consider a $10k pod normal and fair game that is great and fine. It remains my right also to opine differently. So stop the (veiled) ad hominem and let's agree to disagree.
I do know that I am far from alone finding this pod a tad expensive ...

I still like the Q3, I will listen to other stuff, if I like the alternative less I will purchase a Q3 when the M3 is fully out and people start unloading their Q3 (hopefully) since it will be by then old technology and the new models will blow it away.

Frantz,

Just my point - we agree funded criticism advances the state of art. But for me denigrating for the pleasure of arguing without real substance or full information is an useless sport.

Please stop imagining I am attacking your own character - I am openly referring to an attitude, not to specific people. And yes, people are free to disagree with me - I also disagree with many of them. Sometimes I speak about ohms, Hertz, dB and newtons and they just answer in latin or in dollars ...

Do you want me to applaud your wise decision about the Q3? Surely I will do it when you get them and tell us about how you set the system and the great music you are listening on them - it is what matters most!

 

[cannata]

Doesn't look or read remotely like a 10k product, but to each their own.

Make a set, factor in the R&D, distribution channels, and the obviously low production numbers and let us know what it cost.

 

[thedudeabides]

Low production? Maybe. My guess is that this is the first of numerous applications in Magico's future speaker models.

 

[cannata]

Low production? Maybe. My guess is that this is the first of numerous applications in Magico's future speaker models.

Regardless, we are not talking mass production here.

 

[FrantzM]

microstrip

I don't think you denigrate me or are attacking my character, I do however sincerely believe that you react too fast on any criticism concerning things that are Audio, especially High End Audio. This is a Business micro run by shrewd persons not choir boys. Capitalism also means getting the best for your very hard earned money. I don't take it lightly that someone laughs at my expenses on his or her way to the bank. Whether we accept it or not, it is a business and a luxury market. Too often we ge nothing for what is after all just lateral moves. We go sideways, a lot in this hobby. You will see manufacturers poking.. trying and testing the market. A BUSINESS, don't fool yourself thinking otherwise and it perforce has its good and bad guys. Some are genuinely good and some are opportunistically "bad". It depends on how much they can get away with. In our search and our passion for better everything we do give them some passes , too often.

Many here do share the feeling that the upward spiral is killing the industry. Many share my feeling about the strange pricing scheme of many companies, for their own reasons they may prefer not to voice it. I do voice it. You defend IMHO almostblindly, Perhaps the use of the term BS was too strong, I could have used a more euphemistic expression, what I used, not to be repeated anymore, expressed however what I feel about such predatory pricing (see I can use a nicer but still strong term ). I expressed the same about their $50K rack too... I believeMagicocando better than that.
i may listen to the M3 but it is out of my comfort zone.
There is not much else I can add to this debate if anyone feels that such "pod" make them happy so be it .. buy it and later sell it. No one and nothing would be hurt by the transactions, perhaps progress in the Music Reproduction.


I was in Spain for a few days and should have dropped by Portugal. Perhaps next year. You still owe me a bottle of the best Porto you can get your hands on. As for the Q3, it is high on my list and you will all know if and when I pull the trigger.
Peace!

 

[jeff1225]

Regardless, we are not talking mass production here.

Agreed. The major price improvement element that is missing from our hobby is SCALE. There is no way for any high-end manufacturer to gain scale because there are too few consumers, the materials in vogue now are too exotic and constant model changes are the rage.

 

[DaveyF]

microstrip

I don't think you denigrate me or are attacking my character, I do however sincerely believe that you react too fast on any criticism concerning things that are Audio, especially High End Audio. This is a Business micro run by shrewd persons not choir boys. Capitalism also means getting the best for your very hard earned money. I don't take it lightly that someone laughs at my expenses on his or her way to the bank. Whether we accept it or not, it is a business and a luxury market. Too often we ge nothing for what is after all just lateral moves. We go sideways, a lot in this hobby. You will see manufacturers poking.. trying and testing the market. A BUSINESS, don't fool yourself thinking otherwise and it perforce has its good and bad guys. Some are genuinely good and some are opportunistically "bad". It depends on how much they can get away with. In our search and our passion for better everything we do give them some passes , too often.

Many here do share the feeling that the upward spiral is killing the industry. Many share my feeling about the strange pricing scheme of many companies, for their own reasons they may prefer not to voice it. I do voice it. You defend IMHO almostblindly, Perhaps the use of the term BS was too strong, I could have used a more euphemistic expression, what I used, not to be repeated anymore, expressed however what I feel about such predatory pricing (see I can use a nicer but still strong term ). I expressed the same about their $50K rack too... I believeMagicocando better than that.

+1.

The upward spiral is IMHO certainly killing the industry....and I think that is nowhere more evident than the typical age of the current hobbyists. How often do we see the younger crowd...Milleniums etc, getting interested in the hobby? If we think back on our youth, high-end was always an expensive proposition, BUT it wasn't anywhere near what it is today. Albeit, there are a few companies that do seem to want to stem the tide. Magnepan comes to mind, among a few others, kudos to them. Magico, OTOH, couldn't seem to care less about the newbie. Strange, considering the age of AW and the ages of Wendell Diller and his guys.
I guess it's a business decision that Alon has made, which IMO might make some sense in the short term...but in the long run???? What do you guys think?

 

[NorthStar]

Excessive/obsessive? You betcha!

But this, is a fart compared to Abu Dhabi's most materialistic extravagances.

 

[Steve williams]

Personally I like Frantz idea to charge $85K for the speakers which includes the M-Pods. I bet no one would have blinked an eyelash.

 

[DaveyF]

Personally I like Frantz idea to charge $85K for the speakers which includes the M-Pods. I bet no one would have blinked an eyelash.

Agreed. I actually originally thought that they were $85k to start and that the feet added another $10k!

Not sure if I should post this observation....
As I do not want to give anyone any ideas, lol

 

[caesar]

Personally I like Frantz idea to charge $85K for the speakers which includes the M-Pods. I bet no one would have blinked an eyelash.

Hey Steve, I hate to disagree with you, but Wolf probably knows his customers better than anyone, and thinks some may blink at $85, but not $75K. And they have the option to upgrade in the future for a mere $10K.

As I mentioned in a post above, Porsche, a top luxury brand that knows how to squeeze every last dime from its customers, has "basic" 911 cars starting at $89K. Adding about $12K buys a bigger engine. But not everyone wants the higher-powered model, as people do blink.

 

[DaveyF]

Personally, I think the idea of comparing the cost of high priced automobiles to audio gear is fallacious. The engineering, complexity,cost of production and a myriad of other factors in automobile production make it so, to say nothing of the profit factors. A $89k Porsche compared to a $89k Magico......please!

 

[FrantzM]

Personally, I think the idea of comparing the cost of high priced automobiles to audio gear is fallacious. The engineering, complexity,cost of production and a myriad of other factors in automobile production make it so, to say nothing of the profit factors. A $89k Porsche compared to a $89k Magico......please!

+1

 

[Folsom]

Yes but we're talking about feet.

Given their complexity and how cost effective Magico has made aluminium... it's still puzzling why you can buy their cheaper monitors for the same price as what appears to be... well a hunk of aluminium with some semi interesting things at the end.

Maybe they should cost $20k or $30k, but it's very confusing. I don't expect anyone to understand without them putting some effort forth. Maybe that's the strategy, no need to understand unless you can't care less about the price, and at that point you also don't need to?

Sure, they're banking on if you spend $75k, why not $85k. It's just that their price margins appear vastly different.

 

[marty]

Just curious- does anyone know of any company/source that sells outrigger feet or a platform with outrigger feet, similar to what is on the S7s?

 

[caesar]

Personally, I think the idea of comparing the cost of high priced automobiles to audio gear is fallacious. The engineering, complexity,cost of production and a myriad of other factors in automobile production make it so, to say nothing of the profit factors. A $89k Porsche compared to a $89k Magico......please!

Not talking about the level of engineering involved here, and that would be apples and oranges. But they are both luxury and experiential goods. So consumer psychology is very similar.

 

[cannata]

As usual, so much "love" here for the brand, and typically from people who never bought any Magico product, this is so interesting…

A Still Point ULTRA 6 foot cost around 1000 Euro. It does not look more complex or invested, yet people here on WBF couldn't buy enough of them. The big Critical Mass rack cost ~50K Euro, don't see anyone blink, and I can go on.

My S5, has more mass and technology then speakers cost 3 times as much (You may not like the sound, but you will have to acknowledge the fact that a Be tweeter cost a lot more than a silk one and that a Mundorf copper inductor cost a lot more than a ferrite one, and don’t let me start on the cabinet, woofers etc.). Yet, no one here ever bothers to take a look at any of these facts. I know it will go against the popular notion of this site, but in terms of plain value, Magico products are actually a bargain. Just for a quick comparison, take a look at a comparable YG big Sonja (2X10”, 2X5” and 1X1”), it cost almost 4 times as my S5, and I can assure you it is not 4 times anything the S5 (Ok, they have 2 mids, and it is heavier but my S5 has a Be tweeter and the new one added diamond coating to it ). But hay, don’t let any facts confuse you, please carry-on

 

[caesar]

As usual, so much "love" here for the brand, and typically from people who never bought any Magico product, this is so interesting…

A Still Point ULTRA 6 foot cost around 1000 Euro. It does not look more complex or invested, yet people here on WBF couldn't buy enough of them. The big Critical Mass rack cost ~50K Euro, don't see anyone blink, and I can go on.

My S5, has more mass and technology then speakers cost 3 times as much (You may not like the sound, but you will have to acknowledge the fact that a Be tweeter cost a lot more than a silk one and that a Mundorf copper inductor cost a lot more than a ferrite one, and don’t let me start on the cabinet, woofers etc.). Yet, no one here ever bothers to take a look at any of these facts. I know it will go against the popular notion of this site, but in terms of plain value, Magico products are actually a bargain. Just for a quick comparison, take a look at a comparable YG big Sonja (2X10”, 2X5” and 1X1”), it cost almost 4 times as my S5, and I can assure you it is not 4 times anything the S5 (Ok, they have 2 mids, and it is heavier but my S5 has a Be tweeter and the new one added diamond coating to it ). But hay, don’t let any facts confuse you, please carry-on

Cannata, there is a good number of people who trust the magico engineering pedigree implicitly, and will buy the brand no matter what. Look at how the M Projects sold out, without people even hearing them. I bet Wolf is kicking himself for not pricing the thing $10-15K higher - that would be a nice chunk of money... Imagine putting a piece of gear on the market and have it sell in 20 minutes; imagine putting your house on the market and have it sell in a day - you know you under-priced it.

Then there are guys like Frantz, who are a NO based on principles. And then there are guys who are on the fence...

For those people, he has "audio journalists" that are his pet parrots and marketers. They will repeat what he says in his white paper for the product.... If he is lucky to get a great writer to create the review, it will cast a spell on the reader and make people believe. It's all good.

 

[MRJAZZ]

Just curious- does anyone know of any company/source that sells outrigger feet or a platform with outrigger feet, similar to what is on the S7s?

No I don't, however shouldn't be to difficult to have them fabricated. Just go to a local machine shop and show them the pattern you want. Use some decent aircraft grade aluminum (1 inch thick). Have them black anadised with threaded ends to accept the footers of your choice (Stillpoint ultra 5, Nordost, etc). Probably won't be in them more than 1000.00 - 1200.00, (+ the footers and if you decide on the Stillpoints than that's where it starts to get pricey).
Cheers,