Magico M7 2023

[Rhapsody]

Bob, I disagree with your comment about lesser sensitivity of sealed speakers to bass issues. This is not my experience. The bass of Magicos can be very sensitive to in-room positioning as well. Some level of speaker adjustability would be welcome, I agree with Marty.

Hi Al, not a problem, it's good to have different view points and opinions. My experience with having set up maybe 50+ pairs of Magico gives me my perspective.

To optimize the sound takes MUCH care of course with set up for any speaker, but I have really never had bloated or too much bass with Magicos, no matter where they were placed. For some people there is not enough bass with Magico speakers as they are use to a ported speaker which usually sounds full in the bass regions. YMMV

 

[Elliot G.]

I have no dog in this fight but ALL speakers are room positioning dependant ( if they are to sound good) and the fact that one can move a tweeter or a midrange a little foward or back will never fix a bad set up or a bad room. The same is true with a selectable port, these things can help, particularly when the system is not set up correctly but they will never make a silk purse out of a sows ear.
In my personal experience Wilson speakers require as much or more work to set up than others and they are not less problematic than Magico. These speakers both use drivers that respond well to treatment and to be frank truly require such to sound their best. This is not any revelation just reality. Your choice as to what you prefer aside, most that I have have experienced were not set up to their optimum. One last thing the bigger the speaker the more work is required, again in my experience.

 

[PeterA]

Bob, I disagree with your comment about lesser sensitivity of sealed speakers to bass issues. This is not my experience. The bass of Magicos can be very sensitive to in-room positioning as well. Some level of speaker adjustability would be welcome, I agree with Marty.

Al, I agree that Magicos are sensitive to in room positioning. I actually went against the recommended toe-in and oriented them straight ahead. It sounded best in my room to me.

I think with adjustability comes trade-offs. Those driver pods are not as rigid. Switchable resistors may mean more connections and added complexities. Magico and Wilson have very different approaches. Their designers and marketers can readily defend their own approach.

I owned two pairs of Magico speakers and thought they were truly excellent. I liked the sealed cabinet design and found after much experimentation with positioning and orientation, they worked extremely well in my room. I also never heard the thin/sterile/analytical/bright issues others did with the Q3. They are extremely revealing, so it may have had a lot to do with the Pass and then Lamm amps I used. Once other set up issues were addressed, the Q3 sounded very natural.

The issue I have with both Magico and with Wilson is the need for high amplification power. They have impedance dips and are not very efficient designs. This limits choices. If one finds amps he likes, then both brands can sound very good if well set up.

Magico speakers are perhaps the most coherent multi way speakers I have heard. This is one of their biggest strengths, IMO. They do not need adjustability beyond proper set up. I agree with Bob, they can be made to sound excellent in an appropriately sized room with attention to set up. Lack of adjustability and simplicity can have its advantages.

These two brands will always be compared to each other, and each has its advocates and detractors.

 

[Rhapsody]

Al, I agree that Magicos are sensitive to in room positioning. I actually went against the recommended toe-in and oriented them straight ahead. It sounded best in my room to me.

I think with adjustability comes trade-offs. Those driver pods are not as rigid. Switchable resistors may mean more connections and added complexities. Magico and Wilson have very different approaches. Their designers and marketers can readily defend their own approach.

I owned two pairs of Magico speakers and thought they were truly excellent. I liked the sealed cabinet design and found after much experimentation with positioning and orientation, they worked extremely well in my room. I also never heard the thin/sterile/analytical/bright issues others did with the Q3. They are extremely revealing, so it may have had a lot to do with the Pass and then Lamm amps I used. Once other set up issues were addressed, the Q3 sounded very natural.

The issue I have with both Magico and with Wilson is the need for high amplification power. They have impedance dips and are not very efficient designs. This limits choices. If one finds amps he likes, then both brands can sound very good if well set up.

Magico speakers are perhaps the most coherent multi way speakers I have heard. This is one of their biggest strengths, IMO. They do not need adjustability beyond proper set up. I agree with Bob, they can be made to sound excellent in an appropriately sized room with attention to set up. Lack of adjustability and simplicity can have its advantages.

These two brands will always be compared to each other, and each has its advocates and detractors.

"These two brands will always be compared to each other, and each has its advocates and detractors."

Ain't that the truth

I used to live in a suburb of Detroit. I had one neighbor Richard (a Ford guy) and another neighbor Tom (a Chevy guy). I went to the Detroit Auto show with both of them one year. I realized after a few hours at the show that Richard had gone to the Ford exhibit and never left it to even go and look at other manufacturers exhibits. Tom did the same thing. He stayed for like 2 or 3 hours in the Chevy exhibit.

Different strokes for different folks.

 

[Al M.]

I have no dog in this fight but ALL speakers are room positioning dependant ( if they are to sound good) and the fact that one can move a tweeter or a midrange a little foward or back will never fix a bad set up or a bad room. The same is true with a selectable port, these things can help, particularly when the system is not set up correctly but they will never make a silk purse out of a sows ear.
In my personal experience Wilson speakers require as much or more work to set up than others and they are not less problematic than Magico. These speakers both use drivers that respond well to treatment and to be frank truly require such to sound their best. This is not any revelation just reality. Your choice as to what you prefer aside, most that I have have experienced were not set up to their optimum. One last thing the bigger the speaker the more work is required, again in my experience.

Yes, and the funny thing is how slight changes in speaker positioning can make all the difference between just good sound on one hand, and highly engaging, immersive sound on the other.

Unless you got really lucky, proper room treatment is essential, and changes in room treatment may in turn affect the optimal spot of speaker positioning.

 

[ScottK]

In my personal experience Wilson speakers require as much or more work to set up than others

Hi Elliot, this is most certainly true. It's the intent of the speaker design. The impact of these "adjustments" are quite impactful within any given room. It was never their intention to "fix" room anomalies with these adjustments, rather the impact of time alignment with various seating positions and seating heights. To my ear this can be very significant. I'm guessing the Magic's deal with this through the dispersion pattern of the various drivers. As to "optimal" setup I doubt that any of us reach that goal. I know I don't. I do keep trying which is a lot of fun.

 

[ScottK]

I liken Magico to "digital" and Wilson to "vinyl" with all the standard implications. One of my first posts on WBF dealt with "digital vs vinyl". that debate continues to rage?

 

[Elliot G.]

Scott , although you have a beautiful home and what looks like an amazing view, the room probably has some serious challenges to get the sound right. I do not want to be a jerk but the final part of any great system ( which sadly there are very few0 is getting the chosen gear top play nicely with the environment. I believe that there are many terrific components and speakers and all of them can, (when used correctly in the right space) can produce a wonderful resultant experience. THis however happens not often enough. It does not happen at shows, it mostly does not happen in many dealer showrooms and it happens only occasionally in peoples homes. It takes a lot of work, a lot of patience and the most difficult part is for the owner to realize that they don't know wha they don't know

 

[Elliot G.]

Yes, and the funny thing is how slight changes in speaker positioning can make all the difference between just good sound on one hand, and highly engaging, immersive sound on the other.

Unless you got really lucky, proper room treatment is essential, and changes in room treatment may in turn affect the optimal spot of speaker positioning.

its not funny Al its the most important thing you can do. People ask me all the time and my answer is always the same . The most important part of getting a system to sound great is the positioning of your speakers.

 

[Rhapsody]

its not funny Al its the most important thing you can do. People ask me all the time and my answer is always the same . The most important part of getting a system to sound great is the positioning of your speakers.

Jim Smith taught me that 23 years ago. I asked Jim how he got "his sound"? He said 80% or 85% from the speaker/room interface, the rest from electronics and a bit from cables.

 

[NekoAudio]

FWIW, it has also been my experience that Magico speakers, both as sealed designs and due to only having forward-facing drivers, has made them much more flexible with regards to placement. That's particularly important in places like where I am because houses and rooms tend to be smaller, even for those with disposable income. The Magico *PODs also help.

 

[ScottK]

I do not want to be a jerk but the final part of any great system

I clearly do not have spaces that are optimized for sound in either of my listening rooms. That's by choice. I'm not willing to give over the beauty of a space to acoustical engineering. Others are free to make other choices. I can say to my ears my main system sounds great and what I might loose from room acoustics is made up for by the joy of the space.

 

[Rhapsody]

I clearly do not have spaces that are optimized for sound in either of my listening rooms. That's by choice. I'm not willing to give over the beauty of a space to acoustical engineering. Others are free to make other choices. I can say to my ears my main system sounds great and what I might loose from room acoustics is make up for by the joy of the space.

Scott, my experience is that probably 60% of my customers opt for the "joy of space" vs optimizing the sound. As long as it sounds good to them and they enjoy listening to music and their living space is not compromised they are happy campers.

 

[ScottK]

The perfect listening room?

 

[PeterA]

I clearly do not have spaces that are optimized for sound in either of my listening rooms. That's by choice. I'm not willing to give over the beauty of a space to acoustical engineering. Others are free to make other choices. I can say to my ears my main system sounds great and what I might loose from room acoustics is made up for by the joy of the space.

First priority for me is entering a room that I want to spend time in. I just wish it were a bit bigger.

 

[LL21]

Agree...ours is the living room and separate space for partners desk (for work)...working, living, playing. And music is on all the time.

 

[dcathro]

I clearly do not have spaces that are optimized for sound in either of my listening rooms. That's by choice. I'm not willing to give over the beauty of a space to acoustical engineering. Others are free to make other choices. I can say to my ears my main system sounds great and what I might loose from room acoustics is made up for by the joy of the space.

There are lots of things you can do without turning you room into an anechoic chamber. Examples would be to change your glass windows to studio glass, hanging some attractive diffusers from the ceiling.

 

[PeterA]

Has anyone noticed how unadorned the rooms are in the marketing photographs from Wilson and now suddenly Magico? The speakers are photographed in large stately rooms with lots of wooden paneling and high ceilings, and often a piano. Admittedly there are also often large windows. My vote is for wooden paneled walls, high coffered ceilings, windows with wooden shutters, and nice oriental carpets. Lots of bookshelves or record shelves. How nice it would be to have one of those rooms in which to enjoy an awesome system.

 

[ScottK]

Examples would be to change your glass windows to studio glass,

When my dealer setup my Alexx V's he said my room was very good acoustically. Do folks just start adding acoustic treatment without first evaluating the room? Replacing the glass in my windows sounds very costly if I could even find someone to do that. When researching the impact of glass in listening rooms I found this;

1. Personal Preference: Ultimately, the decision to have windows in an audiophile listening room is a matter of personal preference and priorities. Some audiophiles prioritize acoustic performance above all else and may prefer windowless environments, while others value a balance between sound quality and natural light.

 

[ScottK]

You mean like this Peter?