Magico Q7

[nirodha]

Date: October 13, 2012
Place: Rhapsody, Hilversum The Netherlands
Event: newest dCS super set; Zanden monos and pre; Magico Q 7
Experience: this had nothing to do with audio....was more a religious experience. Best sound I have ever heard.

Update. Today I was lucky enough to get a second sitting with the friends of Rhapsody. Another Magico Q7 day. There were some changes though. The new CD reference of dCS and the Zanden monos were with some lucky potential owners. Instead of these reference products, the Spectral 260 and the dCS Puccini were asked to strut their stuff. The good news: the Magico Q 7 is the best loudspeaker I have ever heard. The bad news: the Magico Q 7 is the best loudspeaker I have ever heard. I know..you must be thinking...poor Dutch boy, must have fallen from a building on his head. But let me explain. It is just that the Q7 is THAT good that it ruthlessly reveals everything upstream. If you want Nirvana you had better be prepared to go all the way.
Still...had the afternoon of a lifetime. Great company, great music and the second best audio experience so far .

 

[NorthStar]

---Somehow I believe you. :b

 

[nirodha]

---Somehow I believe you. :b

Thank u dude! Most of the time I even believe myself

 

[LL21]

Thanks, Nirodha...great read. Actually, based on what i have heard from Magico...i could well believe this. Put a signal thru it and it comes out the other side. Maybe not 'perfectly' (there is no perfection on earth)...but exceedingly transparently. And with the size of the Q7 i suspect bass is far less a problem with this speaker than earlier smaller Magicos. As a result, (for me) put Zanden thru it i bet it's amazing. Put Halcro thru it...perhaps not so much.

 

[Gregadd]

No man made perfection anyway!

 

[NorthStar]

Thank u dude! Most of the time I even believe myself

-----Did you see the flick 'The Big Lebowski'?

The real Dude's in it. :b

 

[nirodha]

-----Did you see the flick 'The Big Lebowski'?

The real Dude's in it. :b

Oh...haven't seen that one yet. But there was also a Dude (played by Dean Martin) in Rio Lobo. And Dean was cool!
Wim

 

[NorthStar]

Oh...haven't seen that one yet. But there was also a Dude (played by Dean Martin) in Rio Lobo. And Dean was cool!
Wim

-----Wow, you are in for a very nice surprise! ...Check it out; 'The Big Lebowski' directed by the Coen brothers and starring Jeff Bridges, plus the rest of that excellent cast. :b
A flick not to be missed Wim.

Cheers,
Bob

 

[LL21]

No man made perfection anyway!

Right on.

 

[NorthStar]

Right on.

-----That's my sig at another Audio forum. :b

 

[nirodha]

-----Wow, you are in for a very nice surprise! ...Check it out; 'The Big Lebowski' directed by the Coen brothers and starring Jeff Bridges, plus the rest of that excellent cast. :b
A flick not to be missed Wim.

Cheers,
Bob

thanx Bob. I will check it out Cheers Wim

 

[GuidoCorona]

Hy Roysen, have you already decided on amp(s) for your Q7s? It seems that the Rowland M925 that you mentioned last February as a candidate will be heard for the first time in North America at CES 2013, at least according to jeffrowland.com. Not much information available on M925 yet, except for power rating somewhere greater than 400W, 4 chassis mono design, and some form of refined SMPSs. Saluti, Guido

 

[jap]

There's pair of Q7s on Agon for $125K.

Only 12 days left on the listing, so they can probably be had for less.

 

[Roysen]

Hy Roysen, have you already decided on amp(s) for your Q7s? It seems that the Rowland M925 that you mentioned last February as a candidate will be heard for the first time in North America at CES 2013, at least according to jeffrowland.com. Not much information available on M925 yet, except for power rating somewhere greater than 400W, 4 chassis mono design, and some form of refined SMPSs. Saluti, Guido

Hi Guido,

Yes, the amplifiers for my Magico Q7s will be the Dynaudio Arbiters (power amplifiers only - not the preamplifier) and the Lyra Connoisseur 3.0 preamplifier. The question now is if I would want to bi-amplify the Q7s. In that case there is a list of contenders including JRD M925. I find it unlikely that I will be able to find another pair of Dynaudio Arbiters, so I would need to bi-amplify the Q7s with two different amplifiers. The darTZeel NHB-458 is my number one choice before the Q7s have arrived, but the process of choosing a second amplifier or not needs to be a trial process.

Right now I am thinking about these options:
- darTZeel NHB-458
- Constellation Audio Hercules
- Analog Domain Apollo
- Boulder 3050
- Jeff Rowland M925
- Gryphon Colosseum Solo
- Spectral DMA-400
- Soulution Audio 700

The rest of the system will be:
CD-Source - MBL 1621A & MBL 1611F
SACD-Source - Soulution Audio 745
DVD-Audio(Hi-Res PCM silver disc)-Source - Metronome Technologie Kalista Ultimate SE & APL HiFi NWO-Master System & GTE Audio Trinity DAC Mk.II
PC-Source - Burmester 111 & Burmester 069
Turntable - Clearaudio Statement Turntable & Clearaudio Statement TT-1 Tonearm & Clearaudio Goldfinger Statement
Phono Preamplifier - Qualia Indigo Reference

Cables will be a mix of Siltech Royal Signature S8/G7 and Kharma Enigma Signature Extreme.

Racks will be Finite Elemente Emperor Active.

Then there will be a mix of different power conditioners and power cords.

Finally there will be a Granite Audio Ground Zero ground conditioning system.

I might also want to try/experiment with a pair of Burmester S8 subwoofers.

 

[LL21]

Hi Guido,

Yes, the amplifiers for my Magico Q7s will be the Dynaudio Arbiters (power amplifiers only - not the preamplifier) and the Lyra Connoisseur 3.0 preamplifier. The question now is if I would want to bi-amplify the Q7s. In that case there is a list of contenders including JRD M925. I find it unlikely that I will be able to find another pair of Dynaudio Arbiters, so I would need to bi-amplify the Q7s with two different amplifiers. The darTZeel NHB-458 is my number one choice before the Q7s have arrived, but the process of choosing a second amplifier or not needs to be a trial process.

Right now I am thinking about these options:
- darTZeel NHB-458
- Constellation Audio Hercules
- Analog Domain Apollo
- Boulder 3050
- Jeff Rowland M925
- Gryphon Colosseum Solo
- Spectral DMA-400

World-class as always, Roysen. If you're considering 3050 and 925...perhaps then Gryphon Mephisto Solo. BTW, would be very interested in your opinions on Analog Domain if you've heard it.

 

[Roysen]

World-class as always, Roysen. If you're considering 3050 and 925...perhaps then Gryphon Mephisto Solo. BTW, would be very interested in your opinions on Analog Domain if you've heard it.

Yeah, sorry it should have been Gryphon Mephisto Solo. I have not heard the Analog Domain yet. I will let you know when I do.

 

[LL21]

Yeah, sorry it should have been Gryphon Mephisto Solo. I have not heard the Analog Domain yet. I will let you know when I do.

Great. Look forward to hearing more!

 

[nirodha]

Great. Look forward to hearing more!

Hi Royson,
keep us informed! One question though...isn't bi-amping using 2 different brands of amps a risk? Just a question because I have never heard this set up myself. What's your view on this (and / or experience)?
Wim

 

[nirodha]

There's pair of Q7s on Agon for $125K.

Only 12 days left on the listing, so they can probably be had for less.

I wonder who will be the lucky guy . And if he's a member of this excellent forum.

 

[Roysen]

Hi Royson,
keep us informed! One question though...isn't bi-amping using 2 different brands of amps a risk? Just a question because I have never heard this set up myself. What's your view on this (and / or experience)?
Wim

Yes, I will keep you informed. I think bi-amping with two different amplifiers from the same brand also is a big risk. That is why I only start this setup with the Dynaudio Arbiters and then I will need to carefully audition if I feel the need to bi-amplify. If I think there is a need, a careful audition in my system is a must.

BTW, my Q7s will have the M-Cast Bronze color from the newly available anodized color range for the Q-Series.

When the Q7s are here I will present my system in a dedicated thread here. The O7 system will be my smallest system. Because of this it will be placed in my living room with all the acoustical compromises that means. Some corner bass traps and diffusors in the roof will be installed though.