Magico S5 measurements: lowest distortion level ever measured by Soundstage

stereo · Oct 8, 2013

Just saw this measurements of the S5 done by the National Research Council of Canada. Soundstage says that the S5 have the lowest level of THD they ever measured. No wonder they have zero coloration and are so transparent!
http://www.soundstagenetwork.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1043:nrc-measurements-magico-s5-loudspeakers&catid=77&Itemid=153

Edit: link was off for a few hours, now again up and running

NorthStar · Oct 8, 2013

Too bad, you should have taken a photograph of them NRC's measurements. ...Anyway, less than a week to wait.

_____________

Magico S5 - hi>fi+

Orb · Oct 8, 2013

LOL,
whats the odds Jeff, Doug or another at Soundstage saw your post

Ah well rest of us should had been quicker reading the forum bah

Cheers
Orb

LL21 · Oct 8, 2013

stereo said:
Just saw this measurements of the S5 done by the National Research Council of Canada. Soundstage says that the S5 have the lowest level of THD they ever measured. No wonder they have zero coloration and are so transparent!
http://www.soundstagenetwork.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1043:nrc-measurements-magico-s5-loudspeakers&catid=77&Itemid=153

Edit: link doesn't work anymore. Seems that they posted it by mistake too early (it was dated October 13 or 14!)

I will say I thought they sounded great...are they lower in distortion than the Q series?

Bruce B · Oct 8, 2013

These are the only Magico's that I've liked.

LL21 · Oct 8, 2013

Bruce B said:
These are the only Magico's that I've liked.

Hi Bruce, given your background as studio remastering expert...one would 'expect' the 'exacting' specs/design of the Q series Magico would be meant for someone like you. So I am intrigued to hear you say you apparently did not like the Q series? Avoiding the pitfalls that can come with criticism of any product, can you comment on whether the Q series goal of ultimate transparency, perfect linearity, etc...works for you, as someone who professional career relies presumably on such things?

I am very curious actually.

PeterA · Oct 8, 2013

Bruce B said:
These are the only Magico's that I've liked.

Interestingly, these are the Magicos that I've liked least. I know that they were set up very haphazardly at the dealership, and the salesman apologized to me for the less than stellar demo. I had gone hoping to hear the S1. I've heard the Mini2, M5, V2, V3, Q3, Q5, Q7. Besides the Mini2, which I own, I really, really liked the V2 and Q3. I found the S5 to be a bit boomy in the bass and not very coherent. The dealer also told me that in his opinion, the S1 is much closer sounding to the Q1 than the S5 is to the Q3 or Q5. It is voiced to be warmer with more bass "punch" than the Q series, or at least that is my understanding. I think it was developed to compete against the Wilson Sasha. The Q seems to have a more neutral tonal balance to my ears.

I look forward to reading the Soundstage review and measurements.

Bruce B · Oct 8, 2013

LL21 said:
Hi Bruce, given your background as studio remastering expert...one would 'expect' the 'exacting' specs/design of the Q series Magico would be meant for someone like you. So I am intrigued to hear you say you apparently did not like the Q series? Avoiding the pitfalls that can come with criticism of any product, can you comment on whether the Q series goal of ultimate transparency, perfect linearity, etc...works for you, as someone who professional career relies presumably on such things?

I am very curious actually.

Probably the main fault was that every Q series I've heard was not in a proper acoustic space (show conditions). That is not to say that I wouldn't like them as well or even more given a chance under perfect or close to perfect conditions. This would also go against what I said as the "S" series were at the Newport show when I heard them and I thought they were very good. Great linearity and balance throughout the octaves and a sound that I could listen to for extended periods of time.
I felt every time I did hear the "Q" series, they were lifeless and boring. It's nice to have a speaker that is transparent with the ultimate detail, but I have to listen to these for hours at a time. If the speaker doesn't "move" me, then I would be less inclined to spend the extra hours it takes to master someone's project.

Like I said, maybe under better conditions with proper gear, my opinion would be different.

microstrip · Oct 8, 2013

stereo said:
Just saw this measurements of the S5 done by the National Research Council of Canada. Soundstage says that the S5 have the lowest level of THD they ever measured. No wonder they have zero coloration and are so transparent!
http://www.soundstagenetwork.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1043:nrc-measurements-magico-s5-loudspeakers&catid=77&Itemid=153

Edit: link doesn't work anymore. Seems that they posted it by mistake too early (it was dated October 13 or 14!)

Yes, the S5 distortion measurements are impressive - there is no visible component above 45 or 50 dB at any frequency over 70 Hz in the 90 and 95 dB tests. A very clean result!

BTW, anyone can find the full S5 measurement page easily at the Google cache, I just saved it from there. Site administrators can not make such mistakes anymore!

asiufy · Oct 8, 2013

I don't believe Soundstage has measured any other Magico speaker. I'm curious to see whether the Q series would measure better.

Put next to the Q3, the S5 are obviously ever so slightly coloured. Not egregiously so, but it's there. It's cool that this coloration is probably done via crossover and driver integration, and not via cabinet resonances.

The fact that there's people that like the S5 better than say, a Q3, shows how people tend to like coloured speakers.

Bruce, you should get a Q3 there in your room.

alexandre

mauidan · Oct 8, 2013

asiufy said:
I don't believe Soundstage has measured any other Magico speaker. I'm curious to see whether the Q series would measure better.
alexandre

V2- 7/09-

http://www.soundstagenetwork.com/measurements/speakers/magico_v2/

NorthStar · Oct 8, 2013

microstrip said:
Yes, the S5 distortion measurements are impressive - there is no visible component above 45 or 50 dB at any frequency over 70 Hz in the 90 and 95 dB tests. A very clean result!

BTW, anyone can find the full S5 measurement page easily at the Google cache, I just saved it from there. Site administrators can not make such mistakes anymore!

Share the goods!

stereo · Oct 8, 2013

the original link is again up and running... and we are still traveling in time to October 15 (see the date)

NorthStar · Oct 9, 2013

http://www.soundstagenetwork.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1043:nrc-measurements-magico-s5-loudspeakers&catid=77&Itemid=153

Yup; fantastic measurements! ...Very uniform, on and off-axis.
Distortion (THD) is almost nil! ...Listening Window is almost a straight line!

Orb · Oct 9, 2013

Great news that the monster electrical phase co-incides with relatively benign impedance.

Cheers
orb

FrantzM · Oct 9, 2013

Hi

Those may be the best results I have seen from an High-End speaker. Impressive ... Would like to see how the Q series measure up. From my audition of the Qs, it would seem that that absence of "noise' from the reproduction is due to the low THD of the speakers... Spooky and requires some getting used to. Reproduction through electromechanical means is not usually that clean so for many it is unsettling. The Magico Qs I have heard (Q3,5,& 7) are the least colored speakers in my audiophile experience. Similar to the purity, accuracy and unadulterated character one experiences with the best headphones.

microstrip · Oct 9, 2013

It is curious that the German magazine Audio has measured the Magico S5 in in their last issue and IMHO their measurements are even better than those of Soundstage, as they do not show the 2db down plateau between 50 and 150 Hz shown it the NRC measurements top figure. If I had not listened to the S5 and seen the german measurements I would wrongly say that the S5 was bass shy, something I can confirm they are not, at least listened with Constellation Audio electronics.

Phelonious Ponk · Oct 9, 2013

FrantzM said:
Hi

Those may be the best results I have seen from an High-End speaker. Impressive ... Would like to see how the Q series measure up. From my audition of the Qs, it would seem that that absence of "noise' from the reproduction is due to the low THD of the speakers... Spooky and requires some getting used to. Reproduction through electromechanical means is not usually that clean so for many it is unsettling. The Magico Qs I have heard (Q3,5,& 7) are the least colored speakers in my audiophile experience. Similar to the purity, accuracy and unadulterated character one experiences with the best headphones.

I know this is true, but still find it baffling that clarity can be unsettling.

Tim

Randall Smith · Oct 9, 2013

Did anyone see the 48 fps version of the newest Hobbit movie? The clarity and depth of the version in 3D was one of the most amazing sights I have ever seen. However, I did not enjoy it. It caused a bit of visual fatigue and actually distracted me from the film. I felt as if I was on the set and watching it all live. I could see through the disguises and that made the film seem like a play. It was a different type of experience and it kept me from fully enjoying the movie. Technically, it was amazing, but it was different from what I am used to so I had a tough time accepting it. Wonder if people who reject the Magico sound can relate to this type of experience?

Elberoth · Oct 9, 2013

Those are very impressive measurements indeed. Even more so, if you compare distortion figures to some other quality speakers:

(see the lower graph for distortion levels):

YG Acoustics Anat Reference Main Module:

Monitor Audio Platinum PL100:

(You can argue that it is a 2-way, but even so - the tweeter breakup over 2k is huge.)

Wilson Audio Specialties Sophia Series 2:

Verity Audio Parsifal Ovation:

Tannoy Definition DC10A:

Revel Ultima Studio:

Paradigm Reference Studio 60 v.5:

Magico S5 measurements: lowest distortion level ever measured by Soundstage

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