Magico S3 experiences

Kuoppis

Active Member
Mar 27, 2015
4
0
31
Düsseldorf/Germany
Hi,

Just ordered Magico S3s after hearing a demo recently. Not a difficult decision though, as they are replacing Magico S1s.

Any other S3 owners or people planning to buy around, what are your first experiences?

Regards,
Kuoppis
 

rhyno

Well-Known Member
Dec 29, 2010
65
24
913
speakers have tremendous upside---i mean that in re: as if the rest of your rig is capable. every change is transparent upstream, and the final playback reflects it. wonderful speakers that do nothing wrong per se and only miss a few things from being be-all type mains.

that said, for true full range music (of which most is IMO), i added JL 110 subs; running speakers full range w/ subs 24db cutoff at 80 hz is absolutely wonderful in my rig. provides slam and depth otherwise missing.

ARC ref 150 is upstream and love a tube amp w/ them.
 

edorr

WBF Founding Member
May 10, 2010
3,139
14
36
Smyrna, GA
I
Hi,

Just ordered Magico S3s after hearing a demo recently. Not a difficult decision though, as they are replacing Magico S1s.

Any other S3 owners or people planning to buy around, what are your first experiences?

Regards,
Kuoppis

I heard them at axopona last year and was blown away. Looking for the hidden subs in the room - not there. This got me interested in the brand, so I listened to s5's at a dealer. Big disappointment - may be poor setup. So I guess they can sing, if properly set up and with the right electronics. But don't take for granted they will in your room because they sounded glorious somewhere else. It may take hard work to get the best out of them.
 

JimmyS

Well-Known Member
Sep 1, 2013
163
34
335
Chicago, IL
I recently acquired the S3's myself and couldn't be happier :).

The presentation from the 2014 axpona show really stuck in my head as I have a smaller room and couldn't believe the sound being produced at the show. I was able to hear them again several times at the dealer and even though a different room, still was impressed.
The day came when the dealer asked if I wanted to bring them home for a try, so how could I say no ;). At first, I struggled with setup as bass was overloading the room. Worked with the dealer on placement ideas and also additional room treatments. In the end we found that toe in really had an impact on how the bass would load the room. Once I found the magic spot, the check was written and the Avalon Eidonlons were removed from the basement. Lots of thanks to Quientessence Audio for working with me throughout the purchase process.

A final warning, this speaker upgrade is costing me more than I thought as I'm hearing vast improvements while reevaluating the rest of the signal chain. 2015 axpona is coming up and a preamp and DAC are on the shopping list....
 

McLennan

Well-Known Member
May 19, 2015
28
0
133
Frankfurt/Germany
Hi,

I have my Magico S3's now for about two months and I really enjoy them. The midrange is absolutely gorgeous, bass is so precise. I upgraded from B&W 803d, which are by no means a competitor to my new Magico's (also a different price tag....)
I compared the S5 to Wilson Sasha 3 and the S3 to Wilson Sophia 3, both times I preferred the Magico´s, but at that level I regard it more than a matter of taste than quality.
The reasons to buy S3 instead of the S5 finally were price and size (I don't have a dedicated room for audio, so decisions regarding our living room my wife has to be heard..)

regards

Jan
 

brodricj

Well-Known Member
Mar 13, 2016
33
17
138
I've owned S3 for about 5 months, purchased new. The mid-driver in one of the speakers has failed, it's playing distorted. Hopefully it will get covered under warranty. Has anybody else had a mid-driver in the S3 fail?
 
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cannata

Well-Known Member
Jan 30, 2014
510
64
263
Italy
I

I heard them at axopona last year and was blown away. Looking for the hidden subs in the room - not there. This got me interested in the brand, so I listened to s5's at a dealer. Big disappointment - may be poor setup. So I guess they can sing, if properly set up and with the right electronics. But don't take for granted they will in your room because they sounded glorious somewhere else. It may take hard work to get the best out of them.

Can you share a bit more on the set up? I recently compared the S5 to the S3 in the same system and did not find them to be that much different. Yes the S3 mids were a bit more clear, but the S5 bass was more robust, at the end , I thought I could have been fine with either one.
 

BlueFox

Member Sponsor
Nov 8, 2013
1,709
406
405
I've owned S3 for about 5 months, purchased new. The mid-driver in one of the speakers has failed, it's playing distorted. Hopefully it will get covered under warranty. Has anybody else had a mid-driver in the S3 fail?

LOL. I blew up both my S5 mids, one tweeter, and the cross-over. The drivers are $800 each, and the cross-over fixed for free. Unfortunately, I bought them used, so I had no warranty.

I will say that before they broke I was sitting there amazed that they could play so loud, and still sound fantastic. I swear I was literally being pounded by the music. Lesson learned, and now I never get out of the 90 db range.
 

NorthStar

Member
Feb 8, 2011
24,305
1,323
435
Vancouver Island, B.C. Canada
90dB! ...With the Magico S5. ...C'mon now, how can you expect realistic music levels @ 90dB? ...Supply them with couple subs, and then you can get 100dB.
And those mid-drivers should be able to handle 100dB+.
 

cannata

Well-Known Member
Jan 30, 2014
510
64
263
Italy
90dB! ...With the Magico S5. ...C'mon now, how can you expect realistic music levels @ 90dB? ...Supply them with couple subs, and then you can get 100dB.
And those mid-drivers should be able to handle 100dB+.

I play my S5 to insane levels (over 110 db peaks, no problem). The last thing I need is a sub.
 

NorthStar

Member
Feb 8, 2011
24,305
1,323
435
Vancouver Island, B.C. Canada
I play my S5 to insane levels (over 110 db peaks, no problem). The last thing I need is a sub.

I looked @ the construction, the specs, the drivers, the investment...before I posted my prior message.
I'm a little surprised that two members blew the midrange drivers.

I mentioned a couple subwoofers because there's nothing wrong about crossing the S5 @ 50Hz. But yes, it wasn't necessary to mentioned it.

Anyway, methinks that the midrange drivers in the S5, or some part of the crossover is not handling the power properly.
I just don't know exactly what it is; but I surely was surprised to read this happened to two members, and with three drivers, plus the x-over.
There are so many possibilities:
1. High level of distortion from some bad recordings.
2. High level of distortion from a clipping amp.
3. A boosted equalizer @ frequencies covering the midrange driver (plus I would check both tweeters to make sure they still are working).
4. The voice coil got fried, poor driver engineering.
5. The protective circuit failed.
Etc., etc., etc.

But if feeding high level of amplifier power from a capable amp and preamp; I'm sure you can hit peaks of 110dB+ no sweat.
Is the S5 impedance curve constant, reaching quite low? About the distortion levels? Those are high end loudspeakers, and last time I looked @ their measurements they were looking supremely superb. So what is the cause of midrange drivers blowing up? Does anyone here knows for sure, or should I investigate myself around?
 

BlueFox

Member Sponsor
Nov 8, 2013
1,709
406
405
I was putting 1200 watts of Pass power into my S5s since I didn't realize the preamp was maxed out. Very few speakers can survive that. You should buy a pair and experiment if you are interested. 110db is trivial. I did that every Friday and Saturday night for months.
 

NorthStar

Member
Feb 8, 2011
24,305
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435
Vancouver Island, B.C. Canada
I was putting 1200 watts of Pass power into my S5s since I didn't realize the preamp was maxed out. Very few speakers can survive that. You should buy a pair and experiment if you are interested. 110db is trivial. I did that every Friday and Saturday night for months.

Ok, that would do. Can you just turn down the master volume control below eleven?
What is the in-room sensitivity of the S5, real measurement? And what kind of peaks can it handle momentarily with less than 10% distortion, 121dB?
...And about constant with less than 3% distortion...115dB? ...What is the maximum RMS power watts that it can digest...1,000 watts?

I cannot afford them, neither the Pass amps and preamp, so I'll pass for now. :b

Anyway Bud that's cool you shared that experience with us because that's how we discover the limit of our audio electronics.
I understand...
 

Elberoth

Member Sponsor
Dec 15, 2012
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I looked @ the construction, the specs, the drivers, the investment...before I posted my prior message.
1. High level of distortion from some bad recordings.
2. High level of distortion from a clipping amp.

It is just the opposite. The speakers are so low in distortion, that you cannot hear them breaking up, like you would do with regular speakers. So you keep cranking them up, untill it is too late. It is especially true if you have amps that can put down 1200W, like the Pass monos mentioned. You do not hear them going into clipping either.
 

Elberoth

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Dec 15, 2012
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FYI, Soundstage measurements clearly show compression/distortion at 95dbs...

Actually, the S5's distortion footprint is so low (lower line), that it doesn't show on their scale, except for the lowest bass:



Compare that to PSB Imagine T3 (first random speaker from their database):



Both speakers measured at 95dB !
 

NorthStar

Member
Feb 8, 2011
24,305
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435
Vancouver Island, B.C. Canada
It is just the opposite. The speakers are so low in distortion, that you cannot hear them breaking up, like you would do with regular speakers. So you keep cranking them up, untill it is too late. It is especially true if you have amps that can put down 1200W, like the Pass monos mentioned. You do not hear them going into clipping either.

Ok this is new; those S5s are so good that you have to be careful with how many watts total you feed them. ...Excellent!
- I knew they measured superbly in the distortion department. I have never seen such superb measurements from a speaker in the last fifty years plus.
...Frequency response too, on and off axis, and other measurements too. The closest I've seen were from some pro monitors by Genelec.
...And the JBL M2, of course.

Speaker drivers they can handle many watts, on peaks, thousands of watts. But constant max RMS power, the Magico S5s are rated @ what...500 watts?

SPECIFICATIONS | Magico S5
Driver Complement:
1 x 1" MB30 Tweeter
1 x 6" MB80 Midrange
2 x 10” Hybrid Nano-Tec®Bass

Sensitivity: 89dB

Impedance: 4 Ohms

Frequency Response:
22 Hz - 50 kHz

Recommended Power:
50-1200 watts

Dimensions:
48”H x 14”D x 15"W
(122cm x 36cm x 38cm)

Weight: 190 lbs. (86 kg)
 
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Elberoth

Member Sponsor
Dec 15, 2012
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Adam- look at the deviation from linearity at 95dbs.

They only deviate from linearity >2kHz, which means that this is only tweeter shows slight compression (probably due to heat buildup). This is quite typical for a tweeters that have no ferrofluid to aid voicecoil cooling. Magico uses a top of the range Scan-Speak tweeter, regarded by many as the very best dome tweeter available on the market today. Scan-Speak got rid of the ferrofluid in their top of the range models on purpose, to reduce distortion and increase resolution / microdynamics. Apparently, there is (as always in life) a slight trade off. That said, I haven't heard of anyone blowing the Berylium tweeter on any Magico or Rockport speaker.

The midrange and bass drivers (both custom made to Magico specs) show ZERO linearity errors and show lowest distortion of all speakers measured by both soundstage and German Audio (which is another magazine that published speakers' distortion #s).
 

NorthStar

Member
Feb 8, 2011
24,305
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435
Vancouver Island, B.C. Canada
SPECIFICATIONS | Magico S3
Driver Complement:
1 x 1" MB30 Tweeter
1 x 6" M380 Midrange
2 x 8”Hybrid Nano-Tec® Bass

Sensitivity: 88dB

Impedance: 4 Ohms

Frequency Response:
26 Hz - 50 kHz

Recommended Power:
50 - 500 watts

Dimensions:
48.2"H x 12"D x 11.91W
(122.5cm x 30.5cm x 30.25cm)

Weight: 150 lbs. (68 kg)
 

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