Magico Q7 + Constellation Performance series

[LL21]

An update on my original post. I revisited the dealer and he told me the Q7s have gone through wild and unexpectedly long break-in. So much so that they now sound extra-ordinary and can be properly driven by the Spectral 360 monos. I trust their judgement and will be listening to the Q7 again soon, this time with the truly world-class Spectrals.

Would love to know what you think of the Q7s now...I just read your post from December last year.

 

[PeterA]

I would think that if it were a Wilson or other favorite speakers that were auditioned under similar circumstances, the remarks would have been less acidic...

WBF is not Magico-friendly ..Oh Well! That doesn't seem to stop them and it is a good thing, it is making other manufacturer wake-up ... notice and produce better products ...

+1

 

[ack]

Would love to know what you think of the Q7s now...I just read your post from December last year.

Here it is combined with the 400s http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread.php?10035-First-thoughts-on-the-DMA-400

 

[LL21]

Thank you!

 

[LL21]

Here it is combined with the 400s http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread.php?10035-First-thoughts-on-the-DMA-400

I went back and realized your post about the Q7 having undergone a big change post-burn in was Oct 2012...not Oct 2013...my mis-read. I have spoken with Goodwins in Aug 2013 about the Q7s, so their observations are from AFTER this burn in period, not before. So I am all set. Thanks again for posting.

 

[ack]

So what did you think of it?

 

[LL21]

So what did you think of it?

I was there to listen to the Altairs, and did not want to ask people to switch 750 lb & 550 lb speakers back and forth when this was not an imminent purchase. Having heard the Q1-Q5 on various pieces of equipment, I have a good idea of what to expect...and am remain intrigued. Thanks to my X1's being pretty scientific, I have been (fortunately) obligated to hone, hone and hone the purity of the signal (to my ear)...I am thus curious if a Q7 could slot into my system without too much system readjustment.

My primary question to you is one of scale...the Arrakis and Genesis 1.2 brought lifelike scale to a whole new level for me. What did you think of the Q7 on the scale part relative to Wilson X Series or others you've heard?

 

[ack]

Sorry, I have not heard any of these speakers to compare. In itself, the Q7's scale, as driven by the Spectrals, was extremely accurate - this means small when the program calls for it, and immense with large orchestral. Of particular note should be my comment re: Carreras's image - he was literally sitting in front of me with the size of a human as we know it. Personally I crave for accuracy in timbre and articulation, and it was characteristic how crystal clear his singing was; here's an example with sibilance: with the Q7/400s the 's' in Gloria Dios is clearly rendered; with my system it sounds more like Gloria Dio and the 's' is there but a bit faint. You should not miss the opportunity to listen to the Q7.

 

[FrantzM]

Hi

I am very familiar with genesis. I have lived with the Gen II for a good while and one of my friend still has one. I amplanning to go back listen to it for old times sake . I don;t know many speakers with the bass scale of the Gen 1.. The Scaena with their complement of subwoofers do reach that grandeur; barring a head-to-head comparison I can't go any further in my comments about Scaenas versus Gen 1.x. I haven't heard the MM7 or the Nola, nor the Arrakis so can't comment on their sense of scale , especially bas scale ... Back to the Q7. It is not lacking in scale and by that I mean it is one of the most accurate representation o soundstrage I have heard in a long time. Some small speakers manage to throw an extremely precise image. The instruments are well set within the soundstage and for those speakers as long as the instruments are small or the original soundstage is modest, they are Ok. throw them something in which the soundstage where the original music is big and they lose that battle... The Q7 is a champ in this regard regardless of the dimensions of the soudstage... Huge Mahlerian stage on which an orchestra of 100 instruments are placed? No problem it throws it and with precision, accuracy and a sense of palpable that has to be experienced to truly grock it. Smallish demo-for-audiophile-only of the type mep loves i-e Female singer with a small Jazz ensemble (right mep? ) The soundstage and scale become as small as it needs to be. It is not exactly unique, i have heard that Chameleon-like feat from the X-2 but in the case of the Q7, the entire music scene has a presence and body to it that I haven't heard from any speaker, save maybe the Scaenas (Stupendous speakers by the way) ... But by themselves, the Q7 don't match the sense of infinite bass power thrown by the Gen1 or the Gen II for that matter.. That sense of bass that is only idling while your concrete walls are flexing.. and your house shaking and the choir becomes oh! so Big! The way real music pushes the air and make you feel the sound .. It is not an SPL think, it is a sense of ease and of bass accuracy... I have heard the same from an IB sub by the way.. The sense of mass of air accomplishing its thing... Nope not IMHO... For that I believe the Q7 would need subs, several to match the volume air the Gen 1 and some of its brother can move ( I was going to say breathe ) . That is not a criticism of the Q7, it has after all only 2 12 inch woofers per side, the Genesis has several ( I lost count ) ... This aside the Q7 remains iMHO one of the best speakers I have ever heard. Yet in my mind, the Q3 or Q5 with several subs for example 4 ( or more ) Seaton Submersive could well match the Gen 1 while retaining what I find unique about these Magico speakers, an uncanny, and so far in my experience unusual sense of accuracy top to bottom, something most other speakers only hint at. I say "most" to squelch all flames ( or so I wish ) and all that at about half the price of the Q7 and a quarter that of the Gen 1.

 

[microstrip]

(...) Personally I crave for accuracy in timbre and articulation, and it was characteristic how crystal clear his singing was; here's an example with sibilance: with the Q7/400s the 's' in Gloria Dios is clearly rendered; with my system it sounds more like Gloria Dio and the 's' is there but a bit faint. You should not miss the opportunity to listen to the Q7.

I am also particularly sensitive to this aspect - it increases a lot the illusion of recreating the performance and "feeling" there. But I have found that it is mostly associated with the source component - unfortunately most source equipment, digital or analog, that gets it also exaggerates details, creating an etched sound that I find tiresome.

 

[microstrip]

(...) Yet in my mind, the Q3 or Q5 with several subs for example 4 ( or more ) Seaton Submersive could well match the Gen 1 while retaining what I find unique about these Magico speakers, an uncanny, and so far in my experience unusual sense of accuracy top to bottom, something most other speakers only hint at. I say "most" to squelch all flames ( or so I wish ) and all that at about half the price of the Q7 and a quarter that of the Gen 1.

Frantz,

You should try it as soon as possible and tell us about the result! What kind of crossover/EQ are you considering?

 

[FrantzM]

Frantz,

You should try it as soon as possible and tell us about the result! What kind of crossover/EQ are you considering?

I see myself going more and more toward the Q3 or hopefully Q5. The system is at least a year away. The room is in the planning stage and has to be built first . The architect is not yet happy with my insistance of building an house around a r music room. I will try the HTPC route first as suggested/explained/implemented by our Nyal Melior and Mojave here using a Lynx card (Mojave uses an Exabyte I think) and a PC with JR River Music Center. I have begun acquiring the PC parts and the card. I will experiment with the Kef LS 50 to have a good feel of what I am doing. It will take several months, I think that will be worth it.

That said I haven't heard the Q7 with Constellation and frankly am not that excited about what I heard from Constellation. I wouldn't say they are not good, simply that I haven't heard them enough to form an idea. And to get back to the Magico and the Q7 in particular, if they are to be compared with what you have heard from other speakers for many they may be a surprise or an unusual experience. The reference has to change. Evaluate these Q speakers with the idea of how close they come to reproduce Real Music.. Of course the recording for this matters and a lot, if this is covered (the recording), I am assuming if one is going to that level that one make sure of adequate sources, they will deliver an unusual lifelike level of reproduction. I think these speakers are game changer. Other manufacturers will have to follow if they haven't already. Of course all that IMHO, YMMV, the full complement of qualifiers.

As a parting shot, they seem to do almost everything well: The see-through transparency of the best ESL, the midrange purity of those too, the precise imaging of smallish two ways, the coherence of the best panel speakers .. etc. Why the almost? .. They still don't achieve to my ears the startling dynamic swing the best horns are capable of... Some would also ask for more bass, I am of the always-use-subwoofers-regardless of speakers persuasion so ...

 

[LL21]

Sorry, I have not heard any of these speakers to compare. In itself, the Q7's scale, as driven by the Spectrals, was extremely accurate - this means small when the program calls for it, and immense with large orchestral. Of particular note should be my comment re: Carreras's image - he was literally sitting in front of me with the size of a human as we know it. Personally I crave for accuracy in timbre and articulation, and it was characteristic how crystal clear his singing was; here's an example with sibilance: with the Q7/400s the 's' in Gloria Dios is clearly rendered; with my system it sounds more like Gloria Dio and the 's' is there but a bit faint. You should not miss the opportunity to listen to the Q7.

Got it...thank you. Sounds amazing. I remember hearing kurt cobain on the Arrakis (Nirvana Unplugged), and it was not a leap of faith when I realized how comparable his voice was to the dealer's sitting 3 feet away from me. the speakers scaled effortlessly with the band and the audience.

 

[LL21]

I...And to get back to the Magico and the Q7 in particular, if they are to be compared with what you have heard from other speakers for many they may be a surprise or an unusual experience. The reference has to change. Evaluate these Q speakers with the idea of how close they come to reproduce Real Music.. Of course the recording for this matters and a lot, if this is covered (the recording), I am assuming if one is going to that level that one make sure of adequate sources, they will deliver an unusual lifelike level of reproduction. I think these speakers are game changer. Other manufacturers will have to follow if they haven't already. Of course all that IMHO, YMMV, the full complement of qualifiers.

As a parting shot, they seem to do almost everything well: The see-through transparency of the best ESL, the midrange purity of those too, the precise imaging of smallish two ways, the coherence of the best panel speakers .. etc. Why the almost? .. They still don't achieve to my ears the startling dynamic swing the best horns are capable of... Some would also ask for more bass, I am of the always-use-subwoofers-regardless of speakers persuasion so ...

Very interesting...thanks for that...and agree on Subs...would likely use them with Q7s as well.