Robert Harley votes Magico Q-7 product of the year

[Peter Breuninger]

I have been to CES 8 times out of the last 10 years (not for fun...) and it is by far the worst show if you want to hear how a piece of gear sound. Venetian rooms (and power supply) are just terrible.
I personally dismiss whatever i hear at CES and go to listen to gears in good dealer rooms.

CES is the great leveler, all exhibitors have to deal with the same room issues, some take the time to get good sound, some do not. But if a speaker, or an amp for that matter, consistently shows poor then I believe the consumer will have a tougher time of it as well.

 

[MylesBAstor]

Magico didn't show the Q7 at CES. They just showed the new S1 in their own room.
The Q7 were displayed by Constellation in their room, so by definition they had to be run with Constellation....
I have been to CES 8 times out of the last 10 years (not for fun...) and it is by far the worst show if you want to hear how a piece of gear sound. Venetian rooms (and power supply) are just terrible.
I personally dismiss whatever i hear at CES and go to listen to gears in good dealer rooms.

Correct. But do you Constellation owned that pair or they were supplied by Alon? You can be sure Alon wouldn't give his top speaker to just any schlub, not to mention he or someone from Magico set up or assisted in the set up of the Q7.

Hey the bottom line --as always -- is the best place to hear something is in your sytem. Personally I've not a lot of faith in many dealers; you should see some of the things that I have over the years and you'd leave just shaking your head.

 

[Amado]

Magico didn't show the Q7 at CES. They just showed the new S1 in their own room.
The Q7 were displayed by Constellation in their room, so by definition they had to be run with Constellation....
I have been to CES 8 times out of the last 10 years (not for fun...) and it is by far the worst show if you want to hear how a piece of gear sound. Venetian rooms (and power supply) are just terrible.
I personally dismiss whatever i hear at CES and go to listen to gears in good dealer rooms.

+1

 

[caesar]

Correct. But do you Constellation owned that pair or they were supplied by Alon? You can be sure Alon wouldn't give his top speaker to just any schlub, not to mention he or someone from Magico set up or assisted in the set up of the Q7.

Hey the bottom line --as always -- is the best place to hear something is in your sytem. Personally I've not a lot of faith in many dealers; you should see some of the things that I have over the years and you'd leave just shaking your head.

I'm amazed as well. I wonder why that is.

 

[stereo]

I'm amazed as well. I wonder why that is.

I have listened to the Q7 driven by Constellation, VAC450 and Spectral 360, on the same day, in a treated room (an individual owner, not a show or dealer). The Constellation was the best of the 3, and the Q7 sounded great. But Constellation would still not be my choice. I much prefer the big Dartzeel or Vitus.
I have not listened to the Constellation room in CES, so I cannot comment on the listening experience of the original poster.

 

[jap]

Robert Harley’s Best of Show CES 2013:

• Best Sound (cost no object)
Magico Q7 driven by Constellation electronics and MIT cables, Rockport Altair powered by Absolare electronics and Echole cables at T.H.E. Show, YG’s new Sonya with D’Agostino amplification and dCS front end, Raidho D1.1 powered by Rowland 725 amplifiers and Aeris DAC

• Best Sound (for the lowest price)
The Triton 7 tower from GoldenEar Technology was miraculous at $1398 per pair, as was the minimalist Audience Clairaudient 1 + 1 at $1695 per pair. Two radically different approaches, two great values.

• Most Significant Product Introduction
Magico’s new $12,600 S1 loudspeaker. Although not inexpensive, the S1 brings many of the Magico virtues to a more accessible product.

• Greatest Technological Breakthrough
A new DSP algorithm for the Meridian DSP7200 V2 active digital loudspeaker that corrects the bass-lag problem in loudspeakers. Existing DSP7200 owners can upgrade to the new software.

• Most Important Trend
The targeting of younger music lovers with high-performance products that fit this generation’s lifestyle. Portable products, headphones, sub-$500 DACs, and all-in-one systems with wireless streaming are being introduced by savvy high-end companies hoping to capture new customers and create lasting brand loyalties.

 

[jap]

JV's comments on the Q7s at CES 2013:

"We come now to the speaker that has perplexed me, intrigued me, and awed me more than any other large multiway of recent vintage—Magico’s redoubtable Q7. I have heard this speaker at many shows and I’ve always come away impressed by its incredible bass, superb resolution, rich, robust tonal palette, and stunning dynamic range. Here, driven by Constellation Performance Series electronics, it sounded better than I’ve yet heard it sound at any trade show. There is no question that this is one of the world’s greatest loudspeakers, capable of reproducing just about any note at any level from whisper soft to thunderously loud without blur, distortion, or compression. And yet, and yet. I’ve heard virtually every loudspeaker Magico has made (often in my home), and not a single one of them has had the midbass, upper bass, and power range solidity, color, and impact of the Q7. At the same time, all of them were capable of a level of fool-you realism in the midband that I just don’t hear from the mighty Q (at least at trade shows). Oh, the speaker is incomparably powerful and gorgeous-sounding—and it without question earns a nomination for Best of Show. But, as I’ve heard it at MOC and CES, it seems more of an “as you like it” kind of speaker than a fidelity to sources or absolute sound one. Since the vast majority of our readers are in fact “as you like it” types, this should trouble no one (except, maybe, me)."

 

[MarinJim]

Why are not violins made of metal?

 

[FrantzM]

Why are not violins made of metal?

Jim

Not a valid point ... Violin makes music. You want your speaker cabinet to be as inert as possible ... or at least most of the better speakers do (Wilso, Magico, Rockport, TAD, JM Lab, YG, etc ..)


@everybody

I am somewhat amused. A component sounding good in a show is proof it is good the corollary that if it sounds bad a t a show, then it is bad is not true. It may sound horrible in a trade show but wonderful under better circumstances/conditions. Trade shows provide a glimpse, sometimes good but hardly definitive.

 

[Gregadd]

I’ve heard it at MOC and CES, it seems more of an “as you like it” kind of speaker than a fidelity to sources or absolute sound one. Since the vast majority of our readers are in fact “as you like it” types, this should trouble no one (except, maybe, me)."

Seems like someone has a rather condescending view of his readers/customers and a snobbish view of himself.

 

[rbbert]

Seems like someone has a rather condescending view of his readers/customers and a snobbish view of himself.

And this is news??

 

[microstrip]

Seems like someone has a rather condescending view of his readers/customers and a snobbish view of himself.

He kills the speaker in his comment and than insults the readers, suggesting that after more than three decades of TAS he is the only one to appreciate the Absolute Sound. Strange, but a few lines down we have this pearl:

To my ear the MAXXes just don’t have any low bass. I have owned MAXX3, and yes, they had excellent low bass ...

 

[A.wayne]

True, but you don't have his ears ....


Paying a ton of cash for speakers with a single point source driver, is well , for special ears IMO distortion and dynamics will suffer , there is only so much dynamic information which can be driven thru it....


regards

 

[rbbert]

He kills the speaker in his comment and than insults the readers, suggesting that after more than three decades of TAS he is the only one to appreciate the Absolute Sound. Strange, but a few lines down we have this pearl:

To my ear the MAXXes just don’t have any low bass. I have owned MAXX3, and yes, they had excellent low bass ...

At RAMF in Doshi's room they measured pretty flat (in the 2 or 3 best listening positions) to 18 Hz.

 

[MarinJim]

Jim

Not a valid point ... Violin makes music. You want your speaker cabinet to be as inert as possible ... or at least most of the better speakers do (Wilso, Magico, Rockport, TAD, JM Lab, YG, etc ..)


@everybody

I am somewhat amused. A component sounding good in a show is proof it is good the corollary that if it sounds bad a t a show, then it is bad is not true. It may sound horrible in a trade show but wonderful under better circumstances/conditions. Trade shows provide a glimpse, sometimes good but hardly definitive.[/QUOTE

FrantzM, as much as I appreciate your input, I have to wonder what all the "wood enclosure" speaker designers have to say.

 

[A.wayne]

Wood rules .....

Every material resonates , the sound of every driver changes when placed in an enclosure , the material used will determine how the driver is voiced , wood has its own distinct sound, different type of wood sound different , same as with synthetic materials ...

 

[audioarcher]

Wood rules .....

Every material resonates , the sound of every driver changes when placed in an enclosure , the material used will determine how the driver is voiced , wood has its own distinct sound, different type of wood sound different , same as with synthetic materials ...

+1 Just go with whatever speaker sounds most natural to you. I have not cared for the metal enclosure speakers I have heard so far. Could be they would have sounded better to me with a different mix of equipment and/or room. Who knows? I do know I'm not in a hurry to buy them.

 

[FrantzM]

My point remains you may not want your enclosure to vibrate like a violin. If my earlier post looked like I favor metal, I don't have any preference on the matter, whatever works for the designer,: Metal, Wood, Concrete, MDF, Glass, fiberglass or Resin. I do know that for the most part designers aim for the most rigid and inert cabinets possible. There is a school of thought about less inert cabinet. I believe some English speakers Harbeth? adhere to that philosophy .. Most of the speakers of distinction out there have very inert, knuckle-breaking cabinets.

 

[MarinJim]

I would just love to hear a Stradivarius violin in metal.

 

[Amado]

At RAMF in Doshi's room they measured pretty flat (in the 2 or 3 best listening positions) to 18 Hz.

doshi's room