Magico M3

Folsom

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Oct 25, 2015
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Eastern WA
The DAC changed a few times, MSB, Aqua, MSB. The preamp was Spectral. Everything is through an Equi=tech. MIT cables w/ Spectral, with the VAC were MT cable and something else, different times. I have no idea what the server was, something nice.

The Spectrals just were not as involving. There was nothing technically wrong with them. But the VAC 450 has a little tube magic that brings a pleasure factor into the equation. I think tube linearity helps with vocals, too. The VAC's are not annoyingly juicy, but they have a little bit. While my sensibilities tell me "it's not real!" I nonetheless enjoyed them. The CH M1 is very adjustable. The feedback is kind of a toss up because the more you crank it, the better some things sound, but not others. The bass is more natural without it, but not quiet as articulate - one example among several. But overall it is simply more harmonically rich than the Spectrals at any setting, which really pushes the experience into something more involving that keeps you selecting tunes.
 
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BMCG

VIP/Donor
Oct 1, 2016
234
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United Kingdom
The DAC changed a few times, MSB, Aqua, MSB. The preamp was Spectral. Everything is through an Equi=tech. MIT cables w/ Spectral, with the VAC were MT cable and something else, different times. I have no idea what the server was, something nice.

The Spectrals just were not as involving. There was nothing technically wrong with them. But the VAC 450 has a little tube magic that brings a pleasure factor into the equation. I think tube linearity helps with vocals, too. The VAC's are not annoyingly juicy, but they have a little bit. While my sensibilities tell me "it's not real!" I nonetheless enjoyed them. The CH M1 is very adjustable. The feedback is kind of a toss up because the more you crank it, the better some things sound, but not others. The bass is more natural without it, but not quiet as articulate - one example among several. But overall it is simply more harmonically rich than the Spectrals at any setting, which really pushes the experience into something more involving that keeps you selecting tunes.

Intriguing...am contemplating auditioning the CH M1 and Magico M3.....granted will take some time to assemble but useful input.
 

kswanson27

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Nov 21, 2018
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This situation was left after we had the rest of the spectrum pretty flat. We could make it go away by adjusting variables but other more important parts of the frequency band suffered. He recommended and I agreed to stop with this room related issue and deal with it via subwoofers. I don't blame the speakers since there were multiple positions where the suck out disappeared.

Eric
New to WBF and a new Magico owner. Just discovered this thread and we have some real similarities. My room is almost exactly the same size as yours and I too have a suckout exactly where you do. My first Magicos were A3's and I used a JL e112 sub strategically placed (with help from a visit by Barry Ober, aka the Soundoctor) and had no suckout. I had the sub and A3's crossed over at 50 hz using a JL CR-1 crossover and I used an Antimode Dual Core on the sub. No room modes and no suckout BUT I couldn't get comfortable with the sound. Too much reverb I think. I sold the sub and crossover and traded in my A3's for S3 MkII's. No room mode but the suckout is back. Still, I like the sound overall better than any combination so far. If I had it to do over again I'd run the S3's full range, cross the sub over at 40 Hz and invest in some bass traps. Having said all that, I'm auditioning M3's at Magico this week. Gulp.
 

Bodhi

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Apr 20, 2014
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New to WBF and a new Magico owner. Just discovered this thread and we have some real similarities. My room is almost exactly the same size as yours and I too have a suckout exactly where you do. My first Magicos were A3's and I used a JL e112 sub strategically placed (with help from a visit by Barry Ober, aka the Soundoctor) and had no suckout. I had the sub and A3's crossed over at 50 hz using a JL CR-1 crossover and I used an Antimode Dual Core on the sub. No room modes and no suckout BUT I couldn't get comfortable with the sound. Too much reverb I think. I sold the sub and crossover and traded in my A3's for S3 MkII's. No room mode but the suckout is back. Still, I like the sound overall better than any combination so far. If I had it to do over again I'd run the S3's full range, cross the sub over at 40 Hz and invest in some bass traps. Having said all that, I'm auditioning M3's at Magico this week. Gulp.
The M3's so some things better than the S series; the carbon cabinet has excellent self-damping & the tweeter is very good. Though if bass is important to you, I think you'd find the S5 Mk2's have an edge over the M3's in the bass (though this would depend on your room size). Adding SPods improves the bass even further. Interstingly, the S5 Mk2's have the exact same midrange driver as the M3 (Part No: MAG6004RTC).
 

kswanson27

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Nov 21, 2018
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I have S3 MkII's, not S5's. I would have thought the bass would be pretty equal between the M3's and S3's. Does the S3 also have the same midrange driver?
 

Bodhi

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2014
1,051
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Here is a pic showing the M3's x-overs and Dynamatted polymer midrange enclosure..

55.jpg
 

Bodhi

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2014
1,051
361
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I have S3 MkII's, not S5's. I would have thought the bass would be pretty equal between the M3's and S3's. Does the S3 also have the same midrange driver?
No, the S3 Mk2's midrange driver is Part No: M390G XG Nanographene Cone (x1). The M3 and S5 Mk2 use the exact same midrange drivers (Part No: MAG6004RTC), which is an improved version of the midrange in the MPro. Also the bass will be different between the S3 Mk2 and M3 due to the M3's carbon cabinet and differences in internal volume.
 
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SoCal Audio Guy

New Member
May 11, 2019
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In the case of the M3's I have broken one of the rules I try NOT to break: " if it isn't broken, don't fix it". I really like my Q3's, but my dealer made me a really good offer on the M3's, and I too decided to buy them without hearing them! Knowing Magico, and having heard the M pros, I'm only worried a little!

I just upgraded from Q3 to M3. What a difference. M3 has so much greater range especially the bass.

I'm keeping my Q3's cause I love them, but playing the M's every day.
 
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awsmone

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Apr 6, 2014
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Canberra Australia
Looks beautifully constructed
I only wish they had an option of external crossover and put those expensive components outside the cabinet :)
 

GSOphile

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Sep 3, 2017
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I have S3 Mk2s in a smallish room (approx 15 x 18 x 8 max), I have to say that driven by a Diablo 300, the bass quality/quantity and depth is really good. Very happy with the balance here. For me S5 Mk2s in this room would likely be too much. The M2s would probably be where I'd look for an upgrade.
 
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PeterA

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Dec 6, 2011
12,521
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USA
I just upgraded from Q3 to M3. What a difference. M3 has so much greater range especially the bass.

I'm keeping my Q3's cause I love them, but playing the M's every day.

Congratulations. What do you mean by greater range? Is it more extended in both the high and low frequencies? I presume they are even lower in distortion than the Q3, so perhaps they are more resolving.

I have the Q3s and love them, having upgraded from the Mini 2s. I am also interested in the M3s. However, I had one great audition, and one terrible audition, at my local dealership. It was an all Spectral/MIT system with the new Basis turntable and MSL cartridge. And one of my good audio buddies has heard them many times at the same place and has very mixed reports. The second time I heard that system, it just sounded lifeless. Very strange. I've read so many glowing reports from owners about the M3 that there must just be something wrong with that setup.

I would love to hear them in a different context. I am quite familiar with the MPro as one of my good friends owns them. They are superb, and I imagine the M3s must be also.

I am curious, did you consider the M2 before buying the M3?
 

QuadDiffuser

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Apr 2, 2017
373
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Hong Kong
I have proposed to my local dealer in HK to covey to Magico the potential design enhancements of placing large amounts of activated carbon (perhaps through a tough but acoustically transparent mesh material bag?) inside the interior cabinets of the M-series of speakers as a technological feature to enhance its bass response inside the closed/sealed cabinetry:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/22779473/
 

GSOphile

Well-Known Member
Sep 3, 2017
569
352
173
New to WBF and a new Magico owner. Just discovered this thread and we have some real similarities. My room is almost exactly the same size as yours and I too have a suckout exactly where you do. My first Magicos were A3's and I used a JL e112 sub strategically placed (with help from a visit by Barry Ober, aka the Soundoctor) and had no suckout. I had the sub and A3's crossed over at 50 hz using a JL CR-1 crossover and I used an Antimode Dual Core on the sub. No room modes and no suckout BUT I couldn't get comfortable with the sound. Too much reverb I think. I sold the sub and crossover and traded in my A3's for S3 MkII's. No room mode but the suckout is back. Still, I like the sound overall better than any combination so far. If I had it to do over again I'd run the S3's full range, cross the sub over at 40 Hz and invest in some bass traps. Having said all that, I'm auditioning M3's at Magico this week. Gulp.

How many hours do you have on your S3 MkIIs?
 

kswanson27

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Nov 21, 2018
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They were demos so I'm guessing a few hundred.
 

GSOphile

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Sep 3, 2017
569
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I asked because they need about 500 hours to stabilize, and the variability of the bass during this time is significant. This and getting them well away from the back wall pretty much solved my issues. To my ears (and a couple of audio buddies), terrific speakers for a moderate sized room.
 

kswanson27

Well-Known Member
Nov 21, 2018
368
179
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They are terrific speakers but with lots of measurements and position changes I've pretty well determined the room is causing she suckout. I bought a miniDSP and have a JL e112 on the way. I'll run the S3's full range and cross the sub over at 60 Hz. I'm pretty sure I can control the reverb with the miniDSP. We'll soon see.
 

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