Magico speakers too clinical and fatiguing?

My experiences with Magico have been very similar. Their accuracy continually highlight the shortcomings in the input components. With Luxman and other solid state equipment I have wanted to run out of the room. But it was simply clearly reproducing flaws I had heard in the input components with different speakers. I continue to think that with the right components (very high quality tube equipment) they could sound great for those folks wanting a highly detailed sound.

Speakers are super subjective. As with all speaker brands, Magico has it’s own signature sound. However, after hearing Magico speakers on several occasions, I find myself preferring their A and S series over their top of the line M series. Why? Because I find the A and S series to be more musical and less dry sounding than their M series. I believe that the real magic, and the real value within the Magico line is in their A5 speakers. The Magico A5 full range floor standing speakers do it all, and are all the speaker most audiophiles will ever need. Simply amazing!!!  Happy listening.

I find all of the Magico series to be way too clinical for me. I have Joseph Audio Pulsars, and they sound terrific. You may wish to demo them, if possible.

The upstream components are a huge factor in the resulting sound.  One of the best systems I’ve ever heard had Magico S5MkII mated with Convergent electronics.  There are lots of variables, but their sound can be superb.

@kennymacc +1 on the A5.  They truly sound amazing and I believe many could live with them long term.  

Very much so.

Every time I hear them at axpona on the ground floor near the market  they sound very good. I think they use synergistic cables and esoteric gear.

we have heard them at many shows and they always sound way too mechanical and lack musicality

part of the issue is aluminum rings monotonically it has great stiffness and rigidity however aluminum rings badly

we did have a similar issue with the Paradigm Persona’s we tuned them via power conditioning, critical mass products, and some other tweaks, choice of dac and server and after some work were able to gett hem to sound musical, these super high resolution loudspeakers require very careful matching to tune the sound to taste.

Dave and Troy

audio intellect NJ

Vitus + Magico combination here. Been very satisfied and never felt fatigued.

I've only heard Magico once at CAF, no idea what model, and wasn't expecting much. They were paired with an all CAT system their top monoblocks and I'd describe the sound I heard as rich and chocolatey. Weird and not at all what I expected I chalked it up to those CAT amps.

and this is why I am not buying this junk 

(and also because my wife would poison and then shoot me if I spent Botswana's national debt on speakers)

The inherent character of Magicos is on the analytical slightly dry side. The latest models are less so. The are somewhat similar to B&Ws in that regard but their frequency response is more accurate than the latter.

However some people love that kind of sonic signature - just as some people love Naim and Chord electronics.

@Emerging Soul - to answer your question, I don't think it has anything to do with science per se. Magicos are extremely well engineered speakers, but there are lots of other equally well engineered speakers that have a different sonic signature.

It is not the science, but what the designer does with it that determines the end result.

The myth about Magico being clinical dates back to the Q series. The later A and new S series sound nothing like that. The new S3 mk3 has a very smooth and refined sound.

The key is matching your equipment tothe speakers maybe a dac with more body 

or a. Tube amp,or preamp ,even cables  there are many options or just buy a different speaker. There are lots of ways to contour your audio system.

I auditioned the S series. I liked Rockport better. 

It is true that Magico speakers expose the weakness of gear up the chain. After hearing an incredible demo of them and deciding to purchase them you must be committed to addressing the gear up the chain and your room.

Many audiophiles stretch to buy speakers and then are disappointed when they don't sound like the demo. Well unfortunately it's everything including your room.

I've had the A3's for a couple of years. I'm on my third pair of power amps, 2nd preamplifier, upgraded cables and turntable/cartridge and had a custom diffuser made. 

The sonics are really incredible. I've had people over with 6 times what I have into my rig say they're simply amazed at what my rig sounds like. 

I traveled to NYC a week ago and heard the A5's at a buddy's home. They're incredible! However we all have to guard against wanting bigger speakers! While the A5's are tempting for me, I've built my rig to the point that I don't want to change anything further, I'm not going to build a bigger listening room to accommodate the A5's. I'm extremely happy with the A3's!

My latest power amps are NAT Audio Magma M HPS.

You should buy what I have, they're great!

aewarren  I can't afford what you have, can I? 

@vuch   +1   To some degree I blame the entire Audio Industry. Merchant's, Print and Youtube media for spewing the outdated concept that Loudspeakers are the most important component in the Audio Chain. This might be the real "Snake Oil" created by the Audio Industry that so many fear!

@aewarren 

What do you have? 

well I don't know why people are so enamored with magico I've listened to the many times and I'm not that impressed and you're right they sound very clinical and not natural, I like a speaker that's neutral and sounds like a real performance that's why I like the monitor audio platinum series they're way more three-dimensional airy and spacious b then the magico, The voice piano and symbols sound way more natural and real than through magico. The MPD tweeter is much better than the beryllium tweeter that magico uses.

I think I read somewhere that Magico had a model where the grills were not including in the price of the speaker and also if the speaker was sent back to them for repair they wouldn’t return them it back to you, they would notify you which dock at their facility to pickup your fixed speaker after paying $12k to replace a driver. That’s kinda comical to me…

Interesting how he Absolute Sound raves about these speakers.  They must like the clinical, dry sound.  

Unless you hear Magico speakers in a dedicated listening room where every detail has been addressed you're probably not going to hear their potential. 

The first time I heard them was at dealership listening room in Chicago. I couldn't believe the amazing sonics from them. That demo was the best I'd ever heard music sound in my life! I was sure we were listening to more than one pair of speakers. I was sure there must have been a sub woofer also. I thought the amplifier had to be a tube amp. None of that was true. It was a Hegel integrated amp, very expensive Transparent cables, no expense spared in room treatments and a laser to help determine exact sweet spot listening position.

I spent years chasing what I heard in that demo and now have it. 

Hearing Magico speakers at a hifi show just isn't going to measure up to what they're capable of. If they sound clinical and dry the set up just isn't correct. 

I spend hours at a time listening to my rig. Sometimes my wife finds me sleeping up there. She wonders how I can fall a sleep with the music so loud? Well, it's me just wanting to hear one more album side or streaming tune because it sounds SO good!

A good buddy who has S7's and VAC 450iQ mono's/matching preamplifier told me that the relationship of amplification and speakers is reversed from long standing traditional thinking regarding Magico speakers. General consensus has been to spend twice on speakers as amplification. With Magico it's the opposite. Spend twice on amplification as what the speakers cost and you'll be on your way to getting it right.

Unless you hear Magico speakers in a dedicated listening room where every detail has been addressed you're probably not going to hear their potential. 

This is true of any good speaker. I'm shocked by what even cheap speakers can do when I put some effort into optimizing their placement in a reasonably well conditioned room. No, they don't sound like the Magicos, but they can do things I didn't think they could possibly do. I'd say 99% of the people who use them never know what they're actually capable of. With the cheap speakers, 99% probably don't care. 

I loved the original Magico Mini. A true masterpiece. The V series was also very good. Ever since they switched away from wood enclosures to metal, I completely lost interest. The sound is very capable for what it is just not my style. 

Yes and the earth is way too round for my personal preferences as well. Less science solves that no problem ( no pun intended).

Magico with right amp and set up well is pure heaven. It takes some science to figure those parts out. Random hunches are not the fast track to success.

" But is there too much science going on to create the speakers that makes them at times a little uncomfortable to listen to for more than a few minutes."

I literally do not understand what this means.  Because there is too much science behind them they are unlistenable?  There are plenty of speakers with plenty of science behind them, and I have never found that aspect makes them "unlistenable." 

Do you mean are they on the clinical side of things?  That has been my experience, as several others have posted - and its not because of the BS excuse I am seeing that "they just reveal what is upstream."  

I literally do not understand what this means.

That's ok. He doesn't either.

I think Magicos are great outdoor speakers because they don't warp or rust.

Having heard so much in the trades about Magicos, I was interested to hear them at AXPONA. Shows are not ideal, I know, but I was underwhelmed. I heard plenty of other speakers that were much more to my liking, I guess it comes down to preference. 

Unless you hear Magico speakers in a dedicated listening room where every detail has been addressed you’re probably not going to hear their potential.

A good buddy who has S7’s and VAC 450iQ mono’s/matching preamplifier told me that the relationship of amplification and speakers is reversed from long standing traditional thinking regarding Magico speakers. General consensus has been to spend twice on speakers as amplification. With Magico it’s the opposite. Spend twice on amplification as what the speakers cost and you’ll be on your way to getting it right.

Right......Not too long ago, i had a Schweikert that could sound magico/magical without all these stringent requirements somehow, same went for an older TAD reference i had before that...or my current TAD, Borresen, whatever.

But, when it comes to Magico... omg, how could it ever be Alon’s fault?!...it’s not his aluminum box that looks like a couple of aircraft stringers, spars, whatever came together....Alon must know everything, an unmatched savant of our times.

With the great Magico, it is always the customer/ listener’s fault, his room, his not so adequate amplification, dacs, etc.. and the fact that he didn’t listen on a blue moon day 2 minutes before midnight....Oh no, what a faulty guy Alon’s unhappy customer must be. Alon’s box however is just perfect deserving of a standing ovation any day, all day.

Problem is nobody has this pristine perfect acoustically designed room from which to hear these perfectly acoustically designed speakers. And then even when you do start hearing them the way God intended they’re probably too clinical and fatiguing. When you are in a showroom you don’t hang around and listen to something for very long so it’s very difficult to judge and usually the show rooms are not very good.

Long time reader of the forums but I have only been back in to home stereo systems for about 6 years. I’m retired now so can enjoy some behind time.

Also know from reading the forum that a lot of you are way more gifted in hearing and evaluation but as Forest Gump would say (I do know what good Sound is.)

I have been to many audio shows and dealers and many amazing systems experienced.

One of most musical was with Ken Stevens CAT gear with the Magico S5 MKll

Not rich so I’m limited in purchases a little bit.  No CAT gear yet 😂

Presently rotating in same med to large room between:

(1) Tannoy Canterbury GR on Townsend platforms bi-amped with McIntosh mc75’s and MC830 mono amps and C70 preamp Aurender streamer and Berkeley Dac with Cardas Clear cabling.  Mostly stream. Some LP with Linn Sondek and Marantz SA10 SACD player. Sounds great! 

(2) Magico S5 MKll on casters using same equipment and cables as the above system with exception of the amplification being done with McIntosh MC 2301 mono tube amps rated at 300 watts. Sounds great also!

Not al all fatiguing to me even after 6 hours continual listening.

I find I leave the Magico’s in rotation longer than the Tannoy Canterbury GR.

I’ve not heard any that much better than either at the shows without a much higher entrance fee

Magico S5 MKll sounds pretty sweet with tubes.

@rforddaddyo 

what Tubes do you use on the MC 2301? How do you like the biamp config? 

@vuch 

This.

The deeper I go into this hobby/obsession the more convinced I am that the room and setup are vital. Before deciding to spend 6-figures on gear, one really needs to consider the limitations of the room. A bad room can create all kinds of sonic issues/limitations. 

@willyht no doubt! I also greatly enjoyed @deep_333 and @rforddaddyo's takes. 

The Room! Speaker placement to listening position are the cheapest, fastest way to getting there with whatever you've got. I've found matching the triangle set-up by having the speakers exactly the same distance from outer walls and listening position centered between them. Having the speakers as far away from the front wall pays increasing dividends but sometimes, perhaps a lot of times it isn't practical ie: WAF.

I have a 2nd rig that is so old and cheap but I love it when I'm there almost as much as the main rig. 

This morning I spent over an hour readjusting my speakers to get them about 6" further from the front wall. I also rechecked level of the speakers, slope leaning back, distance from the outer wall & sweet spot position. 

I get so much enjoyment out of this rig! Even with tech reconditioning, I think I've got about $750 into it including the Furman power conditioner I just got for it this week.

Do I really need the main rig? No, sometimes I don't know how I got there. But I do know that I love music, albums, streaming, CD's maybe a little bit. Tape is cool but I don't have any. Yeah the main rig is great but wherever I am I seem to enjoy the rig as much as possible...

I just installed a DEQX Pre 8 in a system based on Magico S7 loudspeakers. First off, they are extraordinarily well made. To start, they were being driven by  McIntosh gear. The image was diffuse and details smoothed over in typical McIntosh fashion. There were two JL Audio Fathom subs using a low pass filter only and the bass was confused. The room is a dedicated media room 20 X 30 feet with a 9 foot ceiling. After replacing the mac preamp with the DEQX the image snapped into focus and details were audible that were glossed over before. Adjusting the treble down a bit gave a neutral sound without any sibilance. The bass now managed by the DEQX was eons better but still lacking in the utmost definition, the fault lies with the Fathoms. We are going to replace the Mac amps with a pair of Bricasti Design M28s and I am sure that will bring this system up into the upper echelons of performance with the exception of the bass below 50 Hz. We have not discussed new subs yet, I would like to see four Martin Logan BF 212s. 

In short, The S7s are a fine speaker and a reasonable value given that you can spend a lot more for the same performance. As you see here they can be no better than the equipment in front of them. This is true of any great loudspeaker.  

Most of Marylin and Revel speakers for me that way.

(Emergingsoul)

I am just using the stock McIntosh  tubes in my MC2301 amps and they should have a lot of life left.

They sound fine to me and I believe they may be greatly improved upon but I’m on thin ice for spending what I have on everything already. 🥴

No tube swapping for right now with (16) power tubes to buy.

The Magico are not able to be BiAmped and the Tannoy can be BiAmped.

I found it a huge improvement on the Tannoy to get  rid of the speaker jumper cable and feeding upper end with tubes and bottom end with SS.

Found the jumper wire was a huge detractor of capability.

"I think Magicos are great outdoor speakers because they don't warp or rust."

LOL!

A few days ago I took the opportunity to listen to a dSC > Burmester (hybrid) > Magico S system, and it was exceptionally good.  Musical, and not fatiguing - among the very best digital SQ I have ever heard.  I tend to listen to vinyl, and this system sounded that good...

So I agree with the earlier comments stating that the Magico speakers are accurate and extremely revealing (compare to many other brands of speakers), so your font-end needs to be up to the task. 

You will hear it all, the good and the bad.  Isn't that what generations of audiophiles have been asking for from manufacturers?

I've heard Magico's and have always found them a bit clinical and without emotion. The Mac gear is just too soft and round sounding and can't control those large Magico woofers, not a good match with Magico IMO. Look for an amp with current. 

With Magico, you don't listen to the speaker per se. They are so accurate and neutral, you listen straight through to the electronics. I heard a 25K A5 powered by a 100K amp/preamp/DAC rig (Essence amp + pre, Rossini Apex and Clock) and literally thought the singer was singing directly to me. I could not believe what I was hearing in a 25K speaker! The only knock on them is that they are made for dedicated listening rooms which few of us have. I say that because they are just too ugly/commercial looking to place in a living room. For this, I (and may wife) lean to Estelons and VIVID Giyas, but looks are subjective. 

Last year I was shopping for new speakers and went to a dealer to hear the A3’s. He had the A5’s and played them for me with a VAC Sigma 170i amp. I liked the tone of the speakers but what really impressed me was the imaging. Maybe it had to do with the fact that the speakers were at least 6’ from the wall (which I couldn’t do at home), but it sounded like I was listening to a full band layered in 3D space that was as deep and 3D as a live band in real space, something I had never heard before from speakers. I would have bought the amp and speakers, but my wife didn’t like their appearance. I ended up with DeVore O96’s with a Leben CS600x integrated amp. A different sound, but a setup I’ve been very happy with.

@tdudnyk 

could not believe what I was hearing in a 25K speaker

You mean that cheap or that expensive?

@tdudnyk 

I think he means that you need to spend over $50,000 to get a quality sound from an overpriced speaker and that same quality sound was available for $25,000.  Depends on how well your Wallet leather is stretched and then $25,000 does not become very expensive for a set of speakers.  

The dealer was playing the stretch maneuver by only displaying the very expensive speakers.  Actually in hopes that when you choose a lesser speaker you won't feel so awful about spending a lot of money.

As an A1 owner, I can understand why people have this opinion but what others said are correct.  At first, I thought they were hard to listen to.  But the two things that fixed everything were amplifier and setup.  I changed to a Pass amp and then took more time to adjust the setup vs where I first placed them.  They are great speakers and sound super realistic.  For me, they sound like the true instrument.

Magico are very good speakers they just need to be tone and match to your preference sound.