Magico S1 Mk II - The First Review

Maybe this would help. By comparison to the Wilson Sasha Mk 2s or B&W 802D’s (last ones I heard) the Magico’s missed nothing. The B&W’s and Wilson’s I’ve listened to by comparison made me feel the treble kind of stopped too soon or I was missing something. I think if you hear the Magico’s in the right situation side by side, you’ll feel like you have not been hearing everything before. The treble uptilt is related, but really separate issue.

If you know anything about capacitors and their sound, Magico has been taking advantage of the latest Mundorf Evo caps across their range. They are gigantic and hideously expensive. I personally am not a fan of those particular caps and believe I detect a little Disney-like sheen, or fairy sparkle to the top treble, so I don’t use them. I’m not completely against euphonic gear, this just isn’t a trait I seek out.

Still, please buy what you like.

Dont you find Magico speakers Sterile? Lifeless?  Every time I hear a pair as good as they sound it does not convey any sense of engagement. They are built like tanks but when it comes down to listening personal opinion I would rather go for something else.

You absolutely should get something that makes you want to listen to them! :)  My current speakers make non-audiophiles stop talking in mid-sentence just to listen to what's playing. Personally that's what I seek out. Then I end up loosing sleep because I'd rather listen to music than go to bed.

I haven't spent a lot of time listening to other Magico's, but I found the S1's pretty dynamic actually. Maybe too dynamic to listen to at normal levels. They really do bring a sense of the dynamics of horn speakers into the room.

As for sterile, B&W's tend to be that for me, which is odd considering how their house sound / curve is tuned. I had a chance to listen to the original Nautilus in their Massachusetts offices and they were the same. Stacks of Krell amps and crossovers, and I would not really have been happy listening to them every day.

"On the positive note, the extra treble also had more treble. That is, it wasn't just a matter of being tilted upwards."

Besides the above kind of ridiculous statement, the author in no way is off putting , considering the fact that it was a totally informal initial evaluation of the speaker. For anyone to take it to heart, however, is a completely different manner. At least he senses.... In his subjective opinion, an initial straying of the speakers neutrality; something most music listeners today would have no clue as to what neutrality actually means!

Being smooth and being flat are two different things. Lots of "high end" speakers have a terrible and inconsistent high end. Wilson, B&W, Focal. Not smooth.

The Magico S1’s did not sound ragged to me at all. In fact it sounded very smooth and extended, just going up. I’m sorry that wasn’t more clear.

Still, as I make abundantly clear, only your own ears should determine what is worth taking out the checkbook for. Whether this is a smile shaped response, flat or whatever. The day that the pundits pay for my speakers I might let them choose them for me, but until then I’ll buy only what I like, I hope you do the same. :)