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Magico Q3's at Goodwin's High End

Just a quick note to say that Goodwin's High End (in Boston) along with Alon Wolf presented a demonstration of the Magico Q3's yesterday.

As usual, it was a class act by Goodwin's and a real treat overall. Mr. Wolf fielded a number of questions about the speakers (and Magico's approach to design) and his detailed responses were fascinating.

The Q3's sounded spectacular. They were setup in Goodwin's huge listening room (20x30x11) and they were positioned quite wide apart and deep into the room (almost halfway). I was transported to the symphony hall with a few tracks - like nothing I've ever experienced before. They were driven with very expensive electronics, inluding huge Boulder amps that were 1000w each (if I'm not mistaken) to compensate for the size of the room.

The Q3 is a modest size floorstanding loudspeaker, but it weighs 250lbs! Like the Q5 (if you've ever heard it) it is very clean and neutral sounding. Definitely a speaker that lets you listen into the music rather than wow you with a forward presentation. Besides classical, we heard some jazz, some instrumental and a cut from Jennifer Warnes Famous Blue Raincoat that was stunning. These speakers don't call any attention to themselves. They were so coherent and produced such an impressive soundstage that it didn't feel like they were the source of the sound. Jennifer's voice had no artifacts (sibilence, etc) that it was like she was standing there. I feel I finally heard how the record was supposed to sound.

Anyways, I'm not trying to do a proper review here, but I did want to thank Goodwins and Magico for the opportunity and I thought I would share my initial impresssions.

Would love to know what other folks at the presentation(s) thought.
madfloyd
peterayer
1,382 posts
 
Clavil,

I compared the Mini II to the V3 in the same room at Sound By Singer in NYC. I much preferred the Mini II, though the amplification was different, so it was not a direct comparison. I found the Mini II to be far more coherent.

I've heard the Q3 once at Goodwins High End in Boston. It was in a very large room driven by 1000 W Boulder monos. It sounded amazing. Just as coherent as my Mini IIs, but they were more extended both up and down.

I haven't heard the Magnepan 3.7, but the Q3 did sound extremely fast, clear, transparent and neutral, if that helps.
c1ferrari
464 posts
 

...it's an engineering issue but I prefer the instruments to be sort of naturally placed and sometimes the mixer will, for example, imply that the drummer has a 20 foot wide kit...or a 30' piano...

+1
suteetat
435 posts
 
I got Q3 in my living room and I am impressed. The tonal balance is rather different from what I heard at my dealer with Soulution. Q3 replaces Usher Be-20 DMD in my room. Lamm M2.2 certainly has not problem driving it in 8 ohms tab mode. I have not tried 4 ohms tab yet but figure that Q3 may benefit from a bit more power.

Surprisingly, Usher Be-20 diamond tweeter appears to be a bit more extended than Q3 at the moment (with the same Lamm amplifiers). However, these Q3s only have about 200 hours of music playing so far. I understand that it will need about 500 hours to break in.

I understand that some people complain that Magico is not suitable for rock and bass heavy music. In a way, it is true that Q3 does not have the volume or with weight of Be-20. But its bass is almost as deep, faster, more precise, and much better detail. I could hear the note in each instrument much clearer. Be-20 in my room has rather big bump from 50Hz all the way down to 20 Hz and some people may prefer its punchiness and slam over Magico, I suppose. But listening to large scale orchestral work, I find double bass, tympani etc on Q3 to have more natural and realistic balance in comparison to what I hear in concert hall than Be-20 and other great port speakers that have bigger bass slam than Q3.

I have been debating about upgrading Be-20 to V3 for a couple of years, feeling that it was not quite worth the upgrade even though there are many things that I really like about V3. Q3 however is a clear and worthwhile upgrade, at least to my ears, anyhow.
james63
534 posts
 
Suteetat,

How do the mids on the Ushers and Magicos compare?
peterayer
1,382 posts
 
Congratulations Suteetat. It's not about the quantity of bass, but the quality of bass that matters. The Magico bass with the sealed, inert enclosures just sounds more like the real thing, IMO. Great detail, very little distortion and great weight and body. I also listen mostly to classical, though I don't get the same extension with my Mini IIs.
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