Mjama, I agree with your comments about the S5's which sound wonderful. Just to correct you on one thing however, the S5's are rated to 22Hz factory spec, whilst Martin Colloms measured in-room response to 25Hz in his Hifi Critic review (which is still damn good for a sealed speaker). You may have been thinking of the S3's which are rated to 26Hz.
Btw I also recently heard the Hailey 1.2's with Lamm M2.2 mono's in one room & the new Soulution 501 mono's, 520 pre & The Beast in another. The Hailey's fit, finish & looks score very high as you mentioned. I am not so unkind to the look of the S5's however, which in Titanium grey atleast look very nice in my room.
The Hailey 1.2's sound very smooth, fast & are great sound stagers. They move plenty of air & the bass goes deep paired with the right amp, though I felt the S5's bass reveals more texture and layering. Vitus or Soulution's latest amps would be a great choice for amplification which would smooth out the slightly hot (lively) sound and add some warmth and body.
Keep in mind the S5's need a long time to fully break in. Magico recommend a minimum of 200hrs to allow the caps & chokes to play in, however i've heard numbers as high as 1000hrs for the S5's to be about 85% run in. Also, I plan on installing a set of 6 Stillpoints Ultra 5's & Ultras bases under my S5's soon which should really improve their mojo!
Btw I also recently heard the Hailey 1.2's with Lamm M2.2 mono's in one room & the new Soulution 501 mono's, 520 pre & The Beast in another. The Hailey's fit, finish & looks score very high as you mentioned. I am not so unkind to the look of the S5's however, which in Titanium grey atleast look very nice in my room.
The Hailey 1.2's sound very smooth, fast & are great sound stagers. They move plenty of air & the bass goes deep paired with the right amp, though I felt the S5's bass reveals more texture and layering. Vitus or Soulution's latest amps would be a great choice for amplification which would smooth out the slightly hot (lively) sound and add some warmth and body.
Keep in mind the S5's need a long time to fully break in. Magico recommend a minimum of 200hrs to allow the caps & chokes to play in, however i've heard numbers as high as 1000hrs for the S5's to be about 85% run in. Also, I plan on installing a set of 6 Stillpoints Ultra 5's & Ultras bases under my S5's soon which should really improve their mojo!