Quandry: Used Magico V2 vs. new S1

I auditioned the S1 5 months ago. The stage is like all Magico's very deep. I also heared the S5 and it gave the same deep stunning sound. I did not find them were wide according to the stage. This serie does not have a very fast respons of the low freq. like some other Magico's can. The S1 is a good looking speaker. The S5 is by far not that good looking.

Usermanual, It was indeed maybe the setup, which was quite different than the setup with which the Q3 was heard.

I give it another chance next week, when I am going to listen to S1 and S5 on the D'Agostino Momentum/ARC Ref 5SE/MSB set, so S1 will show it's capabilities much better.
S1 did not play in the S5/Q3 league however!

I would not put the S5 in the same "league" as the Q3. I've heard both at the same dealer, though with different equipment and in different rooms. I thought the Q3 was much more evenly balanced, more transparent and far more coherent. It just did not make me think about the equipment. The S5, on the other hand, did not disappear and sounded very mechanical with an emphasis on the lower frequencies. I did not hear the magic. But then they are at different price points.

The dealer did tell me that he thought the S1 was closer to the Q1 than the S5 is to the Q3.

To address the OP's original question, which will be preferred should be evident after you hear them in similar settings with familiar music.

I also did not like the low freq. of the S5. It also gave acoustic problems with the lowest freq. I missed the layers I want to hear in the lowest freq.

Peterayer,

I have been wondering how the S5 images. Having the tweeter and mid mounted to such a wide baffle seems like and odd design choice. Your comment about them not really disappearing makes me think I was thinking along the correct line. I would like to see some measurmets of these speakers and see if diffraction is an issue.