Magicos are chesty

erik,

I’ve always appreciated your contributions as a DIY speaker builder, without anything to sell. I’m sure you would have a good ear for various speaker colorations. Though, I’m curious: how certain do you feel about attributing the chesty coloration you heard to the Magico speakers?

In my case, when I’m auditioning a speaker (especially in a room I don’t know) I listen from various distances, from close to further, to get an idea of what the more direct sound is like vs in-the-room. If I hear a chesty coloration I’ll investigate by moving around, trying different distances and angles of listening from the speaker to get a sense whether I happen to be experiencing sitting in a room node, or whether I can detect the speaker’s contribution at all to the artifact.

I did this for the Magico A3, but never quite got rid of the mild coloration I mentioned.

Still, I did find the A3 an extremely impressive speaker in terms of disappearing, low coloration over all, and detail. I just couldn’t get it to "boogie" at all.

Hi @prof
Thanks for the kind words. How certain? About 60-70%, given the lack of a controlled environment.

The main reason is that I've heard this unique flavor only in Magico's but in two different rooms and models.

The first time I heard Magico speakers was an S1 Mk II in the Magico factory, driven by enormous and expensive tube gear fed by a Berkeley DAC. This time was in a local LA showroom which was thoughtfully treated, but not to the extravagance of the factory. Mark Levinson monoblocks, and I forgot the sources.

This unique signature is just not one I have heard very often, so when I heard vocals it immediately stood out.

So, this is not a controlled experiment at all.

Truth is, based on my own standards, I'm one guy, who heard 2 speakers in two different locations. :) No one should take my comments as worth spending money on. But I do think this is an interesting characteristic to talk about.
Best,
E

I have said this about all the Magico's I've heard other than the M1 I think it was.  I too agree that many are told that this is what music sounds like.  

Thanks to Audioconnection for sharing that track.  I've played that on my Vandy Quatro's and loved it. Sounded just right at moderate levels.

I have said this about all the Magico's I've heard other than the M1 I think it was.  I too agree that many are told that this is what music sounds like.  

That's really interesting, @cstooner , because when I posted my S1 Mk II review I got nothing but hate mail. You and @prof are the first who have shared my experience.

Of course, to your own ears be true, you should buy what you like, but I thought it curious that during the Magico demo they allowed voices and piano for only a short period.

Best,
E