The loudspeaker brand, Magico from the United States of America, headed by Mr.Alon Wolf and Mr.Yair Tammam, have been actively pushing the boundaries of loudspeakers designs and performance, and started marketing their very first product, the ‘Magico Mini‘ in 2004. Since then, their loudspeakers have always been in my ‘Need to Audition‘ bucket list. I was fortunate to have heard their Magico Q7 Mk.1 and Mk.2, Magico Ultimate Horn, Magico S7, Magico M6, Magico M Project and etc.
Impressed with the Magico loudspeakers’ performance and quality, and the rave feedbacks from those fortunate enough to have heard the latest Magico flagship, the ‘Incomparable‘ M9 (retail US$750,000 per pair), I was more than eagered to hear their trickle-down from the M9 loudspeakers, the S3 Mk.3 (hereinafter referred to as Magico S3, retail US$45,500 per pair).
The Magico S3 being the ‘little brother‘ of the M9, represented the company’s proprietary designs, technologies, manufacture and parts. From proprietary cabinet construct of different thickness of aluminium (1/2” to 2“) that resulted in thirty percent [30%] quieter than its already very quiet predecessor,…proprietary Magico 28mm diamond-coated beryllium diaphragm tweeter (tweeter platform derived from the M9’s),…proprietary Magico 5″ pure midrange driver that featured an advanced cone material formed of a honeycomb aluminum core sandwiched with outer and inner layers of graphene and carbon fiber,…and proprietary Magico 9” bass driver that featured an enhanced version of Magico’s Graphene Nano-Tec cone,…etc etc etc.
The Magico’s Malaysia Distributor, YY Sound Systems Sdn Bhd and their boss, Mr.TK Han arranged delivery and personally installed the pair of Magico S3 which was slightly more than 100Kg per loudspeaker at my audio den.
We started listening to the Magico S3 with the Gryphon Diablo 333 Integrated Amplifier then progressed to my audio system;- Vitus Audio Masterpiece MP-M201AF amplifier, FM Acoustics 268C preamplifier, HiFi Rose RS150B Digital Streamer (mainly Tidal), and cabled mainly with Skogrand Cables Silverspine SCSC, Stravinsky Mk.2 SCAC and Stravinsky SCI, etc.
THE IMMEDIATE IMPRESSION.
When I first got delivery of the pair of Magico S3, TK Han have them placed at the same position as I have placed the Genesis S7 Foxtrot and the Genesis S7 Minuet loudspeakers. The immediate impression I got from the Magico S3 was…
‘(what) a Three [3] Dimensional Soundstage and Wide Soundscape!’
However, the imaging was (too?) dense, the bass was slightly tight and the high was a tad aggressive,…through the fun test track, ‘Oh Yeah‘ by Yello.
Here, the effects from the bells rings, birds chirping, synthesized instruments, the voice of the lead singer Dieter Meier and all other synthesized vocals were vividly and energetically presented,…but with a tad over-riped mid-bass, over-presenced and may at time over-weighted.
Regardless, the entire musical presentation was sensationalised by…
an enveloping, encompassing (all around) soundstage and soundscape,
…to the extend, that a fellow audiophile at that instance commented that he…
‘sensed surround‘.
I heard and knew there and then that the Magico S3 has…
more Potentials that remained UNHEARD.
Therefore, TK Han and I agreed that the Magico S3 could have being placed ‘wider apart‘ and ‘forward‘ to the listening position and/ or,…he suggested the ‘dedicated grill‘ could be used to tune the sound quality accordingly (eg.to lesser the aggressiveness at the high).
Without pondering too much into the abovementioned choices, TK Han moved the Magico S3 wider apart and forward slightly,…the result still maintained that ‘quality Soundstage and Soundscape’,…with ‘delineated and defined imaging’,…’tight (but not over riped) bass’,…and with ‘lesser aggressive high‘,…through the Electronic Dance Music (EDM) track, ‘Ratchet‘ by Hedegaard.
In addition, at that position, I found the Magico S3 presented…
that tempo that was clean and accurate,
…the timing was easy to follow,…literally, I could hear the start and end of each note and,…flow with the tune. Here, the EDM track was presented with all its supposedly (fast) speed,…with ‘bass note coming after another’,…and ‘energy accumulating for finality‘.
TK Han stopped at that position for the Magico S3 since he saw my smile and knew I would continue to play around till the ‘Final’ positioning for the ‘Review’,…which I definitely did so to a fulfilling position to my liking based on a couple of dozens [24] test tracks.
AT THE FINAL POSITION.
I found the Magico S3 to be a sensitive (enough) to position transducers/ loudspeakers, as expected for most ‘Good to Great‘ transducers. I positioned them Wider than the previous last position, and Toed in to the listening position (aiming at the Side of my Head).
Playing the title track, ‘Morph the Cat‘ by Donald Fagen, I knew that an optimum (enough) position for the Magico S3 in my audio den was reached,…when I found the soundstage and the soundscape illustrated the size, dimensions and airiness of the recording venue,…
with the lead vocalist standing infront of the accompanied instruments,
…and the lead vocalist and the accompanied instruments were individually;– distinctive, delineated, dimensional, weighted, anchored and…
in-scale with one another.
Here, I found not only…
the instrument double bass was presented in full dimensions (height, width and depth) and distinctively,…but also the clarity and nuances of the play,
whether be it arco (bow at the string), or pizzicato (plucking the strings) or other extended techniques by the Serbian Bassist and Composer, Mr.Nenad Vasilić.
In addition, at the track ‘Bass Drops‘, I found…
‘each note‘ from the double bass was presented individually and spatially,…and with power and dynamic,
that could be easily felt!
The Transparency of the Magico S3 continued to impress through the presentation of the voice of Ms.Petra Magoni at the track, ‘Roxane‘,…
where one word came to mind was ‘VERACITY‘.
There was that quality of being true, accurate, or honest to the voiceation/ artistry of the vocalist.
As expected, the double bass played by Ferruccio Spinetti was equally presented with all honesty,…that even the minute dynamic and energy from the vibrating string(s) were vividly audible and felt.
That transparency continued with the audiences’ excitement and clapping of hands,…which were presented wholly, organically and energetically.
Here, the Magico S3 was so Transparent to the recorded details/ source material that even the embedded energy was retrieved and presented veraciously.
Through the Magico S3, the voiceation of Ms.STÍNA ÁGÚSTSDÓTTIR at the track ‘Body‘ sounded versatile, authoritative, feminine and youthful. Therefore through its’ transparency to the multi facets of the artist’s artistry, I could easily appreciate her and,…why she “being one of Iceland’s best jazz artists and has made a name for herself on the Scandinavian jazz scene in the last few years“.
In other words, the Magico S3 has the ability to…
Unveil the Artistry (of the Artist) to the Listener.
The Magico S3 was equally a Transparent Transducer/ Loudspeaker to the grandness, magnitute, dimension, energy, flow and movement of a (London) Philharmonic Orchestra that consisted hundred of musicians/ instruments.
At the theme track, ‘Metal Gear Solid: Sons of Liberty‘ conducted by Mr.Andrew Skeet, I found that whole presentation to be bombastic, energetic, and yet in controlled and in order even at the ‘most demanding passage‘ being played louder than norm.
The entire soundstage was airy and all enveloping and,…the soundscape was equally encompassing,…and within that, the four [4] groups of instruments was spaciously separated,…whereas instrument was individually distinct and grounded,…
which illustrated the Sizable Venue.
THE UNQUESTIONABLE PERFORMANCE AND VALUE.
The Magico S3 was no ‘off the shelf yet specialised‘ loudspeaker but an all proprietary designs, technologies, manufacture and parts for a specified high performance, that (surely) came with a cost/ price.
Impressively, at a height of no more than forty four inches [<44“], it was more than able to present a soundstage that enveloped and a soundscape that encompassed my audio den,…able to present quality and in-scale imaging,…transparent to the details/ resolution of the source material,…and delivered the dynamic and energy of the presentation,…at a remarkable retail of US$45,500 per pair.
The main question here was never the Magico S3 Mk.3’s Performance, Quality and Value, but the Buyer’s Will and Wallet!
SPECIFICATIONS
Driver Complement:
1.1″ MB5FP Diamond Coated Beryllium Dome (x1)
5″ Gen 8 Midrange driver (x1)
9″ Gen 8 Bass driver (x2)
Sensitivity: 88dB
Impedance: 4 Ohms
Frequency Response:
24 Hz – 50 kHz
Recommended Minimum Power:
50 watts
Dimensions:
44″H x 17″D x 12W (17” outrigger)
(112cm x 43cm x 30cm)
Weight: 222 lbs. (101 Kg)